This award will expand the capacity of Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) to 1) provide comprehensive geospatial training to tribal students and tribal members across the region and the country by supporting summer training of Tribal College and University students for careers in sciences with a foundation in geospatial information technology, 2) provide geospatial technology professional development for tribal natural resource professionals, and 3) engage tribal college and tribal professionals in national research and technology efforts such as the NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program and the National Ecological Observation Network (NEON). Founded in 1971, and acquiring Land Grant status in 1994, SIPI provides higher education opportunities for indigenous people from over 100 different tribes across the United States. The overall objectives of the workshops are to expand SIPI's capacity to provide geospatial training, to expand opportunities for Tribal College and University undergraduate students to engage in scientific research, and to develop an understanding of long-term and large scale ecological research provided by LTER and NEON. The workshops will bring in guest speakers from NEON, and provide training from LTER scientists. Other activities include a visit to NEON HQ and using NEON data in summer courses at SIPI. The summer courses will serve an estimated 80 students from American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The effort will occur as part of the SIPI Geospatial Information Technology Summer Institute, which has been held since 2000, and was institutionalized in 2004. This summer program will expand science education through this minority serving institution with cutting edge ecological research. Courses held this summer are estimated to serve eighty students from American Indian and Alaska Native tribes with potential for more enrollments in several classes. This effort will expand the number of underrepresented groups engaged in science and technology education and research.
