Executive Summary

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 1
Disclaimer

The research described in this document has been funded wholly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the 

Science To Achieve Results (STAR) grants program. The information provided does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, 

and no official endorsement should be inferred. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement 

or recommendation by EPA for use. The information presented in this synthesis report is intended to provide the reader with insights 

about the progress and scientific achievements of STAR research grants. The report lists the grantees whose research is discussed, 

and it also indicates where more detailed peer-reviewed scientific data can be found. This report is not sufficiently detailed nor is it 

intended to be used directly for environmental assessments or decision making. Readers with these interests should instead consult 

the peer-reviewed publications produced by the STAR grants and conduct necessary data quality evaluations as required for their 

assessments. 

EPA and/or its contractor has received permission to use the images within this document, most of which were obtained from 

grantees of the research projects described herein. A minority of the images are stock images obtained by the contractor.

Terms Used in This Document

There are many different terms that indigenous peoples of the United States use to identify themselves. For the purposes of this 

document, the National Center for Environmental Research has chosen to use the term “American Indian and Alaska Native” 

(abbreviated AI/AN) and the term “citizen” to denote an Alaska Native village or tribal member. EPA recognizes that some Native 

communities may prefer to refer to themselves using different terminology. Terms such as “Native American,” “American Indian,” 

“Alaska Natives,” “Alaska Native people,” “tribes,” “tribal members” or similar may be found in grantees’ project descriptions, reports and 

publications, as well as on the program’s website and in Requests For Applications. 

A “lifestyle” is the typical way of life of an individual, group or culture. The term “lifeways” generally is understood to mean the specific 

customs and practices of a culture; in this report “lifeways” refers to the traditional lifestyles of AI/AN people prior to First Contact.

Finally, “environmental justice communities” is a standard term used by EPA to refer to communities with environmental justice 

concerns. These communities are commonly identified as those in which residents: predominantly are minorities or low-income; have 

been excluded from the environmental policy-setting or decision-making process; are subject to disproportionate impact from one 

or more environmental hazards; and experience disparate implementation of environmental regulations, requirements, practices and 

activities in their communities.

List of Acronyms 

AI/AN American Indian and Alaska Native

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

NCER National Center for Environmental Research

ORD Office of Research and Development

P3 People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability 

RFA Request for Applications

STAR Science To Achieve Results

Prepared for:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Research and Development

National Center for Environmental Research

Washington, D.C. 20460

Prepared by:

The Scientific Consulting Group, Inc.

656 Quince Orchard Road, Suite 210

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Under EPA Contract No. EP-C-08-010
Table of Contents

Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................................1

Introduction/Background.............................................................................................................................5

Results of the Tribal Research Funded by EPA.......................................................................................11

Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional Ecological Knowledge...............................................................12

Subsistence Foods and Water Resources ....................................................................................................14

Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Outreach and Education.......................................20

Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations.................................................................................................24

Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans .........................................................................................26

Future Directions for Tribal Research........................................................................................................29

Conclusion....................................................................................................................................................31

References ....................................................................................................................................................34

Appendix A: Summary of Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR 

Grants by RFA ..............................................................................................................................................36

Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR 

Grants............................................................................................................................................................38 

Appendix C: Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Presentations ....................................46

Appendix D: Overview of Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Grantee 

Webinars .......................................................................................................................................................47

Appendix E: Summary Tables of EPA Tribal Research Projects Discussed Within 

the Report.....................................................................................................................................................51

Appendix F: Practical Applications of EPA Tribal Research.................................................................53

Appendix G: Additional Resources..........................................................................................................54

Executive Summary

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) 

communities have been inextricably linked to their 

environments for millennia. Because of their reliance 

on natural resources to maintain traditional diets, 

lifeways, customs and languages, there is a unique 

need for tribal-focused research to identify impacts 

of pollution, dietary exposure, cumulative risk and 

climate change as well as to inform decisions to 

reduce health risks in these areas. 

Recognizing this need, the National Center for 

Environmental Research (NCER), within the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of 

Research and Development, was tasked to establish 

the Agency’s Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program in 2000 through the Science To Achieve 

Results (STAR) grants program. Since its inception, 

the program has funded 10 STAR grants for tribal 

environmental health research, many of which are 

carried out on tribal lands by researchers from 

tribal colleges and universities and tribal health 

organizations. EPA also supports tribal environmental 

research via its STAR and Greater Research 

Opportunities fellowship programs; People, Prosperity 

and the Planet Student Design Competition for 

Sustainability (P3); and Small Business Innovation 

Research program. In addition, NCER, as the 

program lead, collaborates with EPA-sponsored 

partnership groups (e.g., National Tribal Operations 

Committee, National EPA-Tribal Science Council) 

to ensure that its extramural research program is 

responsive to tribal needs and research priorities. 

These grants, programs and partnerships support 

tribally led research projects that encompass 

traditional and nontraditional scientific approaches 

to collect baseline data linking culture and exposure.

To highlight the research conducted within the 

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program, 

NCER sponsored a series of webinars in 2009 and 

2012. NCER leadership realized that it was critical 

to develop a synthesis document to communicate 

the outputs and outcomes of the program and 

expand awareness in this essential research area. 

This document describes outcomes of past EPA 

tribal environmental research and discusses future 

directions and initiatives. 

The first step in identifying the tribal research 

outcomes was to develop a list of relevant tribal 

grants, fellowships, P3 grants and Small Business 

Innovation Research projects. This list was compiled 

through a targeted search of the NCER Research 

Project Database. The investigators for these studies 

were contacted to obtain annual and final reports 

for their grants/projects as well as information on 

the outputs and subsequent outcomes of their 

research. The information collected was analyzed 

to identify common themes throughout the various 

projects. Five themes emerged: 

• Cultural practices, language and traditional 

ecological knowledge.

• Subsistence foods and water resources.

• Community-based participatory research and 

community outreach and education.

• Risk assessment and sensitive populations.

• Impacts on regulations and management plans. 

These themes serve as the basis for the format of 

this synthesis report. 
Executive Summary

2 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

What Are the Outcomes of the Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program?

After more than a decade of funding research addressing 

the unique needs of AI/AN communities, EPA’s Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program and other Agency 

tribal research has yielded data, tools, products, methods 

and knowledge. These help to:

• better define and reduce the health risks of tribal 

populations, 

• protect natural resources essential to cultural and 

spiritual practices, and 

• encourage the ecological knowledge and tribal 

practices of protecting and preserving the earth for 

future generations. 

Some of these outcomes are described briefly in the 

following paragraphs. 

Cultural Practices, Language and 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Each AI/AN community has its own unique set of 

cultural practices, language and traditional ecological 

knowledge. EPA has funded several STAR grants that 

strive to support tribal citizens in continuing their cultural 

practices with reduced health risks. These projects also 

help to strengthen native language skills and increase 

culturally relevant communication of traditional ecological 

knowledge. Highlights of this research include:

• Alaska Native communities use STAR research 

to inform their wellness planning surrounding 

consumption of subsistence and medicinal berries, 

which are being threatened by pollution and climate 

change.

• A library of resources in the Mohawk language has 

been created for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy 

to enhance education about toxic substances and 

empower the community to protect the health of 

its citizens while practicing traditional subsistence 

lifeways.

• A booklet on Cherokee wild plant knowledge was 

created to increase tribal ecological plant knowledge 

and revitalize the culture; the booklet has been 

translated into the Cherokee language and serves 

as a textbook for Cherokee Nation Immersion School 

students.

Subsistence Foods and Water 

Resources

AI/AN communities place an emphasis on following 

traditional diets, many of which include an abundance of 

fish and seafood. In addition, water is sacred and plays 

an important role in tribal cultural and spiritual practices. 

Several STAR grants focused on reducing health effects 

associated with consumption of contaminated traditional 

subsistence foods. These research projects have resulted in 

the following outcomes:

• Fish advisory maps for inland lakes in the Great 

Lakes region have been created to allow tribal 

citizens to pursue their traditional subsistence 

fishing practices while reducing their risk of mercury 

exposure. 

• Personal participation geographic information system 

maps have been developed for tribes residing near 

the Klamath River Basin (California) that provide 

information about historic and contemporary 

contaminant information, raising awareness of 

potential exposures.

• The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community issued 

voluntary consumption limits for shellfish to reduce 

its citizens’ exposures to toxic chemicals.

• The Makah Nation used STAR data to support 

its claim that its citizens had significantly higher 

contaminant exposures from locally caught fish than 

had been previously determined via contaminantexposure models.

