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The Sovereign Equity Fund is proud to announce the second cohort of Cultural Foodways grantees, six Tribal Colleges and Universities, each with grants of $200,000 for activities over the next two years. The Cultural Foodways Fund is a grant opportunity to reclaim and revitalize the intersection between Indigenous cultural identity and foodways. The grant is dedicated to projects focused on safeguarding the cultural and humanities aspects of work that address the traditions, ceremonies, language, art, storytelling, cosmologies, belief systems, customs, and ways of being intertwined with Indigenous foodways.
In early 2023, Founding Funding Partners, Mellon Foundation, and the Native American Agriculture Fund announced their $2.4M collaborative investment towards the Cultural Foodways Fund. The partnership between the two entities was established to expand the cultural connections of that work and sustain the ancestral knowledge that serves as the foundation for tribal food sovereignty. In the autumn of 2024, the Native American Agriculture Fund transferred the grant to the Sovereign Equity Fund.
“We at Mellon are proud to partner and support the crucial intersection of humanities and agricultural knowledge in Native communities. Tribal colleges and universities are ideally positioned to connect Indigenous foodways knowledge to relevant courses, research, and programming that can both serve their own communities and advance higher learning that lays the foundation for more just and equitable futures for all,” says Maria Sachiko Cecire, Program Officer in Higher Learning at the Mellon Foundation.
Courtney Chavis, Executive Director of the Sovereign Equity Fund, shared her excitement for the incoming cohort, "As we embark on the second year of our initiative, SEF, in collaboration with the Mellon Foundation and the Native American Agriculture Fund, remains committed to supporting the arts and humanities of Native food and agriculture. In our first year, six Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) made significant progress in promoting the study, practice, and recognition of Indigenous food and agriculture knowledge.
With the arrival of our second cohort, we take pride in the Cultural Foodways Project's continued growth and impact. We are eager to see the six new TCUs implement their unique projects that integrate Indigenous food and agriculture knowledge, fostering active participation and practical learning opportunities.
SEF stands steadfast in its dedication to empowering Native agriculture, shaping a future where Native food systems are celebrated, resilience thrives, and prosperity prevails.”
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