05.18.2005

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS STARTS FARMING PROGRAM FOR INDIAN WOMEN
From USDA

Starting with a $200,000 federal grant, two University of Arkansas professors are attempting to connect the nation's American Indian women farmers.  Janie Hipp, an assistant professor at the Fayetteville campus and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, has teamed with Professor Jennie Popp to create the Native Women in Agriculture group.

The group was formed in partnership with the Billings, Montana-based Intertribal Agriculture Council, which promotes the conservation and development of Indian farming among the 562 federally recognized tribal governments and Alaskan villages.  The operation of the Native Women in Agriculture will be turned over to the Council in 2006.

According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, there are about 12,000 Indian women operating farms in the United States.