College of Agriculture, University of Arizona,
Arizona Land and People, Vol. 47, Number 2
Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA)The foremost voice for Arizona Indian agriculture, the Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA), had its beginnings in a conversation in 1987. Elliott Booth, from the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and Harry Cruye, Jr. from the Gila River Indian Community (and current SWIAA president), were at a California economic development conference. "We talked about the need to form an information-sharing organization that would be an advocate for Indian agriculture in Arizona," says Elliott, who served as SWIAA president for its first ten years. "SWIAA was formed because national Indian groups weren't considering the problems of agriculture. We have to keep on fighting for recognition for Indian agriculture. We're the reason Congress is beginning to take notice," Elliott says. In May 1988, tribal representatives unanimously agreed to form SWIAA. The non-profit group is governed by a 12-member executive board elected on an annual, rotating basis from four membership categories: individual, tribal organization, associate, and corporate. Under the board's leadership, SWIAA has testified before Congressional committees and was influential in getting approval for funding Extension Indian Reservation Programs (EIRP) in the 1990 Farm Bill. SWIAA holds annual elections and meets regularly to provide vital agricultural information for Indian ranchers and farmers. SWIAA and the UA College of Agriculture sponsor annual Indian Livestock Field Days. To carry out its mission to promote enrolling more Indian young people in university agricultural programs, SWIAA funds the Dr. Roe B. Lewis memorial scholarship. Together with the UA College of Agriculture, SWIAA also sponsors a yearly Youth Education Conference. Cooperative Extension and SWIAA are trying to increase funding for additional EIRP agents needed on reservations. Since its beginnings, SWIAA has worked closely with the University of Arizona and the College of Agriculture. In fact, SWIAA leaders credit Howard Jones, former assistant to the dean for Native American Programs, as being instrumental in the organization's success. According to SWIAA, "The harmony of man, soil, water, vegetation, and wildlife-our agricultural community-influence our emotional and spiritual well-being. These valuable and renewable natural resources provide sustenance, income, and employment. Carefully managing our agricultural resources on Southwest Indian reservations is vital to our economic and social welfare." "A Good Partnership""We have a good partnership." So Elliott Booth characterizes the longstanding relationship between the UA College of Agriculture and the Colorado River Indian Tribes, near Parker. Booth should know. When he was president of the Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA), he worked closely with Howard Jones, former UA assistant to the dean for Native American Programs. Six years ago, Agriculture Dean Eugene Sander recommended Elliott's appointment to CARET, the USDA national Committee for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching. In both SWIAA and CARET, Booth strongly advocates an increased budget for Indian extension agents as a "No. 1 priority." CRIT already works with one extension agent for agriculture, but they need another full-time agent to work with 4-HYD programs. Collaborating with the UA College of Agriculture means CRIT can access the knowledge available in all the departments, Booth says. "That's important." Leona Kakar: Ak-Chin's Voice for Agriculture"Farming is our livelihood," said Leona Kakar a decade ago in the University of Arizona magazine "Arizona Land & People." The current chair of the Ak-Chin Farm Board still believes in the importance of agriculture and, with it, the undeniable need for water. "It's easy to say that, without water, we'd have no future," she told the Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA) recently. "We'd have to leave our farm and go off the reservation to work if we didn't have the water settlement." Since their 1988 water settlement, the now-profitable Ak-Chin farm has been using Central Arizona Project (CAP) water for irrigating their 16,500-acre farm, near Maricopa. The water rights were fought for and won after heroic efforts by Kakar and her brothers, Richard and Wilbur. It was a battle that pitted them against federal and state government opponents. Leona has continued her involvement in Indian agricultural issues. Always active in SWIAA, she has served as a member of their Board of Directors and as Board treasurer. She also has served on the advisory committee for the UA Maricopa Agricultural Center. A reverence for land and water is part of the Ak-Chin tradition. "Go to the river and introduce yourself to maintain your contact," is the way Leona Kakar puts it. Document part of 1999 Native American Programs in the College of Agriculture |