Wai Allen, PhD

YouTube video by PBS NewsHour Rescue crews airlift hundreds out of rural Alaskan villages after powerful storm

This is good reporting on the disaster in Alaska if you're looking for a reliable summary.

This is a bigger disaster than I think most are realizing. 1500 people have been displaced by the flooding with an exceptionally complicated response and recovery.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5kz...

WESTERN ALASKA DISASTER RELIEF WAYS YOU CAN HELP: ONLINE FUNDRAISER - DONATE TO SUPPORT Join us in supporting relief efforts. Scan the QR code to donate online. All funds raised will go directly to assisting communities. PURCHASE ITEMS - AMAZON WISHLIST Purchase items of immediate need to go directly to the Bethel Community Services Foundation to be distributed to villages most affected. DONATION DRIVE AT AFN CONVENTION Accepting items of immediate need including: Cases of water, nonperishable foods, diapers, wipes, toilet paper, personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, phone chargers, blankets, sleeping bags, cots, flashlights, and hand wipes. DENA'INA CENTER, ROOM 6 (2ND FLOOR) Friday, October 17 | 1-5PM Saturday, October 18 | 8AM-2PM

This Indigenous Peoples Day please speak up: another typhoon sweeping away homes of Alaska's Natives, who, during settlement (statehood: 1948) were forced to end ways of life (like my Grandma's) involving mobility across regions & stuck them in flood-prone/unstable villages with housing deficits.

ASU police allegedly helped the feds detain a university employee The ASU chapter of the National Lawyers Guild blasted the arrest of the unnamed employee, who was later released.

www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/asu-pol...

At the university where I work.

Sept. 11, 2025 Dear UAF staff and faculty members, Yesterday, UAF received notice that the U.S. Department of Education is terminating current and future funding for the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions program, among others. This decision is likely to result in the loss of several grants under what is commonly known as Title III. It is also likely to limit the availability of future funding to support UAF’s mission to serve Alaska Native students and the people of Alaska. Here’s what we currently know: This is not happening immediately. The federal government is allowing up to a year to close out the programs funded by the grants. UAF has multiple grants that fall under this category, most within the College of Indigenous Studies and the UAF Community and Technical College. Title III doesn’t directly fund student aid at UAF, but rather funds degree programs and student support services like advising and recruiting. The loss of these funds would be substantial—currently around $2.9 million yearly—but we are still analyzing what the full effects may be. More than 20% of UAF’s students are Indigenous, or about 1,450 students each year, on average. Title III grants support important workforce development and student success initiatives for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at locations throughout Alaska. The loss of this grant funding will have a substantial and negative impact on a large number of Alaskans, including our Alaska Native students. Because we just received news of this decision, I don’t have a lot of details to share. But please know that the UAF and UA system leadership team are gathering as much information as we can to find a path forward as we attempt to mitigate the impacts, both current and future, from this proposed action.

Hardly surprising, but terminating funding to support Alaska Native programs and services is a real gut-punch nonetheless. #UAF #AlaskaSky #UA

I got to share a bit about Indigenous values in chemistry on this pod! Thanks @nature for the feature and joining some an amazing list of ChangeMakers!

Decolonize scientific institutions, don’t just diversify them Indigenous scholars set out eight steps to stop marginalization in academia and to enable a shared Indigenous agenda in science.

New article led by Tara McAllister & co-authored by Lelani Walker, @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social, myself, Bradley Moggridge, Serena Naepi, Brittany Kamai and @napaaqtuk.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Condolences to you and your family Kat

Congratulations! 🎉

Congratulations!

NSF Geo-Futures Program Geo-Futures is a conference-based program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that engages with, and provides educational resources for, students interested in pursuing a career in the geo...

Deadline for the GeoFutures program has been extended to 07-11-25. The program provides travel & mentoring support for geoscience undergrads attending the 2025 SACNAS conference. @accessiblegeo.bsky.social @agu.org @official-bweems.bsky.social @sacnas.bsky.social environment.uw.edu/about/inclus...

For perspective: a recent study suggested that economic savings from just a *single* well-predicted hurricane, thanks to NOAA research advancements, are on order of *$5 billion.* That exceeds NOAA's *entire proposed annual operating budget.* So much for government efficiency.

