NSF Award
2418312
Many Indigenous communities in New Mexico (NM) and Oklahoma (OK) are at high risk for flood, drought, fires, dust, and their impacts. Sixty-one federally-recognized Tribes are headquartered in NM and OK. The climate projections indicate that these states are expected to be hotter and drier, with more extreme events. These changes affect and will continue to impact how Tribal communities live, work, and practice the cultural traditions that support their continued existence. This project aims to establish respectful, reciprocal, and sustainable research and education partnerships to advance Indigenous communities' resilience to climate change in NM and OK. In collaboration with Tribal and intertribal organizations, Indigenous researchers and educators and Western-science climate researchers and educators at the University of Oklahoma, University of New Mexico, Chickasaw Nation, and the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center will braid Western and Indigenous climate sciences through a community-led process to identify information needs, conduct research and understanding, prepare for adaptation planning and actions, and engage in education. The project will first work with communities to identify information needs. Capacity will be built through the installation of air quality monitoring systems. Understanding the process of, and barriers to, incorporating climate science in the adaptation and resilience planning process in Tribal communities will support long-term resilience. A summer internship program will foster meaningful associations among Indigenous students’ lived experiences, new knowledge, and climate resilience, and empower them to pursue careers addressing the current climate crisis to benefit their communities. The project will further develop a land-based curriculum braiding Indigenous and Western climate sciences for formal and informal science educators. <br/><br/>This project is focused on advancing Indigenous communities' resilience to climate change with a specific emphasis on improving the air quality and water quality in NM and OK with installation of air quality monitoring systems and interpretation of in-situ and satellite air quality data. American Indians/Alaska Natives comprise over 10% of the population of these two states. Indigenous communities have strongly expressed the need for their active participation in the development of scientific research questions, research design, analysis, and reporting. The project will utilize best practices in co-production to advance Indigenous communities' resilience to climate change by first working with communities to identify information needs in the land-water-air system. Research in water quantity will enable Indigenous partners to evaluate how water quantity change will affect their plans for food sovereignty or other community goals. Participating communities will learn about the range of climate information and infrastructure available to support their planning processes for enhanced resilience and adaptation. This project is funded by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement-Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII-FEC) program. The RII-FEC program builds inter-jurisdictional collaborative teams of EPSCoR investigators in focus areas consistent with the NSF Strategic Plan. RII-FEC projects include researchers from at least two EPSCoR eligible jurisdictions with complementary expertise and resources necessary to address challenges, which neither party could address as well or as rapidly independently.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
