{"id":1276,"date":"2019-10-15T12:58:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T19:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1276"},"modified":"2024-07-23T11:12:23","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T18:12:23","slug":"tribal-communities-online-natural-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/tribal-communities-online-natural-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"A Native American tribal voice in a global online classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intrinsic-container intrinsic-container-16x9\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"744\" height=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VE80YlI_h2c?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption video-caption-full\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Learning online in Oregon State\u2019s Master of Natural Resources enabled Joe Peters and other Native American students to introduce Native teachings that were respected and embraced by faculty and peers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Joe Peters earned his master\u2019s online while protecting natural resources for the Squaxin Island Tribe<\/h2>\n<p>When Joe Peters started looking into natural resources master\u2019s degree programs a few years ago, he knew he didn\u2019t want to relocate from his home in Olympia, Washington, where he works as a natural resources policy representative for the Squaxin Island Tribe.<\/p>\n<p>As he explored his options, he came across Oregon State University\u2019s Graduate Certificate in Fisheries Management delivered online by the top-ranked OSU Ecampus. By enrolling in the certificate program he could try graduate level education online before committing to a full master\u2019s degree in the discipline.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textBox\" style=\"width: 30%;\">\n<h2>Serving tribal communities<\/h2>\n<p>OSU is increasing its outreach to Native communities in Oregon and across the country, enabling tribal members to earn college degrees with the support from culturally competent faculty and staff, scholarships and native community engagement. <a href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/online-degrees\/tribal-communities\/\">Learn more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cA lot of us don&#8217;t want to leave our community or our reservations and our tribal communities,\u201d Peters says. \u201cAnd so to have that opportunity to go back to school and not be transplanted or removed from your community is really big. Especially in a tribal community, you don&#8217;t want to leave your home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Peters earned his graduate certificate and continued on to OSU\u2019s online <a href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/online-degrees\/graduate\/natural-resources\/\">Master of Natural Resources degree program<\/a>. Due to his academic success, Peters was even able to bypass the GRE requirement. The Class of 2019 graduate says the online program became an opportunity for him to advance his career and offer a local Native American perspective to a virtual classroom of students worldwide.<\/p>\n<h3>Building up to a degree<\/h3>\n<p>Inspired in part by his cousin who earned a doctoral degree in fisheries, Peters recognized there would be benefits to continuing his education, both for his career and the <a href=\"https:\/\/squaxinisland.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Squaxin Island Tribe<\/a>. He feels that he has a duty from his ancestors to protect natural resources for generations to come.<\/p>\n<p>In his current role, Peters works with other tribes and the Washington Department of Fish &amp; Wildlife to resolve issues related to natural resources conservation.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1278\" class=\"wp-caption wp-caption-320 alignright\" style=\"width: 320px\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1278\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/joe-peters-boat.jpg?resize=320%2C320&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Joe Peters on a boat in a river with his catch of salmon\" width=\"320\" height=\"320\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">OSU&#8217;s online courses helped Joe Peters in his role as a natural resources policy representative for the Squaxin Island Tribe.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Continuing his education was also a way for him to pursue his goal of working in a senior-level role. But having been out of college for two decades, Peters felt a sense of trepidation and wanted to get his feet wet before committing to a full online master\u2019s program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think testing the waters is a big way of knowing if you&#8217;re ready,\u201d Peters says. \u201cI didn&#8217;t want to jump in and go, \u2018Oh, this isn\u2019t working for me.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>OSU\u2019s online <a href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/online-degrees\/graduate\/fisheries-management\/\">fisheries management graduate certificate program<\/a> provided him the opportunity to get reacquainted with the student life while preparing for even more rigorous studies. The fisheries management certificate can serve as a direct pathway to the online Master of Natural Resources program.<\/p>\n<p>Soon his trepidation turned into affirmation, and the Oregon State faculty who teach online with Ecampus were a big reason why.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of the OSU faculty and staff were very engaging in providing high-quality learning experiences in my online classes,\u201d Peters says. \u201cCarmel Finley taught History of Fisheries Science in my first term, and she was very instrumental in guiding me and building my confidence. I am thankful for her early impact on my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Lending a tribal voice<\/h3>\n<p>Reflecting on his experience in the certificate and master\u2019s programs, Peters says he enjoyed the opportunities to connect with his classmates wherever they may be, with some as far away as Japan and the Philippines. He primarily interacted with fellow students on the course discussion boards \u2014 where students respond to a professor\u2019s prompt as well as each other \u2014 and occasionally through videoconferencing.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"smartquote\">&ldquo;<\/span>You are learning about things from different aspects of the country and world beyond a remote place in the Puget Sound area that&#8217;s very salmon-centric.<span class=\"smartquote\">&rdquo;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These opportunities offered insight into natural resource protection from all over the world and allowed him to share his traditional tribal knowledge with others, including a few students who were members of other tribes. Peters discussed his culture with classmates, telling stories of fishing with his father and how those experiences are reflective of his tribe\u2019s values.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are learning about things from different aspects of the country and world beyond a remote place in the Puget Sound area that&#8217;s very salmon-centric,\u201d Peters says.<\/p>\n<p>And just as his cousin inspired him to further his education, he hopes to play a similar role for young and adult members of the Squaxin Island Tribe. In fact, he did exactly that the week after he graduated in June with his MNR.