Dr. Ed Galindo sat down with moderator, Dr. Sacha Johnson, after The Gathering to provide an oral essay.
Event Speakers
Cleve Davis, PhD
Data Scientist
Cleve Davis, PhD
Data Scientist
Dr. Cleve Davis is a Newe (Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) from the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeastern Idaho. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in botany from Idaho State University in 2000, Cleve Davis worked for the Bureau of Land Management as a botanist. He then went on to complete a master’s degree in anthropology in 2010, where he contributed to preserving his heritage language, Panakwate. In 2011, Davis enrolled at University of Idaho (UI) and studied invasive plant biology, statistics, and landscape ecology. As a PhD candidate he was an Indigenous STEM Research and Graduate Education scholar, a National Science Foundation program designed to increase the number of Native American students pursuing doctorates or master's degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. While pursuing his doctorate, he also served as environmental coordinator for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes at Fort Hall where he worked to educate on Treaty Rights and environmental stewardship. In 2020, he started working as a data scientist for the Idaho National Laboratory. He and his wife also founded the Journal of Native Sciences, an open access academic journal that gives preference to publishing high impact articles written by Indigenous peoples. For fun he likes to camp and hang out with his family, paint, tinker with solar/wind technology, and make improvements to the family ranch/farm. He also regularly participates with Tribal activities for language and cultural preservation.
Ed Galindo, PhD
Native American Scholar
Ed Galindo, PhD
Native American Scholar
Dr. Galindo (Yaqui, American Indian) is a faculty member at the University of Idaho, Associate Director for Education and Diversity for the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium, Affiliate faculty member at Idaho State University (Biology Department) and Affiliate faculty member at Utah State University (Physics Department). Dr. Galindo has extensive education and research in working with Native American students. While serving as chairman of the science department on the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation, he was twice elected as the National Indian Teacher of the Year, awarded by the National Indian School Board Association. Dr. Galindo describes himself as “round and brown”, full of curiosity for life and learning. He finds humor in most things on this planet, including himself.
Ed is very proud to currently be serving as a board member with the Barry M Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Most recently, Ed was honored to be inducted as a lifetime (Sequoyah Fellow) member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) for research and educational outreach in the American Indian communities. The Native American Research and Education Foundation was a host of an honoring dinner held at Las Vegas Nevada in April (2016).
Jay T. Johnson, PhD
Professor
Jay T. Johnson, PhD
Professor
Jay T. Johnson is a Professor and Associate Chair of Geography and Atmospheric Science at the University of Kansas where he also directs the Center for Indigenous Research, Science, and Technology. His research focuses on Indigenous peoples' cultural survival, particularly in the areas of resource management, political and environmental activism at the national and international levels, and the philosophies and politics of place that underpin the drive for cultural survival. Much of his work is comparative in nature but has focused predominately on New Zealand, the Pacific, and North America.
Katrina McClure, MA
HERS Program Coordinator
Katrina McClure, MA
HERS Program Coordinator
Ms. McClure is Muscogee Creek and a PhD candidate in the geography department at the University of Kansas. She received an Associate of Arts degree from HINU and a Master of Arts degree in human geography from KU. She was a National Science Foundation IGERT (Integrated Graduate Education and Research Training) Fellow under the C-Change (Climate Change Humans and Nature in the Global Environment) program. Her research centers on the inclusion of Native science in the design of STEM curriculum and learning environments.
Amy Sprowles, PhD
Associate Professor
Amy Sprowles, PhD
Associate Professor
Amy Sprowles is an Assistant Professor of Cellular and Developmental Biology at Humboldt State University. Since arriving as a lecturer in 2006, she has focused on training STEM students through interdisciplinary, researched-based, socially relevant, and culturally responsive curricula. She currently serves as the Program Director for the HSU CIRM Bridges Program, the HSU HHMI Inclusive Excellence ’17 Award, the HSU Transcending Barriers project and co-PI on the HSU HSI grant. She is a co-PI on the NSF INCLUDES Transcending Barriers Planning Grant Transcending Barriers for Success. She was honored to be a recipient of the 2021 CSU Faculty Leadership Awards for her work on the HSU PBLCs.
