Farm Service Agency makes first Alaska tribal loan

DELTA JUNCTION -- The USDA Farm Service has approved a loan of $775,000 to the Stevens Village Tribal Council. This money, procured under the Indian Tribal Land Acquisition Program, will go toward the purchase of the resources necessary to raise bison on approximately 2,000 acres of land. This is the first money granted to Alaska natives under this program.

Stevens Village is located to the northwest of Fairbanks, and contains less than 100 residents. The new loan is expected to create more jobs and economic opportunities for the small community, as well as meat, hides and other products from the bison themselves.

"We are very pleased to announce the funding of this Indian Tribal Land Acquisition Program loan to the Stevens Village IRA Council," said Chad Padgett, USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director for Alaska in a press release. "Assistance to individual agricultural producers, underserved and underrepresented groups is a top priority of the Alaska Farm Service Agency. I believe in agriculture in Alaska and am hopeful for the future of this amazing project. I credit the Stevens Village IRA Council and our excellent Farm Loan Program staff for the successful outcome of this project."

ITLAP was established to provide long-term loans for native corporations to acquire land within their reservations. The program generally funds tribes and tribal corporations that do not qualify for standard commercial loans.

Though Stevens Village intends to start small, with a herd of about 15 bison browsing 700 acres, their plans eventually call for 200 of the animals on the full 2,000 acres of land. These bison will be purchased from the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative with the loan money acquired from the FSA. This cooperative is a national organization, founded in 1990, founded on the hope that "the sacred relationship between Indian people and the Buffalo might not only be saved, but would in time flourish." In the past, the ITBC has reintroduced bison to locations in South Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado and other plains states. They currently help to provide meat and other resources to Stevens Village, one of their 51 member tribes across the nation.

Herds of wild bison have roamed the interior of Alaska since their introduction from Montana in 1928. Due to their need for large amounts of grass, forbs and shrubs, they are usually found along rivers and in recent burn areas. A 1996 estimate placed the number of bison in Alaska at roughly 1,000; however, the animals are split up into groups of roughly 50 animals rather than a single large herd.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.