The Navajo Nation is getting addresses, thanks to an open-source mapping program used in urban India

Despite advancements in technology in most sectors of life leading to an increase to access of information about practically anything, little is still known about the ocean and its behavioral patterns. Liquid Robotics – a Silicon Valley-based company – is trying to change that. Engineers here have created the "Wave Glider," which essentially acts as a router within the ocean powered by wave energy and solar panels. This invention can transmit data on tectonic activity that has the potential to predict tsunamis.

Loveland Technologies is finding creative uses for data that will help protect people’s properties and disseminate better information about local tax and foreclosure policies. Funded by angel investors as well as nonprofit organizations, Loveland Technologies has already succeeded with clever campaigns to educate the public. It also initiated Motor City Mapping to create an information-sharing space for residents, service providers, and local governments.

Thirteen years ago the Wayuu tribe, located in Colombia, removed it’s male chiefdom and instead asked women to be their leaders. According to the Wayuu tribe they are the only indigenous tribe in Colombia that exclusively has women leaders. ”We wanted women to use their way of dialogue to resolve our conflicts, and we wanted to transform our culture.”

In the Navajo Nation, more than 70 percent of local income leaves the tribal area, but one effort is helping native-owned businesses expand their reach. Change Labs, a business incubator, helped birth Rez Rising, an app that helps people find and shop with native-owned businesses, which often find obstacles to entrepreneurship like listing a physical address or operating a website.

Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share land, and despite previous disagreements, they collaborated to create one of the state's most effective coronavirus testing clinics. 3,000 people from both tribes have been tested, about 30% of all tests done in Wyoming. The two nations have also helped residents, impacted by casino closures and sharp drops in oil and gas revenues, with special hunting seasons, food supply distributions, and providing quarantine housing. More testing has meant higher cases identified, which has led some to create a narrative blaming Native people for the spread of the virus.

Contact tracing apps have received a lot of attention since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but researchers caution they should be used in conjunction with other tactics and not be relied on to help on their own. However, an early study has indicated that even when only fifteen percent of the population downloads a contact tracing app, infection rates are reduced by eight percent and deaths are reduced by six percent.

A cheetah conservation project in South Africa has helped the cat population rebound over the years by securing them in wildlife reserves. The Cheetah Metapopulation Project started in 2011 when there were 217 cheetahs, but a decade later, there are now 419 across the reserves. While there is debate about whether the focus should be on the quantity of cheetahs or the quality of their enclosures, the project has been successful and they’re looking to share their cheetahs and conservation lessons with other countries.

Waadookodaading is an Ojibwe immersion school that meets state and federal academic standards but does so entirely in the indigenous language by connecting children to their cultural heritage. The school goes through 8th grade and uses the forest as its classrooms where traditional ceremonies and practices are used to teach lessons. For example, students learn math while harvesting maple sap and wild rice and biology through practicing sustainable fishing and hunting. Community elders play an important role in passing on their knowledge to students and the 100 graduates provide hope for the language’s future

In California, the Wiyot tribe and the city of Eureka are forming a Community Land Trust to return to their ancestral land to the Wayat tribe. The trust ensures the Wayat tribe keeps decision-making powers concerning the land. Prior, to that the tribe raised $200,000 and purchased portions of Tulawat Island. In 2004, a tribal chairwoman requested a transfer of land back to the tribe that was unanimously approved by Eureka's city council. In 2019, the city returned an additional 200 acres.

Montana's Indian Education for All program ensures that both Native and non-Native students have the opportunity to learn the history and culture of local Indigenous peoples, such as through an experiential bison harvest.