Introduction

The University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture is currently working with many of Arizona’s Indian tribes and nations through a variety of extension, research and academic programs.

• An Office of Indian Programs was created in 1988. An assistant to the dean for Native American Programs was appointed to coordinate College of Agriculture and Cooperative Extension programs related to food, fiber, natural resources, family and youth, and to serve as a liaison with other campus organizations, state and federal agencies, and other off-campus Indian organizations.
• A coordinator for Native American student activities was appointed in 1994 by the associate dean for Academic Programs to work on the recruitment and retention of Native American students.
• During the last eleven years Howard Jones worked closely with the leadership from a number of Arizona’s tribes in developing the Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA). Joining with the National Intertribal Agriculture Council, SWIAA was instrumental in ensuring that Indian country agriculture was included in the 1990 Farm Bill for the first time in history, and in getting the Extension Indian Reservation Program authorized and funded by Congress.
• Extension Indian Reservation Program funding has enabled the University of Arizona to hire and place Cooperative Extension agents on the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Hopi and San Carlos Apache Indian reservations. It has also allowed the University of Arizona to join with New Mexico State University and Utah State University in a consortium to hire and place two Cooperative Extension agents on the Navajo Nation. Presently there are requests and needs for at least ten more Cooperative Extension agents to be placed on Arizona Indian reservations.

The Arizona College of Agriculture aims to stimulate learning through exploration and discovery to enhance agriculture, the environment, our natural resource base, family and youth well-being, and the development of local communities. It accomplishes this mission by the integration, dissemination and application of knowledge in the agricultural and life sciences. The programs described in this issue of Arizona Land & People magazine illustrate the focus and scope of the alliance between Arizona’s Indian communities and the UA College of Agriculture.

For more information on College of Agriculture programs with Arizona Indian communities, please contact the Office of Native American Programs, (520) 621-9638.

This issue presents an overview of partnerships and programs currently underway between the UA College of Agriculture and Arizona’s Indian nations, tribes and communities. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. For more information, call (520) 621-1885.
The University of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Any products, services, or organizations that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this publication do not imply endorsement by the University of Arizona.