• Researchers are developing an inexpensive, easyto-use technology from an indigenous material to 

remove contaminants from groundwater used by 

residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 

South Dakota.

Community-Based Participatory 

Research and Community Outreach 

and Education

Indigenous populations have experienced historical trauma 

as a result of past unethical research imposed on them. 

Utilizing community-based participatory approaches 

in tribal research is crucial to ensure that researchers 

partner with AI/AN people in planning and implementing 

needed research. Community-based participatory research, 

education and outreach continue as longstanding, 

important components of STAR grants and fellowships 

funded under the Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program. Most of the grants use community outreach 

and tribal consultations to obtain input that guides the 

research projects. Tribal citizens learn about the results of 

the grants through community presentations, training and 

workshops, books, DVDs, maps, radio interviews and other 

means. Some outcomes of this research are:

• Researchers actively engaged the Yurok Tribal Council 

and community in their data-gathering process, 
Executive Summary

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 3

which allowed the scientists to identify community 

perceptions about the quality and abundance of the 

tribe’s important resources and their relationship to 

community health.

• Crow Nation tribal elders described previous water 

quality conditions of the Little Big Horn River, 

providing the researchers with valuable information 

that drove their research project, which was focused 

on developing risk assessment methodology for 

multimedia exposure to contaminants in water and 

wastewater.

• Presentations made to the Anishinaabe tribal citizens, 

including children, increased awareness about fish 

advisory maps that could be used to reduce their 

exposure to mercury from consuming subsistence 

fish.

• Researchers used teacher training and in-class 

workshops to teach environmental risk and cultural 

practices to teachers and students at a tribal school. 

These workshops were completed entirely in the 

Mohawk language using oral tradition and hands-on 

participatory response techniques to share meaning.

• STAR research resulted in a traditional food book, 

coloring book and documentary that promote safe 

Swinomish fish and shellfish consumption.

Risk Assessment and Sensitive 

Populations

Tribal citizens experience unique risks because of their 

traditional lifestyles and use of natural resources. As a 

result, risk assessments and exposure scenarios must be 

tailored to the distinct needs of each AI/AN community. 

Several notable outcomes of the research efforts that have 

focused on risk assessment and tribal populations include:

• A Traditional Tribal Subsistence Exposure Scenario 

and Risk Assessment Guidance Manual was 

published to help each tribe to identify its specific 

exposure risks.

• Researchers developed specific fish consumption 

guidelines for high-risk and sensitive populations in 

Great Lakes tribal communities to decrease mercury 

exposure in these populations.

• A Swinomish Traditional Cultural Lifeways Exposure 

Scenario was developed to decrease toxic chemical 

exposure in tribal citizens who pursue traditional 

lifeways. Subsequent research has identified a set of 

environmental public health indicators for additional 

tribes in the Pacific Northwest.

Impacts on Regulations and 

Management Plans

State and tribal officials have incorporated results from 

STAR grants and fellowships to refine their regulations and 

management plans. For example:

• The states of Washington and Oregon are using STAR 

data to reexamine and revise their state water quality 

standards. These revisions offer greater protection 

of tribal populations whose cultural practices and 

traditional lifeways could result in greater exposures 

to contaminants in water resources.

• To protect its citizens from exposure to toxic 

chemicals, the Makah Nation implemented more 

protective water quality standards than those issued 

by the state of Washington as a result of data 

produced by a STAR fellowship.

• The Cherokee Nation used the results of another 

STAR fellowship to design its Tribal Integrated 

Resource Management Plan, which provides 

guidance for Cherokee land and resource planning 

and management. 

• Other STAR research has resulted in the development 

of tribal aquatic water quality monitoring plans for a 

number of tribes. These stricter standards and plans 

protect the resources that are important to the tribes’ 

cultural and spiritual practices.

Where Will the Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program Go From Here?

Future STAR tribal research will explore new strategies, 

methods and tools to assess environmental health 

exposure among tribal populations. The program also 

will identify other research opportunities for advancing 

health protection while maintaining traditional tribal 

lifeways. The program recently released its latest Request 

for Applications (RFA), “Science for Sustainable and 

Healthy Tribes,” in February 2013 (U.S. EPA, 2013a). EPA 

solicited tribal input regarding current tribal environmental 

challenges to help determine the RFA’s focus. This input 

initially was gathered from tribal citizens and EPA staff at 

the National EPA-Tribal Science Council-sponsored 2010 

National Tribal Science Forum; members of the National 

EPA-Tribal Science Council continue to provide input. Also, 

STAR Graduate Fellowship solicitations now include a 

topic focused specifically on Native populations. The goal 

of this category is to protect the environment and these 

communities, with specific focus on related environmental 

health, sustainability and pollution prevention/remediation 

strategies and issues. 

As it has done for more than a decade, EPA’s Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program will continue 

to engage and collaborate with AI/AN communities 

and partners to support them in maintaining their 

long-standing, intricate relationships with the natural 

environment even in the face of the myriad stressors 

threatening their health, wellness and lifeways. l

Introduction/Background

Many traditional American Indian and Alaska 

Native (AI/AN) populations maintain intricate and 

ecologically interdependent relationships with the 

natural environment, as they have for millennia. 

To restore and protect the health and knowledge 

base of their communities, tribal nations encourage 

traditional diets, religious practices, customs 

and language use. This emphasis on traditional, 

healthy lifeways for AI/AN communities requires 

that the unique health and environmental impacts 

of pollution, dietary exposure, cumulative risk and 

climate change be identified to reduce tribal health 

risks (U.S. EPA, 2012e).

The relationships between tribal citizens and their 

environments are being affected adversely by a 

variety of stressors. Industrial chemical pollution, 

climate change, the availability of processed foods, 

and social and political isolation threaten the 

health, wellness and lifeways of AI/AN communities. 

Contaminated sites, pesticide drift, bioaccumulation 

and rights of access issues have an effect on 

exposures from subsistence lifestyles and diets (U.S. 

EPA, 2012e). 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

and its tribal partners recognized that AI/AN 

populations have distinct research needs as a 

result of their unique relationship with the natural 

environment. To address these needs, the Agency 

directed the Office of Research and Development’s 

(ORD) National Center for Environmental Research 

(NCER) to establish its Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program. In 2010, the EPA Administrator 

made strengthening tribal partnerships one of 

the Agency’s seven priorities, demonstrating EPA’s 

commitment to support and, when possible, bolster 

tribal capacity (U.S. EPA, 2010a). To underscore this 

commitment, the FY 2011–2015 EPA Strategic Plan 

includes strengthening of tribal partnerships as a 

cross-cutting fundamental strategy for EPA (U.S. EPA, 

2010b).

To meet the specific needs of the tribes, EPA 

supports research that focuses on assessment and 

reduction of risk in susceptible populations. Tribal 

populations may be at increased risk for 

environmentally induced diseases as a result of 

unique lifestyle practices, community activities, 

occupations and customs, and/or environmental 

releases that significantly affect tribal lands. EPA’s 

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program 

has supported studies to better understand the 

health effects of environmental contaminants on 

tribal populations. Through the Agency’s Science To 

Achieve Results (STAR) grants program, NCER has 

expanded its Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program from a single grant in 2000 focused on 

environmental justice in tribal communities to 

include nine additional STAR grants that explore 

tribal environmental risks, particularly cumulative 

chemical exposure and how global climate change 

may affect AI/AN populations (U.S. EPA, 2012e). 

These grants were funded under three Requests for 

Applications (RFAs) for a total of approximately 

$6 million (U.S. EPA, 2012c). A summary of the 

goals and objectives of the research projects 

organized by RFA is included in Appendix A, and a 

list of outputs of these grants, including publications 

and presentations, is provided in Appendix B. Past 

STAR tribal environmental health research has 

focused on identifying and quantifying cumulative 

risk, determining the impacts of climate change on 

tribal populations, and identifying dietary exposure 

risks of traditional subsistence diets (U.S. EPA, 

2012c, 2012e). 

Relationships between tribal 

citizens and their environments 

are being affected negatively by 

a variety of stressors.
Introduction/Background

6 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

EPA also funds fellowships for undergraduate (Greater 

Research Opportunities Undergraduate Fellowships) and 

graduate (STAR Fellowships) students investigating tribal 

environmental health. In addition, several P3 grants, which 

provide funding to undergraduate and graduate students 

to design solutions for a sustainable future, have been 

focused on tribal projects. The majority of the STAR grant 

and fellowship research funded by the Tribal Environmental 

Health Research Program is being or has been carried out 

at tribal colleges and universities. These schools include 

Fort Belknap College, Haskell Indian Nations University, 

Salish Kootenai College, Northwest Indian College, Diné 

College and Little Big Horn College. Other opportunities 

for early-career development for tribal citizens include 

postgraduate fellowships coordinated by NCER (e.g., 

American Association for the Advancement of Science 

Science and Engineering Fellows Program, Association of 

Schools of Public Health Fellows Program, EPA Marshall 

Scholarship Program). More information about these 

fellowships may be found via the links in Appendix G.

