Transforming Indigenous Geoscience Education and Research (TIGER)

该项目通过在萨利希库特奈学院（Salish Kootenai College）开设一个创新的水文学学士学位课程，解决了对更多美国本土地球科学家的迫切需求。萨利希库特奈学院是一所部落学院，为萨利希人、库特奈人和Pend d'Oreille人以及来自美国各地的美国印第安人提供服务。课程包括对部落土地的本科研究，是由文化相关教学、行业公认标准、由科学家、教育工作者、管理人员、行业专业人士、部落领袖和资源管理人员组成的外部咨询委员会的投入，以及在美洲土著流域工作的地球科学家所需的能力，例如水法和主权问题。课程发展由课外保留策略补充，项目评估解决了文化相关课程和课外努力的影响，以提高美洲土著地球科学毕业生的比例。该项目的智力价值在于其创造性和全面的课程设计方法，并保留了部落学院或大学的第一个以地球科学为中心的学士学位课程。更广泛的影响包括一个可持续发展的项目，该项目培养了更多的美洲原住民水文学家，他们为科学贡献了宝贵的观点，并支持因自然和人为原因而发生变化的流域资源管理。

The project is addressing the critical need for more Native American geoscientists by creating a innovative Baccalaureate degree program in Hydrology at Salish Kootenai College, a tribal college which serves the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreille people, as well as American Indians from throughout the U.S. The curriculum, which includes undergraduate research on tribal lands, is informed by a unique combination of culturally relevant instruction, industry-recognized standards, input from an external advisory board comprising scientists, educators, administrators, industry professionals, tribal leaders and resource managers, and competencies required for geoscientists working in Native American watersheds, such as water-law and sovereignty issues. Curriculum development is supplemented by co-curricular retention strategies, and project assessment addresses the impact of both the culturally relevant curriculum and co-curricular efforts to increase the rate of Native American geoscience graduates.The intellectual merit of the project lies in its creative and comprehensive approach to curriculum design and retention in the first geoscience-centered baccalaureate program at a Tribal College or University. The broader impacts include a sustainable program that graduates additional Native American hydrologists, who contribute valuable perspectives to the science and support resource management in watersheds undergoing change from natural and human causes.