Delaware Tribe of Indians

Our program helps communities establish and maintain community gardens as a way to promote local food production, reduce food waste, and provide a space for community engagement and education.

This goal will be accomplished by constructing three geodesic domes on land at tribal headquarters in Bartlesville, OK, over a period of three weeklong schools. Domes will be constructed with sustainable practices like drip irrigation, passive ventilation, in-bed vermiculture, and other Best Management Practices (BMPs) to promote sustainability. All crops produced will be used to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for the elder lunch program and tribal food bank. Intergenerational Tribe (IGT’s) members, community and local school student participation will be encouraged throughout the process. Crops will be selected through a needs assessment completed by tribal members; in addition to Intergenerational teams selecting crops of historical tribal significance to plant in designated sections of the domes. Community involvement will include partnering with local schools and the community to provide educational materials, in-class lessons regarding dome construction, crop production, and composting to reduce food waste. 

Several opportunities exist to promote the successes of this project and the concept of sustainable production practices of Delaware Tribe of Indians (DTI) culture and historical crops. Education and outreach provided by this program will enhance the quality of life for communities, and consumers by encourage adoption of sustainable agricultural practices adopt dome production, or production in their own home environment that had the potential to reduce money spent on groceries wasted and reducing the climate change caused by rotting food waste in landfills. 

Examples of Project Outreach Education 

Open Dome Events will be held to showcase program highlights and successes. During one of these events IGT's will provide presentations on the significance of the traditional corps they have cultivated. These presentations will help to increase the awareness of the DTI culture. 

A Tribal Member Meeting will be held at DTI headquarters to allow all interested members of the DTI, especially those who reside outside Bartlesville to learn about the project successes. This meeting will showcase the sustainable production practices used during the project, support materials, and the availability of resources to facilitate replication of the project.

Community Outreach Activities will be integrated into the DTI’s established network of outreach activities for DTI and community members.

Web/Social Media Outreach will include updates to this webpage and the DTI Facebook page to provide details and highlights of project successes.