Joseph Hiller

American Indians living on reservations are differentiated from other American minority populations in many ways. One of the most striking and important contemporary differences is the relationship of Indians and their respective Indian reservations. Reservation residents are geographically place-bound in sparsely populated, remote areas. It is difficult and expensive work to develop coherent and valued extension programs in Indian Country.

This presentation outlines a few fundamentals about being Indian in America and how we relate to Extension in all its forms. Who is Indian? What is a Tribe? What is a reservation? How do tribes and reservations fit (or not fit) the Cooperative Extension model? How do the "1994" tribal colleges relate to the "1862" land-grant colleges? How does the funding for all this work? What about the future?

There are more than 560 federally recognized American Indian Tribes, Nations and Communities in 36 states in the United States. Some 314 Indian reservations are home to these tribes, though many have no reserved lands. America's Indians speak more than 175 indigenous languages. About half the tribes have gaming compacts with their states. More than 30 tribal colleges and universities have their own extension programs, as do several tribes. The Extension Indian Reservation Program has since 1990 been delivering 1862-style Extension programs to 28 sites on 27 reservations in 15 states.