FEWSS in the News

Diné College is testing a new solar powered greenhouse that grows food hydroponically. Higher yields and year-round harvests are the goal.

By Melanie Lenart of Native Science Report 

Dr. Karletta Chief, Director of the newly established Indigenous Resilience Center speaks with President Robert Robbins about the Center's mission to support Native faculty, students, and research, and to strengthen relationships with Native Nations. 

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) Nov 4, 2021 - Native American nations are feeling the serious impacts of climate change and the pandemic. The University of Arizona is helping tribes overcome challenges such as water insecurity.

“They walk three miles to a well that’s primarily used for livestock. Then use a gas-powered pump to pump up the ground water, fill up their containers and go back,” said Dr. Karletta Chief, Associate Professor of Environmental Science.  Dr. Chief is leading efforts through the UA’s Indigenous Resilience Center to improve issues that COVID has amplified.

"The university moves with intention in regards to Native American students’ needs, making it a leading institution for this group." IndigeFEWSS faculty and programming is featured in this Daily Wildcat article on UArizona's direct efforts to recruit, retain and involve Native American students. 

The Indigenous Resilience Center will work directly with Native nations to address environmental challenges in ways that respect Native and Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge. Dr. Karletta Chief was instrumental in advancing this initiative. 

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $10 million grant to a higher education program aimed at broadening Indigenous career pathways in food, energy and water systems.

The awarded network, called the Native FEWS Alliance, focuses on expanding the career field in food, energy and water systems (FEWS) within Native American communities. It also provides educational resources for Indigenous students to build these systems within their own communities. 

Dr. Karletta Chief and IndigeFEWSS faculty have partnered with University of New Mexico on an NSF Transformation Network award. 

 The award is part of $30 million in funding that the NSF announced this week to create two new research networks to understand and design innovative and equitable solutions that build community resilience.

The chemical and environmental engineering professor was a top candidate in a national competition focused on researchers gathering "diverse knowledge for a sustainable future."

A group of faculty, staff and students sets out to build an off-the-grid system to power water filtration for communities across the Navajo Nation, where running water is not universal. But first, they set out to understand life on the reservation.

A $500,000 grant from the USDA will help UArizona and Diné College prepare Navajo Nation college students for careers in STEM.

Trainee and Doctorate student Nikki Tulley dedicates her life to restoring balance and tackling water insecurities among Indigenous communities by studying to be one of only a few female Navajo hydrologists in the world.

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Abolhassan Mohammadi Fathabad is a PhD candidate in systems and industrial engineering. He was awarded funding from Tech Launch Arizona (TLA) to develop inventions with the goal of bringing them to the public as impactful products to benefit society. 

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Sarah Abney and Nikki Tulley are PhD candidates and in the video Sacred Posion, they offer a look at the deadly consequences of uranium mining on Diné people and how they prevent history from repeating itself.

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As part of the Water Institute's WaterTalks lecture series, Dr. Karletta Chief presents, “Training STEM graduate students to work in Indigenous communities to co-solve food, energy and water security challenges."

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Dr. Vasiliki Karanikola and Dr. Karletta Chief were awarded funding from The Haury Program. The Haury Program has also provided funding to PhD candidate, Nikki Tulley, to assist Dr. Chief to address water supply, access, and contamination issues on the Navajo Nation under the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

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The Indige-FEWSS team contributed their efforts with the Navajo Safe Water Project to assist off-grid Navajo families with water needs for hand washing and quality drinking water. 

READ MORE HERE