The Tribal Environmental Health Research Program 

broadly aligns with EPA’s Air, Climate and Energy Research 

Program by addressing climate change as well as indoor 

air related research, while specifically addressing impacts 

on AI/AN communities (U.S. EPA, 2012a). This research 

synergizes with one of the National EPA-Tribal Science 

Council’s National Tribal Science Priorities announced in 

2011, which is devoted to climate change. Also, NCER 

developed a category beginning in 2011 for its STAR 

Graduate Fellowship solicitations that is focused on 

“tribes and American Indian/Alaska Native/Pacific Islander 

communities” (U.S. EPA, 2012b, 2012g, 2012h). The 

focus is on investigations that protect the environment 

and these communities, with specific emphasis on 

related environmental health, sustainability and pollution 

prevention/remediation strategies and issues. For example, 

projects within this category could assess the impacts of 

environmental challenges on these populations or explore 

how traditional lifeways may be connected to unique 

risk and exposure pathways. Other projects could explore 

sustainability through tribes’ traditional or local ecological 

knowledge or expand the understanding of cumulative risk 

in Native communities (U.S. EPA, 2012b, 2012g, 2012h).

The STAR tribal program also supports EPA’s Sustainable 

and Healthy Communities Research Program. The 

STAR tribal program supports EPA’s mission under the 

Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program.

The newly released Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program solicitation, “Science for Sustainable and Healthy 

Tribes,” specifically supports this theme by focusing on 

improving understanding of tribal exposures and health 

impacts. The Sustainable and Healthy Communities 

Research Program research action plans and projects are 

available at http:// www.epa.gov/ord/research-programs.

htm. The relationships among EPA’s six integrated research 

programs are highlighted in the accompanying figure.

Recognizing the importance of this research program and 

the need to communicate its results, NCER staff members 

made several presentations to EPA and external partners/

stakeholders (Breville, 2011; McOliver, 2013b). More 

information about these presentations can be found in 

Appendix C. NCER also has established a website devoted 

to tribal environmental health issues (http://www.epa.gov/

ncer/tribalresearch) to disseminate the results of the tribal 

research and communicate with AI/AN stakeholders. The 

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program conducted 

a webinar series in 2009 in partnership with the National 

EPA-Tribal Science Council and a second series in 2012. 

The presentations can be found at http://www.epa.gov/

ncer/tribalresearch/recipients.html and http://www.epa.gov/

ncer/tribalresearch/multimedia/index.html.

The webinars were designed to translate and disseminate 

recent findings of STAR-funded research addressing the 

EPA Tribal Environmental Health Research Program 

Academic Institution and Tribal Locations

STAR/GRO Fellowship Locations at Tribal Colleges 

and Universities

P3 Award Project Location

Locations of EPA Tribal-Related Research Highlighted in 

This Document. Although the NCER grants and fellowships 

program is a national program, only a relatively small 

number of projects have been funded as a result of the 

competitive process driven by identified research gaps. 

There may be additional tribal project locations that are 

not identified in this report because they were recently 

awarded and have not generated outcomes or are 

funded by other EPA programs or federal agencies.

EPA’s Six Integrated Research Programs. EPA’s six 

research programs emphasize coordination and 

integration. The Sustainable and Healthy Communities 

program integrates research across the environmental 

spectrum. Air, climate, water and chemical research 

all inform the Agency’s risk assessment and homeland 

security research efforts.
Introduction/Background

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 7

environmental health and exposure concerns of AI/AN 

subsistence populations. The series highlighted research 

goals and preliminary findings of projects focused on 

cumulative risk and climate change. The webinars featured 

tribal communities and their research partners who are 

conducting research on dietary exposure, cumulative risk, 

climate change health effects and risk reduction. This 

research aimed to quantify and reduce environmental risks 

and encourage or restore traditional, healthy lifeways for 

AI/AN communities (U.S. EPA, 2012e). More information 

about these webinars is available in Appendix D. 

Based on the attendance at and response to webinars 

sponsored by EPA to communicate the outcomes and 

accomplishments of STAR research across the Agency’s 

programs, this form of dissemination is highly important 

and useful. AI/AN people can attend webinars to obtain 

information relevant to their communities on a variety of 

critical topics across broad program areas (e.g., water, air, 

sustainable communities). Information about webinars and 

other events can be found at http://epa.gov/ncer/events/.

To ensure that the Agency’s grants are responsive to 

tribal needs, NCER communicates with Agency-sponsored 

partnership groups, such as EPA’s National Tribal 

Operations Committee1 and National EPA-Tribal Science 

Council. The National EPA-Tribal Science Council helps 

to integrate Agency and tribal interests, specifically with 

respect to environmental science issues (U.S. EPA, 2012d). 

NCER has worked with the National Tribal Operations 

Committee and National EPA-Tribal Science Council to 

identify tribal research priorities. For example, a session at 

the National EPA-Tribal Science Council-sponsored 2010 

National Tribal Science Forum encouraged the tribes to 

provide direct input in developing the Tribal Environmental 

Health Research Program’s most recent RFA (Breville, 

2011), “Science for Sustainable and Healthy Tribes,” 

which was released in February 2013 (U.S. EPA, 2013a). 

Following the strategy session, several members of the 

National EPA-Tribal Science Council continued to provide 

substantive input on updated drafts of the RFA, serving as 

writing team members and reviewers (McOliver, 2013a). 

EPA sponsored a series of informational webinars in 

March, May and June of 2013 to disseminate information 

about the RFA. The purpose of the webinars was to 

describe the major research elements of the RFA; review 

any administrative, electronic filing, eligibility and peer 

review concerns; and share answers to frequently asked 

questions about the RFA and application process (U.S. EPA, 

2013a, 2013b).

Because research projects funded by the Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program resulted in 

important and beneficial outcomes, EPA leadership 

recognized the need to publicize them to benefit as 

many AI/AN communities as possible. This synthesis 

report, which highlights the outputs and outcomes of this 

research, is one of the results. This document focuses 

on tribal-related research funded by EPA, including STAR 

grants and fellowships. It does not describe any of the 

tribal research sponsored by other EPA offices, such as the 

Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program2

, or programs such as the 

Indian General Assistance Program3

. The synthesis report 

describes outcomes for past NCER tribal environmental 

research and discusses future directions and initiatives 

while recognizing that each AI/AN community is unique 

and not all research issues nor results apply to all 

communities. The goal is that the lessons learned through 

the research will result in practical applications that can 

be used broadly by AI/AN and other communities as well 

as the general public. This research has been conducted 

to address complex problems within NCER’s scope, and is 

just part of the wide variety of AI/AN research that supports 

the protection of human and environmental health being 

undertaken throughout EPA and other federal agencies. It 

also is important to note that the research may be more 

qualitative than quantitative in nature, focusing on public 

health protection and community-level risks rather than 

individual risk.

To develop this document, all former STAR grantees who 

had received funding under the Tribal Environmental 

Health Research Program were contacted to determine 

the outcomes and impacts of the research, including 

those that occurred after the funding period ended. 

Nontribal Organization or Academic Institution

Nontribal Organization or Academic Institution 

With a Tribal Partner

Tribal Organization or Academic Institution

$3,000,000

$2,500,000

$2,000,000

$1,500,000

$1,000,000

$500,000

$0

2000 2002 2007

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Funding 

by Institution. The amount of STAR funding granted by the 

Program to tribal and nontribal institutions is presented 

by RFA. The majority of funding is provided to tribal 

organizations or institutions with tribal partners.

1 The National Tribal Operations Committee comprises 19 tribal leaders (the National Tribal Caucus) and EPA’s senior leadership, including the 

Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and Assistant and Regional Administrators (U.S. EPA, 2012f).

2 Through the Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program, EPA conducts research in partnership with tribal colleges and universities to solve the environmental 

problems most important to their tribal communities.

3 The General Assistance Program assists tribes in building capacity to plan and establish environmental protection programs and develop and 

implement solid and hazardous waste programs in accordance with their individual needs.
Introduction/Background

8 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

The researchers were asked whether their research had 

been utilized by the Agency; tribal, local, state or federal 

agencies; and/or other interest groups or stakeholders. 

