Indigenous healing through community-building
Alvin Harvey’s impact at MIT stems from community-building, an approach that is rooted in his background as a citizen of Navajo Nation. While studying aeronautics and astronautics, Harvey revolutionized MIT campus for Indigenous students, faculty, and staff. As his nominator Nicole McGaa ’24 reflected: “…nearly every single Indigenous initiative at MIT over the past six years involves in some way the passion and expertise of Alvin.” The PKG Center is proud to honor his work as the 2024 Priscilla King Gray Public Service Award graduate recipient.
Harvey has been a longstanding advocate for the Indigenous community at MIT, especially in his administrative efforts that have led to major changes to the Institute. Harvey led discussions with MIT administration that led to the Institute’s recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the creation of the MIT Indigenous Peoples’ Center (located in W31-221). He also advocated for two Indigenous tenure-track faculty positions at MIT (Professor Eli Nelson and Professor Sonya Atalay) and MIT’s Indigenous scholar-in-residence, the first roles of their kind on campus.
Similarly, Harvey co-led the Indigenous Working Group that released a report in December 2020 highlighting issues facing the Indigenous community at the Institute. Negotiations stemming from the group’s work led to $50k in Institute funds towards the Indigenous community at MIT.
“I can state confidently that the Indigenous community is on a path to healing because of the dedicated community and social engagement that Alvin has undertaken as a graduate student. The unprecedented progress recently made within MIT furthering Indigenous studies and support almost entirely rests upon the initiative, compassion, and drive of Alvin through his career,” wrote McGaa.
Harvey founded and served as the co-president of the MIT Native American & Indigenous Association (NAIA). Originally a group of five students, NAIA is now an active community that connects the entire Indigenous population at MIT. NAIA provides a supportive network and also promotes the development of members as future leaders, mentors, and consultants to the Institute.
Harvey built relationships between MIT faculty, staff, and students with the MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship, leading to a partnership with the PKG Center’s Indigenous Communities Internships program. Harvey has been instrumental in helping the Center meet the needs of indigenous students on campus.
In his spare time, Harvey also co-founded and led education outreach for MIT First Nations Launch, a NASA Artemis student challenge and Indigenous rocketry team centered around designing, building, simulating, testing, and launching a single-stage rocket and payload using Indigenous methodologies and structures.
From leading initiatives that promote Indigenous healing to mentoring the next generation of MIT Indigenous student leaders, Harvey has made his mark on MIT’s campus in and out of the classroom. To honor his impact, he also received a 2024 RISE Award and a 2024 MLK Leadership Award.
McGaa, his nominator, praised the “permanent progress he has made for MIT, to be grown in good ways for the decades to come. The sustainability of his vision, the compassion of his efforts, the strategy of his voice and his administrative changes all lead to lasting and positive changes.”