The details
from Neely Bardwell
-
Haskell Indian Nations University has received the largest research award ever given by the National Science Foundation to a tribal college or university.
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced the $20 million award to be used for a central indigenous science project. Tribal University, located in Lawrence, Kansas, will receive the award for five years.
The project will create “The Large Scale CoPe: Rising Voices, Changing Coasts: The National Indigenous and Earth Sciences Convergence Hub”, a space for the convergence of disciplines and epistemologies where indigenous knowledge holders from different coastal regions will work with university-trained social workers, scientists and students of the Earth’s ecosystem and physical system in transformative research to address coastal risks in the contexts of their communities.
“The Rising Voices, Changing Coasts Center to be located at Haskell Indian Nations University is a tremendous step forward in supporting tribal communities as they address the challenges of a rapidly changing climate,” Newland said in a statement. “This is an exciting and much-needed opportunity for scientists and indigenous knowledge holders to collaborate on how indigenous people in coastal areas can build resilience to the dynamic forces resulting from climate change.”
The center is planned to focus their research on four regions: Alaska (Arctic), Louisiana (Gulf of Mexico), Hawai’i (Pacific Islands) and Puerto Rico (Caribbean Islands), and the research aims to improve understanding of the interrelated the physical, cultural, social and economic processes that result in coastal hazards, as well as climate resilience opportunities.
They plan to gather data from indigenous knowledge, modeling skills, archaeological data, geographic information system techniques, socio-economic analysis and hazard research.
Haskell Foundation Director Aaron Hove expressed his gratitude in a statement:
“This award is remarkable and critically important today. It strengthens Haskell’s leadership role in Indigenous Climate Change research and demonstrates what a small institution can achieve when it builds relationships with internationally recognized research institutions like the National Center for Atmospheric Research , Scripps Research Institute and major research universities”.
More stories like this
Portland State University offers in-state tuition to all enrolled members of federally recognized tribes
New Internship Opportunity for Indigenous Students in California
How a recent Supreme Court ruling dismissed a local student journalist’s free speech lawsuit
Presidents from all 35 Tribal Colleges and Universities gather in Las Vegas
Do you appreciate a local perspective on the news?
For the past decade plus, we’ve covered important Indigenous stories that are often overlooked by other media outlets. From the protests at Standing Rock and the toppling of colonizer statues during racial equality protests, to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) and the overdue reckoning regarding assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian residential schools , we have been there to provide a local perspective and to elevate local voices.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation this month to help support our efforts. Every contribution – big or small – helps us remain a force for change in Indian Country and continue to tell stories that are often ignored, hidden or overlooked. Most often, our donors make a gift of $20 or more, while many choose to make a monthly recurring donation of $5 or $10. Whatever you can do, it helps fund our Indigenous-led newsroom and our ability to cover Indigenous news.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
About the Author
Neely Bardwell (descendant of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), who started as an intern with Native News Online in the summer of 2021, is a freelance writer. Bardwell is a junior at Michigan State University, where she is majoring in politics and minoring in Native American studies.