Examples of such utilization may include educating tribal 

populations, developing regulations or management plans, 

taking actions to mitigate climate change and so forth. 

Next, all NCER grantees, fellows and contractors were 

identified—including those from its STAR, P3 and Small 

Business Innovation Research programs—who had 

conducted tribal-related research outside of the Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program. This was 

accomplished through relevant keyword searches of the 

NCER Research Project Database (U.S. EPA, 2012c) as 

well as input from NCER staff. These researchers were 

contacted and asked the same questions to determine 

whether other EPA-funded research had resulted in 

outcomes that benefitted tribal communities; before 

the report was finalized, the Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program grantees were contacted again to 

ensure that the most up-to-date information about 

outcomes was included in the report. In addition, a 

bibliometric search was performed to assess how often 

the publications from tribal-related research funded by EPA 

were cited by other researchers.

NCER staff members also contacted the project officers 

for the STAR grants and asked them to identify any 

additional tribal-related research that may not have been 

captured in the database search and investigator contacts. 

Finally, after all of the information was collected, it was 

analyzed, organized by common themes within research 

projects, and developed into the synthesis report. The 

research projects identified in the search and their results/

impacts are described by theme in the next section 

and summarized in Appendix E. Several of the research 

projects encompassed multiple themes and, therefore, 

may be described in more than one section. Practical 

applications of EPA’s tribal research can be found in 

Appendix F, and Appendix G contains a list of additional 

online resources. l

Summary of NCER-Funded Tribal Grants and Fellowships Discussed in This Report

Project Title 

(Grant/Fellowship Number) Institution(s) Location(s) Total Amount of Funding Identified Theme(s)1 Research Area(s)2

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

* An Epidemiologic Study of Time Trends 

and Health Effects of Persistent Organic 

Pollutants, Mercury and Micronutrients 

(R833705)

Alaska Native Tribal Health 

Consortium

Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta, 

Alaska

$948,121 •	Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations •	Tribal cumulative exposures

•	Impacts of climate change on cultural and 

physical health

* Community-Based Risk Assessment 

of Exposure to Contaminants via Water 

Sources on the Crow Reservation in 

Montana (R833706)

Montana State University 

and 

University of New England

Crow Reservation (Crow 

Agency, Montana) and

Big Horn County, Montana

$329,532 •	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Tribal cumulative exposures

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

Impacts of Climate Change on Health 

Benefits of a Tribal Alaskan Resource: 

Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge 

with Risk Assessment Through Local 

Monitoring (R833707)

University of Illinois at 

Urbana-Champaign

Akutan, Point Hope and 

Seldovia, Alaska

$300,000 •	Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge

•	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Impacts of climate change on cultural and 

physical health

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

* Understanding the Cumulative Effects of 

Environmental and Psycho-Social Stressors 

that Threaten the Pohlik-lah and Ner-erner Lifeway: The Yurok Tribe’s Approach 

(R833708)

Yurok Tribe Environmental 

Program

Klamath River Basin, California $974,389 •	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Tribal cumulative exposures

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs 

of Siberian Yupiks from St. Lawrence Island, 

Alaska (R831043) 

Alaska Community Action 

on Toxics

St. Lawrence Island, Gambell 

and Savoonga, Alaska

$449,510 •	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Tribal cumulative exposures

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

Iakotisa’tstentsera:wis Ne Ohontsia: 

Reducing Risk by Restoring Relationships 

(R831044)

Akwesasne Task Force 

on the Environment 

and Haudenosaunee 

Environmental Task Force

Akwesasne Freedom School 

(Hogansburg, New York)

$450,000 •	Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Language preservation and education

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

* These grants still are active at the time of publication.

1

 These themes were identified after analyzing all of the information provided by the grantees and fellows; this synthesis report is organized by these themes.

2

 These research areas are based on the RFA needs that the projects addressed as well as relevant keywords assigned to the projects.
Introduction/Background

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 9

Project Title 

(Grant/Fellowship Number) Institution(s) Location(s) Total Amount of Funding Identified Theme(s)1 Research Area(s)2

Risks to Northern Alaskan Iñupiat: Assessing 

Potential Effects of Oil Contamination on 

Subsistence Lifestyles, Health and Nutrition 

(R831045) 

Mote Marine Laboratory Kaktovik, Barrow and 

Wainwright, Alaska

$437,399 •	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Subsistence-based exposure quantification 

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of 

Tribal Populations and Risks From Toxic 

Substances in the Environment (R831046)

Oregon State University National Scope $449,970 •	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education 

•	Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations

•	Risk assessment and exposure scenarios

•	Culturally sensitive education and guidance

Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe From 

Methyl Mercury (R831047) 

Great Lakes Indian Fish and 

Wildlife Commission

Michigan, Minnesota and 

Wisconsin

$445,830 •	Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge

•	Subsistence Food and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations

•	Subsistence-based exposure quantification 

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American 

Shellfish (R829476)

Swinomish Tribal 

Community

Padilla, Fidalgo and Skagit 

Bays (state of Washington)

$1,170,389 •	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations

•	Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

•	Researcher/tribal community partnership

•	Community-based, culturally sensitive 

education

NCER Grants and Fellowships Awarded Outside of the Tribal Environmental Health Research Program

Tribal Environmental Public Health 

Indicators (R834791)

Swinomish Tribal 

Community 

Puget Sound, Washington $235,517 •	Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations •	Tribal-specific health indicators

•	Tribal community health

Midwest Hazardous Substance Research 

Center (R828770)

Kansas State University (in 

partnership with Haskell 

Indian Nations University)

Tribal communities throughout 

the Midwest

$501,000 •	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Hazardous exposure reduction

•	Community-based, culturally sensitive 

education

Space-Time Aquatic Resources Modeling 

and Analysis Program (R829095)

Colorado State University National via available Internet 

resources

$2,998,331 •	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

•	Learning materials development

•	Tribal aquatic water quality monitoring plan 

development

Rocky Mountain Training and Technical 

Assistance to Brownfields Communities 

Program (TR831579) (STAR Training Grant)

Colorado State University 

and Montana Tech of the 

University of Montana (in 

partnership with Aaniih 

Nakoda College [formerly 

Fort Belknap College])

Montana, North Dakota, 

Colorado and Missouri

$180,000 •	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Hazardous exposure reduction

•	Community-based, culturally sensitive 

education

Linking Traditional Knowledge and 

Environmental Policy in the Cherokee 

Nation of Oklahoma (F5C30541) (STAR 

Graduate Fellowship)

University of California, 

Berkeley

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma 

(Tahlequah, Oklahoma)

$106,722 •	Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge

•	Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

•	Cultural revitalization and resource 

sustainability 

•	Community-based, culturally sensitive 

education

Dine Bikeyah: Environment, Cultural Identity 

and Gender in Navajo Country (U915164) 

(STAR Graduate Fellowship)

University of Wisconsin–

Madison

Kayenta, Arizona, and Kirtland, 

New Mexico

$102,000 •	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Tribal cultural and environmental historical 

perspectives

Makah Traditional Environmental Knowledge 

and Gray Whale Conservation (U914970) 

(STAR Graduate Fellowship)

University of Washington Neah Bay (state of 

Washington)

$102,000 •	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

•	Tribal cumulative exposures 

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

Use of Bone Char for the Removal of 

Arsenic and Uranium from Groundwater at 

the Pine Ridge Reservation (SU834713 and 

SU835069) (P3 Grant)

University of Illinois at 

Urbana-Champaign (in 

partnership with Oglala 

Lakota College)

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation 

(Pine Ridge, South Dakota)

Phase 1: 

$10,000

Phase 2: 

$75,000

•	Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

•	Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Community Outreach and Education

•	Subsistence-based risk reduction

•	Inexpensive technology development

* These grants still are active at the time of publication.

1

 These themes were identified after analyzing all of the information provided by the grantees and fellows; this synthesis report is organized by these themes.

2

 These research areas are based on the RFA needs that the projects addressed as well as relevant keywords assigned to the projects.

Results of the Tribal Research 

Funded by EPA

The tribal environmental research funded by EPA 

for more than a decade has resulted in myriad 

outcomes and outputs, including but not limited to:

• methods to reduce environmental and social 

impacts on tribes,

• standards and regulations that offer greater 

protection to tribal communities,

• advisories that reduce exposure associated with 

traditional subsistence lifeways,

• tribal education and outreach, and

• peer-reviewed publications. 

