First Nations’ Young Natural Resource Professionals Cohort is a 12-month enrichment opportunity, designed to enhance the knowledge and networks of young natural resource professionals in the Northern Great Plains. This cohort builds on First Nations long standing work supporting tribes achieve balance between Native-led stewardship and economic development within the Northern Great Plains. The goal of this cohort is to promote and prioritize the professional development of a new generation of Native natural resource professionals, while supporting stewardship of grasslands in the Northern Great Plains through planning, partnerships, and capacity building. Members of the cohort will develop professional, leadership, and technical skills; establish peer connections; and learn how to employ tribal and community conservation priorities.
Cohort members will 1.) gain a deeper understanding of traditional stewardship practices that will improve and conserve tribal lands, 2.) receive specialized training to manage projects, and 3.) enhanced communication skills to relay the importance of upholding tribal sovereignty, cultural grounding, and connection to traditional lands in resource management.
First Nations is pleased to support the following Native young natural resource professionals:
- Albert Mason, Jr. (Eastern Shoshone), Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
- Anna Berridge (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska), Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
- Chelsey Quick Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa), Three Affiliated Tribes
- Dalton Grassel (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
- Jacob Fasthorse (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
- Justin Murray (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), Rosebud Sioux Tribe
- Michon Shaving (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
- Saul Bobtail Bear (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
- Shaun Ball (Fort Belknap Assiniboine), Fort Belknap Indian Community
- Treyace Yellow Owl (Blackfeet), Blackfeet Community College
- Wyatt Caplette (Chippewa Cree), Chippewa Cree Tribe
- Xavier Donnell (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
- Xavier Michael-Young (Seminole Tribe of Florida), Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
