Environmental Stewardship of Indigenous Lands Scholarship Program

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With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the Environmental Stewardship of Indigenous Lands (ESIL) Scholarship Program will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. Over five years, the project will fund 16 scholarships to students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in Biology, Civil Engineering, or Environmental Science at the University of Colorado Denver. The ESIL Scholarship Program will provide support, mentoring, and training in environmental stewardship in collaboration with Indigenous peoples (American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian). The ESIL Scholarship Program will address the need for environmental tribal liaisons, individuals trained in both STEM and cross-cultural communication. To meet this need, the ESIL Scholarship Program will enable scholarship recipients to complete internships at tribal and non-tribal government partners, and to participate in extracurricular activities designed to provide cross-cultural awareness in STEM, academic supports, and professional development. The ESIL Scholarship Program has the potential to produce valuable knowledge about: (1) how a university can promote equity for all students, and (2) how non-technical training in culture, professionalism, and communication can reduce barriers to retention in STEM programs (e.g., the perceived need to abandon one's cultural identity in favor of a new scientific dominant-culture identity). The ESIL Scholarship Program will conduct research on how to provide programming grounded in the viewpoint that cultural identity and scientific identity are symbiotic rather than exclusive. The research will be carried out via both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The ESIL Scholarship Program aims to increase enrollment in STEM majors interested in environmental stewardship, improve graduation rates of STEM students, and strengthen Indigenous culture on a collegiate campus through deeper connections with tribal and government partners. The project will develop a unique model for synergizing indigenous culture and STEM through cross-cultural experiences and will train students who will be uniquely qualified for STEM careers in land stewardship.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.