Winds of Change - College 2016 - 9
Shanny
Spang Gion
NORTHERN CHEYENNE
AND CROW
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Environmental Science
MONTANA TECH
Interdisciplinary MS
COURTESY OF SHANNY SPANG GION
G
rowing up on the Northern Cheyenne
and Crow reservations, which are
situated next to each other in southeast
Montana, I have always been interested in
how to take care of our environment. My
family and elders taught me to value and
respect our natural systems and cycles. And
because the reservations are fairly rural
communities, I was able to just explore on
my own the land we live on.
For my parents, it was not a question of if
I'd go to college, but when and what campus.
(Montana, of course! I could be close to
home.) But my parents weren't the only
people to encourage me to go to college -
Sara Young and her two daughters, Frederica
Left Hand and Heather Left Hand, helped
me see the value in education. I got to know
them through my participation in high
school summer camps, and, though Heather
has since traveled to the other side of camp,
they continue to encourage and inspire me
to this day.
aises.org
With the encouragement of my family
and my friends, I pursued an undergraduate
degree at Montana State University in
environmental science with an option in
environmental biology.
Now I'm a second-year graduate student
in the Interdisciplinary Master of Science
program at Montana Tech. It's happening
with the assistance of an Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation Sloan Indigenous Graduate
Fellowship. With a focus on hydrogeology
and technical communication, I have
proposed to study Rosebud Creek, located
in southern Montana, for my thesis
research. By using carbon and oxygen
isotope analyses in the Rosebud watershed
to study the groundwater-surface water
interaction of water resources, I hope to
both show how traditional ecological
knowledge can integrate with Western
science findings and introduce a practical
framework for natural systems management
at a local scale.
Since I have finished my course work and
my research area is on my reservation, I will
be located on the reservation, collecting the
needed field data during the summer and fall,
while also returning to work for my tribe.
I have been fortunate to be able to serve
my tribe in the field I am interested in, as
water resources administrator. I've been
working for my tribe in water resources
since 2006, and my role extends from
research and planning to water use and
quantification for water sources. I'm
hopeful the research I conduct using
Western science will demonstrate that we
can use it within our tribe, which is
grounded in and directed by traditional
knowledge and value systems, as a tool to
further inform and advance sound water
management. Ideally, I will be able to build
upon this research toward a more balanced
approach to not just water, but all natural
systems on our reservation.
- As told to Tracy Campbell
2016-2017 SPECIAL COLLEGE ISSUE * WINDS OF CHANGE 9
http://www.aises.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winds of Change - College 2016
Contents
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Winds of Change - College 2016 - Contents
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Winds of Change - College 2016 - Cover3
Winds of Change - College 2016 - Cover4
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