Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:ANC Extension program activities are intended to benefit every segment of the Fort Belknap community - from Head Startchildren to elders. Head Start children, elementary school students, and high schoolers will tour the demonstration gardenand greenhouse site, attend onsite educational programs, and receive free produce and pumpkins. TEK will be shared withchildren and youth directly by traditional knowledge keepers, as well as through educational resources made availablethrough the program's TEK repository. Youthdevelopment programs, including day camps and weekend encampments, willbe available to students from kindergarten to highschool. The project also will offer garden and greenhouse tours and one-on-one visits for adults to learn about gardening, medicinal plants, horticulture, beekeeping, crop production and other topicsof interest. Tours for adults will also include taste-test meals, health-screenings, and other health and wellnessactivities. Tour participants will go home with pounds of fresh vegetables, and produce grown at the garden is donated tosenior centers in all reservation. Changes/Problems:The project experienced significant staffing changes during the reporting period. The long-time project director, Mr. Manny Morales, retired in December 2023, and the project assistant resigned in early 2024. While seeking to fill these vacancies. Mr. Scott Friskics, ANC Director of Sponsored Programs, was named interim project director. At the same time, the TEK/Youth Development Coordinator position remained vacant. To keep the project moving forward, the college contracted the services of two highly-qualified community members to plan and coordinate project activities and to facilitate project partnership efforts, This strategy proved highly successful. In spring 2024, the college was extremely fortunate to hire qualified applicants to fill all three staff positions. As a result, the project was able to plant a garden, conduct spring workshops, and coordinate efforts to plan summer activities. The project's twocontracted service providers will remain involved with all project activities to provide transitional support to new staff. Despite the upheaval experienced during the past year, ANC's Extension Program has emerged well-positioned for continued success and future growth. We are anxious to see what the future will bring. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our 2 ½ acre Demonstration Garden is maintained by our Summer Interns who work diligently all summer to keep it flourishing with successful results. They learn lifelong skills in gardening, landscaping, pest control, and irrigation. Many of these students have never gardened before working with us, but they seem to enjoy learning these new skill sets throughout the summer. Community members and students received hands on training inside of the greenhouse. We conducted a Gardening workshop before the growing season on May 2, 2024, with 25 participants.We begin our garden tours with a tour of the inside of our greenhouse and show them what we do with the seeds/soil/pots/water giving them a view into the operation of the greenhouse. We explain how essential the greenhouse is to our growing season being able to plant our heirloom seedlings months in advance before we put them outside in the demonstration garden due to our growing season being so short. They learn the cultural aspect of why these medicinal plants were so important to the Aaniiih and Nakoda people. TEK youth activities offered throughout the year help teach young people cultural knowledge connected to their relationships with plants, animals, their environment, and their community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We use our local newspaper, the college's radio station (KGVA-88.1FM), flyers, ANC's eletronic billboard, word of mouth,emails, and Facebookto contact individuals and disseminate project information. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?With all project positions currently filled, the ANC Extension Program looks forward to achieving its goals in the coming year.We will continue to work on our Demonstration Garden and site during the current growing season so that we can offer another round of successful garden tours in September 2024 and beyond. We plan tohold a Stakeholders Meeting at the end of the growing season to see what we have accomplished so far and what needs to bedone to better serve our communities. We will continue to offer workshops that will help our local residentspromote self-sufficiency and sustainability. We will continue toseek knowledge from our elders and use that knowledge to teach our youth the TEK of the Aaniiih and Nakodapeople. This will occur through the efforts of our planning team, who will put together a series of workshops, activities, and encampments that will enhance TEK within our community and provide development opportunities for our youth.We will continue to add more peopleand tribal programs to our TEK network and find better ways of delivering this knowledge to the community, especially among our youth. .
