Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation Announces Winners of Inaugural Tribal and First Nations Scholarship Awards
The Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation (KGASF) warded its first-ever aquaculture scholarships to three students—two representing US Tribes and one representing one of Canada’s First Nations.
Each scholar received US $5,000 to pursue degrees in aquaculture, marine biology, and fisheries and wildlife science.
The inaugural scholarship winners are Michael Buck of the Yakama Nation in Washington State (whose Yakama Nation name is Ka-Kin-As); Alana Schofield of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan; and Taylor Nichols of the Wahnapitae First Nation (WFN) in Ontario, Canada.
Michael Buck, enrolled at the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, has “a keen interest in historic fisheries in the Columbia River Basin including lamprey populations which were historically important to several Tribes in the Colombia River Basin.” He is using his scholarship to pursue his master’s degree.
Alana Schofield is enrolled at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where she is pursuing a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. Alana has experience in Tribal Fisheries and is interested in learning about aquaculture and aquaponics, with the goal of “returning to her Tribal Community and using her knowledge to advance tribal sovereignty and improve and protect the natural environment.”
Taylor Nichols has experience in aquaculture via a pickerel micro-hatchery with the WFN and is currently pursuing a Master of Science Degree in Biology from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. She is a graduate of Canada’s Dalhousie University.
Honoring the late Kurt Grinnell: These awards honor the legacy of the late Kurt Grinnell, a Native American leader from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington State, who saw aquaculture as a solution to Tribal food security, the KGASF provides financial assistance to Tribal and First Nations students who wish to pursue careers in aquaculture and natural resources.
National Native American Heritage Month and National Indigenous History Month: The scholarship award announcement coincided with the celebration in the United States of National Native American Heritage Month, which is celebrated every June in Canada as National Indigenous History Month. These scholarships made possible by the KGASF not only help these students financially, but each scholarship winner has a strong connection to their Tribal or First Nation heritage