USDA announces Tribal College Research Grants

The United States Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that nearly $2 million in research grants and support will go to American Indian communities through the Tribal College Research Grants Program.

“The Tribal College Research Grants are a way for higher education institutions to develop programs and help advance skills in students that can provide immediate and long-term benefits for the tribal community,” Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, said.
  
Grants have been made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill and have been awarded to the following colleges and universities for the 2015 fiscal year:
• Tohono O’odham Community College, Sells, Arizona, $200,000
• Diné College, Tsaile, Arizona, $220,000
• Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, Kansas, $85,000
• White Earth Tribal and Community College, Mahnomen, Minnesota, $220,000
• Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Montana, $220,000
• Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, New Mexico, $85,000
• United Tribes Technical College, Bismark, North Dakota, $65,000
• Fort Bethold Community College, New Town, North Dakota, $220,000
• College of the Muscogee Nation, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, $65,000
• Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, Washington, $85,000
• Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, Washington, $220,000
• Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Hayward, Wisconsin, $220,000

Tohono O’odham Community College is researching new food seed storage practices and hospitable living in areas of extreme heat and drought. Diné College will work on propagating seeds of yucca species and identifying five yucca species that have qualities good for use as food and fiber crops.