The Turtle Island Trade Coalition is an Indigenous-created and Indigenous-led program embedded within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), established specifically to develop a Great Plains Indigenous food hub. It is dedicated to empowering Indigenous food producers in the Great Plains and committed to restoring historical trade relationships. The Turtle Island Trade Coalition does this by respecting traditional knowledge and integrating it with modern resources to support both urban and reservation communities.
Tim Thielen is Program Coordinator for the Turtle Island Trade Coalition. He works under the guidance of Ted Hibbeler (Lakota), Tribal Extension Educator at UNL. They work together with the Heartland Regional Food Business Center to build Turtle Island Trade Coalition resources and reach.
“It’s more than a coalition,” Thielen said. “We’re a step towards reclaiming Indigenous food systems and building resilience in our communities.”
The most important, fundamental part of this work is learning about and learning from Indigenous communities here, he added.
That’s what brought Thielen to the Turtle Island Trade Coalition after serving as Program Coordinator for the Indigenous Youth Food Sovereignty Program at UNL Tribal Extension.
“I fell in love with the community and, as an Indigenous person myself, I had just started to explore my relationships with this land and my history,” Thielen said.
Early members of the Turtle Island Trade Coalition include makers of traditional healing products, a https://turtleisland.unl.edu/ironbear-sacred-care-placeholder
Services
Services now available through the Turtle Island Trade Coalition include:
Digital Marketplace: A secure online platform for marketing and selling products, featuring streamlined point-of-sale services and payment processing.
National Exposure: Inclusion in the National Market Maker business directory, connecting Indigenous producers with more than 40,000 potential customers nationwide.
Financial Support: Opportunity to apply for targeted grants to support your business growth and development, including the Heartland Center Business Builder Subaward grant program.
Skill Development: Comprehensive training programs based on producer guides, covering essential aspects of food production and business management.
Networking Opportunities: Complimentary registration to the annual food sovereignty conference, fostering connections within the Indigenous and urban farming communities.
Great Plains Conference
The Turtle Island Trade Coalition and UNL Tribal Extension Office host the Great Plains Indigenous Food Sovereignty Conference. The first annual conference will take place May 1-2, 2025, at University of Nebraska Lincoln.
The event is dedicated to fostering Indigenous food sovereignty, community-driven business development, and the revitalization of traditional foodways. It will bring together Indigenous food producers, tribal leaders, extension staff, and community members from across the region to discuss and inspire new pathways towards sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Network Building
Thielen’s work growing the Turtle Island Trade Coalition involves significant outreach to tribal leaders and Indigenous food and farm businesses in addition to providing business development services and the annual food sovereignty gathering.
Among the businesses joining this effort and the Turtle Island Trade Coalition’s online marketplace are:
Iron Bear Sacred Care is an herbal remedy business of the Ihanktonwan sisters. Descendants of Ironbear and Ironnecklace, they proudly identify as Ihanktonwan (Yankton Sioux).
NaTerra Regenerative Farm offers fresh local produce through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions. It also works to build a mutual support network of area regenerative producers and to offer educational opportunities, such as tours for school classes.
Turtle Island Indigenous Youth Growers offers starter plants for sale to home gardeners. It is a program that works in collaboration with Indigenous elders and UNL Extension faculty to equip Indigenous high school students with the skills to grow food sustainably and help contribute food to their communities.
See more members at Turtle Island Trade Coalition.