Advisory and Leadership - Buffalo Nations Food Sovereignty

Indigenous Advisory Council

Led by an Indigenous Council, the BNFSI is grounded in seven generations thinking including the seven R’s: Respect, Relationships, Reasoning, Reciprocity, Resourcefulness, Resilience, and Reverence

Dr. Leroy Littlebear

A member of the Blackfoot Confederacy from the Blood Tribe / Kainai Nation. Dr. Littlebear, a veteran educator and renowned academic, is a model for all Aboriginals striving for success in higher learning. Recognized as one of the continent’s leaders in the advancement and acceptance of North American Indian philosophy, founder of the Native American Studies Department at the University of Lethbridge, founding Director of Harvard University’s Native American Program. An acclaimed co-author of three texts focusing on aboriginal rights, criminal justice provided legal advice for several aboriginal organizations on land claims, treaties and fishing rights.

Leroy played a central role in the first international Indigenous treaty in more than 150 years. The Buffalo: A Treaty Cooperation, Renewal and Restoration of 2014 formalized a commitment to restore the buffalo and to maintain associated Indigenous cultural traditions. Dr Littlebear was ke in establishing a working group on Indigenous populations through the United Nations.and originated the concept and initial draft of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This declaration has since been ratified by 144 member states of the UN.

Ms. Paulette Fox

Natowaawawahkaki – Holy Walking Woman is a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy from the Blood Tribe / Kainai Nation in southern Alberta whom is an Indigenous knowledge and wisdom keeper, environmental scientist and entrepreneur. Paulette brings a unique perspective and is a recognized leader in her field as an Indigenous environmental practitioner. Co-founder of the transboundary tribal-led bison conservation and cultural Iinnii Initiative, the Buffalo Treaty, and specializes in Biocultural Diversity systems design. Her current research will support Indigenous-led conservation and governance as well as enhance a continental biocultural strategy for bison reintroduction through partnerships with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and a member of the Indigenous advisory group for the Great Sand Hills Bison Reintroduction with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in Saskatchewan.

Shelly Fyant

Shelly Fyant is a member of the Bitteroot-Salish. She is the former Chairwoman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). In her role as leader of these tribes, she is managing the return of the National Bison Range to CSKT and the tribes’ recent 1.9-billion-dollar water compact settlement. Ms. Fyant’s path to her current tribal leadership position included the work she did for her community in food sovereignty as the founder of the Healing the Jocko Valley Food Sovereignty Project.

Helen Augare Carlson Mamiatsikimiiaki-Magpie Woman

Helen Augare Carlson Mamiatsikimiiaki-Magpie Woman is an enrolled member of the Ampsakapii Pikanii Blackfeet Tribe. She was born and raised on the Blackfeet Nation in Northern Montana. She is the wife of Sheldon Carlson (Mistakiiootahs – Mountain Horse) and mother of two daughters and a son. Her family are tied to the Two Medicine River Valley. She attended the Browning Public Schools, Blackfeet Community College, and Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Montana in Business Administration with emphasis in Management and Information Systems. Helen began her career in STEM education reform as the director of the Rural Systemic Initiative project at Blackfeet Community College in 2000. As a result of her leadership in education reform through the development of the NSF-funded Blackfeet Community College Rural Systemic Initiative (BCC-RSI) and Native Science Field Centers, she is demonstrating outstanding mentoring that significantly increases the participation of Native American youth K-12, tribal college students, and graduate educators in STEM throughout the Northern Rockies and Plains. Helen is currently the Title III Director in the Institutional Development Department at Blackfeet Community College. Together with her husband they hold the Ksisktahkii Mopistan Beaver Bundle and the Ponoka Iikokan (Elk Painted Lodge). She is also a student of the Niistipowahsinni language and a devoted advocate of IINNII relatives.

