Agriculture Minister visits Minnesota

NATIFS and their highly-successful Indigenous Food Lab are one of the model programs we have been looking at for our community-based, participatory food sector entrepreneurship and organizational capacity building projects.
Minister MacAulay toured the Indigenous Food Lab and met with representitives of NATIFS and their Indigenous Food Lab. Photo: Agri-Food and Agriculture Canada
Minister MacAulay toured the Indigenous Food Lab and met with representitives of NATIFS and their Indigenous Food Lab. Photo: Agri-Food and Agriculture Canada

This week, Minister MacAuley, travelled to Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, to meet with key agri-food stakeholders and U.S. officials, with the goal of strengthening Canada’s relationships in the U.S. Midwest and advancing shared priorities. Among the many organizations he met with was the North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) program and their Indigenous Food Lab.

The Indigenous Food Lab offers high-quality Indigenous foods and products to our community. We work to broaden access to Native-made goods and allow people to experience contemporary Indigenous offerings while empowering entrepreneurs to expand their markets.

Canada is the top agriculture and agri-food export market for Minnesota, and Iowa’s second biggest market. In 2023, bilateral agricultural trade between Canada and the two U.S. states were $3.6 billion (CAD) and $3 billion (CAD), respectively.

“Each and every day, farmers right across North America are working hard to feed their communities, their country, and the entire world,” said Minister MacAulay. “After spending the last few days in Iowa and Minnesota, I’ve seen just how strong our partnership with the United States really is, and it’s vitally important that we continue to work together, as nations and as dear friends, to strengthen our supply chains, address food security challenges, and put more money in the pockets of producers on both sides of the border.”

Manitoba – Minnesota – Nunavut collaboration in food security research and food sector entrepreneurship.

Last week, students and researchers from Canada and the US presented during the 2024 Arctic Congress in Bodø, Norway. We hope to connect with NATIFS next semester and learn more about the incredible work they are doing. We’ve been exploring concepts around living labs, food labs and entrepreneurship incubators for a few years now, and the work NATIFS has been doing is a model we all should be looking at.

Our program, supported by the Creative Entrepreneurship and Master of Arts in Creative Leadership programs at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design have been exploring how different programs work across our regions. NATIFS and their highly-successful Indigenous Food Lab are one of the model programs we have been looking at for our community-based, participatory food sector entrepreneurship and organizational capacity building projects. Northern Canadian youth have been collaborating with MCAD since 2019 and there’s great interest, particularly from the youth, in enhancing these cross-border Canada-United States activities.

Collaboration with local communities and exchanging traditional knowledge will be vital components of our framework moving forward. Working even more closely with community members and regional champions like the Minneapolis College of Art and Design will allow us to create more relevant and impactful solutions.
Collaboration with local communities and exchanging traditional knowledge will be vital components of our framework moving forward. Working even more closely with community members and regional champions like the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the University of Victoria and the UArctic Thematic Network on Local-Scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience will allow us to create more relevant and impactful solutions.

About our summer programming

Youth, Arts and Media Team summer activities are supported with funding and support from a number of partners and collaborators, including: Global Dignity CanadaInnovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the University of Minnesota DuluthManitoba Agriculture and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership., University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Local Scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience and the University of Victoria. We also thank the OpenAI Researcher Access ProgramAgri-Food and Agriculture Canada and the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Skills Program. Thank you for supporting the Youth, Arts and Media Team.

Picture of Youth, Arts and Media Team

Youth, Arts and Media Team

The Youth, Arts and Media Team supports participatory food security research, arts and organizational development. Through this program, funded by Agriculture Canada and the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Skills Strategy, Indigenous youth artists and early career communicators receive training and exposure to various forms of media and communication roles. Activities build career and job skills, supporting outreach, relationship development and engagement. There is a strong emphasis on food sector and digital literacy and training youth in the design and delivery of health and food security interventions that promote healthy messages.

As a community program, nurturing the skills, knowledge, and networks of our future leaders, this unique, pilot program contributes beyond the success of its participants. It also aims to lay foundations for sustainable and impactful business and entrepreneurship programming.

In the Spotlight

Since our first pilot program, many of our programs and activities have been made possible with support from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Masters of Arts in Creative Leadership and Creative Entrepreneurship programs. We are incredibly thankful to the many MCAD students and faculty for their contributions. Learn more about their program, and click here to visit their web site.

Our program is proud to have been accepted into the OpenAI Researcher Access Program