Federal Policy Shift: Native Regenerative Ag for Soil & Carbon

This comprehensive analysis examines how Native American regenerative agricultural practices can be integrated into federal policy frameworks to achieve dual outcomes of ecosystem conservation and carbon sequestration. The article details specific, actionable regenerative techniques employed by Tribal Nations across the United States' 703 tribal territories, including culturally significant practices such as controlled fire management and waterscaping that directly improve soil health and encourage native species proliferation. The research presents concrete case studies, particularly the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin's 20-year food sovereignty initiative, which demonstrates how large-scale investment in traditional food crops combined with exemplary water and soil quality programs produces measurable results in community nourishment and environmental stewardship. The article analyzes three specific regenerative scenarios from the Soils Revealed database—improved cropland management with high organic input and minimal disturbance, improved grassland management, and increased land rewilding—comparing their carbon sequestration potential against business-as-usual forestland-to-crop conversion over 15-year periods. The research confirms that Indigenous stewardship practices function as powerful carbon sequestration tools while maintaining soil health and supporting community food security. The analysis reframes the carbon conversation around human relationships with land and kinship relations with soil, grounding regenerative agriculture in Indigenous worldviews of stewardship duty. This provides practitioners with evidence-based justification for adopting Native-led approaches and specific policy recommendations for federal support of tribal-led regenerative agriculture initiatives.