Before the great white shark people came here , the Seventh Generation Principle , based on the ancient Haudenosaunee , the Iroquois , was a philosophy widely accepted across all tribes of Turtle Island , aka The United States . The rule was to consider every decision for the next seven generations , 150 years .
Now , all we can say is , “ Here are the keys . We ’ re sorry we broke your country .”
The Spirit Survived
The Great Spirit of the Original People , the spirit Weasel said would survive , did . One acre at a time , the Original People are restoring the health of the land , the water , and the sky under their feet and ours . And they are using hemp as a great healer .
Tribal lands act as sovereign entities to the U . S . Government , agreeing on some terms but very independent on most . According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs , Native Americans currently hold approximately 56.2 million acres , 8,788 square miles , roughly 2.3 percent of the total area of the United States .
That ’ s not nearly enough . And we haven ’ t exactly “ given ” the land back .
I looked at several websites for a little history of how this land exchange went down .
According to a report from the U . S . Dept . of Interior , published 12 / 04 / 2023 , three million acres were recently returned to the tribes through The Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations , which “… implemented the land consolidation component of the Cobell v Salazar Settlement Agreement which provided a $ 1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund ( Fund ) to purchase fractional interests in trust or restricted land from willing sellers at fair market value . Consolidated interests were immediately restored to Tribal trust ownership for uses benefiting the reservation community and Tribal members .
The Program was established in December 2012 and the 10-year period for its implementation of land consolidation efforts came to an end November 24 , 2022 . A final report was released on December 4 , 2023 .” 1
The Green Revolution
In a report published by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture in October 2023 , “ Indigenous Farmers are Leading a New Green Revolution ,” we get a little more background on the battle the Tribal people have been through in an effort to save us from ourselves :
“ When hemp research was first permitted in the U . S . under the 2014 Farm Bill , it was clear that participation by Native Nations was an afterthought at best . Tribes were forced to partner with a State Department of Agriculture or ‘ institution of higher education ’ to grow hemp for research purposes . In at least one 2015 case , the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin chose to assert their sovereignty by growing hemp independently . The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) agents destroyed their crop just before it was due to be harvested .
And yet , those early missteps set the stage for the U . S . Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) to highlight tribal sovereignty , to an extent that is rare among federal agencies , when it published its Interim Final
Indigenous farmers are reviving hemp ’ s deep roots . Winona ’ s Hemp & Heritage Farm , located near the White Earth Reservation in Northern Minnesota , is working with the Anishinaabe Agricultural Institute to expand to large-scale hemp production for creating fabrics .
Rule for hemp production in October 2019 . The new rule explicitly acknowledged Tribes ’ authority to regulate hemp production within their territories . Tribes across the country responded to the change by submitting a wave of over 34 hemp regulatory plans to the USDA in 2020 . Today , USDA-approved Tribal Hemp Plans outnumber state run programs 53 to 42 .” 2
It hasn ’ t been easy for white farmers , either . According to the USDA National Hemp Report for 2023 , U . S . farmers grew 53,735 acres of hemp . Again , not enough . However , we all know that this number will jump exponentially next year .
This is all good news .
Working together , our farmers , both Native American and the rest , have won hard-fought allies in the USDA and the FDA .
After being the kid in the back row jumping up and down with her hand up , knowing she could solve all the class ’ s problems , hemp finally got called on . Between Amplify hemp seed , bio-char , carbon credits , and my beloved hemp chicken feed , hemp has come to the front of the class , and she ’ s not sitting down .
This Thanksgiving , be thankful ; after releasing the Ravenous Bird of Death on the Original People , their benevolence , understanding of human shortfalls , forgiveness , deep knowledge of the land , and loving and abiding relationship with Mother Earth will be all our salvation .
Resources : 1 . https :// www . doi . gov / buybackprogram 2 . https :// foundationfar . org / impact / insights / indigenous-farmers-are-leadinga-new-green-revolution-focused-on-hemp /
Dolores Montgomery Halbin , RN , BSN , and Ordained Nurse Minister , resides in SW Missouri . After her husband passed in 2015 , she retired from nursing . She worked with the 2014- 2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana . She continues as a cannabis reform activist volunteering with Canna Convict Project and working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism . Dolores Halbin , doloreshalbin @ gmail . com .
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