Nisogaabokwe – Melonee Montano, Natural Resources Science and Management (NRSM) graduate student, is being honored by the Institute on the Environment (IonE) and the Office of Sustainability with a 2023 Student Impact Award. This award recognizes students from all campuses who have made significant contributions to the University of Minnesota and local communities in helping create a more sustainable and just future.
Montano is an active member of the NRSM community and a frequent presenter and contributor to panel conversations on Indigenous knowledge and climate science. Most recently, she participated in People & Planet: Indigenous Fires in the Great Lakes Region, a conversation hosted by IonE, and co-presented the webinar “What are Indigenous Knowledges (IK)?” with Daniel Wildcat for the ongoing USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center series Incorporating Indigenous Knowledges into Federal Research and Management.
Montano was nominated for the award by University of Minnesota Professor and Department of Art Chair Christine Baeumler, who co-teaches a course on art and climate change with Department of Forest Resources Professor Rebecca Montgomery. “I nominated Nisogaabokwe – Melonee Montano for her dedication and the significant work she has done as the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Outreach Specialist for Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), where she helps assess climate change impacts on treaty resources and potential threats to Ojibwe culture and lifeways,” says Baeumler. "As a graduate student taking the Grand Challenges course (I co-teach), Making Sense of Climate Change, Science Art and Agency, Melonee has also contributed through generously sharing her knowledge and experiences."