Supporting the world’s first scientists: Indigenous Peoples

It’s been nearly two months since the new administration took over. In that time, we’ve seen devastating cuts to federal funding and programs that support scientific research across a broad range of fields. Websites have been cut, grants have been eliminated, and valuable scientists have been laid off. This is a real loss and will likely cause harm across Turtle Island.

However, we’ve known for a long time as targeted Indigenous Peoples that we can’t rely on the Federal Government to have the right scientific information to keep us safe in emergencies. 

Take water quality in the Black Hills and on the reservation, for example. A 2020 water study revealed high mercury levels in our public drinking water, eventually leading the Oglala Lakota president to declare a state of emergency and water crisis in 2024. The president declared another emergency later that year after a sewage line broke and infiltrated public drinking water. Residents were given a boil water notice to address the sewage, but boiling water does not remove toxic hard metals like mercury from drinking water.

I started looking into this problem and learned that the Lakota people currently have only FOUR studies extensively documenting the impact of pollution on our environment.

So I designed the Oceti Sakowin Exploratory Project to understand what’s really in our water and to give my People access to the information they deserve.  We’ve hired a team of researchers to collect water samples from 100 locations throughout the Black Hills. We’ll then apply a box model analysis to create story maps with water data and health implications. The findings will be available to our community, so that we can make informed decisions about our health and take steps necessary to restore the health of Unci Maka.

One of my interns, Loretta Moves Camp, is a student studying social work. On OSEP, I wanted to highlight her strengths in understanding Lakota mental health and spirituality and merge it with our water testing project. Since OSEP bases our work on Indigenous Peoples Rights, the treaties and the Lakota way of life, it’s important to include this perspective in the design of STEM projects focusing on planetary health. Loretta’s work on this project has been instrumental. She designed a survey to ask members about their thoughts and feelings on water, whether they knew where their water comes from, and, most importantly, if they think the water problem is solvable. Her aim is to gain a deeper understanding of community mindsets and knowledge on water issues on the reservation and near the Black Hills, so that we can solve them together.

“We are all connected mentally and spiritually, and our environment is a key factor in our survival and people's future,” Loretta tells me.

Loretta and her work on OSEP show us that you don’t need everyone in your community to have a specific STEM background in order to do scientific research. And if you invest in one person who can come back to their community and share that knowledge with others, you’re multiplying your investment. The strength truly lies within our communities. 

That’s why I’m so proud that Honor the Earth invests in the world’s first scientists: Indigenous Peoples. While Loretta and I are water testing in the Black Hills, our inaugural cohort of Science Warrior fellows are busy working on their research projects studying traditional food sources, monitoring the effects of oil and mining development on medicinal plants, testing water at a community spring, observing the bioaccumulation of toxins in traditional foods, and restoring basket material gathering sites. They have also worked collaboratively to learn how both science and activism can be used to address issues they face within their own communities.

If you’d like to learn more, join us on March 27 for a Science Warrior Fellowship training in collaboration with Decolonize U, where we’ll share the essentials of designing a research science project, and provide practical tools for getting started. This initiative is solution-oriented, empowering Indigenous Peoples to address environmental health, wildlife, soils, water conservation or any area of ecological concerns using comprehensive scientific methodologies. 

Pilamaya ye, 

Anpo