OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Native American butterfly farmer is hoping to transform the lives of some other tribal members in rural Oklahoma by training them to raise and sell the colorful insects, themselves.
Jane Breckinridge is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and runs the Euchee Butterfly Farm near Leonard, Oklahoma. She has been in the butterfly business for 20 years and last year started her Natives Raising Natives program, which holds its first training session Saturday.
Breckinridge says she hopes the program will promote conservation efforts and get younger Native American participants to take an interest in science. She also hopes it will enable those who complete it to make a bit of money raising butterflies, themselves.
She believes participants could earn $300 to $400 per month in the first year.