The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations is one of the many programs that will be affected by the reauthorization of the national Farm Bill. Photo: Bob Nichols / U.S. Department of Agriculture

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Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative names new director

Thursday, November 1, 2018

The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, a leading voice in food sovereignty issues in Indian Country, has a new director.

Colby Duren joined the initiative in 2017 as its policy director and staff attorney. He's since been promoted to director of the unit, housed within the Office of Economic Development at the University of Arkansas.

Duren, a former staff attorney and legislative counsel for the National Congress of American Indians, is taking over from Janie Simms Hipp. She was the founding director of the initiative, which was established in 2013 to promote healthy food systems, economic development and agricultural traditions in tribal communities.

“A key component to any organization’s success is the ability to plan for and execute leadership transitions,” Stacy Leeds, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who serves as vice chancellor for economic development at the University of Arkansas, said in a news release on Thursday. “The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative will continue to fill a critical role as a national leader, as a think tank and as a direct service provider to many tribes and businesses across the United States. We are fortunate to have had strong leadership in Janie and now Colby.”

Colby Duren. Photo courtesy Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative

Hipps, who is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, won't be straying far from the mission of the initiative she helped establish five years ago. As the president and chief executive officer of the Native American Agriculture Fund, she is overseeing a $266 million trust fund that will help farmers and ranchers in Indian Country.

“I have deep trust in Colby’s leadership, judgment and vision for the years ahead,” Hipp said of her successor. “His work on behalf of all Native nations and communities throughout the country has prepared him for this role. He is a recognized expert in the intersection of Indian law and agriculture and food law, and I know the years ahead are bright and will be filled with important work on behalf of Indian Country.”

Hipp initially spoke about Duren's new appointment at 75th annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians last Tuesday. During the session, she gave an overview of what is now the largest philanthropic organization in Indian Country, which was made possible as a result of the Keepseagle settlement that addressed discrimination against Indian farmers and ranchers at the Department of Agriculture.

"It is a 20-year trust," Hipp told tribal leaders who gathered in Denver, Colorado, for the milestone meeting. She said a board of directors, consisting of 14 trustees, will be overseeing the organization's grant-making process.

Executive Director Janie Simms Hipp of the Native American Agriculture Fund announces the establishment of this new organization which will provide business assistance, technical support, and advocacy for #NativeAg through the 20 year Keepseagle Trust. pic.twitter.com/Ya1dipj399
— NCAI (@NCAI1944) October 23, 2018

The changes come as the 2018 Farm Bill sits in limbo on Capitol Hill. Tribes and their advocates are supporting the version of H.R.2 that passed the Senate because it includes a number of pro-sovereignty provisions.

The Senate version was developed in close consultation with the Native Farm Bill Coalition, a diverse group of tribes and Indian organizations. But Keith Anderson, the vice chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, whose leadership made the effort a reality, wasn't confident about the bill's chances of success.

"The greater likelihood is that the next Congress will write the Farm Bill," Anderson said at NCAI last Thursday.

According to John Berrey, the chairman of the Quapaw Nation, the Farm Bill will help tribes exercise greater control over their food systems. In an opinion published on Indianz.Com in August, he believes the best components of the House and Senate versions can be combined to advance Indian Country's interests.

"We did not get everything we wanted in either the House or Senate bills, but the provisions included so far will make major, historic inroads in getting tribes better access and maximum use of USDA programs and services," wrote Berrey, who has been a part of the Native Farm Bill Coalition.

The 115th Congress is currently on break and is expected to resume a full schedule after the November 6 election. There is still a chance that the Farm Bill, as well as other key pieces of Indian legislation, are taken up before the end of the year.