CSDE Affiliate Theresa Rocha Beardall (Sociology) has been named one of seven early career researchers in the newest class of William T. Grant Scholars. In 2025, the Puyallup Tribe signed a memorandum of understanding with thirteen public school districts to guide curriculum development on tribal culture and history, as part of Washington State’s mandated Since Time Immemorial curriculum. Alongside this MOU, the Puyallup Tribal Historic Preservation Department (THPD) is recovering Puyallup children’s boarding school records held by outside institutions for over a century to reclaim tribal authority over their educational narrative.

With the Scholars award, Rocha Beardall will collaborate with THPD in a tribally governed research partnership. The Puyallup Tribe will determine the research priorities and approach, from questions and methods to data infrastructure and dissemination, while Rocha Beardall expands her methodological expertise in supervised machine learning and develops digital infrastructure to analyze boarding school records and support curriculum development. “For too long, others have decided what counts as knowledge about Native communities in public education, often getting it wrong or leaving it out entirely. I’m thrilled to develop skills that support Native nations in reclaiming that authority and ensuring their data, stories, and knowledge systems shape what future generations learn,” Rocha Beardall said.