2015 Tribal STEM Group: Chris Fast Horse, Sydney Horse Looking, Sky Iron Shell, Robert Jordan, Bobbie Knispell, teacher/mentor, Marcus Littlewolf, Tanner McCloskey, Victoria Miller, Katie Morrison, Kaia Sharkey, Mahpiya Spotted Tail, Joe White Horse, Ben Whiting, Leo Campbell, Winnebago, field representative/mentor at Rosebud, Bobbi Knispell, teacher/mentor, Mission Schools, Danny McGee, engineer, University of Colorado, Wyatt Champion, instructor, air quality graduate student at the University of Colorado, John Marion, director of education, Red Feather, Robyn Spang, Northern Cheyenne camp coordinator and daughter Asia Spang. Photo by A Cheyenne Voice
Students provide blueprint for improving energy efficiency
Rosebud STEM students visit Northern Cheyenne
By Clara Caufield
Native Sun News Correspondent BUSBY, Mont. –– After completing the first two weeks of a month-long summer tribal Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) internship, 16 year old Mahpiya Wakan Winyan (Sacred Cloud Woman) Spotted Tail, a junior at St Francis High School in Rosebud said “my eyes have been opened to what is out there in life and how far we can go. The goal-oriented young woman will attend college for nursing and is already considering graduate school. She credits her single parent mother Tisha Witt for her academic success and says the STEM experience is “pushing her on.” Mahpiya is a gifted and talented student who volunteers for many community projects such as suicide prevention and a varsity basketball starter. She was one of 12 bright young Native American high school students from Rosebud and Oglala Sioux Tribes and their mentors who camped in Busby, Mont. on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation for the week of June 14-19 to get some “hands on” science learning. They conducted eight home energy audits and mold testing for selected homeowners on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, preparing recommendations and a written report. In the evenings they learned about Cheyenne history and culture, very similar to the Sioux. “The only difference between the Sioux and Cheyenne is the language,” tribal elder Dennis Limberhand told them. Other presenters included: Bilford Curley, direct descendant of Ice, Cheyenne ceremonial man, a close friend of Sitting Bull, Mina Seminole, historical researcher for Chief Dull Knife College, Mark Roundstone and sons who conducted a fun-filled evening of hand games and Dr. Richard Littlebear, tribal college president. During the week they also learned much from Robin Spang, Northern Cheyenne camp coordinator and direct descendant Chief Dull Knife. A visit to the Little Big Horn Battlefield capped off their trip to Cheyenne country. The Tribal STEM project funded by the National Science Foundation encourages young Native Americans to enter science professions, emphasizing engineering. This year, students learned energy auditing, performing that free service for eight home owners on the reservation, four stick built HUD homes and four ‘straw built” homes built by Penn State and Red Feather a non-profit organization in Bozeman, Mont., also helping with the summer camp. After returning home, they will complete another two weeks of intense classroom instruction and then receive a generous stipend to help with college and other educational expenses. The Red Feather effort was spearheaded by John Marian, Education Director who discussed the need for energy audits and home retrofits as a means to make housing costs more affordable. Executive Director Mark Hall said the organization now focuses on home owner education on the Hopi, Navajo and Northern Cheyenne reservations providing classes including one earmarked for women, teaching basic construction, and plumbing and weatherization skills. Leo Campbell, Winnebago tribal member who lives at Rosebud is the key program mentor. He is a certified home energy auditor with a degree from United Tribes and certified by the Building Performance Institute. He had a hand in selecting the students and by design, half are male and half female because as Leo stresses, “Native Americans and especially women are seriously underrepresented in the engineering profession. We want to encourage them to consider engineering.” Most of the students are college bound. Robert Jordan, Rosebud Sioux senior, for example is hoping for Phoenix where he aims to become an engineer and/or golf pro, a sport at which he already excels in high school. Marcus Littlewolf, an Oglala who recently graduated from the Desert Rose Academy in Arizona is fascinated with sustainable building and renewable energy planning to investigate that field more fully in college. Already speaking Sioux, he underwent years of very strict traditional instruction from his Oglala grandfather, Redbird which helped him turn away from poor personal choices due to family circumstances. As a STEM participant, Marcus said he was “happy to make friends with like-minded students.” Bobbi Knispell, program mentor and teacher at Mission, S.D. observed, “Through STEM, we can bring kids from different communities and cultures together. They learn from one another and develop special relationships.” Campbell explained that home energy auditing is a relatively new concept in Indian country. State weatherization programs and public housing authorities often conduct energy audits, recommending improvements and retrofits which can improve energy efficiency, reducing heating and cooling costs and making healthier homes. Such practice has yet to become a core part of tribal housing authority programming he said. Additional testing can also identify mold which contribute to serious health problems, especially among the young and elderly. “The stick-built homes we tested on the Reservation had serious problems,” said Wyatt Champion, instructor. “One home had visible mold growing in the basement, due to construction deficiencies, posing serious health problems, especially to children and elderly. The people in that home all had health problems.” Leo Campbell added, “The homeowners already knew their homes had problems, but now they will have a specific blueprint for improvement, emphasizing energy efficiency. The question is – where will the money come from?” Campbell recommends a number of grant sources. Program mentors met with Tribal President Llevando Fisher to discuss the need for emergency home repairs, not currently available on the reservation. The University and Red Feather offered technical assistance to help seek such grant funding at Northern Cheyenne, an offer that interested Fisher. “Without funding nothing is going to happen to correct these problems,” Champion and other staff predicted. They stress that energy audits and corrective action can greatly reduce home heating and cooling costs. At Northern Cheyenne and similar reservations, many HUD homes rely upon electricity, very costly in the winter months when the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a lifeline for low-income home owners. “It is a huge problem,” said Letha Whitewolf, tribal LIHEAP Director, “especially as we are starting to see cuts, last year $40,000 at Northern Cheyenne. I think energy audits and corrective action could really help.” The STEM project, in its 3rd year, previously worked with students at the Fort Peck and Pine Ridge reservations, in collaboration with Haskell. So far, three participants have graduated from college and many more are attending. Danny McGee, engineer mentor shared one of his favorite student success stories: Matt Janis, tribal member at Fort Peck participated in the tribal STEM project for two years. Now married at Pine Ridge he is using STEM learning to develop an energy efficient greenhouse, growing food and teaching Head Start children about that, including his own son. “That is practical application of science making an actual difference in people’s lives,” McGee smiled. (Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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