This section provides greater detail about the five 

overarching themes that have emerged from the 

tribal research conducted under the program: 

• Cultural practices, language and traditional 

ecological knowledge are of great significance to 

tribes, and many of the tribal grants funded by 

EPA reflect their importance. 

• AI/AN populations still rely heavily on traditional 

subsistence foods and water resources, 

considering water a sacred resource to be 

revered and protected. 

• Because the tribes are involved with the 

community-based participatory research and 

community outreach and education that EPA 

researchers conduct, they are invested in the 

research and outcomes and benefit from them. 

• Many EPA tribal researchers focus on risk 

assessment and sensitive populations.

• A number of tribal research projects have 

had beneficial impacts on regulations and 

management plans. 

It is important that AI/AN communities, the larger 

public, researchers, health departments, practitioners, 

STAR-funded research is 

addressing environmental 

concerns of American 

Indian and Alaska Native 

communities so that their 

members can continue their 

cultural practices with reduced 

health risks.

state and local regulators, and other stakeholders 

understand how tribal research conducted within the 

STAR Tribal Environmental Health Research Program 

and other EPA initiatives can provide them with 

practical applications and approaches that may be 

replicated in their own communities as they confront 

real-world environmental health issues. These 

practical applications and methods are highlighted 

in call-out boxes within each theme below, and 

more detailed information is provided in Appendix F. 
Executive Summary

Each AI/AN community has its own unique set of 

cultural practices, language and traditional ecological 

knowledge. STAR-funded research strives to support citizens 

of these communities as they continue their cultural 

practices with reduced health risks. For example, as a 

result of the grant, “Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe 

From Methyl Mercury,” there is greater awareness of fish 

advisory maps that help to protect the health of tribal 

citizens residing in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

These maps allow them to continue their traditional 

consumption of subsistence fish by harvesting in lesscontaminated waters (DeWeese et al., 2007; Kmiecik and 

Foran, 2007; Madsen et al., 2007). Additional details about 

this project are described under the theme of “Subsistence 

Foods and Water Resources.”

STAR-funded research also helps to strengthen native 

language skills and increase culturally relevant 

communication of traditional ecological knowledge. 

For example, the researchers of a STAR grant, 

“Iakotisa’tstentsera:wis Ne Ohontsia: Reducing Risk 

by Restoring Relationships,” focused on teaching 

environmental risk of cultural practices to teachers and 

students at the Akwesasne Freedom School in upstate 

New York. During the 3-year project, more than 100 

tribal citizens learned about toxic substances while also 

learning the Mohawk language and skills associated with 

traditional cultural practices. Workshops were completed 

entirely in the Mohawk language using oral tradition 

and hands-on participatory response techniques to 

share meaning. A library of resources has been created, 

including posters, books, pictures and charts written in 

the Mohawk language, which will be shared with other 

immersion schools and educational programs throughout 

the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Through this effort, the 

community understands risk issues and can take action to 

protect tribal citizens’ health while engaging in traditional 

subsistence practices (Arquette et al., 2008).

Traditional ecological knowledge of Alaska Native 

people has long considered wild indigenous berries a 

health-promoting, life-sustaining resource. The results 

of a STAR grant, “Impacts of Climate Change on Health 

Benefits of a Tribal Alaskan Resource: Integrating 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Risk Assessment 

Through Local Monitoring,” confirmed this traditional 

ecological knowledge, which held that the berries have 

Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Anishinaabe Fishermen Harvesting Walleye Using 

Spears. Fish advisory maps developed with STAR funding 

allow the fishermen to practice traditional lifeways with 

reduced risk of mercury exposure.

12 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 
Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 13

Alaska. The wild berries also were confirmed to play 

a key role in community wellness beyond nutrition 

because of the social and outdoor activities associated 

with harvesting. These benefits, however, are potentially 

threatened by uncertain impacts from contamination, 

climate change, and sociocultural and behavioral changes 

that shift focus away from locally available foods. Research 

findings are informing community wellness planning 

by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and have 

served as important learning opportunities for community 

members, particularly youth. The researchers concluded 

that a strong sense of community and solidarity clearly 

centered on the annual wild berry yields in Alaska Native 

communities. Scouting, family-centered wildcrafting 

and harvests, and preparations are highly anticipated 

events. Community members’ perspectives about the 

impacts of climate change on this tradition varied, and 

often risks were categorized along with other perceived 

threats (e.g., pollution) to the subsistence berries. Several 

public interviews resulted from this work, including those 

on National Public Radio and in The Ecologist (Lila et al., 

2012).

A STAR graduate fellowship, “Linking Traditional Knowledge 

and Environmental Policy in the Cherokee Nation of 

Oklahoma,” summarized information on culturally 

significant plant communities of the Cherokee Nation in 

northeastern Oklahoma. This information is being used 

to target the plant communities for conservation while 

simultaneously encouraging the sustainable, cultural 

use of the resources by tribal citizens. Related work on 

the revitalization of Cherokee ethnobotanical knowledge 

has been performed. As a result of interviews with tribal 

elders conducted under the grant, an advisory group to 

the Natural Resources Department of the Cherokee Nation 

of Oklahoma has been created. The group, composed of 

Cherokee elders who are knowledgeable on the subject 

of Cherokee ethnobotany, will focus on the issue of 

Cherokee plant knowledge. The group also works with 

Natural Resources Department staff on Tribal Integrated 

Resource Management Plan implementation, as well as 

on larger goals of cultural and environmental protection. 

One significant product from this collaboration is a 

booklet on Cherokee wild plant knowledge, Wild Plants 

of the Cherokee Nation, which is intended to serve as 

an instrument to increase awareness about this subject 

among tribal citizens and promote cultural revitalization. 

The entire booklet has been translated into the Cherokee 

language and is being used as a textbook in the Cherokee 

Nation Immersion School (Carroll, 2011). l

Alaska Natives Picking Wild Indigenous Berries.

medicinal properties. The research was carried out with 

the communities of Akutan, Point Hope and Seldovia, 

Practical Application

•Create culturally relevant educational 

and training materials to help community 

members understand risks and actions that 

will promote healthier lives while practicing 

their traditions.
Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

Tribes emphasize consumption of traditional diets, 

many of which include an abundance of fish and 

seafood. In addition to food supply, water plays an 

important role in tribal cultural and spiritual practices. 

Several STAR grants have focused on identifying the 

environmental and health risks and approaches for 

reducing health effects associated with consumption of 

traditional subsistence foods. 

The Siberian Yupik people, who live on Saint Lawrence 

Island, Alaska, in the northern Bering Sea region, follow 

a traditional lifestyle that relies on a diet of seal, whale, 

walrus, sea bird eggs, fish, reindeer, berries and local 

plants. These traditionally harvested foods play a vital 

role in their health and prosperity, and the ability to 

maintain this diet and continue to engage in communal 

harvesting is critical to their physical, cultural, social 

and economic well-being. The research team for the 

STAR grant, “Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs 

of Siberian Yupiks from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska,” 

examined these Yupik traditional foods for polychlorinated 

biphenyls, chlorinated pesticides and heavy metals. The 

team worked with Yupik hunters and heads of households 

to collect tissue samples from freshly killed animals and 

those that had undergone preparation for consumption. 

The researchers found that rendered oils (e.g., mungtak 

and blubber) are major dietary sources of polychlorinated 

biphenyls, because these oils are vital components of the 

traditional diet and consumed on a regular basis by the 

St. Lawrence Island Yupik people. Organ meats of certain 

animals, such as reindeer and walrus, contain levels of 

mercury that exceed health-based standards, although 

these organ meats are consumed less frequently. The 

researchers concluded that proactive policies are essential 

to the protection of the health of present and future 

generations of the St. Lawrence Island Yupik. The leaders 

of the communities emphasized the need to continue 

collaborative community-based research. The St. Lawrence 

Island communities will examine methods to reduce 

exposures while continuing to rely on their traditional 

subsistence diet (Miller et al., 2010). 

Great Lakes Anishinaabe tribal citizens rely on traditional 

lifeways, which include the harvesting and consumption 

of indigenous freshwater fish; this cultural tradition 

places the tribe at a greater risk for exposure to elevated 

concentrations of methyl mercury. As a result of the STARAnishinaabe Fisherman Harvesting Walleye Using 

Nets. Fish advisory maps help to protect the health 

of Anishinaabe people who consume mercurycontaminated walleye.

