AISES

🚀 STEM Day at is where Indigenous students discover what's possible.

Through hands-on STEM experiences, middle and high school students explore coding, engineering, science, technology, and innovation in ways that can spark confidence, inspire careers, and help shape their futures.

Join us in bringing STEM Day to life and help create experiences students will remember for years to come.

🤝🏾Become a sponsor: https://conference.aises.org/sponsors/sponsorship-opportunities
❤️Support AISES: https://aises.org/support

🎮 Think a career in gaming only means making games? Think again.

From IT and cybersecurity to digital leadership and innovation, the gaming industry offers exciting STEM career paths—and this webinar will show you how to get started.

Join trailblazing Indigenous technology leader Renita DiStefano (Seneca Nation), the first Native American woman to serve as both a CIO and CISO, as she shares the "cheat codes" for breaking into gaming, tech, and cybersecurity careers.

You'll learn:
✅ How gaming can lead to careers in IT and cybersecurity
✅ Key roles and pathways in these fast-growing industries
✅ Practical steps to build skills and stand out
✅ Real-world insights from an Indigenous leader in tech

📅 July 7, 2026
⏰ 12 PM CT
Register at https://aises.org/events

Whether you're a student, recent graduate, or professional exploring your next move, this is your chance to level up your future.

AISES students PeQwas Hernandez (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) and Aiyanna Tanyan (Seminole/Muscogee Creek) took home 1st Place in the Buffalo Bump Business Plan Challenge with an idea rooted in Indigenous knowledge and community impact.

Their project focused on restoring food sovereignty and revitalizing Indigenous communities through traditional foodways. By applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), they proposed solutions to address shortages of native crop seeds while supporting the restoration of woodlands, wetlands, prairies, and other culturally significant ecosystems. Their message was simple but powerful: when we restore the land, we help restore our communities.

What if your idea could be next?

The Buffalo Bump Business Plan Challenge, powered by Aristocrat, invites AISES college students to transform innovative ideas into real-world solutions. We're looking for bold concepts that weave Indigenous knowledge, STEM, sustainability, and community impact together.

Apply by July 24 at https://aises.org/buffalo-bump-business-plan-challenge

If you work in public service, education, or nonprofit organizations, you may be eligible for federal student loan forgiveness. ⏰6 days left to register!

Join Texas Native Health, the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education, and Public Service Promise for a free, expert-led webinar on the PSLF program.

📅 June 16 | 🕛 12:00–1:30 PM ET
🔗 Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mG01-zwRSGKMc9AHa1OTTw

All registrants will receive the recording and slide deck.

With support from Young Futures, the AISES AUNTIE Tech Collective is centering youth voices in preparing for this next generation of technology. Thank you to Life With Machines for including us in your conversation on how Indigenous youth are defining their own technological future. Watch the episode at https://www.lifewithmachines.media/p/the-ai-boom-needs-their-land

Learn more about AUNTIE and consider joining the Collective: https://aises.org/auntie-tech-collective/

The AI Boom Needs Their Land How rural and Indigenous youth are defining their own technological future

AISES is seeking leaders, changemakers, and champions of Indigenous STEM.

📢 Two opportunities are now open for nominations:

🔹 AISES Board of Directors (Deadline: June 30)
Help shape the future of AISES and advance opportunities for Indigenous people in STEM. We encourage AISES professional members to apply or nominate a fellow member who brings leadership, vision, and a commitment to our mission.
➡ https://aises.org/board-nominations-and-election/

🔹 Ely S. Parker Award (Deadline: July 1)
Recognize an exceptional Indigenous STEM professional whose lifetime of achievements, leadership, and service embodies the AISES mission. As the highest honor awarded by AISES, the Ely S. Parker Award celebrates individuals who have made a lasting impact on STEM and Indigenous communities.
➡ https://aises.org/ely-s-parker-award/

Whether you're ready to lead, or know someone whose contributions deserve recognition, now is the time to submit a nomination!

At the Young Futures AI panel, AISES PK-12 Program Officer Cheyenne Skye Branscum (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) shared how distrust once shaped her community’s relationship with the U.S. Census and how she now sees similar questions surrounding AI among the young people she serves.

That’s why Indigenous voices must help shape the future of AI.

AISES is launching the BRAID Advisory Team to help create a culturally grounded AI literacy curriculum for Indigenous students rooted in Indigenous values, knowledge systems, and community perspectives.

✔ Virtual + in-person collaboration
✔ Travel covered
✔ $1,000–$2,000 stipends

Get in on the conversation!
Join BRAID: https://forms.gle/UH4bWineV9fyABwp6
Take our AI survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7VDo9JZTEVKA8raxmV3M_pcOfUC2kX41WxoX1j7gVssiG6w/viewform

The Spring 2026 issue of AISES Winds of Change is now live in a mobile-friendly digital format. 📖 https://read.nxtbook.com/aises/winds_of_change/spring_2026/cover.html

This issue highlights:
• Top 50 Workplaces for Indigenous STEM Professionals
• Indigenous-led bison restoration across the U.S. and Canada
• Career pathways in architecture and landscape architecture
• Inspiring stories from AISES students, professionals, and leaders

You’ll also meet Keeya Wiki, a Klamath River water protector, and read a moving tribute honoring longtime AISES mentor Dr. Carol Vallee Crouch.

Read the Spring issue today and celebrate Indigenous innovation, culture, and resilience.

Support Indigenous STEM futures this Native Nonprofit Day 👨🏽‍🔬✨ givenative.org/organization/AISES

When you support AISES, you help Indigenous students explore STEM, compete at science fairs, earn scholarships, and grow into the scientists, engineers, researchers, and innovators our communities need.

This year, joining AISES 365 makes giving simple: just $1 a day through a monthly $30 donation.

Small monthly gifts create lasting impact — from introducing kindergarteners to STEM to supporting professionals throughout their careers.

Native-led organizations know their communities best. Investing in Native students is investing in the future.

Will you Give Native with us today?

Calling all creatives, designers, and branding visionaries ✨

From coding clubs for Native youth to mentorship for future tech leaders and professionals, AUNTIE is creating pathways for Indigenous womxn, girls, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people in tech. Now we need a visual identity that reflects the power of community, culture, innovation, and future-building. 🌊💻🪶

We’re seeking proposals for a comprehensive branding guide including logos, typography, color systems, templates, graphic elements, and more. If your work centers story, culture, accessibility, and modern design — we want to hear from you.

Learn more at careers.aises.org and submit your proposal by May 25!

Help shape the visual future of AUNTIE. ✨