Dawn D. Davis, MA
Indigenous Researcher
Dawn D. Davis, MA
Indigenous Researcher
Dawn D. Davis is a mother, a wife, co-editor of the Journal of Native Sciences, a Newe and a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Natural Resources at the University of Idaho. Dawn is a twice awarded National Science Foundation recipient as a fellow under the Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship and an Indigenous STEM scholar including research funding from the Pacific Northwest Alliance-Cosmos. Her previous research has focused on the cultural, environmental, and anthropogenic issues that surround the revered Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) cacti which is integral to her spiritual practice. Current research includes the use of GIS to model changes in Peyote habitat due to anthropogenic impacts and defining core and common boundaries across its range. Dawn has shared her research among Indigenous, academic, ethnobotanical, and psychedelic audiences nationally and internationally.
Ulla Hasager, PhD
Director of Civic Engagement
Ulla Hasager, PhD
Director of Civic Engagement
Ulla Hasager, PhD in Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Director of Civic Engagement for the College of Social Sciences at UHM, working out of the innovative ACCESS department, which combines engagement and advising. She teaches Ethnic Studies and general Social Sciences courses and is specialized in environmental and global anthropology, sustainability, the Pacific, ethnicity and indigeneity, civic/community engagement, and trans-disciplinary education. She organizes professional development for faculty, graduate students, and community partners and creates and leads innovative community-engagement and service-learning programs such as the Mālama I Nā Ahupuaʻa (trans-institutional/disciplinary cultural-environmental program, recognized as a high-impact educational model in sustainability education).
Lori Lambert, PhD
Researcher & Educator
Lori Lambert, PhD
Researcher & Educator
Dr. Lori Lambert is an enrolled member of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe, one of the tribes of the Wobanaki Confederation of New England. On her mother’s side, her heritage emanates from the Deer Clan of the Abenaki and the Mi’kmaq of Canada. Her father’s native heritage comes through the Cord Clan of the Wendakie-Huron from Isle d’Orleans, Quebec, and the Montagnais people. Dr. Lambert ‘s doctoral degree is in Medical Ecology/Anthropology. She holds earned degrees in nursing, therapeutic recreation, environmental science and a post doctorate in education and technology from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada. For 22 years Dr. Lambert held various positions at Salish Kootenai College, including Director of Distance Education. Dr. Lambert recently retired from her position as a Community Research Associate in the Translational Research Program of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. Dr. Lambert is the founder of the American Indigenous Research Association and for 7 years was the conference chair for the yearly conference. She is a respected international presenter and has been the invited keynote for conferences in France, Norway, Finland, Canada, China, and Australia. She is the author of 6 books including Research for Indigenous Survival: research methodologies in social sciences, which was published by SKC Press. She lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana with her husband, Dr. Frank Tyro, a film maker, broadcast engineer, and Arctic Guide.
Kaitlin Reed, PhD
Assistant Professor
Kaitlin Reed, PhD
Assistant Professor
Kaitlin Reed (Yurok/Hupa/Oneida) is an Assistant Professor of Native American Studies at Humboldt State University. Her research is focused on tribal land and water rights, extractive capitalism, and settler colonial political economies. She is currently working on her book entitled From Gold Rush to Green Rush: The Ecology of Settler Colonialism in Northern California. This book connects the historical and ecological dots between the Gold Rush and the Green Rush, focusing on capitalistic resource extraction and violence against indigenous lands and bodies. Kaitlin obtained her B.A. degree in Geography at Vassar College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis. In 2018, she was awarded the Charles Eastman Fellowship of Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. Dr. Reed is an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe in Northwestern California. In her free time, she likes to knit, watch reality television, and spend time with her partner, Michael, and her cat, Fitzherbert.
