Tribal producers from across the country were among more than a dozen farm groups lobbying Capitol Hill lawmakers this week to empower farmers to address climate change in the 2023 farm bill, Axios‘ Ayurella Horn-Muller writes.

The big picture: They join a network of tribal governments and organizations putting the onus on policymakers to prioritize climate action and Indigenous food sovereignty.

What they’re saying: “Coming into this farm bill, of course, we’ve been left out of the conversation. We are here to put that voice forward,” says Helga Garcia-Garza, executive director of Agri-Cultura Network and La Cosecha CSA, who was one of the rally speakers.

  • She tells Axios they are urging Congress to support climate action and Indigenous food justice, particularly for those in areas being hit hard by climate change, like the tribal producers dependent on the ecosystems impacted by the disappearing Rio Grande.
  • “It brought a sadness to the real realities of climate change. How are we supposed to grow food in a healthy way, that’s been done for generations, when we’re facing that type of catastrophe?”

Zoom out: Carly Griffith Hotvedt, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an associate director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, says the farm bill is the largest funding mechanism that transfers federal dollars to Indian Country.

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