Indigenous Innovation

AISES conference showcases ‘enormous commitment’ to build STEM community

More than 3,000 participants attend Minneapolis event

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Founder & Editor in Chief

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Red Lake Nation College representatives talk with AISES participants during the annual conference held Oct. 2-4 in Minneapolis, Minn. The college provided a tour of its Minneapolis campus, the first urban TCU in the United States. (Buffalo’s Fire/Jodi Rave Spotted Bear)

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The 2025 annual American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference proved to be an inspiring event last week, one of the largest Native American conferences in the United States, drawing in 3,200 participants Oct. 2-4 to Minneapolis, Minn. All who gathered share a strong interest in STEM fields, with a significant representation from academic institutions and professional arenas.

While hundreds of panel discussions and student presentations occurred throughout the three-day conference, 311 companies, organizations and institutions manned booths to talk with participants.

Among the booths in the Minneapolis Convention Center were representatives from the Red Lake Nation College. The college set up a prominent-sized booth to introduce the AISES group to its work. The college also provided a tour of the RLNC Minneapolis site, the first tribal college in the country to operate from a major urban center. The site, an educational institution and vocational training center, opened in 2024. Red Lake Nation leaders recognized the need to serve the families of nearly 8,000 Red Lake citizens and 50,000 Indigenous people who live in the Twin Cities.

Adjacent to the booths, scores of high school and college students stood ready to discuss their science-poster research on a wide array of issues. Topics included studies of diabetes medications, comparisons of wild rice harvesting, understanding how intimate partner violence affects an individual if witnessed during childhood and cancer treatment access challenges.

Molina Tossi-Masso, of the Yoeme, or Yaqui, nation, presents his research on Oct. 3 during the American Indian Science and Engineering conference in Minneapolis. Tossi-Mosso is a student at Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Arizona.
Molina Tossi-Masso, of the Yoeme, or Yaqui, nation, presents his research on Oct. 3 during the American Indian Science and Engineering conference in Minneapolis. Tossi-Mosso is a student at Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Arizona. / Photo by Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

I had the chance to visit with many of the students, presenters, health professionals, trial enterprises, government agencies, business owners, corporations and organizations. It was inspirational to listen, learn and watch the enormous commitment underway to build the STEM community across the United States and Canada through educational, professional and workforce development.

The conference was a reminder of the incredible importance we all play in educating and supporting the next generation of STEM leaders. It was great to see Alexa Azure, UTTC chair of the engineering department, in attendance with a strong cohort of 16 students and representatives from our local United Tribes Technical College here in Bismarck.

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Learn more about the American Indian Science and Engineering Society at www.aises.org.

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation)

Founder & Editor in Chief

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Location: Twin Buttes, North Dakota

Spoken Languages: English

Topic Expertise: Federal trust relationship with American Indians; Indigenous issues ranging from spirituality and environment to education and land rights

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