From the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to the Dakota Access Pipeline today, natural resources vital to Native American communities and cultures have been threatened and attacked. Some examples of denial of environmental justice to Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai’ian communities will be presented. Environmental impacts on human health, traditional food and water resources, and traditional cultural practices will be outlined. While many types of projects, from proposed pipelines to toxic waste disposal facilities, require environmental impact statements, the assessments of these impacts often assume mainstream lifestyles and do not properly account for impacts on people who live traditional Native lifestyles. For instance, the sweat lodge ritual, subsistence fishing, and consumption of traditional, foraged plants, all impart avenues of exposure to environmental contaminants that might not be relevant for persons who live a mainstream lifestyle. Unfortunately, the people who colonized the Americas have not always shown the same respect for the Earth and her resources as our Native people, but ironically Native people often suffer the greatest impact of environmental insults. However, grassroots movements to resist environmental threats are flourishing among Native people. A major focus of this paper will be on Native efforts to reclaim threatened lands and resources. Native Elders provide traditional knowledge of the land, plant, wildlife, and water resources. Indigenous scientists often serve as bridges between Native communities and the outside entities who seek to impact Native resources. The role of Indigenous scientists in protecting and defending land and natural resources, both in Indian Country and all across the nation, will be discussed.

Environmental justice in Indian Country: Tradition and science inform Native American quest to recover threatened land, resources, and cultures

254th National Meeting (2017)

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