By Lee Egerstrom

Following paths of trade that predate the European colonization of North America, Minnesotans were among a first U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission conducted exclusively to promote export markets for Tribal and Native Hawaiian products.

The trade mission was held at Vancouver, British Columbia June 17 to 20. And no, this was not like trying to sell snow to Canada. Participants stressed that it sought to expand on long established and historic trade involving tribal people in both countries.

Canada is among the largest markets for agricultural and food exports accounting for $28.2 billion in 2023 exports, USDA records show. American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian agricultural production is not an insignificant player in the trade. A separate USDA Census of Agriculture survey attributes $8 billion annually to the U.S. food economy from these Indigenous sources.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan who was among participants in the trade mission. She stressed in a conference call USDA held with reporters that Indigenous people along the U.S.-Canada border have these trade ties. Tribal members living along the border have families in both countries making trade a natural event.

Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Nation. Red Lake Inc., the business unit from the nearby Red Lake Nation, was among the 15 tribal businesses and organizations on the trade mission tour and it has business dealings in both countries.

Among Red Lake Inc.’s business holdings are Red Lake Nation Fisheries, which markets walleye products dating back to 1919, and a growing number of other ventures of Red Lake Nation Foods, a subsidiary of Red Lake Farms Inc.

In addition to its own branded products, Red Lake is also a large seller through K.C.’s Best Wild Rice, at company it acquired at nearby Bemidji in 2021 that sells manoomin products from both Minnesota and neighboring areas of Canada.

In a report on KAXE/KBXE radio stations in northern Minnesota, Red Lake Inc.’s chief development officer, Jake Robinson, said the Vancouver trade mission was an opportunity for Native-owned companies to visit with buyers and distributors in Canada to expand export market opportunities.

Among Red Lake food products shown to Canadian buyers were various wild rice products, walleye, chokecherry jelly, and frybread and pancake mixes.

Red Lake was the first tribal enterprise to particulate in previous USDA trade missions its Foreign Agricultural Service staged in the Netherlands, Japan, Chile and India. But this mission to Canada was historic in that it was focused entirely on Indian Country and Native Hawaiian businesses and products, said USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis M. Taylor.

Like Minnesota’s Flanagan, Taylor also has close ties to the northern border. The Iowa native served as director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture before being named to the USDA post. Prior to that, she also served as administrative assistant to former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

“USDA is proud to be collaborating with the Intertribal Agriculture Council and the Department of Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations to bring forward more Native Nations farmers and agribusinesses into exporting and foreign market diversification,” she said in announcing the trade mission.

In another statement on the mission, Taylor said “…Canada couldn’t be a better host country. Indigenous nations on both sides of the border share strong historical connections to their lands, trading networks and agricultural practices.”

Besides Red Lake Inc. and Flanagan, this trade mission had other Minnesota connections. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., was responsible for getting legislative support including Native producers in USDA trade missions.

“I’m delighted to see such a historic trip finally come to fruition, and it will be a great benefit to not just Red Lake Nation but the rest of Indian Country as well,” she said when the trip was announced. Smith serves on both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Another Minnesota connection is with Harlan Beaulieu, a Red Lake member who serves as board president of the Billings, Mont.-based Intertribal Agriculture Council. Among its work, that body authenticates trademarks and labels promoting Native made and owned products.

Participating in the trade mission were leaders and representatives from the Ayittatoba (Kansas City, Mo.), Tocabe Foods (Denver), Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission (Portland), Fort Belknap Indian Community (Montana), Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and units of the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians (California).

Food companies participating in the mission were from Texas, Michigan, Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona, Washington Oklahoma, Californian and Hawaii, along with Lakota Foods from Lower Brule, S.D.

Information about Red Lake Nation Foods products is available at: https://redlakenationfoods.com.