14 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 
Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 15

funded grant, “Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe From 

Methyl Mercury,” there is greater awareness of the fish 

advisory maps (see example maps on pages 16 and 17) 

produced by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife 

Commission. This increased awareness helps to protect 

the health of Anishinaabe tribal citizens who consume 

mercury-contaminated walleye. Tribal citizens use the 

fish advisory maps to reduce their risk of methyl mercury 

exposure through lake-specific meal consumption advice 

and information that helps them select lakes for harvest 

where walleye contain lower mercury concentrations. The 

data collected under the grant were sufficient to provide 

consumption advice for 293 of the 449 lakes assessed 

in the study. Most of these carried a recommendation 

The mouth of the Klamath River; the river is an important subsistence resource for the Yurok Tribe.

of no more than four meals per month for the general 

population, and no more than one meal per month for the 

sensitive population. A significant increase in preference 

for smaller walleye occurred among tribal harvesters 

in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota but not among 

women of childbearing age. The Great Lakes Indian 

Fish and Wildlife map-based advisory program did not 

adversely affect tribal harvest of walleye, which increased 

from 63,000 to 88,000 less-contaminated fish in the three 

states following the intervention (DeWeese et al, 2007; 

Kmiecik and Foran, 2007; Madsen et al., 2007).

Coastal and river resources are primary and secondary 

food sources for a majority of Yurok tribal citizens, 

particularly those residing near or within Yurok ancestral 

territory in northern California. The researchers involved 

in the grant, “Understanding the Cumulative Effects of 

Environmental and Psycho-Social Stressors that Threaten 

the Pohlik-lah and Ner-er-ner Lifeway: The Yurok Tribe’s 

Approach,” combined ethnography and qualitative data on 

subsistence resources and practices from previous and 

current tribal studies with quantitative data on chemical 

exposures and epidemiological analyses of health data. 

The goal was to determine how these factors interact 

to affect the health of various vulnerable populations 

within the tribe. Using personal (or public) participation 

geographic information system methods to better 

incorporate the tribe’s local geographic awareness, the 

researchers were able to develop a series of 12 maps 

with the Yurok Tribe that provide historic and contemporary 

contaminant information on the Klamath River Basin in 

California (Sloan et al., 2011). Although the full impact of 

the research has not been realized because the project 
Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

16 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

This is an example of a fish consumption advisory map developed by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission for tribal fishermen in Michigan, 

Minnesota and Wisconsin.

This map is to help you find safe Ogaa (Walleye) in lakes harvested by Lac Courte Oreilles
Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 17

This is another example of a fish consumption advisory map developed by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission for tribal fishermen in 

Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

This map is to help you find safe Ogaa (Walleye) in select Walleye lakes in the Michigan 1842 Ceded Territory
Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

18 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

The cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) is an important 

component of Alaska Native subsistence diets.

Stock photograph of little neck clams.

is ongoing, these maps will allow the tribal citizens to 

avoid contaminated areas during harvesting. Another 

product of the grant was the development of a geographic 

information system eco-toxicological tool that models and 

calculates residual contaminants, which allows the tribe 

to model the amount of contaminants in a specific area. 

Contaminant queries may be made from disparate data 

sources and formats, ultimately generating a statistical 

report on these data. This is useful as pesticide and 

contaminant data reporting standards and formats change 

over time and vary among states (Sloan, 2013). 

An April 19, 2007, article in the Seattle Times reported 

that Swinomish tribal leaders were advising citizens to 

restrict their consumption of clams and crabs gathered 

in and around their reservation after a 4-year study 

funded by EPA’s STAR program, “Bioaccumulative Toxics in 

Native American Shellfish,” found that they contain toxic 

chemicals. This caused some concern for many tribal 

citizens, who consume approximately 20 times more 

shellfish than average Americans. Researchers analyzed 

Dungeness crabs and two species of clams, including 

little neck clams, harvested in several sites near the 

reservation and found traces of toxic chemicals, including 

polychlorinated biphenyls; various industrial chemicals, 

including arsenic; and oil and gas derivatives. The tribe 

issued voluntary limits of up to three meals per week of 

shellfish from the sampled beaches in the Padilla, Fidalgo 

and Skagit Bays in the state of Washington. The limits 

varied depending on the consumer’s age. The limits are 

considered temporary until the tribe can institute a longterm solution. The study found that many tribal citizens 

already had been decreasing their consumption of 

shellfish, some because of concern about pollution. One 

outcome of the study was for the tribe to create its own 

definition of health to use in the cost-benefit analysis of 

gauging risk. The social, cultural and spiritual benefits of 

gathering and eating shellfish could, in some instances, 

outweigh the risks of contamination (Mapes, 2007). 

The STAR grant, “Impacts of Climate Change on Health 

Benefits of a Tribal Alaskan Resource: Integrating Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge with Risk Assessment Through Local 

Monitoring,” focused on subsistence berries consumed 

by residents of Alaska Native villages (Akutan, Point 

Hope and Seldovia, Alaska). The results indicate that 

the berries studied contain A-type proanthocyanidins, a 

relatively rare configuration. For commercially available 

berries, the configuration is found only in cranberries and 

blueberries. The significance of this unique component 

in the berries is that the A-type proanthocyanidin has 

anti-adhesin properties, effectively disabling the bacteria 

that cause urinary tract infections and dental decay. 

Therefore, these berries provide an alternative natural 

therapy for these microbial diseases (Lila et al., 2012). The 

proanthocyanidin content in the berries also was found to 

be highly effective at lowering lipid deposition into adipose 

tissue, which has implications for prevention of metabolic 

syndrome. The unique complement of anthocyanins 

(pigments) in the berries proved to be particularly effective 

in reducing blood glucose levels in vivo in a diabetic 

mouse model; the consumption of the berries may prove 

to be an important deterrent to the development of type 

II diabetes mellitus in adults. The discovery of these 

properties and the unique components that contribute to 

them supports the local traditional, medicinal use of the 

berries (Lila et al., 2012).

The quantitative chemical, mineral and microbial water 

quality data from the STAR grant, “Community-Based 

Risk Assessment of Exposure to Contaminants via Water 

Sources on the Crow Reservation in Montana,” revealed 
Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 19

The P3 team that traveled to the Pine River Reservation 

to obtain water samples for the EPA-funded project.

Practical Applications

•Utilize community-based research to inform 

and develop wellness plans that allow 

communities to consume their traditional 

foods with less health risks. 

•Use data on contaminant levels to help 

community members protect their health 

while eating their traditional diets.

A local Pine River Reservation resident works on a pump 

to provide a house with well water.

that 55 percent of the wells tested exceed EPA primary 

standards or health advisories (Ford, 2013). These data 

were provided recently to the Crow Tribe’s Office of Water 

Resources, which is using the data as a baseline in 

planning a rural water distribution network for the Crow 

Reservation and Big Horn County in Montana (Eggers, 

2013). The project coordinator and leader continue to 

meet with tribal elders on the Crow Reservation to discuss 

the microbial contamination of a spring and a creek on 

the reservation. The elders supported the submittal of 

an additional grant proposal to the EPA Environmental 

Justice Small Grants Program to begin addressing the 

contamination, and this new grant has been awarded 

(Eggers, 2013). The researchers also continue to provide 

data and support to the Apsaalooke Water and Wastewater 

Authority, which has begun its next phase of water and 

wastewater infrastructure improvement for the town of 

Crow Agency, Montana (Eggers, 2013).

The results of a STAR fellowship, “Makah Traditional 

Environmental Knowledge and Gray Whale Conservation,” 

collected data from Neah Bay in the state of Washington, 

near the main settlement of the Makah Nation, which 

indicated that tribal consumption of locally caught fish was 

significantly higher than the levels used in contaminant 

exposure models. As the previous water quality standards 

had been based on these models, they were not as 

protective as possible. The tribe had been contending 

that this was true for years, and the STAR data provided 

the Makah Nation with the evidence that it needed to 

effectively argue its case and revise the standards to 

be more protective. These data also were utilized by the 

tribe to support its request to the International Whaling 

Commission for an annual subsistence quota of five 

(nonendangered) gray whales. The tribe also used the 

data extensively in the revised draft Environmental Impact 

Statement by the National Marine Fisheries Service on the 

Makah whaling quota (Sepez, 2011). 

Many residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 

southwest South Dakota, home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe 

(also known as the Oglala Lakota Nation), rely on private 

wells as their drinking water source. A number of studies 

revealed that significant levels of arsenic and uranium 

contaminate the reservation’s groundwater (Werth et al., 

2010). A P3 grant, “Use of Bone Char for the Removal of 

Arsenic and Uranium from Groundwater at the Pine Ridge 

Reservation,” focuses on the development of inexpensive, 

easy-to-use technology based on bone char, an 

indigenous material, to remove arsenic and uranium from 

the groundwater used by the residents of the reservation. 

