Use of Chemicals for Croplands on Native Lands by Non-Natives Considerably More Than Use by Natives
By Evelyn Red Lodge Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux Tribe Member) Given history, it is not surprising that non-Natives collect 87% of the agricultural revenue from federally recognized Native reservation lands. What is surprising is that even though Natives operate 49.29% of cropland farms on these reservation lands, 92% of all chemicals purchased for reservation cropland operations were […]
USDA Census of Agriculture for American Indian Reservations
About this Dashboard This dashboard was developed by the Native Lands Advocacy Project to make data from the 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture for American Indian Reservations more accessible for tribal stakeholders. Unlike the published data, this dashboard allows users to view data for a single reservation or multiple reservations in aggregate, […]
How Much Discriminatory Lending Practices Impact Agricultural Revenue on US Native Land
By Aude K. Chesnais Introduction: Lending and Debt on US Native Land In 2018, the Keepseagle settlement shed light on widespread lending discrimination across the native agricultural landscape. Native Americans sued the US Department of Agriculture in an attempt to settle historical lending discrimination, which resulted in a 720 million dollar settlement, split between individual […]
Sustainable Food Systems for US Native Lands: A Story Untold
The myth of an “empty land” where Natives lived idly without making good use of their natural resources is persistent and served as the primary base to justify taking lands away from tribes. Contrary to stereotypes, Native Agriculture was diverse and flourishing prior to settler colonialism.
Bison Numbers Increased an Incredible 1031% on Native Lands
Between 2012 and 2017, bison numbers have significantly increased on Native lands. What factors have contributed to this major increase, and how does this fit within the larger historical context of American bison?
Non-Natives Control Majority of Harvested Cropland on Native American Reservations
According to the most recent 2017 data from the USDA Census of Agriculture for American Indian Reservations 86.33% of harvested cropland on American Indian Reservations is operated by non-natives. In total, this amounts to 3.3 million acres of land operated by non-natives compared to only 532 thousand acres operated by Native Americans (see chart below). […]
The General Allotment Act of 1887 Crippled Native Agriculture for Generations
Today, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) holds 66 million acres of lands in trust for various Indian tribes and individuals. Approximately 46 million acres (69%) of this land is used for farming and grazing by livestock and game animals. However, Native Americans are not the primary beneficiaries of agriculture on their lands. According to the […]
Women’s Representation in Agriculture Greater Among Native Americans
Increasing the proportion of women in agriculture has been a longstanding goal of agencies like USDA, FSA and programs like 4H but these programs may be able to learn a thing or two from Indian Country which has nearly equal participation among men and women. This is according to data collected in the 2017 USDA […]
Non-Natives Control 81% of Harvested Cropland and Capture 74% of Agricultural Revenue on South Dakota Reservations
Data from the USDA Census of Agriculture for American Indian reservations demonstrates that Native Americans are not the primary beneficiaries of their lands and resources in South Dakota.
Lost Agriculture Revenue from Ceded Native Lands
About this Dashboard This data dashboard, developed by the Native Lands Advocacy Project, estimates 177 years of lost agriculture revenue from lands ceded from Native Americans from 1840 to 1897. The dashboard makes it possible to view the total lost agriculture revenue from one or more cessions (by clicking on cession polygon in map or […]
Explore the Data from the 2012 & 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture for American Indian Reservations
The Census of Agriculture is the most complete source of data on agricultural producers and farms on American Indian Reservations.
The Cropland Data Layer Dashboard Gives Unprecedented View of What’s Growing on U.S. Native Lands
The NLIS Cropland Data Layer dashboard presents data for what’s growing on 552 unique Native land areas in the coterminous United States.
