In June 2005, the inaugural class of the Leadership Development for the 21st Century (LEAD21) began a 12-month program designed to explore different models of leadership, develop peer networks, and enhance skills and knowledge in leadership competencies.

When students from Haskell Indian Nations University set foot in Siberia, they anticipated a new experience. They did not expect something comfortably familiar.

To help prepare the 1994s for the future, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sponsored a survey recently to ask some basic questions: What are the current academic credentials of 1994s’ faculty and staff? What are their interests in pursuing advanced degrees? What opportunities and barriers do they face in such pursuits?

Eight tribal colleges and universities from around the country have created a national tribal college water quality initiative, with support from USDA land grant funding, to collect baseline data, develop water quality curriculum, and organize a national water quality summit to share their knowledge.

Ron Klein, plant and soil specialist at Fort Berthold Community College, walks through the college’s community garden and checks the corn crop on this late summer day. It has been hot and dry in New Town, ND, for weeks, and Klein checks for moisture by running a handful of soil through his fingers.

Land grant institutions strive to build rural economies, strengthen families, and empower individuals. The added challenges of being a tribal land grant institution means serving tribal nations that often lag far behind the mainstream economy. But if Henry Thompson and others keep delivering financial education in their communities, the future is looking bright for tribal economies.

Extension program funding reconnects Fort Berthold youth to their agricultural past.

Hunger research on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation informs national welfare reform decisions.

An apprenticeship program involving elders and community volunteers reclaims knowledge and crops from a century ago.

As my plane descended, I thought I was coming down on to the Northern Great Plains where I live. The Namibian landscape consisted of rolling grasslands with rocky escarpments in the distance. In the vast open space, the savanna extended beyond the horizon, exactly like the prairie does back home in western South Dakota. All was grassland and open sky. All looked familiar.