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How can Native innovators in the US use traditional knowledge and technology to meet the social, environmental, and economic goals of their communities?

2021 Indigenous Communities Fellowship

Closed

Submissions are closed

Timeline

  • Applications Open

    February 11, 2021 9:00am EST
  • Solution Deadline

    February 11, 2021 9:00am EST
  • Challenge Opens

    February 11, 2021 9:00am EST
  • Deadline to Submit a Solution

    June 3, 2021 6:00pm EDT
  • Online Judging Begins

    August 9, 2021 9:56pm EDT
  • Fellow Announcement

    September 19, 2021 12:00pm EDT

Challenge Overview

A $10,000 grant will be provided to each selected Fellow. Please note that all innovators own and retain the rights to their own work, technology, data, and intellectual property—the Indigenous Communities Fellowship serves to provide Native innovators with the support and resources they need to advance their work.


For generations, Indigenous leaders have put community first, innovating for social benefit and mutual gain to create a world that is prosperous for all beings. From the blooming fields of the Southwest to the libraries of Iolani Palace to the solar farms of the Dakotas, Indigenous leaders across the country continue to harness a blend of cutting edge technology and ancestral knowledge to provide their people with the best life possible. 

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare institutionalized inequalities ranging from public health systems to education and infrastructure, and slowed efforts towards nation self-determination. Faced with another pandemic, Native communities independently mobilized to ensure that the most vulnerable have access to household necessities; enacted travel limitations based on tribal sovereignty; and maintained language and cultural revitalization efforts. Similarly, while Native businesses have seen broad declines in revenue, layoffs are lower than non-Native businesses due to community ties and values. 

As we begin to contain and then recover from the pandemic, it is more essential than ever to support the countless Indigenous innovators who are supporting their communities across the country, harnessing their culture and technology to forge a resilient and prosperous path forward. 

Solve’s Indigenous Communities Fellowship seeks solutions by Native innovators across the US that consider both technology and traditional knowledge to support and scale positive impact. For 2021, Solve welcomes Native-led solutions that:

  • Increase access to community wealth, including through access to new economic sectors and diverse forms of capital. 

  • Support culturally-grounded K-16 education, including language, cultural revitalization, and non-traditional learners 

  • Provide greater access to healthy and sovereign food, sustainable energy, and safe water. 

  • Improve healthcare access and outcomes, including around telehealth, health systems infrastructure, and availability of traditional and Western medicines 

Solve's 2021 Indigenous Communities Fellowship is made possible in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Apply Offline

Apply Offline to the Indigenous Communities Fellowship

We are aware that reliable internet access is not a given worldwide. If you are an applicant in need of a low-bandwidth option, please fill out the form below and we will send you a PDF version of the application. Please type your responses in the document and return completed applications to help@solve.mit.edu. 

Prizes

Fellow Funding 

All solutions selected for Solve’s current Global Challenges will receive a $10,000 grant funded by Solve. Fellow teams will be selected by a panel of cross-sector judges at Virtual Solve Challenge Finals on September 19, 2021.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Prize

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Prize is open to solutions that directly address the health and well-being of people in the US. The prize is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which aims to raise the health of everyone in the United States by using a health equity lens to place well-being at the center of every aspect of life. Up to $150,000 will be granted to up to four eligible teams from the Antiracist Tech Challenge, the Indigenous Communities Fellowship, and the Health Security & Pandemics Challenge.

The ASA Prize for Equitable Education

The ASA Prize for Equitable Education will award a prize for digital solutions tailored to U.S.-based primary and secondary classrooms that provide career exploration or experimentation. Solutions that are embedded as part of core curriculum, utilize project based learning, ensure equitable access, and have an emphasis on teacher professional development are preferred. American Student Assistance® (ASA) is committed to helping students know themselves, know their options, and make informed decisions to achieve their education and career goals. Up to $250,000 will be granted to or invested in solutions from the Equitable Classrooms Challenge, the Digital Inclusion Challenge, the Antiracist Technology in the US Challenge, and/or Indigenous Communities Fellowship.

