RAPID: Building Tribal Nations Through Research: Telling the Story of TCU Enterprise Advancement Centers

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the discipline-based research and STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education.

This project supports that goal by disseminating the achievements and findings of the colleges that have been realized with federal funding, and to increase the knowledge and understanding of tribal colleges and their role in economic and community development for a subset of the Nation's Native citizens.

Through this project, Aaniiih Nakoda College supports the development of two professionally produced videos documenting the work of TCUP Enterprise Advancement (TEA ) Centers, interdisciplinary centers for STEM research established by tribally-controlled colleges and universities (TCUs) and other TCUP institutions. The videos investigate how the colleges, by leveraging resources within NSF’s Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP), are developing the capacity to conduct groundbreaking research that reflects the unique needs and values of the communities they serve, while also enriching educational opportunities for Native students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.