VANCOUVER — Wild rice, walleye, chokecherry jelly and frybread mixes were among the Indigenous-made products pitched to Canadian buyers during a recent trade mission.
The first-ever international trade mission to focus solely on Indigenous products was last week, and Red Lake Inc. was among the Indigenous agricultural businesses that attended.
Red Lake, Inc. oversees numerous agricultural endeavors on the Red Lake Nation, including its oldest enterprise: the Fisheries, in operation since 1919.
Red Lake Inc. Chief Development Officer Jake Robinson joined the mission alongside representatives from 15 Indigenous agribusinesses.
“There are Indigenous-owned companies from all over the USA visiting with buyers and distributors in Canada to develop export market opportunities," Robinson said.
Red Lake Inc. was the first tribal agribusiness to participate in a global trade mission last year and has since joined missions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service to the Netherlands, Japan, Chile and India.
Red Lake Inc.’s agricultural businesses include cultivated wild rice, both farmed in Red Lake and beyond, with the business purchasing KC’s Best Wild Rice of Bemidji in 2021. The corporation also encompasses Red Lake Nation Foods, a subsidiary of Red Lake Farms, offering specialty food items like pancake mixes and jellies.
According to the USDA, Indigenous agricultural production contributes $8 billion to the nation’s food economy. Robinson said this trade mission was a growth opportunity for Indigenous producers.
"Recognizing the unique barriers that tribal producers face while also looking at the monumental impact that market access has and meaningful economic development for Indigenous communities," he said.
In a news release, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith stated she pushed for the USDA to include Tribal Nations in trade delegations as a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill.
“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,” Smith stated.
Minnesota’s Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band, also attended the historic trade mission.
“Native farmers and producers feed our families and the world,” she stated. “I am proud to lift up Native agriculture as a standard part of our Minnesota trade missions."
