Salish Kootenai College Indigenous Research Center

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The TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) strand allows TCUP institutions to capitalize on their investments in STEM instruction and research. A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the intellectual leadership of TCUP institutions so that they can address scientific or engineering needs or interests, specifically for their tribes or communities, or broadly for the Nation. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will impact the research capabilities and therefore the economic strength of many Indigenous communities. This project reflects the support of the Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST).The Salish Kootenai College (SKC) Indigenous Research Center Feasibility Study and the SKC Faculty Research Group formed the impetus of the creation of the Salish Kootenai College Indigenous Research Center (SKCIRC). The Center visions to advance an understanding and establish an importance of an Indigenous worldviews for STEM research and to coalesce an Indigenous research structure from within an Indigenous community by Indigenous scholars. The mission of the Center is to realize a framework for Indigenous research methodologies (IRM) built upon by the current state of knowledge of IRM from multiple Indigenous scholars and community perspectives for the betterment of tribal, local and national science understanding. To move toward meeting this mission and in the spirit of the vision, the Center will engage American Indian TCU faculty, students and community members in a collaborative environment to meet the goal of advancing, through use and research, IRM to produce new knowledge and application of methods. SKCIRC will further its aims through: collaboratively exploring theories and methods in IRM from unique Indigenous worldviews; advancing the use and awareness of IRM; and building institutional capacity for the advancement of IRM. Notable activities planned include: a visiting Indigenous TCU scholars program; an Indigenous Research colloquium; sponsored cross-disciplinary STEM research; IRM education and training services; an annual IRM symposium; and a library of relevant IRM documents and supporting materials.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.