Frank Tyro, PhD
Caribou Crossing Partner
Frank Tyro, PhD
Caribou Crossing Partner
Frank H. Tyro Bio Experience 32 years Professor/Manager/Chief Engineer Salish Kootenai College Media Center and KSKC Public TV. Professor- Teaching television, photography, mass communications, lighting and Images of Indians courses at Salish Kootenai College. Built/raised over $1,000,000 for Class A television station at Salish Kootenai College and raised over $350,000 and built/maintained 100,000 watt commercial FM radio station. 53 years in broadcast media with FCC First Class/ General Class Radiotelephone licenses, Ship Radar Endorsement and FAA Part 107 Commercial Remote Pilot (drone) license. Awards TV production awards include Best Professional Short, International Cultural Film Symposium, Platinum Best of Show Cultural Documentary, Aurora Awards, Telly and Videography Awards of Excellence, Finalist at International Wildlife Film Festival and screenings at the American Indian Film Institute Festival, Native Voice Festival and Flathead Lake International Cinemafest (co- founder). Audience Choice Award at the Bigfork Independent Film Festival for Walking Bear Comes Home. Education B.S. in TV Production from MSU, Bozeman, M.A. from Temple University, Philadelphia in Mass Communications, Post Grad certification from University of British Columbia and PhD from the Union Institute and University, Cincinnati in e-learning. Current Caribou Crossing, a media production and consulting partnership with Dr. Lori Lambert. Board of Directors member of the National Television Association. Board President Great Bear Foundation and recurrent visitor to Churchill, Manitoba with the Great Bear Foundation Arctic Ecology field courses as a volunteer, leader and co-leader of courses beginning since 1984. Selected short list of documentaries/projects Walking Bear Comes Home: The life and work of Chuck Jonkel, Mending the Hoop, Changing Visions, Braids of Truth, Crossing Boundaries, The Doodlebug Story. 17 minute video for the celebration of the acquisition of the former Kerr Dam by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and directed a live 2 hour broadcast/streaming of the ceremony.
Mike Durglo, BS
Tribal Historic Dept. Head
Mike Durglo, BS
Tribal Historic Dept. Head
Mike received his BS in Environmental Science from Salish Kootenai College in 2002. He is currently the Department Head for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Historic Preservation Department. He has worked for the Tribes for over 38 years in different capacities including Wildlife Conservation Officer, Tribal Council, Wetland Conservation Coordinator, Regulatory Specialist and Environmental Protection Division Manager.
Mike Durglo has been a leader in climate change work for nearly a decade. He facilitated the development of a Flathead Reservation Climate Change Strategic Plan for the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes. He has shared his experience and knowledge of climate adaptation planning at workshops and seminars throughout the US and Canada. After completing the plan, he continued to build on the work by diving deep into the perspectives of the elders and integrating traditional knowledge into the plan.
In 2016, Mike received the White House Champion of Change award and in 2017, Mike received the Climate Leadership Award for Natural Resources.
John Herrington, PhD
Former NASA Astronaut
John Herrington, PhD
Former NASA Astronaut
John Bennett Herrington is a retired United States Naval Aviator, Naval Test Pilot, and former NASA astronaut. A native of Wetumka, OK, he graduated from Plano Senior High School, Plano, Texas, in 1976; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, in 1983, and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1995. He also received a PhD in Education from the University of Idaho in 2014. As a NASA mission specialist, he made history becoming the first Native American in space aboard the Shuttle Endeavour in 2002, logging over 330 hours in space, including 3 EVAs totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes. Shortly after retiring from NASA, Herrington began working on his new goal: to help spur a renewed interest in science and engineering among young people, specifically the Native American youth. He did this with a 4,200-mile, 63-day cross-country bicycle ride that occurred in 2008 and was titled Rocketrek. He recently completed his first children’s book, Mission to Space, published by the Chickasaw Nation White Dog Press. Commander Herrington is a proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.
Jessica Matsaw, MS
Researcher & Educator
Jessica Matsaw, MS
Researcher & Educator
Jessica is an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and mother of four children. Jessica received her B.S. (2017) and M.Ed. from the University of Idaho in 2019, with a Diversity & Stratification Academic Certificate. Jessica is an Indigenous educator with two teaching certifications through the state of Idaho. Jessica is an alumnus to the U of I’s Indigenous knowledge for Effective Education Program (IKEEP), specializing in serving students from Indigenous communities. ambitions as an educator are to celebrate Indigenous ingenuity, intellect, and inquiry. Jessica’s teaching methods focus on self-determination, Indigenous pedagogy, decolonizing methodologies, social justice, and community-based power. Jessica currently teaches at a tribal high school located on the Fort Hall, Indian reservation.
Kim Winkelman, PhD
Professor
Kim Winkelman, PhD
Professor
Dr. Winkelman is a contributing faculty member for Walden University: Professor of Education, Richard Riley College of Education & Leadership. Professor of graduate courses in Curriculum, Instructional Design, and Assessment. He is also an instructor for courses in Concepts of Technologies and Science in Middle Level Education, Education Leadership, and Higher Education courses as well as a Mentor and Committee Chair, Doctoral Program in Education.
