SCOPE OF WORK
This position is primarily responsible for implementing the vision of NICMERE and the Salish Sea Research Center as a renowned research center that promotes development of NWIC students as Indigenous scholars. The Salish Sea Research Center (SSRC) is uniquely positioned to connect marine ecology with the cultures of the Northwest Coast to grow the resilience of communities and ecosystems. Northwest Indian College’s Salish Sea Research Center brings the tools and technologies to our students, on reservation, to ask the questions they find most compelling in a supportive, scientific environment. Through the SSRC, Indigenous people can ask the questions that matter most in their lives using a mixture of traditional and non-traditional methods. Generally, this research can be described under two umbrellas: environmental health and the history of human interaction in this area. To understand the human footprint on Salish Sea, we acknowledge that people have always been here and we ask what lessons can be learned about how they promoted sustainability and how they interacted with the Salish Sea in a respectful manner. Examples of our research include multiple projects to explore the natural and cultural context of traditional mariculture practices. Specifically, we are focusing on clam gardens, hand constructed rock walls built to expand suitable bivalve (clams and cockles) habitat seaward by increasing the sedimentation rate of suspended silt particles at low intertidal elevations. Grounded in Coast Salish culture, we weave marine ecology and place-based research to build the ecological and cultural resilience of the Salish Sea.
The NICMERE Associate Director will develop new research programs and obtain the funding to sustain those programs and this position. This position will also carry administrative and teaching responsibilities. The Associate Director is expected to spend their effort roughly as follows: 50% grant funded research, 25% administrative, and 25% teaching. This position will be sustained through competitive awards that the Associate Director is expected to generate. Working with the NICMERE Director and science faculty the Associate Director will maximize Tribal College specific awards (e.g., NIFA) and develop partnerships for open competition awards.