KarunaNews Story

A Native American tribe in North Dakota will soon grow lettuce in a giant greenhouse complex that when fully completed will be among the country's largest, enabling the tribe to grow much of its own food decades after a federal dam flooded the land where they had cultivated food for millennia. Work is ongoing on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's 3.3-acre greenhouse that will make up most of the operation's initial phase. However, enough of the structure will be completed this summer to start growing leafy greens and other crops such as tomatoes and strawberries. The tribe will spend roughly $76 million on the initial phase, which also will includes a warehouse and other facilities near the town of Parshall. It plans to add to the growing space in the coming years, eventually totaling about 14.5 acres, which officials say would make it one of the world's largest facilities of its type. Getting fresh produce has long been a challenge in the area of western North Dakota where the tribe is based, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Initially, the MHA Nation expects to grow nearly 2 million pounds (907,000 kilograms) of food a year.