Oregon State and partners to receive $4.2 million to study stressors facing Dungeness crab, other marine life under climate change
A key component of the project is the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which is the accumulation of Indigenous science, including information, practices and beliefs about relationships and environmental functions, including all elements, species and processes within ecosystems. Siletz Tribal member and TEK specialist Samantha Chisholm Hatfield will lead that aspect of the project.
Assessing abalone and shellfish populations relied on in culturally important Native roles through Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Explore and More
Because collaborative relationships between Indigenous and Western innovators, have the potential to significantly advance the fields of natural resource management, conservation, environmental sustainability, and health, but these interactions are often fraught with bias or lack of appropriate support. Furthermore, few opportunities exist for Indigenous youth to engage with the scientific research process, particularly in ways that honor their cultural values, protocols of relationships, and ways of knowing.
This project studies the Explore and More Precollege Program, in which high school students work with OSU student mentors to co-develop creative research projects that address community issues using both Western and Indigenous sciences. We take a three-pronged approach to better analyze the pathways of research by Indigenous youth in this program:
(1) identifying which resources are helpful
(2) describing participants' experiences, and ultimately
(3) detailing how their topics of interest are conceptualized and presented.
Ultimately, we aim to celebrate Indigenous students for their valuable perspectives and hope Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences may grow to include more transdisciplinary connections and epistemological plurality, as well as providing an opportunity for Native students to further develop their research at OSU.
