About Ben and the Water Quality Internship

Pictured: Ben White talking with Arthur "Butch" Blazer, Deputy Under Secretary, USDA

Photo captured 06-06-12

My name is Benjamin White, l am a decedent of both the Menominee and Stockbridge Munsee. I am currently studying nursing, and would like to finish my degrees in biological and physical science, and sustainable development after completing the nursing degree. I enjoy gardening, sailing, skiing, boating, volleyball, and playing with my basset retriever.  Last year I had the privilege to travel to china and study mandarin for a month, this opportunity offered me the chance to observe how other cultures view and utilize their environment as well the challenges they face. This trip also provided firsthand knowledge of geography’s impact on cultures.

My expectations for the internship are to use the information collected at the summit to deliver water resource information in a culturally pertinent format. I expect to research and compile information on the tribal water resource issues identified at the summit, and develop management and educational material through the lens of the local tribal cultures. Native people realize their lives as being connect closely to the world around them.  I anticipate this knowledge will bring exciting challenges and insightful epiphanies.

My goal of the internship is to have a beneficial impact on the knowledge base of youth and adult tribal community members as it pertains to their water resource needs. My goal for the communities is to understand more about how water is impacted by the actions of humans and how that translates to the everyday activities of those who interact with it. A goal for me is to learn more about the best practices in educating other native people in the field of science. It is my view native persons instinctually view the world in a more holistically and thereby will benefit from educational material developed in this format.

I foresee this internship encompassing further research-identified water resource concerns and developing appropriate curricula for tribal communities. My other responsibilities will include working wand sharing information with the other intern Deidre Wolfe. I am excited to work with Deidre to learn more about traditional ecological knowledge and have the chance to share the information I have had the privilege to learn. I am also excited to have the opportunity to visit other tribal communities and gain firsthand knowledge of these geographic areas and attributes of these areas effects on the environment.