Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

NASA and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

NASA's Office of External Affairs and Education at Stennis Space Center has worked closely with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to enhance existing and develop new academic and vocational/technical training programs. These efforts include working with the Choctaw Tribal School system to support technology use in education.

The Choctaw Tribal School system consisting of six elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school is a locally-controlled Native American school system. More than 1,800 students attend these eight schools in three counties.

NASA's Office of External Affairs, Education Office at Stennis Space Center has:

Supported Choctaw Central High School's FIRST Robotics team with technology assistance and sponsorship
Facilitated an Interactive Video Network Classroom that connects to the Mississippi ETV Interactive Video Network
Conducted educational workshops for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Offices and educators from the Choctaw Tribal School System
Worked to achieve the signing of two Space Act Agreements between the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center
Provided educational technology assistance through NASA's Computer to Schools Program
Established a NASA Educator Resource Center regional site on the Choctaw Central High School campus in Philadelphia, Miss.
Contributed to the Choctaw Tribal School System's participation in the GLOBE program
Assisted with the mapping of the Trail of Tears under the NASA Summer Faculty Program

For more information about the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, visit http://www.choctaw.org/.

NASA Educator Resource Center Regional Site

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) is reaping a wealth of benefits from the only NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) located on a Native American reservation. NASA's Stennis Space Center Educator Resource Center supports a regional ERC located on the campus of Choctaw Central High School. This regional ERC provides NASA-related videos, computer software for teachers and students to use in the classroom, teacher resource materials and lesson plans, and assistance from staff who stress the importance of technology to teachers and students.

A Space Act Agreement, signed in May of 1995 between NASA Stennis Space Center and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, paved the way for establishing the ERC at Choctaw Central High School.

The success of this Space Act Agreement led to the recognition of Stennis Space Center and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians by former Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review Office. This partnership was honored with a Hammer Award given to those who have made a notable contribution in support of National Review ideas. In January 2001, the Choctaw Central High School ERC held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the establishment of an Interactive Video Network Classroom, making distance education possible.

The presence of a NASA ERC coordinator at Choctaw Central High School has afforded its students access to NASA materials and NASA -contributed computers, and assistance in using these materials and technology for participating in NASA education projects.

Examples of these projects include basic rocketry, working with the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment Program, and participation in the FIRST Robotics competition.

For more information about the MBCI NASA Educator Resource Center regional site, visit http://www.cc.bia.edu/NASA/.