The overall purpose of this project is to increase significantly the enrollment and graduation rates of Indigenous students at Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) in science and mathematics and to increase their familiarity of related technology. By achieving these increases, and working through the other interventions that are integral to this project, more students at Leech Lake Tribal College will choose to major in the math and science disciplines and continue their education at a four-year institution. Their familiarity with technology and its multiple uses will increase as well. The success of our proposal requires that we recognize the importance of two concepts. First, academic success of Indigenous students is clearly related to their feelings of self-worth and having a strong sense of who they are. Second, their sense of identity is strongly tied to an Anishinaabe focus throughout the LLTC curriculum.
Four components will make up this project. The current STEM infrastructure will be enhanced; community centers where LLTC currently has internet connectivity and computers will be improved to facilitate outreach efforts; a library learning center will be developed; and student services attention to recruitment will be enhanced (Harper 2003). Each component interconnects not only with each other but also with barriers associated with a social digital divide and with the four goals of the National Science Foundation.