Jason Baldes

Jason Baldes is a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR) in Wyoming. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Land Resource & Environmental Sciences from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Interest in Indigenous cultural revitalization afforded Baldes opportunities to work in New Zealand, Russia, and Denmark. Work in his own community has been focused on the reintroduction of Buffalo to the WRIR and is currently the Buffalo Representative and herd manager for the Eastern Shoshone Tribe. He is currently the Tribal Buffalo Program Manager for the Tribal Partnerships Program of the National Wildlife Federation working with numerous Tribes seeking to restore Buffalo to Tribal lands. With his father and others, we worked diligently to bring buffalo back to the Eastern Shoshone Tribe as well as the Northern Arapaho Tribe that share the WRIR. He is the former Executive Director of the Wind River Native Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization with a mission of empowering Native Americans in Wyoming to have a stronger voice through community organizing, education, research, legal advocacy, and leadership development. Mr. Baldes serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council, the Board of Trustees of the Conservation Lands Foundation and the Environmental Commission of the Congress of Nations and States. He is also an instructor at Central Wyoming College and the Wind River Tribal College.

Piikani Lodge Health Institute

Piikani Lodge Health Institute (PLHI) is an Indigenous-founded and led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on promoting the health and well-being of Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet people and lands via work and research that is both translational and relevant to people and biosystems across this nation.

Piikani Lodge Health Institute
PO Box 187
Browning MT, 59417

Kpaul@piikaniloge.org
Lcaplins@piikanilodge.org

Montana Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative (MIFSI)

MIFSI is a grassroots group of Native youth/young professionals and elder-mentors who have come together with a vision of strengthening the work we all are doing to build healthy and resilient food systems among MT Native nations.

Click here to learn more about MIFSI

Montana State University Department of Native American Studies

The Department of Native American Studies was established to provide and advance quality education for and about American Indians of Montana, the region, and the nation. In fulfilling this mission, the Department is committed to meeting the changing needs of Montana’s Indian tribes and all Montana citizens through excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Montana State University
P.O. Box 172340
Bozeman, MT 59717-2340

Tel: (406) 994-3881
Fax: (406) 994-3343
E-mail: NAS@montana.edu
Location: 239 American Indian Hal

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research focuses on uplifting organizations and individuals to create new solutions the address soil health, sustainable water management, next generation crops, advanced animal systems urban food systems, and health agricultural nexus.

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), builds public-private partnerships to support bold science. Our research, co-created with the agriculture community, fills critical research gaps. We also invest in the future scientific workforce.
We convene stakeholders to identify urgent challenges and the research needed to develop solutions. With our unique connections to the private and public sectors and our dedication to innovation, we only fund research that meets our rigorous scientific-review standards. Our publicly available results are shared with the scientific and agriculture communities who can employ these solutions.

Their office is located at:
401 9th Street NW
Suite 730
Washington, DC 20004
202-624-0700
Email communications@foundationfar.org

The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger

Childhood hunger is a solvable problem in Montana. The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger works alongside school, community, local, and state leaders to develop nutritious and culturally relevant food systems that are accessible, affordable, viable, sustainable, and equitable.

PO Box 3786
Bozeman, MT 59772

Email kayann@mtpech.org

Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) supports efforts to enhance quality of life and prevent and relieve suffering of children, families, and older adults; preserve and promote the environment and the arts; and encourage the humane treatment of animals.

Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
6889 Rowland Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
952.540.4050
Email info@macphil.org
https://www.macphilanthropies.org/

North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS)

North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS), founded by James Beard award winners The Sioux Chef, is dedicated to addressing the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways. We imagine a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises.

Midtown Global Market
920 E. Lake Street, #107
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Tel: 612-208-0625

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish Tribal College

Located in New Town, ND, NHS College strives to enhance the quality of life and build a strong and positive identity for the Three Affiliated Tribes. We provide the highest quality of cultural, academic and vocation education to our students, offering encouragement and support along the way to facilitate a successful college career.

701-627-4738