Coeur d’Alene Tribal and Penobscot Nation Members Receive 2025 Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Awards

11 Apr Coeur d’Alene Tribal and Penobscot Nation Members Receive 2025 Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Awards

Gig Harbor, WA--The Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation (KGASF) today announced that it has named Coeur d’Alene Tribal Member, Joseph Brown, and Penobscot Nation Member Apemesim Galipeau as its sixth and seventh scholarship award recipients for the 2024/2025 academic year.

Joseph (Joe) Brown: After a decade operating heavy machines in the construction industry, Joe decided to continue his formal education and is currently pursuing an associate arts degree in fisheries and wildlife at Washington state-based Spokane Community College.

According to John Dentler, KGASF Executive Director, “Joe has all the qualifications we look for in a candidate, including a dream of working closely with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s natural resource programs.” Dentler noted that Joe’s recommendations reflect that he is an impressive young man who is dedicated to his family, his community, and his Tribe,” adding, “We are so pleased to see Tribal Members like Joe planning to contribute to Tribal management and utilization of natural resources.”

Apemesim Galipeau: Having worked with Penobscot Nation youth for six years—coaching competitive canoeing, engaging in planning and outreach to improve the health of Tribal Members, and tutoring students after school—Apemesim enrolled at the University of Maine at Orono’s Ecology and Environmental Studies program, with plans to work for the Penobscot Nation in natural resources. As Dentler noted, “Apemesim embodies Kurt Grinnell’s commitment to youth, and his recommendations reflect that he is both eager to learn and highly motivated.”

KGASF Board Chair Jaiden Grinnell Bosick, daughter of the late Kurt Grinnell, and head of the Scholarship Selection Committee, added: “We are so pleased to see students such as Joe and Apemesim pursue an education in natural resources. They, like previous scholarship recipients, are committed to the long-term welfare of their Tribe’s and Nation’s natural resources. My father would have been so proud of them.”

The KGASF was established to honor the legacy of the late Kurt Grinnell, a Native American leader from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington State, who passed away suddenly in 2021. Kurt Grinnell viewed aquaculture and natural resources as a solution to Tribal food security, Indigenous reconciliation, Tribal sovereignty, and overall wellbeing. Toward that end, KGASF provides financial assistance to Tribal and First Nation students who wish to pursue careers in aquaculture and natural resources. 

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For more information, contact:
John Dentler, Executive Director 
John.dentler@gmail.com