Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The primary target audience was tribal members of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas (KTK), tribal members and employees of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN), Native American undergraduate students at Haskell Indian Nations University (Haskell), and students at Kansas State University (K-State). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Haskell faculty, staff, and students received training on how to conduct agricultural research. K-State graduate students received training on outreach and surveys. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Vegetable variety trials were shared with K-State Extension faculty. Planting advice based in part on the vegetable variety trials were shared with local tribal community members through on-site gardening workshops. Results were disseminated to the scientific community through publications in the first two years of the grant. A video documentary was produced on the conduct and impacts of the project. This video is available for viewing on the Haskell website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
What was accomplished under these goals: A total of six (6) start-of-season gardening workshops were held; three on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) reservation and three at the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas (KTiK) reservation. Two of the workshops were held in this final year of the project. Additional end-of-season surveys were completed by PBPN gardeners in the previous years of the project. Haskell’s research garden participated in K-State Master Gardener vegetable variety trials in each year of the grant, producing data on 12 varieties of tomato and 7 varieties of peppers. Other fruits and vegetables were also planted, providing fresh produce to Haskell students, faculty and staff. A documentary on the project and its impacts was produced. A link to the video can be found on the Haskell website (haskell.edu).
Publications
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Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Situated far from grocery stores, many Indian reservations lack easy access to fresh produce. Often, the only nearby market is a convenience store attached to a gas station, with a plethora of highly processed snack-type foods and a dearth of healthy alternatives. Although open land is plentiful, gardening may not be part of modern life on the "rez," as some tribes do not come from farming traditions and some were moved to lands unsuitable for the types of farming ingrained in their particular culture. For these and other reasons, the diet of Native Americans on reservations is frequently low in fresh fruits and vegetables and as a group Native Americans suffer from high rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Two tribes in Kansas have taken two different avenues to address the lack of vegetable gardens on their reservations. The Prairie Band Potawatomi (PBPN) in Jackson County, KS have communal gardens and orchards that provide produce for the early childhood and senior centers. The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas (KTK) has an on-going gardening initiative that provides help with tilling and other heavy gardening chores as a way to increase vegetable gardening among tribal members. Enrollment in the KTK gardening initiative has increased each year of its existence. Three questions are being addressed by this project: 1. Can new gardener success be increased through careful choice of vegetable, fruit and nut varieties; soil preparation help, and mentor support through the growing season 2. If successful home gardening is easier, will more tribal members participate 3. Which vegetable, fruit and nut varieties will produce the greatest output, balanced by ease of maintenance and disease resistance, given the soils, current climate, and predicted near-future climate of this region In the first grant year: 1. Development of a research and demonstration garden at Haskell. The new garden was one of the testing locations for K-State Research and Extension tests of new cultivars of vegetables for suitability in Kansas soils and climate. This provided a new opportunity for Haskell undergraduates to participate in agricultural research. 2. Results of the cultivar experiments at Haskell and other locations chosen by K-State Extension are being analyzed. The analysis includes comparison of modern hybrids to older open-pollinated varieties, as well as comparisons between the hybrid varieties. In the next growing season, the best of these varieties will be offered to tribal gardeners on the KTK and PBPN reservations. 3. A survey of gardeners and would-be gardeners was conducted at the KTK reservation to determine interest in the different types of information offered by K-State Extension. Subsequently, a gardening workshop was offered on each reservation. 4. K-State and Haskell staff and Haskell students toured the gardens at the KTK and PBPN in midseason to compare practices in each garden with those at Haskell's garden. 5. An end-of-season survey of both gardeners and non-gardeners was conducted at the PBPN in November, 2012. The survey asked about gardening, vegetable consumption and general diet/nutrition of reservation residents. PARTICIPANTS: Mike Tosee, PI, Haskell Indian Nations University provided information about Native American culture pertaining to agriculture, oversaw videographic documentation of the project, oversaw Haskell undergraduates working on the project and provided overall administrative oversight to the project. Megan Fisher, co-PI, Haskell Indian Nations University managed the scientific aspects of the project at Haskell Indian Nations University, represented Haskell at project-related events, and oversaw Haskell undergraduates working on the project. Bill Welton, co-PI, Haskell Indian Nations University assured compliance to project objectives and represented Haskell at project related-events. Charles Barden, Kansas State University PI, provided scientific and administrative support for K-State on this project, trained and oversaw the work of K-State graduate students, coordinated the production of surveys, organized gardening workshops, and provided project partners with vegetable trial plants and seeds. Pabodha Galgamuwa, graduate student, Kansas State University, conducted gardening experiments, analyzed survey data, and presented on the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Haskell undergraduates were introduced to agriculture research techniques and field research methodology through participation in this project. K-State graduate students learned scientific survey techniques, and the requirements to do human subjects research through participation in this project. They also learned how to produce vegetable transplants in the greenhouse. Kickapoo and Prairie Band Potawatomi reservation residents received gardening advice through workshops, free pepper and tomato plants of recommended varieties, and one of the community gardens at the PBPN received vegetable cultivars for a production experiment. Haskell students, faculty and staff, and staff at the PBPN and Kickapoo tribal offices received fresh vegetables from the experimental garden. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
1. Five Haskell undergraduates participated in this research in the first year. 2. One K-State graduate student was partially supported by and was deeply involved with this grant. 3. Produce from Haskell's garden was distributed to staff and students on Haskell's campus, the campus snack bar, and staff at the PBPN and KTK. This greatly increased awareness of this project on campus and among PBPN administration. 4. Forty (40) people attended the gardening workshop held on the PBPN reservation, and thirty-three (33) at the workshop held at the KTK reservation. 5. Seventy-five(75)people answered and returned the survey on gardening and nutrition at the PBPN Harvest Feast in November, 2012. 6. The project partners from K-State and Haskell attended the PBPN Harvest Feast as guests in November, 2012. Dr. Barden roasted chestnuts and handed them out to attendees. There was a great deal of interest in the chestnuts as a crop and chestnut saplings will be offered to home gardeners at the appropriate planting time in the second year of the grant. 7. We discovered that the PBPN are doing more backyard gardening than we thought, as evidenced by participation at the workshop. 8. In response the PBPN community gardening program, a new rototiller was purchased to provide tilling assistance to gardeners who request it (as the Kickapoo does). This illustrates the exchange of ideas that the project has tried to promote.
Publications
- Galgamuwa P.G.A., C.J. Barden, C.Shoemaker, and S. Wood. 2013. Assessing the use of fresh fruits, vegetables and other native foods on Indian reservations in Kansas. In Proc. (Abstract), Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS. In press.
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