SHIPROCK – On August 22, under the hot sun in Shiprock, community leaders, farmers, and families gathered for a historic signing ceremony with ToohBAA, a women-led farming organization rooted in the San Juan River Valley.
The day marked a new chapter in the movement for Navajo food sovereignty, where the work of farmers and the hopes of future generations came together in a powerful moment of unity.
The celebration highlighted the next phase of building the ToohBAA Agricultural Operations Center, made possible by a $200,000 grant from the Navajo Nation’s Agriculture Infrastructure Fund signed earlier this year by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren. The 5.6-acre development will include fencing, a shop and office, produce processing facilities, a certified kitchen, a steamed corn station, and a seed bank.
More than bricks and steel, the center is envisioned as a place where culture and innovation meet to create food security, opportunity, and resilience among Navajo farmers for Navajo families.
Acknowledgements were given to ToohBAA members, farmer and activist Duane “Chili” Yazzie, the Center of Southwest Culture, Diné College, local nonprofits, and Vice President Richelle Montoya—partners whose support and dedication have carried this vision forward.
President Nygren reflected on the meaning of farming, noting that “each speaker reminded the crowd that farming is not easy work; it requires humility, sweat, and determination beneath the sun, but it is also sacred work that nourishes families and restores balance to the land.”
President Nygren then made three heartfelt commitments: to stand with farmers and ranchers by ensuring they have the resources to keep the land productive; to advance food sovereignty by investing in projects like ToohBAA that blend tradition with innovation; and to strengthen local economies so that community-led initiatives create jobs, businesses, and opportunities at home.
“We are building a future where every community deserves to eat nutritional foods grown within our own communities,” President Nygren said.