The Indigenous Resilience Center (IRes) is working to expand its research in regenerative agriculture and support for community capacity building. IRes is leaning heavily into “Regenerative Indigenous Solutions for the Earth (RISE)”, which is a comprehensive initiative to address food challenges through community-driven, regenerative agriculture and land stewardship with Native Nations and tribal farmers. Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson (Hopi), IRes Core Faculty affiliate, defines Indigenous regenerative agriculture as “the process of incorporating Indigenous place-based ways of knowing and land use management schemes adapted for survival, which are supported by culture, belief systems, and community incorporated over millennia.” (M. Johnson, 2022). Indigenous regenerative agriculture necessitates understanding the interconnectedness of water, soil, plant, and human health.
With funding from the Waverley Street Foundation, IRes will support an integrated approach to building community resilience and improving human health by safeguarding culturally significant plant health, enhancing soil vitality, and ensuring access to reliable and clean water for agricultural purposes. By aligning Indigenous knowledge with IRes’ core values, RISE aims to support sustainable food systems, improve human and environmental health, and strengthen economic development opportunities within Tribal communities.
IRes will focus on implementing its four-part strategy to enhance resilience through regenerative agriculture in tribal communities across Arizona and New Mexico.
“Indigenous communities are leaders in regenerative agriculture. This funding will have a major positive impact on our work as a research center while allowing our team to continue to deepen existing relationships with communities across the Southwest and planting seeds for new ones,” shared Dr. Karletta Chief (Diné), Director of the Indigenous Resilience Center.
IRes will offer multi-year grants and capacity-building support to grassroots tribal organizations, thus enabling community-led regenerative agriculture, food systems work, and adaptation projects that address drought and heat stress.
IRes will expand soil health and water mapping that serves tribal lands with field-based training and monitoring designed in collaboration with tribal environmental programs.
IRes will produce annual policy briefs that use community-relevant analysis to translate local, state, and federal policy into actionable insights for tribal leaders, environmental staff, and youth.
IRes will partner with Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), youth programs, and Indigenous scholars to offer convenings and culturally grounded training that builds local governance capacity and technical knowledge.
RISE Project Full Team
Dr. Karletta Chief
Dr. Joseph H. Hoover
Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson
Dr. Cherie De Vore
Dr. Joseph "Joey" Blankinship
Associate Professor & Carl Weiler and Patricia Weiler Endowed Chair for Excellence in Agriculture and Life Sciences Director, Desert Agriculture Soil Health Initiative (DASHI)
Dr. Vicky Karanikola
Torran Anderson
Community Outreach Manager, Indigenous Resilience Center
torrananderson@arizona.edu
Christina Urbina Gargus
Grant & Project Coordinator, Indigenous Resilience Center
tinagargus@arizona.edu
Dr. Jason Bruce
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Indigenous Resilience Center
jcjbruce@arizona.edu
Trinity Norris
Communications Coordinator, Indigenous Resilience Center
trinitynorris@arizona.edu