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Aaniiih Nakoda College Extension Program began the project year by offering annual Garden Tours during the first two weeks of September. Altogether, more than 150 children and adults participated in these events.The firstgroup of participants were fifth and sixth graders from Harlem Elementary School who learned about healthy eating andthe benefits of gardening/medicinal plants. We begin our garden tours with a tour of the inside of our greenhouse and show them what we do with theseeds/soil/pots/water, giving them a view into the operation of the greenhouse. We explain how essential the greenhouse is toour growing season being able to plant our heirloom seedlings months in advance before we put them outside in thedemonstration garden due to our growing season being so short. When the greenhouse touris completed, the students are led back outside where we have six long raised box beds full of medicinal plants. The studentslearn to identify the plants, as well as how they are processed and used tocure and alleviate some illnesses. They learn the cultural aspect of why these medicinalplants are so important to the Aaniiih and Nakoda people. Afterwards they get to see our honeybee colonies, and we explainto them how crucial these pollinators are in helping with pollinating many of the fruits and vegetables that we enjoy eatingevery day. They get an overview of how the bee colonies operate and we show them what a frame of honey looks like. Ourtours continued down to the 2 ½ acre Demonstration Garden where Mrs. Val Ricker, Indian Health Services Nutritionist, had avisual presentation on why we should eat healthy foods. The students get to tour the garden, which is totally organic and free of chemicals.They get to eat some fresh vegetables/fruits before taking a small quiz to see how much they learned during this activity. Theresults show that they are learning and understanding the material that we are presenting to them. The adult tours were held the following week. The adult participants aregiven a folder full of information pertaining to topics in gardening, nutritional/healthy recipes, and upcoming workshops likecanning, dry meat preservation and many other topics. The adult participants get to go through the same demonstrationgarden tours, but they are given the chance to pick fresh organic vegetables and fruits from the garden to take home andprepare for their family and friends. Various programs from our community prepare a "TEST TASTE MEAL" prepared withfresh vegetables harvested from our garden using the recipes in the prepared packets given to the adult participants. This iswhen the community members get to sit down to eat and visit while filling out a questionnaire that we use to see how we canprovide better services to our community members. After the tours, the remaining vegetables are distributed to our localSenior Citizen Centers. We also give our Seniors fresh vegetables throughout the summer as they become ready to harvest.In late September, we harvested our potatoes and many of our community members enjoy filling up their 40 lbs. bag ofpotatoes. These potatoes will assist in stretching their food budget through the winter, and the real joy is they will have freshorganic potatoes for their meals. This was the second year that we have had Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Youth Developmentcomponents of our project. Because of difficultes filling the TEK/Youth Development Coordinator position, the project has relied on the contracted services of two individuals from the community to spearhead these efforts. In early July 2024, the project hired a permanent TEK/Youth Development Coordinator and the contractors are assisting her in the transition. To date, the contract TEK coordinators have assembled a working group made up of ANC staff and faculty, as well as representatives of other tribal programs, that meets each week to plan and prepareTEK activities for our youth.Thisyear, the project has been active in the following collaborative efforts: Discussion of potential topics of encampment activities/learning opportunities around land/water/sky. Group discussion of ideas: plant walk, watershed topics (fishing, turtles, etc.), constellations, buffalo, birds and bees, swift fox, etc. Planning of TEK activities for January through June: dry meat/pemmican class series, planting instruction on how to grow our own berries/plants to use in the pemmican. Supporting a winter count activity in January or February. Implementing a tea-making class at the Midwinter Fair. Summer cultural encampments, held in collaobration with other community programs,have been planned in each of the three communities on the Fort Belknap Reservation: Lodgepole, Hays, and Agency. These will take place in mid- to late-July. Topics included the following: bison harvest and ceremony, plant harvest and walk, stick game team, elders' storytelling, horse painting, archery, bark painting/earrings, constellation viewing, sweetgrass braiding, fruit leather making. Other TEK-related offerings included: Meat canning classes were held on October 14, October 21, and December 13, 2023. Canning, a time-honored method that uses heat and airtight containers to preserve food, connects us to the past and reminds us of the generations that once gathered in the kitchen for the annual ritual. Additionally, we discuss the importance of native meat gatherers and the buffalo as a sacred food source. Winter sowing class was held on February 20, 2024.Winter sowing is a seed-starting technique where seeds of certain vegetables, flowers, and herbs are started outdoors in containers in late autumn or winter. The cold weather stratifies the seeds and prompts germination when the time is right. Many native perennials require stratification, a treatment that uses temperature and moisture to soften the seed coat and