Thank you!
I would like to thank each and every one of you who helped make our first ever Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) 2020 Virtual Annual Conference and IAC Membership Meeting a success. As our growing seasons come to an end, and we begin to make future plans, I hope the learning opportunities we afforded this year help us do so with more than just the next year in mind.
To the dedicated staff here at the IAC, with so many people working behind the scenes all year long to make sure the event goes off without a hitch – I couldn’t imagine the virtual conference going any better. True to our organizational culture, we found solutions and delivered them to our constituents. I am honored to work with you all, and thank you for helping us share what we’ve learned with the more than 1,300 registered participants.
To our member Tribes, delegates, and IAC Board Members, who share their wisdom, stories, and voices to support our work to improve agriculture and food systems for Indian Country, we commit to continue to do our best from now until we can all be together again. With all that is going on in this world right now, the fact that so many of you were able to take time away from the demands on your attention isn’t lost on us. We thank you for your leadership, your vision, and your shared commitment to our mission.
We may have had the largest slate of sponsors to date in this event. Many of those sponsors are your local, regional, or national non-profits – critical components in navigating the current ag and food system. Others are our federal or state partners. Still others are the businesses and educational institutions that share our mission to bring opportunity to our Indian Producers all across the ag and food system. Your support for our conference, and your assistance throughout the year for the mission and our constituents are deeply appreciated.
Last, and certainly not least, to our presenters. We will borrow the inspiration from our keynote speakers as we continue to work on a more equitable and inclusive distribution of the capital flow within our food system. LANDBACK, the message our visionary friend Nick Tilsen from NDN Collective shared with our membership, helps us to realize the best days of Indian Country are indeed ahead of us, not behind. The stories and lessons shared by Nicole Masters, creator of Integrity Soils about listening to the Earth and our surroundings and doing things that just make sense from their perspective, hold great promise. Her message reminds us those characteristics are innate in all of us, and we can listen to them. Our thanks to Nick and Nicole and all of the tremendous breakout session presenters for recharging our well of inspiration in very challenging times.
During the course of the week, it was brought to our attention that former United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will again be helping us craft the solutions needed for Indian Country and beyond. As we wrap up this message, we would like to congratulate Secretary Vilsack, and extend an invitation to him to share in our event next year and to catch up on all he has missed since he has been gone!
You are all an inspiration to me. I look forward to the coming seasons, and to a time when we can gather together, share some time, space, and positivity in person. As always, do not hesitate to call me (605-222-3852) or email ([email protected]). If there is anything I, or our great crew, can do to help you in your efforts, we are more than happy to do so. Thank you again for a great wrap up to the year, and for creating a tremendous platform for our work in the future.
PS: an added bonus, with your conference registration email, you can login and watch or rewatch sessions here!