Great Lakes NARCH 13 SCEP 1

ABSTRACT: GLNARCH SCEP I This GLNARCH Student Career Enhancement Program (SCEP I) will integrate important tribal practices at multiple Great Lakes tribal communities with experiential programming to increase Native American middle and high school student’s exposure to biomedical research and education. The proposed aims are informed by over 20 years of experience successfully implementing health sciences Native American student development programs. The Great Lakes Basin is the historical homeland of the original people, including the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Stockbridge-Munsee, Oneida, and Menominee peoples, all of which are Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC) member tribes. We propose a novel experiential learning approach, which will now travel throughout the region and blend traditional tribal curricula with biomedical science academic site visits. This approach is adapted from our previously longstanding American Indian Student Scholars Program (ISSP) which received high praise from participants under past funding cycles.