Native American Studies
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/51
The Department of Native American Studies was established to provide and advance quality education for and about American Indians of Montana, the region, and the nation. In fulfilling this mission, the Department is committed to meet the changing needs of Montana's Indian tribes and all Montana citizens through excellence in teaching, research, and service. In its academic program, the department provides concentrated study through an undergraduate minor, the first online graduate certificate in Native American Studies offered, and a Master of Arts degree in Native American Studies. Students in any major can also gain a multicultural perspective through NAS offerings in the University's core curriculum. The Department, through its research and other creative efforts, actively pursues interdisciplinary scholarship in the field of Native American Studies.
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Item Challenges and Opportunities for Tribal Waters: Addressing Disparities in Safe Public Drinking Water on the Crow Reservation in Montana, US(2018-03) Doyle, John T.; Kindness, L.; Real Bird, James; Eggers, Margaret J.; Camper, Anne K.Disparities in access to safe public drinking water are increasingly being recognized as contributing to health disparities and environmental injustice for vulnerable communities in the United States. As the Co-Directors of the Apsaálooke Water and Wastewater Authority (AWWWA) for the Crow Tribe, with our academic partners, we present here the multiple and complex challenges we have addressed in improving and maintaining tribal water and wastewater infrastructure, including the identification of diverse funding sources for infrastructure construction, the need for many kinds of specialized expertise and long-term stability of project personnel, ratepayer difficulty in paying for services, an ongoing legacy of inadequate infrastructure planning, and lack of water quality research capacity. As a tribal entity, the AWWWA faces additional challenges, including the complex jurisdictional issues affecting all phases of our work, lack of authority to create water districts, and additional legal and regulatory gaps—especially with regards to environmental protection. Despite these obstacles, the AWWWA and Crow Tribe have successfully upgraded much of the local water and wastewater infrastructure. We find that ensuring safe public drinking water for tribal and other disadvantaged U.S. communities will require comprehensive, community-engaged approaches across a broad range of stakeholders to successfully address these complex legal, regulatory, policy, community capacity, and financial challenges.Item Community Engaged Cumulative Risk Assessment of Exposure to Inorganic Well Water Contaminants, Crow Reservation, Montana(2018-01) Eggers, Margaret J.; Doyle, John T.; Lefthand, M. J.; Young, Sara L.; Moore-Nall, Anita L.; Kindness, L.; Medicine, R. O.; Ford, Tim E.; Dietrich, E.; Parker, Albert E.; Hoover, J. H.; Camper, Anne K.An estimated 11 million people in the US have home wells with unsafe levels of hazardous metals and nitrate. The national scope of the health risk from consuming this water has not been assessed as home wells are largely unregulated and data on well water treatment and consumption are lacking. Here, we assessed health risks from consumption of contaminated well water on the Crow Reservation by conducting a community-engaged, cumulative risk assessment. Well water testing, surveys and interviews were used to collect data on contaminant concentrations, water treatment methods, well water consumption, and well and septic system protection and maintenance practices. Additive Hazard Index calculations show that the water in more than 39% of wells is unsafe due to uranium, manganese, nitrate, zinc and/or arsenic. Most families’ financial resources are limited, and 95% of participants do not employ water treatment technologies. Despite widespread high total dissolved solids, poor taste and odor, 80% of families consume their well water. Lack of environmental health literacy about well water safety, pre-existing health conditions and limited environmental enforcement also contribute to vulnerability. Ensuring access to safe drinking water and providing accompanying education are urgent public health priorities for Crow and other rural US families with low environmental health literacy and limited financial resources.Item Community-based participatory research in Indian country: Improving health through water quality research and awareness(2010-07) Cummins, C.; Doyle, John T.; Kindness, L.; Lefthand, M. J.; Bear Don't Walk, U. J.; Bends, Ada L.; Broadaway, Susan C.; Camper, Anne K.; Fitch, R.; Ford, Tim E.; Hamner, Steve; Morrison, A. R.; Richards, Crystal L.; Young, Sara L.; Eggers, Margaret J.Water has always been held in high respect by the Apsaalooke (Crow) people of Montana. Tribal members questioned the health of the rivers and well water because of visible water quality deterioration and potential connections to illnesses in the community. Community members initiated collaboration among local organizations, the tribe, and academic partners, resulting in genuine community-based participatory research. The article shares what we have learned as tribal