“Janie brought a lifetime
of experience to the table,” says Laverdure, who was the Interior Department’s acting assistant secretary for Indian aff airs before joining Akin Gump. “She really did explain how the farmers were turned away for loans. At such negotiations, there are advocates who rise up, and Janie was one of them. She has remarkable passion for all things agriculture.” Now that she’s director
of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the Arkansas law school, Hipp hopes to help tribes address a spectrum of legal issues surrounding their farming interests, whether it’s how to best ensure that farms and land seamlessly pass to the next generation or how to nurture a fl edgling operation. Because the number of Native farm operators already jumped 88 percent between 2002 and 2007, according to a USDA census, Hipp expects people in Indian Country to continue starting farms and ranches. “We want to mindfully plan
for the future and calibrate for continued success,” she says. Housing the consultancy at
Photo courtesy of First Nations Development Institute and Cochiti Youth Experience
the law school off ers avenues to engage the legal and aca- demic communities in analyzing aspects of Indian law that are too-rarely discussed in non-Indian ven- ues, she notes. As an example, some tribal land-use policies are tethered to treaties agreed to long ago by tribes and the U.S. government. She and Leeds are encouraging Native American
teens to seek agricultural careers, whether it’s through law, horticulture, or another discipline. As a land-grant institution, their university has multiple agriculture and related academic programs. “We especially want to reach high school freshmen
27
and sophomores so they’re thinking about college early,” Leeds says. T e youth component of the initiative particu-
larly beckons Hipp, who has been long involved in cultivating a new generation of farmers. “If we get this right,” she says, “we can not only help feed more people but also build better communities and move everyone forward.” D&B
Lydia Lum is a freelance writer and former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
MCCA.COM
JULY/AUGUST 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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