Geoscience Alliance Research Coordination Network--Broadening Participation of Native Americans in the Geosciences

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The objective of the Geoscience Alliance Research Coordination Network (GA-RCN) RCN is to build a sustainable network that will strengthen ties between Native communities, mainstream scientific/academic communities and employers and supports Native Americans in moving successfully through geoscience academic programs and into the geoscience workforce. The GA-RCN project is grounded in using social network theory to understand and ameliorate the problem of underrepresentation of Native Americans in the Earth and Environmental Sciences. The GA-RCN members will include faculty and staff from tribal colleges, universities, and research centers; native elders and community members; industry, agency, and corporate representatives; students (undergraduate, and graduate); formal and informal educators; and other interested individuals. Native American geoscientists are poised to make valuable and unique contributions to the discipline. An in-depth understanding of the geosciences is imperative for wise and effective management of resources like water and soil.The major activities of the GARCN will include 1 workshop and 1 full-scale Geoscience Alliance national conference; sessions proposed at professional meetings; development of culturally-appropriate research protocols for the geosciences; and a network mapping and analysis project that will collect and analyze data on the membership of the Geoscience Alliance using a social networking framework. The GARCN will be guided by a steering committee representing the different communities engaged in the effort. The intellectual merit of the GARCN will be to build knowledge in the following areas: best practices for support of Native American success in geoscience education and practice, respectful ways to do research using both indigenous and modern scientific research methods, research projects that are community inspired and of significance for Indian country, and innovative workforce development programs and strategies.