Both my parents studied computer science, and from the moment I started school they encouraged me to pursue higher education. I grew up near Spokane, Wash., where my college journey began at Spokane Falls Community College. From there, I went to the University of Washington, then to Haskell Indian Nations University, where I am currently a senior set to graduate this spring. My major is environmental science, which is a good fit for me since I’ve always wanted to study something within biology. Environmental science provides a good overview while being interesting and impactful.

Connecting the dots among tribal lands, government agencies, and entities interested in tribal land resources is at the heart of what drives Dr. Lydia Jennings. In 2020 she completed her PhD in soil microbiology with a minor in American Indian policy at the University of Arizona. Dr. Jennings, Pascua Yaqui, is currently pursuing a post-doctoral fellowship in community, environment, and policy at the university’s College of Public Health.

Mariah Gladstone has found a recipe for success in her online cooking show Indigikitchen. Its name blends the words “Indigenous,” “digital,” and “kitchen,” and her weekly recipes, tips, and social media videos aim to reIndigenize the diets of Native Americans while tempting all viewers to opt for healthier diets. Her Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube posts have won her thousands of followers and interest from book agents and publishers.

Growing up in rural Washington State, Johnny Buck spent most of his time outside, on the banks of the Columbia River. Over the years, he began to notice that the traditional foods and plants his family and their community relied on were beginning to die off and experience extreme shifts in their growing seasons. It was these changes that pushed Buck to pursue a dream he didn’t even realize he had: researching plant phenology — the study of periodic biological phenomena in relation to climate conditions — to contribute to solving challenges around biodiversity.