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Maintaining the integrity of Indigenous ways of knowing in research is impossible without transforming research governance and practice, which is most often controlled and bound by Western scientific modes of inquiry. Scientists and practitioners are seeking practical advice on how they can be a part of this transformation. To help serve this need, we identified 26 Action Items for bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge systems and put them together into a conceptually cohesive framework. Our meta-synthesis examines research practices pertaining to nine exemplar case studies in relation to shared values of Indigenous research frameworks, and settings for bridging knowledge systems. We provide context-specific examples of how each Action Item is operationalized by the exemplar case studies. The 26 Action Items can be used to set accountability metrics and guide scholars and practitioners as they conceive, design, and implement biodiversity research and monitoring. We offer A Growing Tree metaphor, and graphic, to unite the 26 Action Items into a holistic narrative that can function as a guiding framework and aesthetic reflective tool. The framework and Action Items can help scholars and practitioners as they embark on bridging knowledge systems; yet, listening to the unique perspectives of Indigenous research partners in a specific research context is paramount to ethical bridging of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems.

Indigenous research frameworks can be used to effectively engage Indigenous communities and students in Western modern science through transparent and respectful communication. Currently, much of the academic research taking place within Indigenous communities marginalizes Indigenous Knowledge, does not promote long-term accountability to Indigenous communities and their relations, and withholds respect for the spiritual values that many Indigenous communities embrace. Indigenous research frameworks address these concerns within the academic research process by promoting values such as: relationality, multilogicality, and the centralization of Indigenous perspectives. Indigenous research frameworks provide a framework that can be used in multiple contexts within higher education to bring equitable practices to research, teaching, mentoring, and organizational leadership. In this article, as a researcher who uses Indigenous research frameworks, I utilize autoethnography to engage in critical, reflexive thinking about how my perspective as an Indigenous researcher has developed over time. The purpose of this autoethnography is to reveal how Indigenous research frameworks may enhance higher education, especially for Indigenous students. Keywords: Indigenous Research Frameworks, Mentoring, Indigenous, Teaching, Autoethnography, Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous research frameworks can be used to effectively engage Indigenous communities and students in Western modern science through transparent and respectful communication. Currently, much of the academic research taking place within Indigenous communities marginalizes Indigenous Knowledge, does not promote long-term accountability to Indigenous communities and their relations, and withholds respect for the spiritual values that many Indigenous communities embrace. Indigenous research frameworks address these concerns within the academic research process by promoting values such as: relationality, multilogicality, and the centralization of Indigenous perspectives. Indigenous research frameworks provide a framework that can be used in multiple contexts within higher education to bring equitable practices to research, teaching, mentoring, and organizational leadership. In this article, as a researcher who uses Indigenous research frameworks, I utilize autoethnography to engage in critical, reflexive thinking about how my perspective as an Indigenous researcher has developed over time. The purpose of this autoethnography is to reveal how Indigenous research frameworks may enhance higher education, especially for Indigenous students.

To mimic the 3D geospatial components of geologic mapping usually spotlighted by field camp, we developed a virtual course based in the sandbox video game Minecraft. Paired with audio/video conferencing and real data, students practiced measuring strike and dip, orienteering with a compass, matching landscape features with topographic maps, and tracing geologic contacts within the team structure typically employed in field camp. Open-source programs and tutorials freely available online assisted with constructing the Minecraft worlds. Assignments were aligned to the nine learning outcomes established for geology field camps by the National Association of Geology Teachers (NAGT). A pre-survey and post-survey quantified students' learning of the subject matter as well as perceptions towards Minecraft and online learning. We also held feedback sessions and conducted in-class, live observations to classify students' reactions and experiences during virtual activities. Overwhelmingly, students indicated they would have preferred an in-person field camp, yet they considered the Minecraft assignments exciting, important, interesting, and valuable. Regardless of perceived barriers, scores on subject matter questions increased from the pre- to the post-survey. Finally, observations illustrated how students' experiences in a virtual field camp recreated comparable components that students experience during an in-person field camp (e.g., students discussing career pathways, geological skills, and fostering interpersonal relationships). Because this virtual course achieved the curricular goals as well as the non-curricular goals and was relatively easy to construct, we recommend the usage of Minecraft for virtual geology courses in the future.

