Creating lasting change to improve Native health now and into the future

The Seeds of Native Health campaign was a $11 million, five-year, national philanthropic initiative of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC), focused on improving Native American nutrition and dietary health through grantmaking, research, and advocacy. Seeds of Native Health concluded in 2019, but its impact was profound and long-lasting. Read on to learn about how the campaign contributed to improving the lives of Native communities in Minnesota and across the nation.

Learn more about the impact of the campaign

Seeds of Native Health campaign: By the Numbers

$11 million was spent on grants and projects to improve Native health.
More than $7.4 million provided for direct grants to improve health and nutrition outcomes throughout Indian Country.
Advocacy efforts supported the enactment of 63 separate provisions to benefit Indian Country in the 2018 Farm Bill – an historic achievement.
Through the Super Bowl Host Committee Legacy Fund, the SMSC provided $500,000 to benefit Native children in Minnesota.

Grantmaking

Grantmaking was a crucial aspect of Seeds of Native Health’s work to support food research, education, and access. The SMSC provided more than $7.4 million in direct support to tribal governments, Native-led nonprofits, public health organizations, and academic institutions, benefiting Indian Country.

Research

The true extent of poor nutrition, local barriers to good food, dietary causes of health disparities, healthfulness of traditional Native American diets, and possible solutions all need further study. The Seeds of Native Health campaign funded original research projects to add to the body of knowledge about health and nutrition in Indian Country.

Advocacy

From the creation of model tribal food codes to historic accomplishments in the 2018 Farm Bill, the Seeds of Native Health campaign led Native policy changes to benefit dietary health in Indian Country. The SMSC’s efforts in founding and co-leading the Native Farm Bill Coalition was recognized with awards from the National Congress of American Indians and the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Seeds of Native Health Articles

Press Release June 25, 2019

First-of-its-kind fund awards more than $200,000 to tribes and Native nonprofits in Minnesota

Seeds Of Native Health June 28, 2018

Native Farm Bill Coalition praises Senate’s bipartisan Farm Bill

Seeds Of Native Health June 12, 2018

Senate consideration of draft Farm Bill offers Indian Country more opportunities to fight its food and nutrition crisis

Press Release March 27, 2018

New report outlines framework to improve early childhood development and nutrition for Minnesota’s Native children

Seeds Of Native Health November 10, 2017

Shakopee tribe and American Heart Association launch new health initiative with American Indian Cancer Foundation

Seeds Of Native Health October 12, 2015

Notah Begay III Foundation Awards $118,000 in “Seeds of Native Health” Grants

Seeds Of Native Health September 17, 2015

Notah Begay III Foundation awards $277,800 in Seeds of Native Health grants

Seeds Of Native Health August 4, 2015

15 tribes and Native American organizations receive “Seeds of Native Health” grants totaling $523,000 from First Nations Development Institute

Seeds Of Native Health July 9, 2015

Echo Hawk Consulting releases “Feeding Ourselves: Food Access, Health Disparities, and the Pathways to Healthy Native American Communities”

Seeds Of Native Health July 7, 2015

The Notah Begay III Foundation’s announces “Seeds of Native Health” capacity building grant opportunity

Seeds Of Native Health June 8, 2015

The Notah Begay III Foundation announces “Seeds of Native Health” Promising Program grant opportunity

Seeds Of Native Health April 24, 2015

First Nations Development Institute now accepting applications for “Seeds of Native Health” grants under its Native agriculture and food systems initiative

The impact of Seeds of Native Health

The largest coordinated philanthropic effort in the country focused on improving American Indian nutrition.

Star Tribune, July 22, 2018

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has made an important and lasting contribution to the dietary health and food sovereignty of Indian Country.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, 2019

Native American leaders say a coordinated lobbying effort on the 2018 farm bill has paid off, with unprecedented provisions that will benefit tribal nations across the country. That effort, with its ripple effects across the United States, has its roots in Minnesota. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community organized the Native Farm Bill Coalition as part of the tribe's Seeds of Native Health campaign in the fall of 2017. Since then, 170 tribes across the United States have joined the effort.

Minnesota Public Radio, December 26, 2018