Yuowanca Okciya (Helping Science and Education Come Together)

Oglala Lakota College, Kyle SD

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Oglala Lakota College (OLC) is a tribal college on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Yuowanca Okiya (Helping Science and Education Come Together) will renovate laboratory space into a multi-disciplinary facility solely dedicated to undergraduate research. The Oglala Lakota Center for Science and Technology (OLCST) is the 12 million acre Pine Ridge reservation's only research laboratory. OLC has been a leader in tribal college STEM activities since the 1990's through the MIE, TCUP and other NSF programs. Yuowanca Okiya will explore creative, original and transformative concepts by furthering independent research by a tribal college on an Indian Reservation and in collaboration with other universities. Yuowanca Okiya broadens the participation of Native Americans who are the most underrepresented group in all STEM areas. Funds will be provided to: 1. create necropsy laboratory by installing a fume hood, necropsy station, and storage cabinets; 2. refurbish the bacteria laboratory by installing a sink and storage cabinets to permit microbial analysis 3. remodel the earth science laboratory by installing two fume hoods, storage cabinets, and a Millipore water treatment system 4. remodel the conservation biology and natural resources curation facility by adding climate control and museum storage cabinets for dry collections (botanical, zoological, geological, palentological) 5. provide climate control for the GIS remote sensing laboratory 6. add cabinets and electrical outlets to the instrument laboratories for preparation and analyses of liquids and solids. 7. Add a cabinet for formaldehyde preserved specimens to the ventilated chemical storage room.