All of the work described in this dissertation involves the use of Indigenous research frameworks to design research projects, to facilitate communication with Indigenous communities that I have collaborated with, and also to teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students. Indigenous research frameworks emphasize the importance of place in relation to the integrity of cultural values espoused by many Indigenous communities. This entails a respect for the spirituality component of Indigenous people because this is often directly tied to relationships between the land, animals, and plants of their local environments.While some research has been conducted to help understand Indigenous people’s understandings of geoscience, less emphasis has been placed on recognizing and leveraging common connections Indigenous students make between their Traditional cultures and Western science. Thus, the research presented in this dissertation identifies connections Indigenous learners make between geology concepts and their everyday lives and cultural traditions in both formal and informal settings. Some of these connections have been integrated into place-based geoscience education modules that were implemented within an introductory environmental science course.Qualitative analysis, using a socioTransformative constructivism theoretical lens, of semistructured interviews after implementation of a Sharing/Learning program for an Acoma pilot project, implemented informally, and for a series of geoscience education modules at a private university provides evidence that elements reflective of the use of sociotransformative constructivism (e.g. connections between global and localized environmental issues) were acknowledged by the participants as particularly impactful to their experience during implementation of the geoscience-focused activities. In addition to the socioTransformative theoretical perspective, Indigenous research frameworks (i.e. Tribal Critical Race Theory) were used to contextualize the educational interventions for two different Indigenous communities, Acoma Pueblo and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Tribal Critical Race Theory was not used to analyze the semi-structured interviews. Instead the Indigenous research frameworks were used to ensure that the research practices undertaken within these Indigenous communities were respectful of the Indigenous community’s cultural values, that Indigenous data sovereignty was paramount, and so that the research objectives were transparent. In addition, permission to publish the results of this research was sought from the governing entities of both Tribal Councils of Acoma Pueblo and the Yakama Nation.The impacts of using socioTransformative constructivism and Indigenous research frameworks to implement the Acoma Pueblo pilot project resulted in the privileging of the Indigenous perspectives. This was made evident by the sharing of Traditional knowledge about Acoma culture and history throughout the entire Sharing/Learning program. Also, during a group discussion at the end of the Sharing/Learning program, Acoma Pueblo Elders utilized their power to define the connections they made between geology and their cultural knowledge for themselves, and in their own words. The holistic approach of the Sharing/Learning program included inviting Acoma Pueblo community members of all ages to participate. This served the interests of the Acoma Pueblo community because one of their primary cultural values is the sharing of cultural knowledge within an intergenerational framework. The Sharing/Learning program met this objective.

There is still a significant lack of diversity and equity in geoscience education, even after decades of work and widespread calls for improvement and action. We join fellow community voices in calls for improved diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the geosciences. Here, in this manifesto, we present a list of opportunities for educators to bring about this cultural shift within higher education: (1) advocating for institutional change, (2) incorporating diverse perspectives and authors in curricula, (3) teaching historical and socio-political contexts of geoscience information, (4) connecting geoscience principles to more geographically diverse locations, (5) implementing different communication styles that consider different ways of knowing and learning, and (6) empowering learner transformation and agency.

The sequence of sedimentary rocks at Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, are important both in terms of their cultural significance for the Native people of Acoma Pueblo and the insight they provide into the long term geologic history of the Colorado Plateau. In this thesis we present the first stratigraphic and provenance analysis of the Mesozoic strata at Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, based on field observations and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology. Acoma Pueblo was located in the distal part (i.e. backbulge) of a foreland basin system during most of the Mesozoic. Acoma Pueblo has not been included in previous regional studies of the Colorado Plateau, which focused on proximal (i.e. foredeep) portions of the Cordilleran foreland basin system. However, field observations and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology provide insight into how the sources of sediment for depositional environments at Acoma Pueblo changed throughout the Mid-Late Mesozoic as the Cordilleran foreland basin system evolved. The depositional environments of strata exposed at Acoma Pueblo, include aeolian dunes (Entrada Sandstone and Zuni Sandstone), lacustrine, fluvial playa (Morrison Formation), and shallow marine environments (Dakota Sandstone). Key provenance findings include: The end of sediment delivery from the East Mexico Magmatic Arc after Entrada time, an increase in Cordilleran Arc grains after Entrada time, an increase in Yavapai and Mazatzal age grains after Entrada time, and a more uniform distribution of zircon peak ages within the Dakota Sandstone. In addition to this western science geologic knowledge, this thesis also integrates the traditional cultural perspectives of a trained geologist who is a member of Acoma Pueblo. Thus, in describing/recognizing geologic formations we also draw on the cultural knowledge a tribal member has of the significance and value of the strata exposed at Acoma Pueblo.

The i-NATURE (Indigenous iNtegration of Aquatic sciences and Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Undergraduate culturally Responsive Education) is a culturally relevant, project-, and place-based curriculum that included extensive applied research experience contextualized for specific Indigenous communities. The program developed a model for incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into STEM undergraduate education which included direct participation of several Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. After implementation of the i-NATURE model, we tested whether the inclusive pedagogical strategies used in our intervention improved retention and learning outcomes for the students who participated in the i-NATURE program. We report a highly significant difference in annual retention and mean course grade point average in the Environmental Science and Studies Programs pre-and post-implementation of the i-NATURE curriculum. We also report an increase in student interest in pursuing STEM careers and the impacts of the i-NATURE curricula on two undergraduate participants. This study indicates that academic and research experiences in STEM higher education programming, that incorporates cultural relevant ways of knowing and is reflective of Indigenous community values, can improve student success outcomes and garner interest in pursuing STEM careers.