First Nations Development Institute launched a college scholarship program last week to encourage more Native American college students to enter the agricultural sector in Native communities.
The "First Nations Native Agriculture and Food Systems Scholarship Program" will award six $1,000 scholarships annually to Native American college students majoring in agriculture and related fields, including but not limited to agribusiness management, agriscience technologies, agronomy, animal husbandry, aquaponics, fisheries and wildlife, food production and safety, food-related policy and legislation, horticulture, irrigation science, plant-based nutrition, and sustainable agriculture or food systems.
"Simply put, we believe that reclaiming control over Indian agriculture in general and local food systems in particular is critical to ensuring the long-lasting health and economic well-being of Native people and their communities, so that's why we're launching this program," First Nations President Michael E. Roberts, said in a statement.
The Native food-system control has the potential to increase food production, improve health and nutrition, and eliminate food insecurity in rural and reservation-based communities, while also promoting entrepreneurship, economic development and even cultural revitalization," Roberts said.
We hope many more college graduates will gravitate toward this area as a career choice," Roberts said.
To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student majoring in an appropriate field at any recognized college or university, including all tribal colleges and universities, be an enrolled member of a current or terminated federal or state tribe, and able to provide documentation, and have a Grade Point Average of at least 3.0.
Applicants will be asked to complete an online application and provide other required information, including tribal documentation, college enrollment verification, unofficial transcripts, a letter of recommendation from a faculty member, and a short essay submission.
