First Nations Development Institute Receives New Asset-Building and Food Systems Grants from Ford Foundation, Agua Fund and U.S. Agriculture Department's Food and Nutrition Service

LONGMONT, Colorado (Dec. 2, 2015) – First Nations Development Institute (First Nations [ http://www.firstnations.org ]) has received several important grants recently to support its mission of strengthening Native American economies in order to build healthy Native communities. Among the grants are:

Ford Foundation [ https://www.fordfoundation.org/ ] -- $600,000 for two years of continuing work on the "Building Economic Security Over a Lifetime" initiative in Oklahoma. Under this effort, First Nations works with key partners in Oklahoma to build and nurture coalitions and programs dedicated to inclusive asset-building that promotes family economic security and helps close the racial wealth gap. Under this grant, support will be provided to the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) and the Oklahoma Assets Network/Oklahoma Policy Institute.

Agua Fund, Inc. [ http://www.aguafund.org/ ] -- $100,000 for a one-year effort under First Nations' "Nourishing Native Foods & Health" program area, with a particular emphasis on Sioux communities in South Dakota and Navajo Nation communities in Arizona, New Mexico and/or Utah. First Nations will provide grants and capacity-building training to up to four Native American nonprofit organizations or tribes for work focused on reducing tribal hunger and food insecurity, and improving nutrition and healthy foods access.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) [ http://www.fns.usda.gov/ ] -- $23,342 from the FNS Farm-to-School Grant Program for First Nations to convene a one-time, two-day training in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that will involve 25 representatives of Native American food producers (individual farmers and ranchers as well as representatives of tribes and Native organizations) and schools that serve primarily Native American students. This effort will assist in the development of Native farm-to-school models that can help to address diet-related health issues faced by many Native children, while also increasing economic opportunities for Native farmers and ranchers.

About First Nations Development Institute

For 35 years, using a three-pronged strategy of educating grassroots practitioners, advocating for systemic change, and capitalizing Indian communities, First Nations has been working to restore Native American control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own – be they land, human potential, cultural heritage or natural resources – and to establish new assets for ensuring the long-term vitality of Native American communities. First Nations serves Native American communities throughout the United States. For more information about First Nations, visit http://www.firstnations.org [ http://www.firstnations.org ].