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

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:

• 2018 
• 2019
• 2020
• Apply for the 2021 cohort through June 3 here.

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.