Innovation for Women Prize

Solutions that use innovative technology to improve quality of life for women and girls are eligible for the Innovation for Women Prize. This prize is funded by the Vodafone Americas Foundation, which supports technology-focused projects that advance the needs of women and girls, and that promote a world where women’s voices can be celebrated. Up to $75,000 will be granted across up to three Solver teams from any of Solve’s Global Challenges and the Indigenous Communities Fellowship.

The AI For Humanity Prize

The AI for Humanity Prize is open to solutions leveraging data science, artificial intelligence, and/or machine learning to benefit humanity, as well as to those planning to utilize these technologies to amplify their impact. The prize is made possible by The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a philanthropy committed to advancing AI and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. Up to $200,000 in funding will be awarded across several Solver teams from any of Solve’s Global Challenges and the Indigenous Communities Fellowship.



About

About the Fellowship

In 2017, four of the Water Protectors of Standing Rock leadership came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as finalists for the MIT Media Lab Disobedience Awards, which recognize individuals and groups who engage in ethical, nonviolent acts of disobedience in service of society.

The Water Protectors of Standing Rock were honored for bringing together the largest gathering of Native Tribes in more than a century to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

As Water Protectors Phyllis Young and LaDonna Brave Bull Allard accepted the Award, Phyllis challenged MIT, saying “I know MIT is the brass ring of technology, and I’m seeking a partnership. I’m not content to go home with this [award] … The rhetoric is over in America; it’s time for action.”  

This call to action sparked the MIT Indigenous Communities Fellowship, co-founded by MIT Solve, the Priscilla King Gray (PKG) Public Service Center, and shift7 leadership. Annually for four years now, the Fellowship has launched open calls for applications from Indigenous innovators -- the first year focused on Oceti Sakowin; the second expanded to include the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribes; and the third and fourth year have invited all American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiians to apply.

Cohorts of 6 to 8 teams have been selected each year, and each provided with a $10,000 grant and a year of mentorship from this MIT Solve community, which includes a growing group of advisors and partners.

First and foremost, Solve in collaboration with shift7 and our partners aim to establish a foundation of trust and partnership in the communities with which it works. Accordingly, each year the Fellowship theme selection is informed and co-led by the communities it intends to support.

Below are some resources to learn more followed by a comprehensive history of the MIT Solve Indigenous Community Fellowship convenings sharing links to videos and other resources from those events. Regular convenings have complemented the broader Fellowship programming in enabling knowledge sharing and networking opportunities in line with the Indigenous innovators’ interests and welcome partners from all communities.

Learn more about the past cohorts of innovators:

History of Indigenous Communities Fellowship Convenings

After the call for partnership from Phyllis Young, initial planning conversations were held in the fall of 2017 at MIT, followed by MIT and shift7 teams travelling to Standing Rock for an Energy Summit and to the Navajo Nation for additional discussions. Later in 2018, MIT Solve launched a pilot Fellowship with the Oceti Sakowin community focused on sustainability. Six Fellows were selected with projects ranging from renewable solar energy to community gardening courses. Fellows attended Solve’s flagship event, Solve at MIT, in Cambridge in May 2018 to share their work and network with potential partners across the Solve community, and gathered for further collaboration in August 2018 in Standing Rock.

Concurrently, the MIT Priscilla King Grey Center partnered with the MIT Terrascope Program, a first-year learning community, creating an indigenous-centered curriculum for student engagement, “Tradition, Technology and Transition: Water Security on the Navajo Nation.”

Utilizing these institutes and additional connections,  in 2019, the Fellowship opportunity was able to expand to include Oceti Sakowin, Navajo Nation, and Hopi Tribe communities in the United States. The 2019 Fellowship group joined the annual Solve Summit in May and then met for a weekend collaboration workshop in Pine Ridge in October 2020 (highlights) together with partners from philanthropy, academia and business. 