Robert Franco, PhD
Director, Institutional Effectiveness
Robert Franco, PhD
Director, Institutional Effectiveness
Robert Franco is a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D. UH Manoa, 1985, East-West Center Population Institute) with a specialization in Samoan diaspora and urban adaptation, specifically in education, employment, health, housing and chiefly status (publications through 1998). His career at Kapi'olani Community College has been roughly evenly split between teaching (1985-2000) and institutional planning, research, and grants development (2000-present). In the prior period, he served as Curriculum Committee, Faculty Senate, and Social Science Chair, Acting Assistant Dean for Tech-Prep, and Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific Emphasis. He has led or supported five comprehensive accreditation reports and garnered multi-millions of dollars in federal (Title III, Corporation for National and Community Service, HUD and NSF) and foundation (Teagle and Keck) grants for the campus and UH system. He oversees the College's Service and Sustainability Learning Program and he directs the College’s newly formed Center for Resilient Neighborhoods (CERENE).
Beyond the campus he has coordinated the college's engagement with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (Greater Expectations Initiative, Liberal Education and America's Promise), American Council on Education (Global Competence Learning Assessment), HUD Office of University Partnerships (Waianae, Palolo and Waikiki), and the Carnegie Foundation Campus-Community Engagement Classification which he helped to create in 2002-2005, The College has received this Carnegie Classification since 2006 and through 2025. Since 1995 to the present, he has been a Senior Faculty Fellow for Community Colleges for National Campus Compact and Hawai'i-Pacific Islands Compact. Since 2008, he has additionally been a Leadership Fellow for NSF's Science and Civic Engagement initiative (SENCER) and SENCER Hawai'i, Hawai'i is the first SENCER Model State. In 2011, he was named one of 20 National "Beacons of Vision, Hope, and Action" by the Community College National Center for Community Engagement. In March 2019, he received the "Advancing the Field-Distinguished Leader Award" from the Western Region Campus Compact Consortium.
Cindy Higgins, MA
Educ. & Career Design Specialist, SR.
Cindy Higgins, MA
Educ. & Career Design Specialist, SR.
My name is Cynthia A. O’Dale-Higgins, I am Dine’ from TiisNazBas, AZ and Aneth, Utah. My four clans are Many Comanche Warriors Clan adopted by Yucca Strung Out on a Line (Hashk’ąą Hadzohí-Naałani Dine’é), born for Water Edge (Tábąąhá), my maternal grandfather is the Salt Clan (’Áshįįhí) and my paternal grandfather is Folded arm (Bit’ahnii). My undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education/Bi-Cultural Studies from Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO. A Graduate Degree from University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO., in Reading. My career in Education began with Head Start, as a Family Community Partnership Specialist, K-8 Teaching, 8th, 2nd and 4th. , Director of Higher Education for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Community Outreach for STEM Industry for Navajo Technical University under their National Science Foundation T-CUP Grant and finally my current position as a Education Specialist SR. and Instructor at Utah State University Currently, my position allows me to create pathways into employment for our students, through industry, tribal and state partnerships. Most students who enter in college normally do not have a clear path or understanding what means to choose a degree much less a career. We hope pathways begins to allow them to explore, understand and experience careers and companies to make decisions that allow them complete their degrees. Which creates greater retention and completion in higher education and high school.
Sammy Matsaw, PhD
Research Ecologist
Sammy Matsaw, PhD
Research Ecologist
Sammy is a father, husband, grandfather, and extended family member. Sammy along with Jessica oversees day-to-day operations of River Newe; planning, coordination, website development and social media communications, and grant writing. He brings ten years of military experience and leadership. An additional ten years of science and management involved in Indigenous sovereignty and treaties with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Fish and Wildlife department. He is also a pipe-carrier and Sundancer with both his mother and father’s tribes.
Tod L. Shockey, PhD
Professor
Tod L. Shockey, PhD
Professor
I work in the scholarship area of Ethnomathemamtics, coined by D'Ambrosio in 1985. My initiation into this field was a study done on the Ethnomathematics of a group of thoracic cardiovascular surgeons in 1999. Since that time I have focused attention as a founding editor for the Journal of Mathematics and Culture as well as the mathematics education of Native Americans. My collaborators include Dr. Ed Galindo of the North American Native Research and Education Foundation, Dr. John Herringon, Dr. Lori Lambert of the American Indigenous Research Association, Mr. John Bear Mitchell at the University of Maine and Mr. Sammy Matsaw IGERT Fellow at the University of Idaho.
