Sustainable Land and Water Resources Research Experience for Undergraduates | SLAWR REU

Community-Centered and Tribally Focused

For over 15 years, the University of Minnesota and Salish Kootenai College, a Tribal college, have collaborated on Sustainable Land and Water Resources Research Experience for Undergraduates (SLAWR REU), a community-centered and Tribally focused summer program. SLAWR REU explores the interactions between physical, natural and social processes through the weaving of Indigenous knowledge with Western knowledge to advance scientific understanding and support Tribal management decisions.

To build a sustainable future, we need to center the voices and perspectives of those most affected and challenge systems and structures that have and continue to exclude individuals and groups from the decision-making table. That’s why SLAWR REU strives to increase the participation of all students in STEM while advancing a culture of inclusivity within academia through a learning process that centers the communities where research is being conducted and puts participants in the middle of the program design.

The program also strives to increase and strengthen relationships between Tribal governments and colleges and the University of Minnesota and other research-intensive institutions. Over the past decade, Tribal partners Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have shaped the direction of SLAWR REU’s research questions.

Learn more about SLAWR REU.