The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs announced on Aug. 3 that Haskell Indian Nations University was awarded $20 million to create a hub for the Indigenous community and earth science convergence.
According to the Lawrence Journal World, the hub will be called Rising Voices, Changing Coasts: The National Indigenous and Earth Sciences Convergence Hub. Haskell professor Daniel Wildcat will be the lead investigator for the new hub
“The Rising Voices, Changing Coasts hub to be located at Haskell Indian Nations University is a tremendous step forward in supporting Tribal communities as they address challenges from a rapidly changing climate, is an exciting and much-needed opportunity for scientists and Indigenous knowledge keepers to collaborate on how Indigenous people in coastal areas can build resiliency to the dynamic forces resulting from climate change," U.S. Bureau of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said, according to the Lawrence Journal World.
Haskell Indian Nations University was awarded $20 million to create a hub for the Indigenous community and earth science convergence.
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According to a news release by the bureau, partners include the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Indigenous Peoples Climate Change Working Group, along with community partners in the four targeted regions.
"This award is wonderful and critically important today,” Haskell Foundation Executive Director Aaron Hove said, according to the bureau's news release. “It cements Haskell's leadership role in Indigenous climate change research and demonstrates what a small institution can accomplish when it builds relationships with internationally known research institutions like the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Scripps Research Institute and large research universities."
The $20 million stems from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The award is for five years and is the largest research award ever granted to a Tribal college or university by the National Science Foundation.
The hub will focus on place-based research in the Alaskan Arctic, Louisiana's Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Islands in Hawaii and Puerto Rico's Caribbean Island.
