Reprint from May 26, 2022 and June 2, 2022
Last of four parts
Native people offer growing interest in the Green Revolution. Winona LaDuke writes on Alex White Plume, a leader of the Ogala Lakota tribe in the Spring 2021 edition of Yes! magazine.
“And though tribes had been reluctant to get into the hemp and cannabis industry, particularly under the Donald Trump presidency, there’s a growing interest among Native people in this new Green Revolution.
“The Wisconsin-based Oneida tribe, strategically situated near Green Bay, Wis., points to a growing market for hempcrete, and hemp hurd, which can be used for insulation.
“The Sisseton Tribe, based in present-day South Dakota and North Dakota, has been growing hemp for two years in collaboration with researchers from the University of Minnesota. They’re looking at fiber hemp for a composite bag facility—such as shopping bags. The tribe has an industrial facility on the reservation, and rail access.
“Diné textile artists are exploring hemp fiber with their Churro sheep wool to make a new specialty textile. The Oatman family from the Nez Perce reservation launched a magazine, Tribal Hemp and Cannabis, focused on tribal hemp and cannabis.
“The Tudinu, or Desert People in Las Vegas, Nev. have a little colony downtown, a mile from the Strip. In l970 opened the NuWu Cannabis Marketplace. That’s a big deal, because the tribe runs the only cannabis lounge in downtown Las Vegas. They may not have much land, but they have a big dispensary.
“Tribes are in a unique position. Tribal sovereignty provides their governments leeway in the development of cannabis policies and will be a stabilizing force in turbulent times. Today, confusing regulations and lucrative growth in the cannabis industry set a complex scene, but tribal nations are in a position to continue a course they set.
“Tribes have the potential to revolutionize the industry. We have the land—we just need a bit of time, technology, and finances. This is an opportunity for justice—social and ecological—in this post-petroleum economic transition. And we are ready to go,” LaDuke wrote.