ColvilleTribes host Youth Food Sovereignty Summit

NESPELEM – Three agencies came together earlier this month for a food summit that taught youth representatives of several tribes the importance of food sovereignty and security on their reservations.

Earlier this month, 18 young people from ages 13-25 representing seven different tribes participated in the 2019 Northwest Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) Youth Food Sovereignty Summit on the Colville Reservation.

The Colville Confederated Tribe (CCT) partnered with IAC and Colville Reservation WSU Extension to host a three-day hands-on education about natural resources, agriculture, native culture and 4H Positive Youth Development.

The summit involved physical tours of facilities including CCT forestry greenhouses to learn about the reforestation program; Grand Coulee Dam to learn about the Columbia Irrigation Project; Gebbers Farms to learn about the orchard industry and how science can play a large part in agriculture; Okanogan Interpretive Center to learn about native culture and how the river affected tribes; CCT Chief Joseph Hatchery to learn about salmon recovery projects and fish harvest; and Delap Orchards to learn about and sample different fruits grown in the Okanogan valley.

The young people also learned about creating honey products, basket making, and using drones in agriculture.

For more information on this and other Extension programs contact Linda McClean, Colville Reservation WSU Extension Director at 509-634-2305 or ljmclean@wsu.edu.