Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2016 Toward Epistemological Diversity in STEM-H Grantmaking: Grantors’ and Grantees’ Perspectives on Funding Indigenous Research, Programming, and Evaluation Jessica C. Venable Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/4308 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2016 Copyright by Jessica Christina Venable All Rights Reserved Toward Epistemological Diversity in STEM-H Grantmaking: Grantors’ and Grantees’ Perspectives on Funding Indigenous Research, Programming, and Evaluation A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. by Jessica C. Venable AB, Princeton University, 1999 MA, The George Washington University, 2001 Director: Katherine Cumings Mansfield, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia May, 2016 For my family, my earth. For SSITA, my rain. For Dawn, my sunshine. Acknowledgement I am very honored to be in this place. The dissertation is touted as an academic’s first and foundational piece of independent research. However, this work was – is – not my own singular effort. I would not be in this place if it were not for the wisdom, generosity, and love of an entire community who cared equally for my intellectual growth, for my spiritual well-being, and for my emotional strength. This dissertation research is the work of many. I show particular appreciation to my family – past, present, and future – who have always considered education our right and responsibility. I give thanks to my parents Geraldine and Demetrius; my sister Juanita; my niece Alana and nephew Devan; my aunts, uncles and cousins for supporting me throughout these years. Even the times when everyone would run out of the room when I got to talking about my dissertation yet again, you all were my foundation. You gave me words of encouragement, ideas, access to stories, knowledge and people. I believe that we got to know each other better through this process, and for that I am grateful. I acknowledge the family that I have chosen over the course of my doctoral studies as instrumental to developing my own sense of identity and the strength to argue forcefully for what I believe in. I thank the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament of St. Francis/St. Emma in Powhatan, Virginia: Srs Maureen Carroll, Elena Henderson, Angela Lydon, Beulah Martin, and Jean Ryan. They watched over me as I managed my way through intellectual and identity struggles that arose in this project. As educated women dedicated to educating others, the sisters continually ii and lovingly probed the logic of my arguments, fed me and laughed with me, encouraged my exploration of many paths, and were beside me to the very end. I will be with you through the very end. I cannot express my gratitude enough to the Arora Asfsah family for taking me in when I had nowhere to go. My heart was empty, and I was lost. Thank you for finding me and keeping me whole as I finished this work and moved to the next stage. I am proud to be your sister. I thank Yolanda George and Shirley Malcom at the American Association for the Advancement of Science for setting me straight, and keeping my ideological, wandering tendencies firmly grounded in the context of the real world. You are two of my many guardians of epistemology in use. I am grateful to you for both your arrow-straight perspective, and for your encouragement that I explore the “something else” in the will and spirit of marginalized peoples that is most often overlooked – and invalidated – in mainstream research. Yolanda graciously put me in contact with two women who challenged my own colonial assumptions and thought processes. I give thanks to Pat Campbell and Holly Youngbear-Tibbets for your early mentorship and guidance, and for assuring me that my heart and instincts were in the right place, no matter what the academy said. Thank you also for helping me to appreciate what it means to protect the intellectual property of Indigenous communities while supporting and advancing their contributions. I show my appreciation also to Jodi Chase for guiding me through the complexities of federal funding to Tribal Colleges and Universities. This document would never have been written without the loving support of an entire network of individuals who kept me standing when all I wanted to do was fall. I am eternally grateful to Claudia Scholz, who spirited me across the country, giving me a home and an office to work in any time she sensed that I was not making progress. Claudia, I thank you for saving iii me. Jo Belaso taught me, in the gentlest way imaginable, to stand up for myself and for what I know is right. Thank you for sharing your gifts, loving hands, and kind animals. I am grateful to my writing partners Vivian Dzokoto and Falcon Rankins, who sat with me, resolutely, as we all three toiled through seemingly insurmountable tasks. To Falcon, Vivian, and the good people at Martin’s grocery store, I appreciate your partnership and good humor, and for being my sounding board through long hours of meaning making. Most of all, I thank you for putting up with my daily-slice-of-birthday cake addiction! In an independent research agenda, the researcher can take credit for the conclusions made. The findings of this research are not my own, but rather composed of a rich tapestry of teachings, stories, and wisdom based on generations of experiences. I cannot express enough my gratitude to Joan LaFrance, Carol Morgan, Tina Woods, Rosemary Ableson, Jill Karsten, Lina Patino, Nikos Pastos and his family, Margaret Schildt, Gina Sievert, and Amanda Means. Thank you for being my teachers. And I am grateful to everyone at Salish Kootenai College who opened their hearts and homes to me for more than three years. You fed, drove me to and from the airport in the dead of night, gave me places to sleep and work, danced with me, hugged and kissed me, introduced me to your land, and taught me about wildlife I never knew existed. To Lori Lambert and Frank Tyro, Frank Finley, Michael Munson, Stacey Sherwin, to all of the people who make the institution and community vibrant, and their relations, I honor you. And a warm acknowledgement to Anne Markham for her thorough, insightful, and generous edit of this entire document. Thank you for lending me your eyes. I also honor the many Indigenous graduate students across the world whose voices seep into these pages. The Student Storytellers Indigenizing the Academy (SSITA) is a spiritual, emotional, and intellectual lifeline. I learned more from my SSITA peers than in all of my years iv of graduate study – so this dissertation research is theirs as well. There are so many people to acknowledge I am bound to miss some; to the entire group: you are important, and loved, and your contributions are meaningful now and into the future. To Brandy Sato, Frank Sage, Paulette Steeves, Jimi Del Duca, Christiane Rudmann, Corrie and Popay Santos, Joyce Frey, Cassidy and Jennifer Medicine Horse, Nicky Bowman, Åsa Virdi Kroik, Anne Londblom, Melinda Lloyd, and so countless others – your support meant the world to me. And to Dawn Hill Adams, my kidney made of dirt, who knows the importance of no words… v Table of Contents Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xii Terminology ................................................................................................................................. xiv Indigenous, Native, Native American, American Indian, Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, First Nations, Aboriginal ............................................ xiv Indigenous Methodologies, Indigenous Research Methodologies (IRMs) .......................... xiv Indigenist (research) .............................................................................................................. xv Western, Eurocentric ............................................................................................................. xv Grant ..................................................................................................................................... xvi Grantsmanship ...................................................................................................................... xvi Culturally Responsive, Culturally Sustainable .................................................................... xvii Moral, Morality ................................................................................................................... xvii Protocol of Introduction