Environment and Natural Resources

Our community struck oil; then the murders began

Year

Jim Roan Gray is a former chief of the Osage Nation, a Native American community. In the 1920s, the Osage were the richest people in the world per capita after discovering oil on their lands. But then began the ‘reign of terror’ and the Osage were targeted in a series of mysterious murders. One of those killed was Jim’s great grandfather, Henry Roan Gray. The case led to the creation of the FBI, and decades later, the story caught the attention of Hollywood with plans to turn it into a film, Killers of the Flower Moon. But Jim had concerns. His intervention would change the film’s trajectory.

Photo: Jim Gray and his great grandfather Henry Roan. Credit: Courtesy of Jim Gray / Getty Images)

People
Native Nations
Citation

Mobeen Azhar (Presenter), Gaia Caramazza and Maryam Maruf (Producers). Our community struck oil; then the murders began. "Outlook" on BBC News World Service. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct4r3f

Transcripts for all videos are available by request. Please email us: nni@arizona.edu.

Global impacts of extractive and industrial development projects on Indigenous Peoples’ lifeways, lands, and rights

Year

To what extent do extractive and industrial development pressures affect Indigenous Peoples’ lifeways, lands, and rights globally? We analyze 3081 environmental conflicts over development projects to quantify Indigenous Peoples’ exposure to 11 reported social-environmental impacts jeopardizing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples are affected in at least 34% of all documented environmental conflicts worldwide. More than three-fourths of these conflicts are caused by mining, fossil fuels, dam projects, and the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock (AFFL) sector. Landscape loss (56% of cases), livelihood loss (52%), and land dispossession (50%) are reported to occur globally most often and are significantly more frequent in the AFFL sector. The resulting burdens jeopardize Indigenous rights and impede the realization of global environmental justice.

Resource Type
Citation

Arnim Scheidel et al. (June 7, 2023)Global impacts of extractive and industrial development projects on Indigenous Peoples’ lifeways, lands, and rights. Science Advances. Vol 9, Issue 23. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9557.

Water Back: A Review Centering Rematriation and Indigenous Water Research Sovereignty

Year

The recent Land Back movement has catalysed global solidarity towards addressing the oppression and dispossession of Indigenous Peoples’ Lands and territories. Largely absent from the discourse, however, is a discussion of the alienation of Indigenous Peoples from Water by settler-colonial states. Some Indigenous Water Protectors argue that there cannot be Land Back without Water Back. In response to this emergent movement of Water Back, this review of research by Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers traces the discursive patterns of Indigenous Water relationships and rematriation across themes of colonialism, climate change, justice, health, rights, responsibilities, governance and cosmology. It advances a holistic conceptualization of Water Back as a framework for future research sovereignty, focusing mainly on instances in Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the United States. We present the findings on the current global Waterscape of Indigenous-led research on Indigenous Water issues. Water Back offers an important framework centring Indigenous way of knowing, doing, and being as a foundation for advancing Indigenous Water research.

Citation

Leonard, K.; David-Chavez, D.; Smiles, D.; Jennings, L.; ʻAnolani Alegado, R.; Tsinnajinnie, L.; Manitowabi, J.; Arsenault, R.; Begay, R.L.; Kagawa-Viviani, A.; Davis, D.D.; van Uitregt, V.; Pichette, H.; Liboiron, M.; Moggridge, B.; Russo Carroll, S.; Tsosie, R.L. and Gomez, A. 2023. Water back: A review centering rematriation and Indigenous Water research sovereignty. Water Alternatives 16(2).

UN 2023 Water Conference: Restoring Rivers, Restoring Sovereignty: Klamath River Dam Removals

Year

A discussion about the impacts of the Klamath River Dams on water resources, cultural practices, climate change and what the upcoming dam removals will mean for Northern California Tribal Nations.

Speakers:

  • Shannon Holsey, President, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, Treasurer, NCAI
  • Russell “Buster” Attebery, Chairman, Karuk Tribe
  • Joe James, Chairman, Yurok Tribe
  • Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary, Army for Civil Works
  • Danielle Frank, Youth Coordinator, Save California Salmon
Resource Type
Citation

National Congress of American Indians. "UN 2023 Water Conference: Restoring Rivers, Restoring Sovereignty: Klamath River Dam Removals". (April 24, 2023). Video. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4bJsBONZ7Y

Transcripts for all videos are available by request. Please email us: nni@arizona.edu.

New reporting project focuses on Indigenous food sovereignty in the Columbia River Basin

Producer
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Year

There’s no official definition for the term “food sovereignty,” but the Indian Affairs Bureau describes it as “the ability of communities to determine the quantity and quality of the food that they consume by controlling how their food is produced and distributed.”

