Michael Wassegijig Price

Program Development

NASA-TCUP Project Director

White Earth Tribal and Community College, Mahnomen, Minnesota

Collecting data on Leech Lake
  • Provided overall management of NASA Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at WETCC.
  • Mentored students in geospatial wild rice field research, which resulted in poster presentations at several national science conferences.
  • Created the Nibi Manoomin Preservation Project in order to provide an educational experience for Tribal College students in field research science with a focus on Nibi (water) and Manoomin (wild rice) on the lands of the White Earth Reservation.
  • Created website highlighting the Nibi Manoomin Preservation Project →

NSF-TCUP Project Director/Science Faculty

Leech Lake Tribal College, Leech Lake Reservation, Minnesota

  • Provided overall management and leadership for the NSF-TCUP Project Award ($2.5 million over 5 years).
  • Developed successful Summer Natural Resources Internship program on the Leech Lake reservation, which included U.S. Forest Service and tribal natural resources office.
  • Arranged for two students to participate internationally at the Organization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica in Summer 2007.
  • Arranged for three students to participate in internship at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California.
  • Enhanced STEM library resources utilizing NSF funding.
  • Developed annual budget and financial reports for TCUP program: Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
  • Reported to the National Science Foundation on mid-term progress of the grant.

Consultant / Cultural Knowledge Specialist

1. Teaching Relevant Inquiry-Based Environmental Science (TRIBES)
2. Interinstitutional Consortium on Indigenous Knowledge (ICIK), Penn State University
3. American Indians in Science, Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM)
Provided high school science teacher training on Native American cultural integration, article media submission, curriculum development, and developed culturally congruent STEM media materials to three institutional programs mentioned above.