[montanafood_ag] Seeking Contractor to Coordinate Native Food Sovereignty, Policy, and Initiatives Listening Session Project

[Maura Henn]

The National Center for Appropriate Technology<https://www.ncat.org/> (NCAT), along with project partners Grow Montana Food Policy Coalition<https://growmt.org/> (GMT), and Montana Team Nutrition<https://www.montana.edu/teamnutrition/> (MTN) are seeking a contractor to assist in guiding a project to increase their shared understanding of current food sovereignty and state-policy initiatives led by Montana tribal communities as well as gauge interest in the Montana Harvest of the Month<https://mtharvestofthemonth.org/> (HOM) program in Montana Native communities. The project will be directed by a steering committee made up of statewide tribal stakeholders, GMT members, HOM Advisory Team members, and the contractor. Indigenous candidates are encouraged to apply.

This project will be completed through listening sessions & interviews utilizing a facilitation guide developed by the steering committee. Listening session leaders will be hired to conduct the meetings, ideally one from each of the following communities:

  1.  Flathead Reservation (Pablo) – Salish, Pend d’Orielle, and Kootenai tribes
  2.  Blackfeet Reservation (Browning) – Blackfeet tribe
  3.  Rocky Boy’s Reservation (Rocky Boy Agency) – Chippewa Cree tribe
  4.  Fort Belknap Reservation (Ft. Belknap) – Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribe
  5.  Fort Peck Reservation (Poplar) – Assiniboine and Sioux tribes
  6.  Northern Cheyenne Reservation (Lame Deer) – Northern Cheyenne tribe
  7.  Crow Reservation (Crow Agency) – Crow tribe
  8.  Little Shell Chippewa Tribal Capital (landless, but headquartered in Cascade County) – Little Shell Band of Chippewa

Project Goal – The goals of the project are to:

  *   To understand what food sovereignty and policy issues tribal communities are working on.
  *   To learn how GMT can build and strengthen trust and relationships with tribal communities and their food sovereignty efforts and assist and engage in advocacy related to these efforts.
  *   To learn if Montana Native Communities are interested in using the HOM program to showcase Native foods, culture, history, and knowledge, and determine how to best structure the program.

Deliverables:

  *   Assist with the recruitment of listening session leaders and statewide tribal stakeholders.
  *   Provide guidance in developing listening session structure, a facilitator guide, and listening session questions.
  *   Provide the session leaders with facilitator training and familiarize them with the goals of the project.
  *   Be the primary point of contact and liaison for state partners, session leaders, and project coordinators. This will include scheduling between partners, providing support and guidance to session leaders and communicating any needs and providing progress reports (verbal and written) with NCAT and Grow MT.
  *   Attend and contribute to facilitation of virtual monthly steering committee meetings between project partners.
  *   Assist with developing a note taking structure for listening sessions that will foster consistency among sessions.
  *   Attend two in-person listening sessions.
  *   Organize the information collected from the listening sessions.

Location: Remote within Montana.

Compensation: $10,000 – includes all costs associated with travel. Travel to two listening sessions is required.

Period of Performance: Project will begin in August 2023. Estimated to be 220 hours of work over 8 to 12 months. Hours per week will fluctuate based on project demand.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience in community organizing and facilitation. An understanding of food sovereignty and a strong and demonstrated connection to Native Food Sovereignty leaders, stakeholders, and communities. The ability to travel is required for this position.

To apply, please respond by email with the following information by August 15, 2023:

  *   Your full name.
  *   A phone number where you can be reached.
  *   Why are you interested in this position?
  *   What are the key strengths you would bring to this role?
  *   What relevant skills and experience will you bring to this role?
  *   A current resume (optional).

Email your responses and resume to coalition at growmt.org.<mailto:coalition at growmt.org>

This posting can also be found here: https://growmt.org/2023/07/26/request-for-proposals/


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