AISES

🚀 Help us spotlight Native innovation in STEM!

Know a tribe, tribal enterprise, or Native entrepreneur making an impact in STEM? Nominate them for the 10 Native STEM Enterprises to Watch in the Fall 2026 Winds of Change magazine.

✅ Takes just 5 minutes
📅 Nominations close July 16

Help us celebrate the innovators creating opportunities, strengthening communities, and shaping the future of STEM in Indian Country.

Take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TWZPWX9

AISES students PeQwas Hernandez (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) and Aiyanna Tanyan (Seminole/Muscogee Creek) took home 1st Place in the Buffalo Bump Business Plan Challenge with an idea rooted in Indigenous knowledge and community impact.

Their project focused on restoring food sovereignty and revitalizing Indigenous communities through traditional foodways. By applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), they proposed solutions to address shortages of native crop seeds while supporting the restoration of woodlands, wetlands, prairies, and other culturally significant ecosystems. Their message was simple but powerful: when we restore the land, we help restore our communities.

What if your idea could be next?

The Buffalo Bump Business Plan Challenge, powered by Aristocrat, invites AISES college students to transform innovative ideas into real-world solutions. We're looking for bold concepts that weave Indigenous knowledge, STEM, sustainability, and community impact together.

Apply by July 24 at https://aises.org/buffalo-bump-business-plan-challenge