TEA Center: Sitting Bull College’s Native American Prairie Ecosystems Research Center (PERC)

部落学院和大学计划(TCUP)的一个目标是提高TCUP机构的智力领导力，以便它们能够满足科学或工程方面的需求或兴趣，特别是为他们的部落或社区，或广泛地为国家。TCU企业发展中心(TEA中心)股允许TCUP机构利用其在STEM教学和研究能力方面的投资。该项目直接符合这一目标，而且将对草原生态系统服务、生态和恢复相关地区的部落社区产生直接影响。坐牛学院(SBC)草原生态系统研究中心(PERC)利用不同的研究专业知识和当地土著生态知识来研究社区确定的生态系统问题的解决方案。PERC利用SBC和当地保留区社区的资源和师资，使用符合文化传统并对大平原部落社区产生直接影响的扎根做法来解决社区中出现的问题。该中心将作为有关平原地区的土著信息和知识的主要储存库，并将提供一个关于平原环境生态的数据库，供科学家和社区使用。PERC将开发一个解决方案平台，利用科学研究解决对部落社区至关重要的环境和自然资源问题，同时将本科生、研究生和教职员工的研究机会制度化。一个多学科团队将为促进土壤科学、水质、遗传学、野生动物和植物生态学、微生物学、分子生态学和工程学等多个领域的知识进步做出贡献。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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. The TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers (TEA Centers) strand allows TCUP institutions to capitalize on their investments in STEM instructional and research capacity. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will have a direct impact on tribal communities in areas related to prairie ecosystem services, ecology, and restoration. Sitting Bull College’s (SBC) Prairie Ecosystems Research Center (PERC) leverages diverse research expertise and local Indigenous ecological knowledge to research solutions to community-identified ecosystem problems. PERC leverages the resources and faculty of SBC and local reservation communities to solve issues that arise in the community using grounded practices that align with cultural traditions and have a direct impact on tribal communities in the Great Plains. The center will serve as the primary repository for Indigenous information and knowledge about the plains region and will deliver a database on the ecology of the plains environment for use by both scientists and the community. PERC will develop a solutions platform, using scientific research to address environmental and natural resource issues of importance to tribal communities while institutionalizing research opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. A multidisciplinary team will contribute to advancing knowledge in a variety of fields including soil science, water quality, genetics, wildlife and plant ecology, microbiology, molecular ecology, and engineering.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.