Cooperative Extension in Indigenous Communities: Characteristic of Successful Programs

The mission of Land Grant Institutions (LGIs) and Cooperative Extension has always included the concepts of educational access and inclusion, but not all communities have equitable access to Extension programs. Specifically, Extension is currently only serving about 10% of Indigenous communities. Given the complicated history of Indigenous land dispossession that created LGIs, it is imperative that Indigenous communities have equitable access to the benefits of Extension’s educational and agricultural programs. Despite these challenges, there are 1862 Extension educators that collaborate with Indigenous communities. Through a transformative convergent mixed methods study, I investigated the Western Region of Extension to learn about the characteristics that help to make Extension programs in Indigenous communities successful. The interviews and survey responses revealed these characteristics, including centering the community’s goals, having an Insider Collaborator, and creating culturally relevant programming and pedagogy. From the findings of this study, my participants and I co-constructed implications and recommendations to help make these programs successful and provide equitable support to Indigenous communities.