Integrating Indigenous Pedagogy into Teaching Local and Regional Environmental Changes: A Case Study from an Internship Program for Indigenous Undergraduate Students

This paper discusses Indigenous methods for educating Native American and other Indigenous students about local and regional environmental changes. During the summers of 2023 and 2024, sixteen interns were recruited under the NSF CoPe 2103843 grant to study coastal climate impacts at two sites. Using Indigenous pedagogy, students combined classroom learning with fieldwork in Hawaii and Alaska. Interns interacted directly through conversations with Indigenous communities and interactions with changing landscapes. Results indicate that place-based education, guided by local inhabitants and the environment, is effective for teaching Indigenous youth about climate change and environmental variability, emphasizing integrating local knowledge and the natural environment, mixed with Western mainstream methods. This method of teaching and learning supports convergence science and professional development opportunities.