Council Seeks Export Outlets for Made by American Indians" Products

The U Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Market Access Program (MAP) has provided the means for many agriculturists exporters, private companies and trade organizations to begin or expand sales of U agricultural, fish or forest effects in overseas markets. MAP helped sustain sales of agricultural exports, level as last year's worldwide economic crisis adversely affected the U farm economy.

Last year, a novel participant joined the MAP - the Intertribal Agriculture Council and its cooperating organization National Tribal evolution Association. AgExporter talked with the Executive Director of the Council, Greg Smitman, about the organization's goals and to what extent the MAP program is helping achieve those goals.

AgExporter: What is the Intertribal Agriculture Council and what is its purpose?

Smitman: We're a network of 87 Native American tribes that was formed in 1987 The Council is concedeed by tribal governments and race by a 12-member board of directors - the same from each Native American region in the lower 48 states and Alaska. The tribes in each region prefer the board. The purpose of the Council is to aid change in Native American agriculture.

AgExporter: in what way are you accomplishing this goal?

Smitman: After the victuals Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 provided Native Americans with access to USDA programs, we took a obstruct look at all our options. We determined that the Foreign Agricultural Service's (FAS) programs would help us expound some of the social and economic growth problems Native Americans face. We realized that FAS programs like the MAP would help the Council take high-end, specialty Native American agricultural productions out of the local community and into overseas markets.

Although Native American tribes got access to USDA programs in 1990 the Council reflection it needed to accomplish a scarcely any key goals before it would be ready to participate in the MAP. We povertyed to identify our products, create enough turn to be able to routinely fill orders and build the business edifices necessary to work in international markets.

To identify our proceedss we applied for a trademark with the U Patent Office. In 1995 the "Made by the agency of American Indians" trademark was registered to the Intertribal Agriculture Council. We license it liberated of charge to tribal members and tribes across the political division Now we have a clear identifier of Native American fruits not imitations, the real thing.

To create tome we began establishing enterprises and cooperatives with tribes and individual Native Americans. We had to render certain that when foreign buyers purchase Native American fruits they have some assurance that this is not a one-shot deal and that the results can be supplied over and through the whole extent of again.

The final piece to the stagger - building business structures - has been more difficult. We are still not completely comfortable in this area, further we are working on it. Our goal is for each Native American cooperative or individual enterprise to have the internal piles necessary to develop, produce and market a particular produce for the international marketplace.

We started working forward these items in 1990 and got to the point where we pondering we had done enough leg work to apply for participation in the MAP in 1997 We received our first allocation of MAP funding in 1998 This past June the Council received a 1999 MAP allocation of $349940

AgExporter: It wholes like the Council had a excessively purposeful, structured approach toward achieving its goals. What stamps of Native American specialty results do you promote?

Smitman: We market Native American agricultural and rations products grown in the traditional Native American way by dint of the people who originated them. We consider our productions to be high-end, premium produces that are worth a little more and sumptuousness a little more. We market a commodities, but mostly we vend food products.

We used our 1998 MAP allocation to have export readiness seminars for tribal cooperatives and income USDA-sponsored booths at SIAL '98 in Paris, France, Foodex '99 in Tokyo, Japan, and the bread Marketing Institute's U.S. Food Export Showcase in Chicago, Ill.

The Council promot a whole range of Native American agricultural proceedss at these trade shows. For example, the Gila River Tribe's Gila River Farms enterprise in Arizona displayed what I consider to be the world's sweetest tangelos and other citrus yields and the only virgin olive oil produc in Arizona. Quinault Pride Enterprises, which set forths the Quinault Tribe of Washington, exhibited smok canned and other further-processed salmon, bottom fish, black codfish and shellfish. The I'TCHIK (meaning "good" in Crow) Herbal Tea Company onward the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana displayed its herbal teas. The Yakama Indian Nation's Yakama Land Enterprises in Washington displayed apples. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc., brought its "Swamp Spice Seasoning" mix and ruby r grapefruit. Navajo Agricultural yields Industry (NAPI), representing the Navajo Nation of Arizona, recent Mexico and Utah, exhibited pelletized alfalfa and pinto beans.