Professor Mary (Fong) Hermes in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction has been awarded a Large Research Grant on Education from The Spencer Foundation. The program supports rigorous, ambitious, and technically sound research relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling educational opportunities.

The funding—a total amount of $374,918— will support the five-year-long research project “Reclaiming Land and Languages Through Indigenous Community-Based Mobile Game Design,” organized by Grassroots Indigenous Multimedia (GIM), with Hermes as principal investigator. GIM is a non-profit organization co-founded by Hermes in 2000, centered around the Ojibwe language revitalization movement.

The project studies the Indigenous community-based design process of a mobile game, Reclaim, and how it can restore the relationship between language and the land. The app’s co-design process engages Indigenous youth, families, and community members in the creative interpretation of Oijbwemowin forest walks. 

Hermes’ research focuses on language revitalization and connecting people to the land and the planet. They explore different ways of knowing and being through feminist and Indigenous lenses. Specifically, Hermes’ research focuses on Ojibwe language learners and immersion teachers in K-12 classrooms. They work with schools and teachers to revitalize language that supports a sustainable, Indigenous culture, creating teaching materials based on language documentation through everyday conversations with elders.

Learn more about research in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.