Tribal Colleges Worry for Their Survival After Proposed Cut Department of the Interior proposed reducing funding for tribal colleges by more than $100 million. Some tribal college leaders fear their institutions wouldn’t survive it.

Tribal Colleges Worry for Their Survival After Proposed Cut

Department of the Interior proposed reducing funding for tribal colleges by more than $100 million. Some tribal college leaders fear their institutions wouldn’t survive it. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4lyfmJl

We All Need to Be Talking About the Murder of Jonathan Joss This Pride and Beyond The actor, who was Comanche and White Mountain Apache, was shot in a targeted hate crime while protecting his husband.

Wrote this piece for Harpers Bazaar about the life, legacy, and hate-induced murder of Jonathan Joss through the eyes of being a Two-Spirit Native person this Pride.

I hope you take a read. For Him. For all of us. 🪶

Please know Trevor Project has 3 ways to access help when needed. Also, Make a donation, if you can.

www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/

Ugh more disappointment

End of an Era: Landsat 7 Decommissioned After 25 Years of Earth Observation After 25 years of capturing Earth's changing landscape, the Landsat 7 satellite received its final transmission from the U.S. Geological Survey and was officially decommissioned June 4, closing a rema...

USGS, which operates the Landsat satellites, just announced that Landsat 7 was officially decommissioned today. Landsat 8 and 9 continue operations.
www.usgs.gov/news/nationa...

Ugh Im sorry. I spoke with Ken and Felica today

Today the Supreme Court cleared the way for the federal government to transfer thousands of acres of national forestland including a Native American sacred site, to Resolution Copper a mining company owned by Rio Tinto and BHP. The land holds deep spiritual significance for the Western Apache tribe.

Tribal communities risk losing local libraries and the history they hold amid DOGE cuts Federally recognized tribes say the Trump administration cut the grant money they use to sustain the local libraries that serve as anchors in their most rural communities.

More than a hundred libraries on federally recognized tribal lands across the country were notified that their congressionally appropriated grant had been terminated midcycle.

Those communities are at risk of losing their local libraries and the history they hold.

Laughing bc otherwise I will cry 🙃 guess I'll hold off on submitting that NSF grant I was working on

About EES The NSF Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) aims to provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds, especially those historically underrepresented in science and engineering.

NSF’s entire Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EDU/EES), which “aims to provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to actively participate and excel in STEM disciplines” and some of it congressionally mandated, was just notified they will be RIFed. www.nsf.gov/edu/ees/about

Thanks Kim!

The crisis of missing and Murdered Indigenous People is urgent and ongoing. Today is about more than remembrance. It's a call for justice. We are always working to get answers, action, and accountability. #MMIP

today is the National Day for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. I created this mini guide as a resource to increase awareness, share education, and provide links to resources to get involved.
#MMIW #MMIR #NoMoreStolenRelatives

Policy Notice: Implementation of Standard 15% Indirect Cost Rate

It's official. 15% ICR on NSF grants.

My favorite line: "Reducing administrative burdens for awardee institutions."

Say the opposite of what is true... the communication strategy of our time: www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...

HHS plans to cut the national suicide hotline’s program for LGBTQ youth In February, the program received an average of 2,100 contacts per day.

At RFK Jr’s direction, HHS plans to cut the National Suicide Hotline’s program for LGBTQ youth. In February, the program received an average of 2,100 contacts per day.

What DEI threatens isn’t merit. It’s monopoly. Political science professor Hakeem Jefferson argues for DEI's importance to de-monopolizing universities.

A colleague at Stanford’s business school used The Stanford Daily to argue—poorly—against DEI. The piece was riddled with historical errors and left one searching for fact, so I broke my public writing hiatus to respond.

I hope you’ll read and share the piece.

stanforddaily.com/2025/04/22/w...

NSF Cancels Hundreds of DEI and Disinformation Grants - Eos The National Science Foundation has cancelled hundreds of grants to researchers working on projects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as misinformation and disinformation.

On Friday, the NSF announced the cancellation of awards that aren’t aligned with the agency’s mission, “including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and misinformation/disinformation.”

eos.org/research-and...

Happening NOW