Portland-based news outlet Underscore recently tackled the topic in a new series. The Food Sovereignty Project features stories of Indigenous communities rebuilding food systems, reclaiming traditional foods and practices and preserving that knowledge for future generations.

Project co-director Nicole Charley joins us to talk more about the series, along with freelance writer Leah Altman, who contributed two stories to the project.

Image: Farmland on Sauvie Island in early summer (Matvyei/English Wikipedia)

Transcript is available at the resource link.

Water in the Native World Webinar Series: Walleye Ogaawag Spearing in the Portage Waterway, Michigan: Integrating Mixed Methodology for Insight on an Important Tribal Fishery

Year

Water in the Native World,” a special issue on tribal water research was just released by the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education. This is the second time, Dr. Karletta Chief, the PI of the Community Engagement Core of the University of Arizona Superfund Research Center (UA SRC) has served as a guest editor to compile research highlighting important water research in tribal communities. Not only is the guest editor Indigenous but in this Special Issue nearly all of the co-authors are Indigenous and three publications (Bulltail and Walter, 2020; Conroy-Ben and Crowder, 2020, and Martin et al., 2020) are led by an Indigenous lead author.

Download full articles from the special issue.

Contact: Dr. Karletta Chief, Assistant Specialist & Professor, Environmental Physics and Hydrology

July 1, 2020

Speaker:
Andrew T. Kozich
took a long and unusual path to his current position as Environmental Science Department Chair at Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) in northern Michigan.

In the 1990s, Andrew worked his way through his undergrad studies by supporting himself as a professional musician. It took eight years to complete a B.S. in Resource Ecology (an Earth Science program) from the University of Michigan.

After a few years away from school and a few other career experiments, he entered graduate school at Michigan Tech University at age 34. He completed a M.S. in Environmental Policy in 2009 and a graduate certificate in Sustainable Water Resources in 2010.

Around this time, Andrew discovered that there was a small Tribal college, KBOCC, 30 miles down the road. As he continued his graduate studies unsure of his direction, he enrolled as a part-time guest student to explore Native American history and culture for personal enrichment. He studied under James Loonsfoot, a widely-respected elder who has since passed away.

After two semesters as a KBOCC student, the Environmental Science Department Chair position was vacated and the Dean of Instruction asked Andrew if he was interested. Andrew’s original career vision from long ago was to work at a small college where he might make a greater and more personal impact on students. He interviewed and was hired on the spot in early 2011. His Michigan Tech advisor was initially not happy with this decision.

The decision to join KBOCC provided needed vision for his doctoral research and opened countless doors. Already wading into the interdisciplinary field of water resource management and policy, his research took on added cultural emphasis that was greatly enhanced by his experiences at KBOCC. He continued taking KBOCC courses while slowly progressing with his research. He was assisted by a GK-12 Global Watershed Fellowship and later an American Indian College Fund Mellon Fellowship. He finally completed his Ph.D. in 2016, using mixed-methods research to compare Native and non-Native perspectives on climate change and water resources in the Great Lakes area. In 2017 Andrew completed his KBOCC Associate Degree in Anishinaabe Studies.

Andrew has published 10 articles in peer-reviewed journals and contributed numerous conference presentations and panel sessions. He was recognized as KBOCC’s “Faculty Member of the Year” in 2012 and 2018. However, his greatest pride comes from his measurable accomplishments at KBOCC, including a 100% job placement rate of graduates, mentoring over 30 student internships, guiding over 20 student presentations at national conferences, engaging six student co-authors on publications, and overseeing a significant increase in his program’s enrollment since 2011. He has also developed a new KBOCC program in Sustainability. Beyond the classroom, his greatest joy is engaging under-represented students in community-based research that provides valuable outcomes for the Tribe and meaningful experiences for his students. His presentation today reflects these objectives.

All content courtesy University of Arizona Cooperative Extension

Mātauranga and Science

Year

"Mātauranga Māori is not like an archive of information but rather is like a tool for thinking, organising information, considering the ethics of knowledge, the appropriateness of it all and informing us about our world and our place in it." (Mead 2003, p. 306)

Māori have become a pivotal force in New Zealand’s science system, with the torsion of tikanga Mäori inviting the system to open its doors to indigenous values. Increasingly mätauranga Māori – encompassing Māori knowledge, Māori methods of knowledge creation and Māori ways of knowing – is being consulted, aligned with or brought into conversation with science. As the guest editors for Mätauranga and Science in Practice, we wanted a space in which people who are engaged at these interfaces could share their experiences of working with mätauranga alongside New Zealand science, bound as it is by inherited norms, practices, institutional traditions, and various Crown poli-cies. The audience for this conversation includes tohunga, philosophers, scientists, kaumātua, researchers, academics, kaiako, communities, public servants, kaimahi, students and anyone else who is interested in science, more broadly, and the unique contribution that an Aotearoa New Zealand science could make to the world.

