In celebration of its 35th year, the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) is celebrating a year of growth and success across all its programs. The organization’s founding members convened its first conference in 1987, with 87 Tribes attending as charter members. Today our mission remains the same, to pursue and promote the conservation, development, and use of our agricultural resources for the advancement of Tribal Nations—574+ diverse Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages.
This year’s conference theme, We Belong Here, is an example of the resilience of IAC leadership in facing systemic inequities and barriers to making our Native voices heard in U.S. Agriculture. IAC’s organizational leadership structure informs policy and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programmatic implementation, simultaneously redefining and rebuilding our sovereign Tribal food systems.
Joining us in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the beautiful Virgin Hotels this year will be youth Ag advocates, youth Essay Contest winners, youth liaisons, young professionals, and college students. The three-day event, December 6 - 8, will present solutions to collectively address the historical and current challenges facing Indian country agriculture and tribal communities.