break seed dormancy. Winter sowing is an easy technique and results in healthy, strong seedlings. Seed saving workshop was held on April 23, 2024, Saving our seeds is critical to preserving the heritage, cultures, and histories of all who have stewarded these precious crops before us. Without seeds, we would have no food, and early farmers understood that by selecting seeds from the biggest and best-producing plants in their fields, the yield of their harvests and the quality of their produce would continue to improve. In essence, these earlier farmers were the first plant breeders, and because of their efforts, we're blessed with an incredible bounty of fruits and vegetables. As seed savers, we do our part to preserve the work of these first farmers, honoring their time and dedication. Within each seed saved is the story of every gardener who grew that cultivar, and upon that seed lie the fingerprints of every grower who has ever entered into this sacred agreement of cultivation. And just as we care for these crops, fulfilling their needs to sustain their life, they in turn provide us with the nourishment we need to sustain ours. This reciprocal relationship doesn't end at harvest; it carries on, through the seed, into the next season. Fruit dehydrating workshop was held on June 5, 2024. Dehydration is one of the oldest methods of preserving food. While our ancestors relied on the sun to dry food, today we have commercial equipment and home appliances that can remove bacteria-forming moisture.This process preserves food for much longer than its ordinary shelf life.Dehydrated foods can be a healthier alternative to many snacks because they rehydrate in liquid, and they're also easy to use in recipes.Dehydrated foods keep their nutritional value.As a lightweight, nutrient-dense option, dehydrated foods are a go-to for hikers and travelers looking to save space.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:ANC Extension program activities are intended to benefit every segment of the Fort Belknap community - from Head Start children to elders. Head Start children, elementary school students, and high schoolers will tour the demonstration garden and greenhouse site, attend onsite educational programs, and receive free produce and pumpkins. TEK will be shared with children and youth directly by traditional knowledge keepers, as well as through educational resources made available through the program's TEK repository. Youth development programs, including day camps and weekend encampments, will be available to students from kindergarten to high school. The project also will offer garden and greenhouse tours and one-on-one visits for adults to learn about gardening, medicinal plants, horticulture, beekeeping, crop production and other topics of interest. Tours for adults will also include taste-test meals, health-screenings, and PREVIEW Date: Jun 09, 2022 Workspace ID: WS00877492 Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-SLBCD-009062 10 other health and wellness activities. Tour participants will go home with pounds of fresh vegetables, and produce grown at the garden is donated to senior centers in all reservation. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our Summer Interns receive training in many topics from irrigation, pest control, soil management, plant identification and weed control during the summer months. The Botany and Medicinal/Traditional Plant students receive hands on training inside of the greenhouse. We put on Gardening workshops before the growing season usually in April and canning/food preservation workshops in the months of September and October. We are currently providingTEK youth activities throughout the summer months which will help teach or enhance their knowledge of their cultural ways in regards to the relationships between people,plants, animals and their environment. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We use our local newspaper, the college's radio station (KGVA-88.1FM), flyers and call people from a list of local producers which the folks at INCA has established in order to disseminate information. The college has an electronic billboard on campus and we also use emails to contact individuals. We are also using social medial on Facebook to post our flyers to promote our events What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work on our Demonstration Garden and site for the next growing season and trying to recruit Summer Interns that will contribute to our program's success. We will continue with our Demonstration Garden Tours this summer and hold a Stakeholders Meeting at the end of the growing season to see what we have accomplish so far and what needs to be done to better serve our communities. We will continue to seek workshops that will help our local producers/ranchers enhance their knowledge in agriculture issues and we will continue to promote self-sufficiency and sustainability. We will continue to seek knowledge from our elders and use that knowledge to teach our youth the traditional ways of the Aaniiih and Nakoda people. Teach them the Traditional Ecological Knowledge that is missing in their lifes. We will continue to add more people and tribal programs to our TEK resourse list and find better ways of delivering the message/knowledge.