The researchers tested reservation wells and developed a 

map that highlights the location of contaminated sources. 

The team is working with citizens of the reservation and 

local leaders of the Oglala Lakota College to determine 

whether the use of bone char filter for water purification 

is appropriate for the reservation; feedback based on the 

presentation of a working prototype has been positive 

(Becraft and Werth, 2012). l
Executive Summary

Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Outreach and Education

Utilizing community-based participatory research in 

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program is 

crucial to ensure that researchers partner with AI/AN 

people in planning and implementing needed research. As 

such, community-based participatory research, education 

and outreach have been and continue to be important 

components of STAR grants and fellowships funded under 

the Tribal Environmental Health Research Program. In 

community-based participatory research, the community 

is actively involved in every phase of the research project 

being conducted. The researchers must understand the 

particular culture of the people with whom they are 

partnering in research and recognize the sovereignty 

of their government. For example, the researchers of 

the EPA grant, “Understanding the Cumulative Effects 

of Environmental and Psycho-Social Stressors that 

Threaten the Pohlik-lah and Ner-er-ner Lifeway: The Yurok 

Tribe’s Approach,” developed their research questions by 

consulting the Yurok Tribal Council and community, which 

is located in northern California. Phase 2 of their research 

actively engaged the community in the data-gathering 

process (Sloan, 2010), presenting about the project at 

the annual Yurok Tribe Klamath Salmon Festival and 

annual tribal membership meeting during each year of 

the project period (Sloan, 2013). Tribal community input 

via scoping sessions, oral interviews and questionnaires 

allowed the researchers to identify key resource species. 

The researchers also ascertained community perceptions 

about resource quality and abundance, resource conditions 

across time, and the relationship between resources and 

community health (Sloan and Fluharty, 2010). The grant 

allowed the researchers to perform sustained environmental 

research that addresses community concerns, enabling 

them to collect valuable data and provide answers about 

the health of the community’s environment and culturally 

significant and key subsistence species. The community 

has been grateful for this information, as these longstanding concerns had not been adequately researched 

or addressed previously (Sloan, 2013). The quantitative 

data collected and analyzed during the project resulted 

in the development of a Yurok Community Health Profile, 

which the researchers shared with the tribe via the Yurok 

Tribal Environmental Program website. A final version will be 

printed and distributed with other project materials to the 

tribe (Sloan et al., 2013).

Because community and traditional communal activities 

and lifeways are important to the Siberian Yupiks, the 

research team for one STAR grant, “Environmental 

Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yupiks from St. 

Lawrence Island, Alaska,” conducted a series of meetings 

with the tribal leadership of the Alaska Native villages of 

Gambell and Savoonga and with the people in the villages 

Crow people “going after water” in the Little Big Horn 

River, Montana, in the late 1800s. (Photo courtesy Little 

Big Horn College Archives; original at the Smithsonian 

Institution)

20 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 
Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Outreach and Education

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 21

of St. Lawrence Island. At these meetings, the researchers 

and the communities discussed the implications of the 

project results, with the awareness that traditional foods are 

vital to the well-being and culture of the Yupik people. The 

research team discussed the results in the context of the 

recognized nutritional and cultural benefits of the traditional 

diet. The leadership of the St. Lawrence Island communities 

emphasized the need to continue collaborative communitybased research and find methods to reduce exposures 

while continuing reliance on the traditional diet (Miller et 

al., 2010). 

Elders are respected and revered among AI/AN populations. 

They carry much of the cultural and traditional ecological 

knowledge of their tribes and villages and pass their 

wisdom and knowledge on to the younger generations. 

Understanding the importance of elders, the researchers 

involved in the project, “Community-Based Risk Assessment 

of Exposure to Contaminants via Water Sources on the 

Crow Reservation in Montana,” reached out to Crow tribal 

elders, who described how the water quality in the Little 

Big Horn River had deteriorated during the past 50 years. 

The elders reminded the younger tribal citizens, as well 

as the researchers, that they do not appreciate water as 

a precious resource as previous generations did because 

they no longer must haul it themselves. From the tribal 

elders, younger generations and academic partners learned 

about the high respect that the Crow people always have 

had for water and the importance of protecting this natural 

resource (Cummins et al., 2010). The tribal elders also 

helped to guide the research project via their involvement 

in the Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee 

(Ford, 2010). To ensure that community outreach and 

education were successful, the researchers provided 

Crow Reservation residents comprehensive reports about 

their water quality, potential health issues and suggested 

treatments. The researchers provided in-home followup, 

often in the Crow language, to increase residents’ 

understanding of the research results (Ford, 2010).

The researchers involved with the grant, “Reducing Risks 

of the Anishinaabe From Methyl Mercury,” used community 

outreach and education to increase awareness of Great 

Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife-produced fish advisory 

maps among the tribal community. Through the grant, 

researchers explained how to use the maps to tribal 

leaders, health care providers, fish harvesters, mothers 

with young children, women of childbearing age, children 

and elders in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. These 

maps help to protect the health of tribal citizens by 

supporting them in their efforts to reduce consumption 

of mercury-contaminated walleye. Large fish advisory 

maps were posted at locations in which spearing and 

netting permits were issued; maps were distributed to onreservation health service providers and posted at public 

locations on the reservation (e.g., tribal administration 

buildings, grocery stores, libraries, health clinics, natural 

resources departments, elder centers and community 

centers). Researchers presented about the maps at 

various meetings and to children at Boys’ and Girls’ Club 

gatherings. The children were provided with maps to take 

home and encouraged to share them with their families. 

Postintervention surveys showed that the percentage 

of survey participants who indicated awareness of the 

advisory maps significantly increased among fish harvesters 

in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota and among women 

of childbearing age in Wisconsin (DeWeese et al., 2007; 

Kmiecik and Foran, 2007; Madsen et al., 2007). The 

researchers have continued to update, publish online and 

distribute the maps and have created additional outreach 

materials targeted toward the two groups for which the 

outreach/intervention had been less effective (women of 

child-bearing age and fish harvesters in Michigan and 

Minnesota), as identified by the research (Moses, 2013).

The approach used for another STAR grant 

(“Iakotisa’tstentsera:wis Ne Ohontsia: Reducing Risk by 

Restoring Relationships”) was to work with teachers at 

the Akwesasne Freedom School in upstate New York and 

environmental staff in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to 

develop intervention materials and education programs. The 

project worked to transfer expertise about environmental 

risk and cultural practices to teachers and students at 

the Akwesasne Freedom School. This was accomplished 

through teacher training and in-class workshops in 

which students were engaged in subsistence practices. 

During each of the 3 years of the project, 20 professional 

development days per year were offered to more than 

25 teachers, staff members, assistant teachers and 

environmental research scientists. As a result, more than 

100 youth, teachers, teacher assistants and environmental 

Present-day Crow Nation members and their academic 

partners obtaining water samples from the Little Big Horn 

River, Montana.

Practical Applications

• Work in strong partnership with communities 

so that they not only endorse research 

projects, but are full participants in design/

development, translation, and ultimately 

application of the research findings to 

improve their health and protect their local 

environments. 

•Communicate and disseminate research to 

community members and other stakeholders 

respectfully, creatively and effectively while 

explaining how they can use the results to 

protect their health.
Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Outreach and Education

22 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

scientists learned about toxic substances while also 

learning the Mohawk language and skills associated 

with traditional cultural practices (Arquette et al., 2008). 

Workshops were conducted entirely in the Mohawk 

language using oral tradition and hands-on participatory 

response techniques to share meaning. A library of 

resources has been created, including posters, books, 

pictures and charts written in the Mohawk language, 

which will be shared with other immersion schools and 

educational programs throughout the Haudenosaunee 

Confederacy. Through this effort, community members 

understand risk issues and can take action to protect their 

health while engaging in traditional subsistence practices 

(Arquette et al., 2008).

It is important to foster a positive working relationship—

based on trust, credibility and appropriate communication—among researchers and community members. One 

of the goals of another tribal STAR grant (“Risks to Northern 

Alaskan Iñupiat: Assessing Potential Effects of Oil Contamination on Subsistence Lifestyles, Health and Nutrition”) 

was to strengthen relationships with Native leaders and 

communities. The principal investigators worked to develop 

community ties in various ways, including attending public functions. These efforts have led to recognition of the 

researchers in the community. The principal investigators 

made numerous public presentations, met with school 

children, provided radio interviews and met in small groups 

with community leaders to present the results of the study. 

