Heifer Project Partnership

Over the past two years, we have worked with the Heifer Project International to support the strengthening of our local food systems here on the White Earth reservation. There are three major areas we have concentrated on: l) Community Gardens and Greenhouses, 2) Wild Rice Processing 3) Maple Syrup Processing,and 4) Heritage Turkeys.

We've put up greenhouses in several of our villages, although we did have the ones we put up in Callaway blow down this past summer (they aren't listed).

2007 WELRP Greenhouse Installations

Number          Date                  Recipient         Community       Installers

1      Wk of April 16th    Jeff Bingham/WELRP          Callaway            Ron,Pat,Eric & Mike
2      Wk of April 16th    Janice Chilton/M.Cafe      Strawberry Lake     Ron,Pat,Eric & Mike
3      Wk of April 23rd    Don and Lori York             Mahnomen          Ron,Pat,Eric & Mike
4      Wk of April 23rd    Earl and Kathy Hoaglund    Naytahwaush       Ron,Pat,Eric & Mike
5      Wk of April 16th    Bill Paulson/Sahkahtay       Naytahwaush       Ron,Pat,Eric & Mike

We helped support new wild rice processers on the White Earth reservation, by working with the Hoagland family and Sakatay to put up a rice mill in the village of Naytahwaush. We also purchased wild rice from more people on the reservation, including Sunfish Oppegard and in 2006 as well from Brian Buck and the Dewandler family.

Our maple syruping operation has historically been rotating between Jerry and Janice Chilton's sugarbush and our own Ishpaadinaa Sugarbush- both in Sugarbush Township. In 2007, with the Heifer Project's help, we gifted more taps and equipment to the Chilton family, and hope to expand this and other syruping operations on the reservation in 2008.

One of our proudest moments has been the work with the Lori and Jim Gellings family on the restoration of the heritage turkeys to the White Earth reservation. Lori and Jim , with the help of the Heifer project were able to raise Narragansett Blue and Rhode Island heritage turkeys- we brought the Pine Point school children out to see them in the fall (there was a lot of shrieking on both sides- human and turkey) and we have been serving these turkeys at the Pine Point School and at other special dinners in our community.