Health Matters

I didn’t know anything about anthropology coming into college, but early on I took an environmental archaeology course for my intended environmental studies major, which discussed past environmental landscapes, human evolution and ecology, and archaeology. I was drawn to the study of the human condition and human experience, both past and present. This pushed me to eventually double major in anthropology and environmental studies and minor in museum, field, and community education. 

This past summer I had an internship with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Tribal and International Affairs at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., through the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Program at Northern Arizona University. This was mainly a research-based internship where the other intern and I researched Native American children’s health and environmental health exposures from air pollution and pesticide exposure to climate change and COVID-19. Toward the end of the internship, we did a more thematic analysis of the data we found to create informational documents, including an infographic, to share our findings with Native American tribes and the public. 

This internship was a good experience and relevant to both of my majors and minor since it involved the study and application of environmental health, environmental justice, cultural experience, cultural identity, and education.

I mostly came across research about the Navajo Nation, the Mohawk, the Akwesasne, and other relatively well-known Native American groups. However, there isn’t too much research available pertaining to Native American children specifically. Furthermore, Native communities have experienced a lot of health, spatial, and environmental disadvantages that aren’t necessarily talked about in the media.

Among other things, we looked at exposure to harmful chemicals from pesticides sprayed on fields; we looked at abandoned mines and how the abandoned mines can pollute the water these tribes use; and we looked at COVID-19 and the lack of protections for Native American children. These exposures impact everyone in tribal communities, but since the children are more vulnerable to the exposures, they seem to be more impacted, as seen through both short-term and long-term exposure risks. 

This research was challenging because there isn’t a lot of data out there. Even after I found a few sources through resources like Google Scholar, some of the sources seemed similar to others we’d already found, and almost all stated that their data was only generalizable to the population that was sampled due to non-random sampling or too small of a sample population. Seeing how little information there is on Native American children’s health has pushed me to study environmental exposures, health disparities, and injustices and how they’re impacting underrepresented cultures and smaller groups of people who are more impacted than others.

One of our best finds was a storybook on tribal children’s health called Our Smallest Warrior, Our Strongest Medicine: Honoring Our Teachings During COVID-19. The book covered how Native American children can “honor their teachings” during the pandemic. It was created by a team of scientists, social scientists, and Native American professionals and leaders. The story spotlights Native American twins who were having trouble during the pandemic honoring their teachings, which include traditions, practices, and cultural histories passed down from their ancestors. 

During the pandemic, to restrict face-to-face interactions, Native American communities had to halt their normal activities since their practices and traditions are usually performed among large crowds in sacred, enclosed spaces. The book features four friends who teach the twins lessons on what they’re doing during the pandemic to honor their teachings. This gives the twins the confidence to honor their teachings as best they can. I appreciated how the authors worked together to publish a children’s book that helped Native American children understand how to better carry out their cultural practices amid the pandemic, which is something that should be more available in today’s literature.

With the data from our research, I worked on a document intended for the public that broke down environmental health disparities between Native and non-Native American communities, everything from historical events, like land displacement, to present-day events like the COVID-19 pandemic. It also introduced a few of the aforementioned environmental health exposures and then some potential solutions. Beyond an infographic, our literature inventory, containing about 35 sources on Native American children’s health and environmental health exposures, will be used as the foundation for the Office of International and Tribal Affairs and Office of Children’s Health Protection to build upon and conduct more research. 

From the sources that I’ve read, all the Native American tribes seem to have the resilience to continue pushing forward to protect their cultural heritages. I’ve also learned a lot about sustainability and environmental stewardship from the Indigenous People’s perspective. The Native Americans, both past and present, seem to use what they need from the environment rather than taking more than needed, to continuously allow future generations to have intact relationships with elements of nature: air, water, land, and earth.

From my anthropology classes, I’ve learned how human experience differs from culture to culture, and even within each culture. From environmental classes, I’ve learned more about what we can do to protect the environment and the people. From my museum education courses and experiences, I’ve learned how important it is to craft the educational experience based on the audience, environment, and intention, to make the greatest impact. The combination of all three studies has given me the foundation to do this work and view it through a multi-disciplinary lens.

Regarding where I might be in five years, I have a few insights. First, I could see myself being almost done with my Ph.D. and dissertation in sociocultural anthropology or environmental studies where I’d be conducting research on underrepresented cultures and groups of people who are suffering from the effects of climatic change, environmental disparities, and cultural violence. Second, I could see myself working in the federal government for an agency like the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Interior, or the National Park Service. Third, I could see myself working for a Smithsonian museum, specifically the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, as a museum administrator or archaeology/museum curator.

Whichever path I end up venturing on, whether it be listed in this article or still to come, my internship experience at the EPA has provided me with the skills, experience, and confidence to prosper on my academic and career journeys. As I continue to reminisce on the work I completed about Native American children’s health and environmental health exposures, I am constantly reminded that the protection of Native American children is vital. They are the ones who will continue the sacred, priceless traditions and cultural practices that have been a part of their people’s lives for centuries.