Northwest Indian College (NWIC) is a small two-year Tribal College forging research based science education programs, especially through the Tribal Environmental and Natural Resources Management and the Tribal Colleges and Universities Programs. These and other Science Division programs lead to AAS and AS degrees with significant numbers of students transferring to partner institutions. The Research Experience for Undergraduates grant will allow the College to engage Native students in research projects in the areas of environmental science and natural resources relevant to the Pacific Northwest Tribes. Northwest Indian College partners with institutions and agencies such as Western Washington University's Huxley College of Environmental Studies; the University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories; the Lummi Natural Resources Department; the WA State Department of Ecology; the University of California, Irvine; the National Park Service and the North Cascades Institute. All of the above, plus NASA and the Ecological Society of America have supported the College's efforts to transition to a Research-based science education model that was part of the original Science Division plan. The REU Program will select students for scientific research projects based on their interest, a suitable mentor from the College or any of the partnering Institutions, and if necessary, the sponsorship of their Tribe. If the student chooses a research project with a partnering Institution, a faculty member from NWIC will coordinate the research project with the mentor and the student. The research projects will address, among other topics, questions related to non-point source pollution, restoration ecology of salmon, remote field habitat assessment tools, shellfish and fisheries aquaculture technologies, traditional use of native plants, DNA-based shellfish and fish population analyses, the ecology of the Salish Sea (Puget Sound), and tree physiology. We expect, as the nascent National Indian Center for Marine Environmental Research and Education (NICMERE) starts functioning on the Lummi Reservation, to incorporate Research dealing with other aspects of Marine Sciences. Students may choose to work on their research projects throughout the academic year and summer. For more info, please contact Roberto Gonzalez-Plaza, Science Division, Northwest Indian College, 2522 Kwina Road, Lummi Nation, Bellingham WA, 98226. rgonzalez@nwic.edu , Telephone: 360-392.4307
