Indigenous Food and Agriculture Apprenticeship Project

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Animal Production: feed/forage, Meat Chickens
• Education and Training: workshop
• Sustainable Communities: community planning, food access and security, food sovereignty, sustainability measures

The Oneida community has limited access to indigenous foods. This problem is a result of historical trauma and the abrupt disruption of cultural lifeways. The Oneida people were forcibly removed from their homelands in what is now known as New York state and many were removed west to the area now known as Green Bay, Wisconsin. One major devastation the Oneida people experience is the disconnection between the community, land, and food or subsistence.

Another limiting factor in accessing good quality food is poverty. The poverty rate of Oneida member households on the Oneida Reservation is 20% and at least 22% of the Oneida Indian Reservation population reported living below poverty in the past 12 months. Lack of access to good quality food and indigenous foods results in health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. 

Finally, there is a lack of models for scaling funding opportunities for small farm operation, as most are tailored to larger entities. The outcome of this proposed work will model how two or more small-scale farms can work together to share resources to achieve a common goal. This type of system fosters partnerships that are adaptive, dynamic, and goal seeking. 

Final Report Update:

This project addressed the limited access to traditional Haudenosaunee foods within the Oneida community and the broader disconnection from Indigenous agricultural knowledge caused by displacement, assimilation policies, and economic barriers. Many community members lack access not only to culturally relevant foods but also to the skills needed to grow, prepare, and preserve them. Small-scale Indigenous farms also face challenges in scaling labor and infrastructure. Our solution was to create a cooperative apprenticeship model between two farmsteads to grow heirloom crops, raise livestock, prepare community meals, and offer hands-on educational programming. In addition to meal distribution and agricultural training, we hosted three herbal medicinal workshops focused on preparing plant medicines found on the reservation, and we organized a screening of Kanenon:we – Original Seeds followed by a community meal to deepen understanding of seed sovereignty and rematriation.

The project was demonstration and education-focused rather than experimental research. We used an applied learning approach to test shared labor structures, meal distribution logistics, and equipment needs for small-scale food transport. Education took place through hands-on apprenticeship training, community meals, workshops on herbal medicine preparation, and public events that connected agriculture to culture and identity. We tracked participation, meal production, apprentice hours, and operational lessons. We found that cooperative labor sharing between two small farms is viable, that insulated hot boxes effectively serve multiple transport needs, and that overly complex systems such as reusable container tracking can strain small teams. We also observed that participation increases when food is paired with cultural storytelling and practical demonstration.

In conclusion, the project demonstrated that shared apprenticeship models can strengthen small-scale Indigenous farm operations while expanding community access to traditional foods and knowledge. Cultural context significantly increases engagement in sustainable agriculture education, and integrating teachings on food, medicine, and seeds strengthens food sovereignty efforts.

As a result of this education program, community members expressed increased interest in growing heirloom crops, preparing traditional meals, and harvesting local medicinal plants. Some participants began home gardening or experimenting with traditional food preparation techniques shared at events. The project also strengthened collaboration between local producers and reinforced cooperative approaches to labor and food distribution. 

The primary intent of this proposal is to expose Oneida community members to indigenous, organic, and heirloom foods produced and raised by both farms. This will be achieved by making these foods available to the community byway of meals and/or meal kits. This work further bridges the gap between the community members and indigenous, organic, and heirloom foods. The foods will be more accessible to the community in a way that makes the preparation and consumption of these foods fun and easy.

In order to accomplish this, an apprentice will be hired and shared by both farms, for the summer months, as a model of cooperation. Sharing an apprentice is a way to scale the opportunity to meet the needs of the project. Neither farm can afford to hire an apprentice on its own. The apprentice will plant, grow and harvest indigenous, organic, heirloom crops for the season. Products will include corn, vegetables, and sun chokes, chickens, and eggs.  

Both farms will work together to:

• Hire an apprentice to assist with growing, producing, processing, and preparing indigenous, organic, and heirloom products using sustainable agriculture processes.
• Purchase supplies to support this activity.
• Document practices used in this partnership and create a final report to share with others.
• Provide project outreach using social media and providing presentations at local conferences and meetings at least four times annually.
• Develop social media content and presentations will highlight project practices, progress, and plans for community access to food products and meal preparations.
• Conduct workshops (e.g. hull and process heirloom corn, outdoor workshops making traditional food processing tools, community meals with indigenous foods, fundraising)
• Purchase a customizable trailer to hold coolers and hot boxes for meal, food and drink delivery to people at events.
• Develop a sustainability plan for the project, beyond the life of the grant, that includes food and product sale(s). Revenue(s) will be reinvested to sustain programming.
• Maintain grant compliance and special conditions.

The project processes and practices will be well documented and the project outcome will be submitted as a final report to be shared with others. The report will serve as a model to assist small scale farms in planning, implementation, and problem solving, and the farms will be accessible by all for sharing this information. They will both report their progress periodically on social media. Finally, both farms will be available to share their story and practices at meetings, conferences, and through one-on-one consultation.

This model will demonstrate how to successfully implement cooperation and shared goals and objectives between two or more small-scale farms. The employment opportunity offered through this model provides an aspiring producer, farmer, or rancher with the unique experience of becoming a part of a social, economic, and cultural benefit of the community. The employment opportunity is as much about creating educational and hands-on-learning experiences for the apprentice as it is about the actual labor to foster a more positive environmental, economic, and social benefit. 

Final Report Update: