Who We Are

Goals

Goal 1: Expand support for faculty and affiliated faculty 

Core faculty will include staff support through (at least) an 0.25FTE.

Goal 2: Develop a mechanism to support faculty and staff. 

Create a professional development training program for junior faculty which may include conferences, tenure track development and annual IRes faculty staff meetings. 

Developing a program for staff training which may include both soft skills of public speaking, independent working styles and how to take initiative as well as technical skills such as co-authoring publications, resume building, digital fluency and grant writing skills.

Goal 3: Develop a living IRes Toolkit 

In 2025, create an area in the IRes website to provide knowledge, data, and information generated by faculty, staff and affiliated partners. 

Generate professional resources that integrate culturally sustaining protocols for tribal communities

Goal 4:  IRes is an intentional space to provide data-informed knowledge to inform decision-making processes, specifically around natural resources. 

Collaborate with non-tribal partners (such as the Natural Resources Uses Law and Policy Center to develop policy briefs). 

Assist and connect tribal decision-makers to gather up-to-date information and generate excellent resources.

Goal 5: Develop trust-based relationships to serve as a foundation for community capacity building. 

Assist tribes in their grant-making processes. 

Generate Professional resources that assist in tribal decision making processes which may include how to write an environmental report for a tribe.

Goal 6: Continue the discussion on being a land-grant university.  Host more forums and symposiums to continue the dialogue. 

Goal 7: IRes faculty & staff will be visible participants at local area tribal community events

Goal 8:  IRes will lead research and respond to broad environmental concerns as identified by partners. 

Grants will reflect the intersections of many aspects of environmental solutions. 

IRes faculty will share broad environmental concerns when teaching in the classroom or educational outreach activities. 

Goal 9: Facilitate a community of faculty, students, leadership, experts, elders and community members working in the areas of focus. 

In 2025 identify the leadership experts, elders and community members who are working in environmental spaces, with an emphasis on local reservation and urban areas. 

In 2026 create intentional networking spaces, including former interns, faculty and students and partners.

By 2029, lead research and resilience efforts in the network.

Goal 10: Support the current local Indigenous environmental network of IRes collaborators 

Assist IRes grantees and community partners to develop their own network of peers, interns and leadership. 

Create space for IRes grantee executive director networking opportunities.

Values

By following the Center's commitment to the values outlined by Dr. Shawn Wilson of respect, relationship, reciprocity, and responsibility, IRes supports Native Nations with an emphasis on the 22 sovereign nations that are within Arizona. These values are a foundation to the work of IRes:

1. Relationship guides the pathway to meaningful and deep collaboration and connection. Our framework and guiding principles are focused on establishing long term relationships.
    
2. To kindle a meaningful relationship, Respect must be at the heart of its functionality. Transparency, consistent communication, and respect for place, beliefs, culture, history, language and ways of knowing must be elevated to serve as avenues for respect.
    
3. Reciprocity grounds the work and commitment to Indigenous communities. Breaking the stigma of research and institutions, IRes recognizes and prioritizes the cyclical nature of collaboration and emphasizes the need for balanced cooperation with partners.
    
4. It is the Responsibility of IRes to elevate sovereignty, self-determination, and Indigenous ways of knowing through our work both internal and external at the University of Arizona. It is the responsibility of the Center to care for and nurture the relationships and collaborative efforts that have and will be in place.