Native Nations
Citation

Mātauranga and Science. Allen Petrey, Ed. New Zealand Science Review. Vol 75 (4) 2019

Data Sources to Assess Tribal Climate and Health Impacts

Author
Year

One of the most time consuming and difficult aspects of conducting climate change and health vulnerability assessments is finding data to assess.

Before tracking down data, you’ll first need to identify the most meaningful and measurable indicators to help you determine the severity and likelihood of potential climate exposures and impacts. Indicators include:

  • Exposure indicators (e.g. Annual Heat Waves)
  • Impact indicators (e.g. Hospitalizations for Heat-related Illness)
  • Population sensitivity indicators (e.g. Uninsured Residents)
  • Adaptive Capacity Indicators (e.g. Households with Air-Conditioning)

Once you know what indicators will be most useful, you’ll need to track down the most credible sources of data for those indicators. You’ll be looking for data that is as location- specific as possible and allows you to evaluate historical, baseline (current), and projected (future) trends. Ideally this data will come in a tool that aggregates and filters the data in useful ways and displays the data visually and spatially in charts and maps. While some data may have to provided internally by the tribe (e.g. Well water levels or Households displaced), below are some of the best aggregated data sources we have come across that allow you to look at local level data.

Resource Type
Citation

Hacker, Angie. "Data Sources to Assess Tribal Climate and Health Impacts." Tribal Climate Health Project. April 11, 2019. Retrieved from: http://tribalclimatehealth.org/data-sources-for-tribal-climate-and-health-impacts/, accessed on April 3, 2023)

Surging Waters: Science Empowering Communities in the Face of Flooding

Producer
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Year

Surging Waters: Science Empowering Communities in the Face of Flooding is a report produced by AGU, a global not-for-profit scientific society dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity. The report is reviewed by leading experts in these fields. From devastating monsoons to sea level rise, extreme weather is taking its toll across the globe. Surging Waters looks at flooding in the United States and demonstrates how science is supporting flood management, as well as furthering the solutions needed to mitigate flood impacts on people and property in the future.The report’s authors highlight three types of flooding—flooding due to hurricanes, floods in the central U.S., and coastal flooding—through local stories. In 2017, Houston, Texas, was hit by Hurricane Harvey, the second most damaging weather disaster in U.S. history, and is still recovering.

The city of De Soto, MO, is emblematic of many areas in the Midwest that have been plagued by recurrent flash flooding. The Hampton Roads area of coastal Virginia has fallen victim to sinking land and rising seas.Through these stories and others, and compelling flood data presented for regions across the United States, the report shows how scientific research and data collection are essential to finding modern-day and future solutions to mitigate flooding. Robust funding for science-related federal agencies drives the advancement of science and provides support that is critical for the most vulnerable communities and individuals. Surging Waters recommends actions that community members and leaders, scientists, federal agencies, and policy makers can take to build a strong foundation to empower communities to make decisions for a more resilient and sustainable future.

Communities can use this report to inform and guide conversations with stakeholders on local, regional, and national levels. Lawmakers need to hear that people care about flooding issues and support the scientists working toward solutions. It is essential that science, with support from policy makers, continues to inspire readiness, cultivate collaboration, and empower communities.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

American Geophysical Union. (2020). Surging Waters: Science Empowering Communities In the Face of Flooding. Retrieved from https://scienceisessential.org//wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2019/10/Sur….

Coastal Guardian Watchmen Programs: A Business Case

Year

As the original stewards of their territories, the Coastal First Nations along British Columbia’s North Coast, Central Coast and Haida Gwaii have been working to establish and grow Guardian Watchmen programs, in some cases for several decades. These programs have come to play an important role in contemporary environmental stewardship. Though they differ from Nation to Nation, the mandate of the programs is to safeguard the Coastal First Nations’ natural and cultural resources, so that these Nations can continue to sustain viable, healthy communities for generations to come. Guardian Watchmen programs require financial support from their Nations and other funding partners. As such, it is reasonable to ask: are they worth it? To help answer this question, a business case analysis of Coastal Guardian Watchmen programs was undertaken. Key findings are included in this report, which examines the net value of program costs and benefits from the perspective of the First Nations that have these programs.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Valuing Coastal Guardian Watchmen Programs: A Business Case. EcoPlan International, The Coastal Steward Network, and TNC Canada. Vancouver, British Columbia. October 4, 2016. Report. (https://coastalfirstnations.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Valuing-Coastal-Guardian-Watchmen-Programs-A-Business-Case.pdf, accessed March 24, 2023)