ICE-TI: Thokatakiya (Towards the future)

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A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities for their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover seeks to increase the regional capacity for data science through the development of innovative curriculum and service-based experiential learning, providing context for science and engineering education that is focused on active and collaborative learning. The project aims to build an environmental data science STEM education model through the incorporation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to address complex environmental science and engineering questions.The Tȟokátakiya (“towards the future”) project aims to strengthen environmental data science education and undergraduate research at Oglala Lakota College. A research focus on advancing understanding of groundwater and surface water flow in the region provides a basis for faculty and student research experiences and community engagement. Using advanced sensing tools, such as airborne and drone-acquired LiDAR and multispectral imagery, the project aims to characterize and understand the geometry, scale, and effects of structural features in complex hydrologic systems. Curriculum designed around these themes and founded on Lakota Ways of Knowing aims to train future leaders in the field of data science. Core competencies will be built in courses in Environmental Science and Pre-engineering degree programs. Community programming emphasizes food sovereignty, aquifer health, and developing a self-paced GIS Certificate program for the regional STEM workforce.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.