MakerPlace: Weaving Tech

Ke’yah Advanced Rural Manufacturing Alliance (KARMA)

MakerPlace: Weaving Tech

MakerPlace harmonizes the kinship between land, community, and the universe, while maintaining cultural relevance to strengthen leadership skills.

New Mexico, USA

USA

Nonprofit

Our solution directly benefits the Navajo Nation and neighboring indigenous communities, focusing on youth, families, and community members in rural areas by establishing accessible STEAM learning opportunities within rural communities. Recognizing the barriers to widespread technology access within the formal school system, we are building capacity in these community centers to provide hands-on workshops in areas like 3D printing, coding, and robotics, integrating culturally relevant themes. This leads to only 20% of high schools located on reservations offer CS. Generally, as we include various practices of STEAM, another example of only 0.3% earned engineering bachelor’s degrees were Indigenous. With the lack of opportunities in rural communities to envision themselves in STEAM can lead to a disconnection. This solution directly addresses the need for increased digital literacy, provides engaging STEM experiences outside of school, and fosters community-driven innovation by making technology and learning accessible to a rural community.

Our solution is strengthening the capacity-building partnership model through the MakerPlace. This empowers rural communities to deliver culturally relevant STEAM education and technology access. MakerPlace provides these partner organizations with: -Training & resources: Online training through a community of practice model in partnership with university partners, focusing on facilitating hands-on STEAM learning and managing technology. -Culturally Relevant STEAM Resources: Curricula and materials that integrate local culture, language, and storytelling with STEAM concepts. By emphasizing the relationship with technology with an indigenous perspective has been effective in adapting technologies to local communities. -Technology Access: KARMA assisted in distributing 3D printer(s), LEGO Spike Prime Kits, and related software for 3D modeling. We recommended related access like apps and free software. We work directly with partner organizations, providing them with the training and resources they need. These trained partners then implement MakerPlace programs within their own communities, tailoring the activities and technology use to their specific cultural context and needs. This leverages existing community infrastructure and relationships for sustainable impact. We utilize online platforms for training delivery and resource sharing.

KARMA’s collaborator on the proposed activities is Yee Ha’ólníi Doo, whose vision is to empower Navajo and Hopi people with the fortitude to overcome challenges through traditional principles of self-reliance and interrelatedness. There are a total of three community centers across the Navajo Nation, however, we’ve maintained strong relationships with two locations. Sheep Springs Community Center, located in New Mexico, has served around 5,000 people over the past two years. Though Sheep Springs population at the 2020 Census was 817, its geographic location means it is the closest connected, entrepreneurial center of its kind; it serves people from a much wider regional area. Standing Rock Community Center is located near Standing Rock Community School, which allows the community center to regularly serve students at the school with STEAM engagements. In the 2020 Census, there was an approximate total population of 465 in Standing Rock Chapter. The partnership with the rural communities has provided opportunities to receive feedback in developing a long term plan to build capacity to sustain our desired programming outcomes. By nurturing our partnership it has been valuable in establish a learning environment for both organizations to create possibilities of STEAM activities in rural locations.