In 2020, through a partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP), Solve was able to expand the third year of the Fellowship across the entire US. An online summit gathering was held in February 2021, with Fellows from all years invited to participate. The 2020 Fellows will also join the upcoming virtual Solve at MIT event in May 2021.

Judging Criteria

  • Alignment: The solution addresses the challenge that has been set forth using technology.
  • Potential for Impact: The planned solution implementation has the potential to impact the intended population.
  • Feasibility: It is feasible to implement the solution, and the team has a plan for the solution to sustain itself financially.
  • Innovative Approach: The solution includes a new technology, a new application of technology, a new business model, or a new process for solving the Challenge.
  • Inclusive Human-Centered Design: The solution is designed with and for underserved communities, and the solution team demonstrates proximity to the community and embodies and addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion through their solution.
  • Partnership Potential: The applicant clearly explains how the solution would benefit from the broad range of resources that the Solve community is positioned to provide.
  • Scalability: The solution can be scaled to affect the lives of more people.

Solutions

Selected

Every Kid Gets a Robot

By Danielle Boyer
Danielle Boyer
Selected

Hawaiian Language Children Media Network

By Wailani Robins
Wailani Robins
Selected

Shunka Kola: A Rez-dog Project

By Camille Griffith
Camille Griffith
Selected

Waking Women Healing Institute

By Kristin Welch
Kristin Welch
Selected

WE - Digital Ecocultural Mapping Project

By Shirley Williams
Shirley Williams
Selected

One Canoe Project - Navigating Changing Tides

By Moñeka De Oro
Moñeka De Oro
Selected

Nurturing Plants

By Breanna Lameman
Breanna Lameman
Finalist

Sovereign Data Alliance

By Tyler Scribner
Tyler Scribner
Finalist

Oyate Data

By Mason Grimshaw
Mason Grimshaw
Finalist

OMO CEAD Innovation Center

By Nataani Garnenez
Nataani Garnenez Jaasiel Duarte-Terrazas Justin Begay Courteney Begay Jacob Frazier
Finalist

Natives in Tech

By Adam Recvlohe
Adam Recvlohe Holly Grimm Andrea Delgado-Olson
Finalist

Indigenous Scholarship Search Engine

By Dexter Dee
Dexter Dee
Finalist

GateKeepers App

By BLOSSOM JOHNSTON
BLOSSOM JOHNSTON Malia Evans Austin Chang
Finalist

Flathead Rez Exergame

By Faith Price
Faith Price
Finalist

Arctic Quest - A VR Experience

By Stephanie Hinz
Stephanie Hinz

Challenge Leadership Group

Megan Smith

Megan Smith

shift7, CEO and Founder
Larry Susskind

Larry Susskind

MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning
Susan Alzner

Susan Alzner

shift7, Co-founder
Wendolyn Holland

Wendolyn Holland

Holland Consulting, LLC, Director
Shelly Lowe

Shelly Lowe

Harvard University Native American Program, Executive Director
Jacob Moore

Jacob Moore

Arizona State University, Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations, Office of Government & Community Engagement
Prairie Bighorn-Blount

Prairie Bighorn-Blount

American Indigenous Business Leaders, Executive Director
Nonabah Lane

Nonabah Lane

Navajo Ethno-Agriculture, Co-Founder
Janelle Knox-Hayes

Janelle Knox-Hayes

MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), Associate Professor of Economic Geography and Planning Head
Luke Bastian

Luke Bastian

MIT Chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, President
Michele Yatchmeneff

Michele Yatchmeneff

University of Alaska Anchorage, Associate Professor of Engineering
Joseph McNeil

Joseph McNeil

SAGE Development Authority, General Manager
A-dae Romero Briones

A-dae Romero Briones

First Nations Development Institute, Director of Programs - Native Agriculture and Food Systems