2023 Research Fellowship opportunity with the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Alaska

The Alaska office of Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center is seeking applications from Alaska Natives for a Research Fellowship. The fellowship will provide an Alaska Native educator or education student (informally or formally) an online opportunity to learn about and conduct Alaska-based research for a new inter-departmental project at the Smithsonian Institution based on collaborating with Alaska Natives to create a framework for museums to equitably engage in culturally responsive-sustaining education with Indigenous peoples and to co-produce CRSE materials for K-12 instruction with Alaska Native educators.

The fellow will perform the activities noted below from January through June 2023, and be paid a $5,000 honorarium:

1) Participate in SI team meetings online (90 minutes/month) and project correspondence (one hour/week; weekday mornings).

2) Meet online with SASC-AK team member Dawn Biddison for fellowship support, work reviews and discussions about intersecting ideas and interests (one hour, twice a month; weekdays).

3) Conduct and record one-hour informational interviews online with 10 Alaska Native educators who are representatives of the 28 grants awarded in September 2022 by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary & Secondary Education to 20 Alaska Native organizations, using interview questions co-developed by the team (25 hours; weekdays).

4) Write reports consisting of summaries from notes and key quotes from interviews that will inform the SI project, as part of the statewide research to learn from Alaska Native educators (80 hours; time flexible).

Please send applications to Dawn Biddison at biddisond@si.edu. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, December 28. The selected candidate will be notified on December 29. Applications should consist of a one-page cover letter (about your current work/studies and interests, and how this fellowship would benefit you and your career) and your resume/CV. Please feel free to contact Dawn by email with any questions. Thank you for considering this opportunity, which has been made possible through a grant from The CIRI Foundation.

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