Are you a student passionate about promoting natural resource regeneration and addressing food scarcity within your community? Apply for a summer internship with IAC!

The Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) is recruiting college and graduate students (and/or Native individuals seeking experience in Tribal agriculture and natural resources). Ten (10) selected interns will engage in a 12-14 week paid internship between May and December. This internship will follow a hybrid model of in-person and virtual activities. In addition, interns will dedicate 20-40 hours a week (520 hours total) to site-based and remote activities.

IAC has been mentoring summer interns since 2015. During the summer of 2021, IAC's internship program was conducted across the Western, Central, and Eastern states. The programming employed 16 interns supporting various Tribal projects. One of these interns was Cara James Denetsosie.

Cara is a member of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. During her internship in 2021, she lived in Carson City, Nevada, with her family, where she was a caretaker for her grandfather while attending the University of Nevada-Reno for Psychology. Over four months, Cara stood out as a stellar intern, where she built a relationship with NRCS that flourished into a significant working relationship to benefit her Washoe community.

Cara was mentored during her Summer internship at Demlu Uli Mongil, a Washoe community garden, where she focused on growing foods and medicines to share with community (elders especially) to pave a path of strength and sustainability. As an aspiring mental health counselor, Cara experienced healing while working at Demlu Uli Mongil with traditional plants and medicines like elderberry. Her work in the garden reminded her of the different ways to heal physically and mentally by connecting with the soil. Due to her dedication to the IAC's summer internship program, she was granted an extension to work on her project through the following December.

If you have an interest in Native agriculture, consider applying today. Applications are open through May 1st, 2023, at 11:59 PM (PST). Visit our Youth Programs page to apply now!