AISES Announces Cooperative Agreement with USDA Office of Tribal Relations to Support Research Rooted in Indigenous Knowledge

The program encourages students to highlight Indigenous Knowledge research.

Albuquerque, NM, January 26, 2023 - The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) announces a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Tribal Relations to highlight Indigenous Knowledge research. This three-year program will encourage high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to develop and conduct Indigenous Knowledge research projects, presenting their work at the annual AISES National Conference. Additionally, the program supports increased awareness of Indigenous STEM knowledge and seeks to highlight Indigenous Knowledge throughout AISES events and programs.

This program will take students on a skill development journey in learning to implement best practices in research. The program will align with the AISES National Conference Research Competition, and AISES will create an Indigenous Knowledge category and provide funding for project support and research presentations. Students will have an opportunity to present their research to a broad audience, increasing visibility of Indigenous-led research and encouraging increased engagement in Indigenous Knowledge among AISES students, professionals, and partners.

Eligible applicants include current high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in the United States. If you are an interested student, please let us know by completing the Student Interest Form.

As part of the skill development journey, AISES will also be providing resources and learning materials to aid students in their creation of a research project. If you are interested in being involved in skill development through providing presentations and/or resources of your work involving Indigenous Knowledge, please complete the Presenter Interest Form.

There will be more opportunities for AISES members to be involved. Please contact Sky Wildcat at swildcat@aises.org for more questions and/or comments.


	Student Interest Form


	Presenter Interest Form

About AISES

Advancing Indigenous People in STEM For 46 years, AISES has focused on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in critically needed STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines. This robust nonprofit currently supports individual student and professional members across the U.S. and Canada through chartered college and university chapters, professional chapters, tribal chapters, and affiliated PK-12 schools. Members benefit from diverse STEM-focused programming that supports careers and promotes student success and workforce development in multiple crucial areas. To learn more visit aises.org.

About the USDA Office of Tribal Relations

The USDA Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) serves as a single point of contact for tribal issues and works to ensure that relevant programs and policies are efficient, easy to understand, accessible, and developed in consultation with the American Indians and Alaska Native constituents they impact. This cooperative agreement is part of USDA’s Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative, which is partnering with tribal-serving organizations on projects to reimagine federal food and agriculture programs from an Indigenous perspective and inform future USDA programs and policies. Learn more at www.usda.gov/tribalrelations.