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Aaniiih Nakoda College USDAExtension Program was able to conduct our annual Garden Tours on Aug. 31, 2022. Our 2 ½ acre Demonstration Garden is maintained by our Summer Interns who work diligently all summer to keep it flourishing with successful results. They learn lifelong skills in gardening, landscaping, pest control, and irrigation. Many of these students have never gardened before working with us but they seem to enjoy learning these new skill sets throughout the summer. We had a group of five Summer Interns working with our program and assisted with the Garden Tours. The first group of participants were our local fifth and sixth graders who are always full of energy and eager to learn some good old-fashioned information on eating healthy and learning about the benefits of gardening/medicinal plants. We had approximately ninety-five children who came from the surrounding K-12 schools enjoy a beautiful day outside with us at the Demonstration Garden. We begin our garden tours with a tour of the inside of our greenhouse and show them what we do with the seeds/soil/pots/water giving them a view into the operation of the greenhouse. We explain how essential the greenhouse is to our growing season being able to plant our heirloom seedlings months in advance before we put them outside in the demonstration garden due to our growing season being so short. Our Intro to Ethnobotany and Work Study students help us grow these plants during the early spring months until the Summer Interns begin their internships. When the greenhouse tour is completed, the students are led back outside where we have six long raised box beds full of medicinal plants that our local tribal member and the presenter for this portion of our tours is Mrs. Cheryl Morales who also teaches Intro to Ethnobotany here at our college. The students are always full of questions for Mrs. Morales during and after learning how the medicinal plants are processed and used to cure and alleviate some illnesses. They learn the cultural aspect of why these medicinal plants were so important to the Aaniiih and Nakoda people. Afterwards they get to see our honeybee colonies and we explain to them how crucial these pollinators are in helping with pollinating many of the fruits and vegetables that we enjoy eating every day. They get an overview of how the bee colonies operate and we show them what a frame of honey looks like. Our tours continued down to the 2 ½ acre Demonstration Garden where Mrs. Val Ricker, Indian Health Services Nutritionist, had a visual presentation on why we should eat healthy foods. The students learn while having fun as Mrs. Ricker always makes it an enjoyable interactive presentation. The students get to tour the garden which is totally organic and free of chemicals. They get to eat some fresh vegetables/fruits before taking a small quiz to see how much they learned during this activity. The results show that they are learning and understanding the material that we are presenting to them. The following week on September 1st, 2022, the adult tours were held, and we had fifty participants. The adult participants are given a folder full of information pertaining to topics in gardening, nutritional/healthy recipes, and upcoming workshops like canning, dry meat preservation and many other topics. The adult participants get to go through the same demonstration garden tours, but they are given the chance to pick fresh organic vegetables and fruits from the garden to take home and prepare for their family and friends. Various programs from our community prepare a "TEST TASTE MEAL" prepared with fresh vegetables harvested from our garden using the recipes in the prepared packets given to the adult participants. This is when the community members get to sit down to eat and visit while filling out a questionnaire that we use to see how we can provide better services to our community members. After the tours, the remaining vegetables are distributed to our local Senior Citizen Centers. We also give our Seniors fresh vegetables throughout the summer as they become ready to harvest. In late September, we harvest our potatoes and many of our community members enjoy filling up their 40 lbs. bag of potatoes. These potatoes will assist in stretching their food budget through the winter and the real joy is they will have fresh organic potatoes for their meals. Twenty-three participants showed up this year and a few of them brought their grandkids to help them pick the potatoes. We have a new Traditional Ecological Knowledge youth component this year and we have had issues trying to hire a youth coordinator. We now currently have two individuals hired through the contract servicesprocess. We are currently meeting each week and preparing TEK activities for our youth. On May 12, 2023, we had our ribbon shirt/skirt sewing activity. We had seven students attend along with their parents and they were taught how to measure the material using mathematical skills, cut out the patterns, how to utilize a sewing machine and learn about the cultural significances of the ribbon shirt/skirt. They took home a beautiful ribbon shirt or skirt that they were proud of making with the help of Mrs. Cheryl Morales who was the facilitator. We are planning and scheduling more activities for our youth this summer. On May 19, 2023, we held our Open House Greenhouse where our community members get to come into the greenhouse and pick out some garden plants to take home and plant in their own gardens. We had thirty-five local gardeners come and pick out their beautiful, lush vegetable plants to take home with them. We grow all the vegetable plants that are of the heirloom varieties, and we also grow medicinal plants to place in our box raised beds for identification and harvesting. We have a small apple tree orchard, and our newest addition is a food forest area consisting of various fruit shrubs and wildflowers to help our wild pollinators. We just held a Beginners Honeybee Keeping workshop on May 26, 2023. We had a local commercial beekeeper by the name of Cord Anderson who did a fabulous job of presenting this topic. He is a third-generation beekeeper, and we had eight community members that were interested in becoming beekeepers. He covered as much information as two hours would allow him, but everyone left with a greater knowledge of beekeeping. We had positive feedback, and we are planning on doing this workshop again next year.
Publications
|