December 6, 2023 - Indianz.com
Indianz.com recently featured the Intertribal Agriculture Council's Chief Strategy Officer Kelsey Scott and IAC Board Members Trenton Kissee and Meagan Baldy in an article titled "Department of Agriculture announces inaugural Tribal Advisory Committee” discussing the newly appointed members of the first-ever Tribal Advisory Committee through the U.S. Department of Agriculture as authorized from the 2018 Farm Bill. Read an excerpt of the article below:
“As tribes have requested, we are reshaping our programs to incorporate tribal and Indigenous perspectives, remove barriers, and encourage tribal self-determination. USDA is working directly with tribal nations to support their decisions on how best to co-steward federal lands and forests and the traditions that have been passed down from ancestors and elders,” Vilsack said in a news release that touted his department’s initiatives in Indian Country.
The Tribal Advisory Committee was authorized by the Farm Bill of 2018 but the prior administration never got it off the ground. Vilsack finally took action this past summer.
A June 28 notice in the Federal Register invited nominations from tribes, tribal organizations and other organizations with expertise in food and agriculture. Appointments were then made by the Secretary of Agriculture, along with key members of the 118th Congress — the chairs and ranking members of the House Committee on Agriculture; the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
The inaugural members of the Tribal Advisory Committee represent all corners of Indian Country. They follow:
Appointed by Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture:
Trenton Kissee, Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Muscogee (Creek) Nation (Eastern Oklahoma Region)
David Pourier, Tribal Council, Oglala Sioux Tribe (Great Plains Region)
Appointed by Rep. David Scott (D-Georgia), Ranking Member, House Committee on Agriculture:
Charles “Monty” Roessel, President, Dine College (Navajo Region)
Kelsey Scott, Chief Operating Officer, Intertribal Agriculture Council (Great Plains Region)
Appointed by Secretary Vilsack, U.S. Department of Agriculture:
Meagen Baldy, Food Safety Specialist, Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (Pacific Region)
William “Billy” Barquin, Attorney General, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (Pacific Northwest Region)
Benjamin “Ben” Jacobs, Co-founder/President, Tocabe Restaurant and Indigenous Foods Marketplace (Southwest Region)
The Tribal Advisory Committee is required to meet at least two times a year. The USDA expects it will be meeting every quarter.
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