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The power and potential of Indigenous agriculture

Hopi farmer and University of Arizona faculty Michael Kotutwa Johnson has a farm about 90 minutes north of Flagstaff, Arizona.
Lauren Gilger / KJZZ
Hopi farmer and University of Arizona faculty Michael Kotutwa Johnson has a farm about 90 minutes north of Flagstaff, Arizona.

A new University of Arizona study found that American Indians operate 62% of farms in Arizona and manage more than 80% of the state’s total agricultural land. But those farmers are still not getting the recognition or resources they need. Michael Kotutwa Johnson is a Hopi dry farmer and a coauthor of the study.

“I don't think people really understand the agricultural imprint and footprint that [tribes] have here in Arizona and have since, I almost like to say time immemorial,” Kotutwa Johnson said.

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