Native Americans: Where in Environmental Justice Research?

Abstract

While the last two decades have seen important theoretical, empirical, and policy advancements in environmental justice generally, much remains to be done regarding Native Americans. Unique political and cultural dynamics shape the study and pursuit of environmental justice (EJ) in Native American communities. This review summarizes Native American EJ issues based on a cross-disciplinary search of more than 60 publications. In so doing, we discuss the unique nature of Native American EJ in terms of conducting research and working toward reducing the continuation of historical trauma associated with environmental ills, the types of strategies used in Native American EJ research, and issues of Native American climate justice. We conclude with discussion of remaining knowledge gaps and future research needs.

Keywords:

• climate change
• environmental health
• environmental inequality
• environmental justice
• indigenous
• Native Americans
• natural resources

Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous reviewers for sharing their expertise through thoughtful critique and comment.

Notes

Example searches included “Native American environmental justice/injustice,” “tribal environmental justice/injustice,” “Native American Climate justice/injustice,” “Native American environmental inequality,” “Native American environmental racism,” “Indian environmental justice/injustice,” “Alaska Native environmental justice/injustice,” and “indigenous environmental justice/injustice.”

An additional 28 articles and books/chapters provided broader EJ background. The initial search produced more than 75 articles, although we ultimately included only included empirical studies, critical essays, and historical and legal analyses predominantly focused on Native American EJ and inequality.

Indigenous EJ issues have played out in other countries as well, and, in a similar fashion, are commonly rooted in historical colonialism (see Perrett 1998; Chi 2001; Mascarenhas 2007; Westra 2008).

Sovereignty is not the only aspect of Native American EJ that necessitates different research approaches. Different worldviews, histories, and unique outcomes from present-day forms of racism also elicit the need for different research and policy approaches (O'Neill 2003).

It should be noted that cultural sensitivity of certain forms of tribal knowledge exacerbates the difficulty in creating appropriate indicators, as manifested in culturally mandated requirements for confidentiality.

The NRMNC is a collaborative (academic, community, and tribal) effort designed to support Native American communities in effectively managing nuclear risk (Quigley et al. 2000).

Lynn et al. (2013) explore climate impacts on harvest times for several tribes in Canada, Alaska, Maine, and coastal Louisiana.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) provides an excellent case study of the ways in which TEK can be incorporated into environmental science research and land management, specifically with regard to forest fire science and management (USFS 2014: http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/index.shtml).

Forty-three of the 66 articles (65%) reviewed were from the last 10 years (2004–2013).