Arbor Day Foundation Awards $8 Million In Forestry Grants to Tribes, Tribal Organizations

The announcement comes as country celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Arbor Day Foundation subawards $8 million in grants to support community forestry on Indigenous lands. The 16 subawardees are all federally recognized Tribes, Tribal organizations, or an organization working in a Tribal community. In total, 26 Tribes will be directly impacted through these projects. The grant opportunity was established in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, utilizing Inflation Reduction Act funds. The opportunity saw great demand with more than 50 applicants.

The grants awarded will be used to plant trees and grow green spaces on or near Indigenous lands. Proposed projects range in focus from food sovereignty to workforce development. A full list of the Tribal subawardees is below.

“This is a unique opportunity to use trees to create lasting, positive change in areas that have long been deprived of green resources,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “We know our subawardees understand the needs of their community better than we ever could. So, we’ll be walking alongside them in this journey, using federal funds to empower them and their vision for their land.”

The USDA Forest Service awarded the Arbor Day Foundation a $50 million Inflation Reduction Act grant in 2023. The nonprofit has already subawarded $31.7 million of the funding to municipalities and community-based organizations across the country.

Today’s announcement coincides with the observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The holiday honors the history of Indigenous Peoples in America and celebrates their diverse cultures.

TRIBAL FUNDING RECIPIENTS
Awardee	Project Name	Area of Focus
Bad River Band and Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians with Fruit Tree Planting Foundation	Intertribal Community Tree Planting for Food Sovereignty & Land Renewal: Bad River and Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa	WI
Bay Mills Indian Community with Fruit Tree Planting Foundation	Bay Mills Indian Community: Tree Planting for Food Sovereignty, Land Stewardship, & Cultural Resilience	MI
Catawba Nation with Fruit Tree Planting Foundation	Healing the Earth as We Heal Ourselves: Catawba Nation Orchard & Forest Planting	SC
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma	Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Multi-Site Restoration for Climate Resiliency	OK
Cocopah Tribe of Arizona with Arizona Community Tree Council, Inc.	Colorado River Tribal Arboriculture Youth Conservation Corps	AZ
Louden Tribe with Galena City School District	Restoring Our Original Terrain and Species	AK
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians	Miccosukee Community Forest Project	FL
Native Village of Tyonek	Establishing a Tribal Community Food Forest to Promote Food Sovereignty and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Native Village of Tyonek	AK
Navajo Nation and Pueblo of Zuni with Fruit Tree Planting Foundation	Navajo Nation & Zuni Pueblo: Health and Healing through Orchards	AZ, NM
Omaha Tribe of Nebraska with Midlands Community Foundation	Omaha Indian Tribe Project	NE
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska	Community Garden and Reforestation Initiative	NE
Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico	Picuris Community Roots Program	NM
Quapaw Nation	Northeast Oklahoma Tribal Community Roots Initiative	OK
Rappahannock Tribe, Inc. with Friends of the Rappahannock, Inc.	Building Capacity for Forest Stewardship on Ancestral Lands of the Rappahannock Tribe	VA
Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota with Rosebud Economic Development Corp	Creating a Sustainable Treescape at Keya Wakpala	SD
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma	Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Community Roots Program	OK

About the Arbor Day Foundation

Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. Together with our partners, we have helped plant more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival. Through our members, partners and programs, the Arbor Day Foundation inspires people across the globe to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.