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a big education celebration for our tribal people, and that was another opportunity for me to walk across the stage in front of kids from kindergarten all the way up to Ph.D.s, and say, \u2018I got my master&#8217;s degree\u2019 and be recognized in front of all my community,\u201d Peters says. \u201cThat&#8217;s a great example of \u2018you can do it too.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ready to make an impact on an ecosystem near you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"rfi-button\" class=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/contact\/form\/\">Get more info today.<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute read<\/span><\/span>After earning a graduate certificate online with OSU Ecampus, Joe Peters enrolled in OSU&#8217;s Master of Natural Resources degree program. The Class of 2019 graduate says the online program became an opportunity for him to advance his career and offer a local Native American perspective to a virtual classroom of students worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":1277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,3,672,8,676],"tags":[638,134,169,25,24,470],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-features","category-learning-experience","category-students","category-why-osu","tag-conservation-and-natural-sciences","tag-master-of-natural-resources","tag-online-degrees","tag-online-education","tag-online-learning","tag-tribal-communities"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/joe-peters-news-featured.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-kA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1776,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/2021-graduation-preview\/","url_meta":{"origin":1276,"position":0},"title":"To the Oregon State Ecampus Class of 2021, your time has come","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"June 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"June 2021 is the month you officially become a college graduate, the one in which you\u2019ll put a celebratory bow on all of your hard work and perseverance. You\u2019re primed to enter a community of thousands of Oregon State Ecampus graduates who are out there, changing the world.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A large black sign surrounded by red brick that reads \"Oregon State University\" in white lettering.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sign-from-head-on.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sign-from-head-on.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sign-from-head-on.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Sign-from-head-on.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2431,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oregon-state-ecampus-online-tribal-communities-initiative-featured-in-a-newly-published-book-titled-race-and-rurality\/","url_meta":{"origin":1276,"position":1},"title":"Oregon State Ecampus&#8217; online Tribal Communities Initiative featured in a newly published book titled &#8216;Race and Rurality&#8217;","author":"Elena Moffet","date":"December 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Marleigh Perez and Eddie Rodriguez of Ecampus documented some of the initiative\u2019s key successes for a chapter in a newly published book titled \u201cRace and Rurality: Considerations for Advancing Equity in Higher Education.\u201d The book offers insights into how higher education can better support rural communities of all different backgrounds.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Joe Peters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joe-Peters-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joe-Peters-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joe-Peters-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Joe-Peters-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":305,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/pathway-to-mnr\/","url_meta":{"origin":1276,"position":2},"title":"Pathway to MNR | Oregon State Ecampus","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"April 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Zweifel was looking for a competitive edge in the fisheries and wildlife job market, so he turned to Oregon State University to broaden his knowledge and skill set. After earning a Graduate Certificate in Water Conflict Management online with Oregon State Ecampus, Justin realized the certificate was a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Archives&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Justin Zweifel speaks to two faculty in the Master's of Natural Resources program.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2022,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/osu-everywhere-jami-dennis-mnr\/","url_meta":{"origin":1276,"position":3},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: Geospatial technology, natural resources make a perfect pair online","author":"Jami Dennis","date":"May 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was not a typical grad student. 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Then, when I was about to turn 50 (yes, 50!) the opportunity came.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/jami-dennis-mnr-osu-everywhere.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/jami-dennis-mnr-osu-everywhere.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/jami-dennis-mnr-osu-everywhere.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/jami-dennis-mnr-osu-everywhere.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1284,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/success-coach-native-american-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":1276,"position":4},"title":"Life experience helps student engagement manager support Indigenous students","author":"Jordan Friedman","date":"November 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"College students face a variety of challenges, from finding the right academic support to time management. As a first-generation college student and graduate, Eddie Rodriguez faced these challenges and others firsthand. Now, the sense of empathy and pride he feels as student engagement program manager at Oregon State Ecampus \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eddie Rodriguez, student success coach for Oregon State University Ecampus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/eddie-rodriguez-success-coach.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/eddie-rodriguez-success-coach.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/eddie-rodriguez-success-coach.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/eddie-rodriguez-success-coach.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":301,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/justin-zweifel-master-natural-resources-oregon-state-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":1276,"position":5},"title":"Justin Zweifel, Master of Natural Resources | Oregon State University","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"May 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Zweifel was looking for a competitive edge in the fisheries and wildlife job market, so he decided to pursue his Master of Natural Resources degree online with Oregon State Ecampus. 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