Our collective understanding of what constitutes ethical science, technology, and engineering (STEM) continues to grow, but we know little about how science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) ethics intersect with Indigenous cultural knowledge. Our study aimed to answer the following questions: (1) What are the ethical/cultural/spiritual conflicts Indigenous students and professionals in STEMM face?, (2) To what extent is the prevalence of these conflicts mediated by an individual’s cultural identity?, (3) To what extent is the prevalence of these conflicts mediated by where an individual grew up?<br/> <br/>A survey was distributed to 500 Indigenous students and professional to determine ethical/ cultural/spiritual conflicts they may have encounter in STEMM disciplines. The survey consisted of Likert scale and open-ended questions. In this presentation, we will report the extent that the conflicts Indigenous students and professionals in STEMM mediate with respect to their cultural identity. Cultural identity was determined from information regarding where an individual grew up, along with the combination of multiple factors and descriptors of how one identifies with their Indigenous cultural identity. These identities were translated in a cultural characteristic index, which was useful in interpreting the results. Additionally, we will discuss individual interviews of a subset of Indigenous students and professionals in the chemistry discipline.

Ethical/cultural/spiritual conflicts faced by Indigenous students and professionals in STEMM

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ACS Spring 2023

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