Sinte Gleska University, located on the Lakota Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, is using a $20,000 grant from NASA to investigate climate changes in the Great Plains. Using the history and cultural knowledge of tribal elders in addition to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, they will create a layered map to determine if significant changes to the environment have been made, then work to find solutions to the problems these changes are creating. They plan to focus on the northern plains soil moisture, indicator species like prairie dogs, all vegetation, and changes to the environment by man-made causes. Native Americans will be involved in creating new perspectives as well as being an active audience to the information discovered through this program.