members and researchers about working together to examine surface and groundwater contaminants, assess routes of exposure, and use our data to bring about improved health of our people and our waters.Item Detection and source tracking of Escherichia coli, harboring intimin and Shiga toxin genes, isolated from the Little Bighorn River, Montana(2014-09) Hamner, Steve; Broadaway, Susan C.; Berg, Ethan; Stettner, Sean; Pyle, Barry H.; Big Man, N.; Old Elk, J.; Eggers, Margaret J.; Doyle, John T.; Kindness, L.; Good Luck, B.; Ford, Tim E.; Camper, Anne K.The Little Bighorn River flows through the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. In 2008, Escherichia coli concentrations as high as 7,179 MPN/100 ml were detected in the river at the Crow Agency Water Treatment Plant intake site. During 2008, 2009, and 2012, 10 different serotypes of E. coli, including O157:H7, harboring both intimin and Shiga toxin genes were isolated from a popular swim site of the Little Bighorn River in Crow Agency. As part of a microbial source tracking study, E. coli strains were isolated from river samples as well as from manure collected from a large cattle feeding operation in the upper Little Bighorn River watershed; 23% of 167 isolates of E. coli obtained from the manure tested positive for the intimin gene. Among these manure isolates, 19 were identified as O156:H8, matching the serotype of an isolate collected from a river sampling site close to the cattle feeding area.Item Potential health risks from uranium in home well water: An investigation by the Apsaalooke (Crow) tribal research group(2015-03) Eggers, Margaret J.; Moore-Nall, Anita L.; Doyle, John T.; Lefthand, M. J.; Young, Sara L.; Bends, Ada L.; Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee; Camper, Anne K.Exposure to uranium can damage kidneys, increase long term risks of various cancers, and cause developmental and reproductive effects. Historically, home well water in Montana has not been tested for uranium. Data for the Crow Reservation from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) database showed that water from 34 of 189 wells tested had uranium over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 30 μg/L for drinking water. Therefore the Crow Water Quality Project included uranium in its tests of home well water. Volunteers had their well water tested and completed a survey about their well water use. More than 2/3 of the 97 wells sampled had detectable uranium; 6.3% exceeded the MCL of 30 μg/L. Wells downgradient from the uranium-bearing formations in the mountains were at highest risk. About half of all Crow families rely on home wells; 80% of these families consume their well water. An explanation of test results; associated health risks and water treatment options were provided to participating homeowners. The project is a community-based participatory research initiative of Little Big Horn College; the Crow Tribe; the Apsaalooke Water and Wastewater Authority; the local Indian Health Service Hospital and other local stakeholders; with support from academic partners at Montana State University (MSU) Bozeman.Item Community-Based Research as a Mechanism to Reduce Environmental Health Disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities(2015-04) McOliver, Cynthia Agumanu; Camper, Anne K.; Doyle, John T.; Eggers, Margaret J.; Ford, Tim E.; Lila, Mary Anne; Berner, James; Campbell, Larry; Donatuto, JamieRacial and ethnic minority communities, including American Indian and Alaska Natives, have been disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution and contamination. This includes siting and location of point sources of pollution, legacies of contamination of drinking and recreational water, and mining, military and agricultural impacts. As a result, both quantity and quality of culturally important subsistence resources are diminished, contributing to poor nutrition and obesity, and overall reductions in quality of life and life expectancy. Climate change is adding to these impacts on Native American communities, variably causing drought, increased flooding and forced relocation affecting tribal water resources, traditional foods, forests and forest resources, and tribal health. This article will highlight several extramural research projects supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Science to Achieve Results (STAR) tribal environmental research grants as a mechanism to address the environmental health inequities and disparities faced by tribal communities. The tribal research portfolio has focused on addressing tribal environmental health risks through community based participatory research. Specifically, the STAR research program was developed under the premise that tribal populations may be at an increased risk for environmentally-induced diseases as a result of unique subsistence and traditional practices of the tribes and Alaska Native villages, community activities, occupations and customs, and/or environmental releases that significantly and disproportionately impact tribal lands. Through a series of case studies, this article will demonstrate how grantees—tribal community leaders and members and academic collaborators—have been addressing these complex environmental concerns by developing capacity, expertise and tools through community-engaged research.