Indigenous Food Systems Graduate Certificate

Indigenous Food Systems Graduate Certificate 

This program is a collaboration of the Department of Native American Studies and the College of Education, Health and Human Development.  

Following the seasonal round of the Buffalo Nations Biocultural Region of the Northern Great Plains and Rockies, students will explore, through this 12-credit graduate certificate, the seasonal ecological ways of being, knowing and doing, Indigenous foodways and land practices. Working with regional and community-based knowledge holders, students will engage knowledge and relational practices in support of vital 21st century Buffalo Nation food systems.   

In addition to learning from course instructors, students will ask for guidance from knowledge holders in their home communities as they engage in culturally regenerative relationships with human and other than human relatives, and the land. As a regional online learning cohort, students will share with one another as they learn from their own community work in support of mutual Buffalo food system biocultural regeneration.  

This curriculum is aligned with the Buffalo Treaty, a historic Indigenous treaty amongst the buffalo nations with buffalo renewed since 2014, to honor, recognize, and revitalize the time immemorial relationship we have with our older brother, the Buffalo.    

The goal of this program is to prepare professionals in a variety of disciplines for Indigenous food systems work using Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy. Coursework themes include the buffalo culture lifeway food system, Indigenous health and nutrition, food sovereignty: policy and infrastructure, and traditional food system knowledge of plant and animal relatives; land practices, and responsibility to Buffalo.  

Based on an Indigenous appreciation of the cyclical nature of life and learning (sometimes referred to as a "Seasonal Round") student cohorts will enter the program during the spring semester, completing a 6-credit course covering Indigenous practices associated with Spring and Summer. In the fall, they will enroll, again as a cohort, in a 6-credit course covering Indigenous practices associated with Fall and Winter. Students are expected to finish the Certificate in one year.  

Applicants will be asked to work with community knowledge holders and mentors if possible and therefore should identify the community they will be working within. Cohorts will be limited to 8-12 students each year.  

This research was supported, in part, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NextGen, Award No. 2023-70440-40221. 

Prerequisites:  

Bachelor's degree and admission into the graduate Indigenous Food Systems Certificate program. 

Don’t meet every single requirement?  Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for opportunities unless they meet every single requirement. Students in this program come from many disciplines and employment experiences. This certificate aims to build your capacity to do Indigenous food sovereignty work. We are dedicated to building an authentic learning cohort of diverse disciplines, so if you’re excited about this program but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with food systems, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right student! 

Courses: 

This certificate program is made up of two 6-credit courses. Following the seasonal round, the first course (NASX 516) includes the seasons of Spring and Summer, and the second (NASX 517) includes Fall and Winter. Students enter the program in Spring and finish as a cohort in Winter. Students are expected to finish the Certificate in one year.  

How to Apply: 

Admission to the Graduate Certificate Program is by online application. 

Required Application Materials: 

  • A Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose (2-5 pages), introducing yourself and your interest in Indigenous Food Systems, indicating your engagement goals and aspirations. 

  • A CV or Resume 

  • One academic writing sample that demonstrates graduate level research/writing; and one academic, creative or technical (job or community-related) writing sample showing your interest in food systems work, if possible. 

  • Three letters of recommendation. Ideal letters of recommendation would include statements from a 1) community member and/or mentor; 2) someone who can speak to your academic history, for example, a former instructor; 3) someone who can speak to your engagement with food sovereignty work.  

  • Official transcript of highest university/college degree conferred 

  • International Applicants will be required to submit a variety of additional documentation including English proficiency scores (at or above) the following: TOEFL [80] IELTS [6.5], or PTE [54]. Please see the International application process for further information.  

 Application Deadline 

Your application to MSU's Graduate School will be reviewed upon submission. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. 

Tuition and Fees: 

Buffalo Nations is offering a limited number of scholarships to this program to build capacity for intertribal food sovereignty. Scholarship priority to the program is given to those engaged directly in the Indigenous food sovereignty work of their communities. Tribal college instructors/staff are encouraged to apply. 

  • This graduate certificate program is not eligible for FAFSA financial aid. However, program applicants may apply for a scholarship to cover course tuition and fees from Buffalo Nations.  Submit a scholarship application.  

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Students who complete the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Food Systems will be able to: Articulate the meaning and nuances of biocultural diversity from multiple Indigenous’ perspectives and compare and contrast these meanings to dominant cultural understandings of human relationships with the environment
  • Use an Indigenous lens/framing to assess Indigenous assets in food sovereignty and impacts of colonial/settler/mainstream policies on Indigenous lifeways
  • Demonstrate land-based skills related to Indigenous food systems (examples: knowledge of plant nations, medicine making, land practices, hunting/fishing technologies and practices)
  • Map the web of life of their region of origin or study using an Indigenous language of that place (measured not by fluency in speaking the language, but the ability to understand the land and land/human relationship through the language); that is, to understand place through language.
  • Establish relationships with people and place in the context of food sovereignty, cultural knowledge recovery, and lifeways continuance, towards the outcome of community advancement in these areas (do something!)
 

For questions and additional information, please contact the Department of Native American Studies by email at nas@montana.edu.