Presentations of the data typically were preceded by discussions with research staff to ensure that scientific information was provided in a culturally relevant and sensitive 

manner (Wetzel et al., 2008). The researchers presented at 

a number of town council meetings in Kaktovik, Barrow and 

Wainwright, Alaska, as well as other towns, to inform the 

Iñupiat people about the study and the outcomes (Wetzel, 

2010). 

Community education and outreach have continued 

beyond the end of the grant, “Impacts of Climate Change 

on Health Benefits of a Tribal Alaskan Resource: Integrating 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge With Risk Assessment 

Through Local Monitoring.” 

The research continues to 

generate requests from AI/AN 

groups, with the researchers 

presenting follow-up 

workshops on the research 

in North Dakota and Alaska. 

Additionally, the project 

partners in North Dakota 

and Alaska traveled to North 

Carolina, where the lead 

researcher had relocated, 

to learn how the results 

of their field biodiscovery 

of tribal resources would 

translate to the next level of 

laboratory investigation and 

validation. The researchers’ 

training techniques are being 

used in high school and 

community college classes at 

AI/AN institutions in Alaska and North Dakota (Lila, 2013a, 

2013b).

The researchers of the grant, “Lifestyle and Cultural 

Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks From Toxic 

Substances in the Environment,” sponsored a tribal 

research symposium in April 2010 that focused on issues 

addressed in the grant. Participants discussed important 

matters and perspectives to consider when performing 

research with tribal communities, including tribal legal 

issues, research ethics, indigenous and Western science 

concepts, and integration of sociocultural health indicators 

in tribal risk research. The symposium featured speakers 

from several tribes as well as a tribal legal scholar; 

university researchers, members of the public, public 

agency staff and others interested in tribal issues attended 

(Harding, 2013).

The researchers of a Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program STAR grant, “Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native 

American Shellfish,” used the research conducted in 

the state of Washington to publish several outreach 

and educational pieces about safe Swinomish fish and 

shellfish consumption, including the Swinomish 13 Moons 

traditional food book, Swinomish 13 Moons Coloring Book, 

the Slow Burn documentary and several posters. Numerous 

oral presentations were given at independent and EPAsponsored conferences and symposia to communicate the 

results of this grant (Donatuto, 2010). 

As is the case for STAR grants funded through EPA’s Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program, education and 

outreach also are important for other tribally relevant 

STAR grants and fellowships. A STAR fellowship, “Dine 

Bikeyah: Environment, Cultural Identity and Gender in 

Navajo Country,” resulted in the book, Dreaming of Sheep 

in Navajo Country. The publication has been used in 

workshops with high school teachers on the reservation, 

and the author participated in workshops in Navajo 

communities in Kayenta, Arizona, and Kirtland, New Mexico. 

These workshops focused on the environmental health 

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community was able to develop this DVD documentary of grasslands, grazing issues and oral histories about a with a STAR grant.
Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Outreach and Education

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 23

conservation program in the 1930s known colloquially as 

“livestock reduction” (Weisiger, 2011). The award-winning 

book provides an important historical perspective about 

Navajo pastoralism, allowing tribal citizens and other 

readers to understand the environmental history of the 

reservation and policies that led to current conditions.

The researchers of a STAR training grant, “Rocky Mountain 

Training and Technical Assistance to Brownfields 

Communities Program,” found that outreach is more 

effective when it is partnered with education. The 

researchers provided one-on-one training and outreach to 

neighborhoods, tribes and tribal communities in Montana, 

North Dakota, Colorado and Missouri. The training was 

developed based on tribal needs and focused on topics 

that the tribes identified as useful, such as education 

about hazardous materials and how to write Environmental 

Impact Statements. Approximately 25 culturally sensitive 

courses were developed with Fort 

Belknap College (now known as 

Aaniiih Nakoda College) faculty 

members and consultants. The 

courses addressed specific 

Brownfields issues and innovative 

environmental technologies that 

could be used to remediate 

these sites. They were offered as 

full-credit courses for community 

members; continuing-education 

credits also could be earned 

for professional development 

(Burgher, 2011).

Education and outreach were 

particularly important for 

two tribal-relevant projects 

conducted by the STAR-funded 

Midwest Hazardous Substance 

Research Center. The center’s 

Technical Outreach Services 

for Communities and Technical Outreach Services for 

Native American Communities programs used university 

educational and technical resources to help community 

groups throughout the Midwest understand the technical 

issues and impacts of hazardous waste sites. The two 

outreach programs empowered the communities to 

participate substantively in the decision-making process 

regarding their hazardous substance problems, including 

environmental assessment and clean-up needs. The 

projects provided a link between the community and 

the university, serving the needs of environmental justice 

communities. These outreach programs provided technical 

assistance, such as reviewing and explaining technical 

reports and offering information and training, to AI/AN 

communities (Banks et al., 2007). 

The Technical Outreach Services for Native American 

Communities program was national in scope and 

coordinated primarily through the Haskell Environmental 

Research Studies Center at Haskell Indian Nations University. 

Services included first contact, needs assessment, initial 

support and long-term technical support arrangements 

by regional Technical Outreach Services for Communities 

programs and other resources as necessary (Banks et al., 

2007). The researchers conducted a number of outreach 

activities over many years. The most significant outcome of 

this work is the increased level and capacity for community 

involvement at Superfund and other environmental issue 

sites. Training materials and various models for successful 

community involvement that address tribal risk (subsistence 

and cultural lifestyle exposures), technical clean-up issues, 

and environmental justice dynamics at clean-up sites were 

developed (Leven, 2011). The Center provided support to 

24 AI/AN communities in 13 states (Center for Hazardous 

Substance Research, 2009).

Another STAR-funded center with tribal education and 

outreach as one of its goals, “Space-Time Aquatic 

Resources Modeling and Analysis Program,” developed and 

tested learning materials related to environmental sampling 

that were made available on the Internet. A variety of 

people, including those associated with tribes, indicated an 

interest in using these materials. Direct contact, education, 

outreach and support were offered to the tribes as a result 

of this project (Urquhart, 2011).

In addition to focusing on the development of waterpurification technology, a P3 grant, “Use of Bone Char for 

the Removal of Arsenic and Uranium from Groundwater 

at the Pine Ridge Reservation,” also aims to educate the 

residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwest 

South Dakota about the importance of water quality. The 

researchers are developing a 2- to 4-minute video about 

the project to be used in conjunction with a water quality 

educational outreach effort for children. The researchers 

also are creating an educational handout that includes 

water quality education materials for the residents of the 

reservation (Becraft and Werth, 2012). l

One output of a STAR grant was the 13 Moons1

 book about how the 13 annual 

lunar phases guide the Swinomish people in using their natural resources. 

1 This book is in its second printing. EPA does not endorse or promote any product, but if you would like more information, please contact Todd Mitchell, Swinomish Water Resources Coordinator, at tmitchell@swinomish.nsn.us, 

11430 Moorage Way, La Conner, WA 98257.
Executive Summary

Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations

Some tribal citizens have unique risks as a result of 

their traditional lifestyles and extensive reliance on 

natural resources. As a result, risk assessments and 

exposure scenarios must be tailored to the tribes’ distinct 

needs. The Traditional Tribal Subsistence Exposure Scenario 

and Risk Assessment Guidance Manual, based on the 

major ecological zones across the mainland United 

States, was published as a result of a Tribal Environmental 

Health Research Program STAR grant, “Lifestyles and 

Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks From 

Toxic Substances in the Environment.” The researchers’ 

goal was to develop regional traditional tribal subsistence 

multipathway exposure scenarios based on eco-cultural 

zone delineations and descriptions, major exposure factors, 

regional food patterns and unique exposure pathways. The 

manual can be used by the tribes to modify, refine and 

adapt the regional scenarios for their site-specific and/

or individual tribal situations. It is particularly useful to 

assist the tribes in compliance with the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability 

Act, which includes a risk-based process. To comply, 

the tribes have been requesting risk tools that reflect 

their activity patterns and potential exposures. If a 

tribal scenario is not available early in the compliance 

process, the results may not be protective of tribal uses. 

This research resulted in model regional tribal exposure 

scenarios that are formatted for standard Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act 

risk assessments, which can be progressively modified 

as site-specific information becomes available (Harper et 

al., 2007). The researchers have received many requests 

for the Traditional Tribal Subsistence Exposure Scenario 

and Risk Assessment Guidance Manual from EPA staff, 

consultants in the private sector, academics, graduate 

students and others working on tribal issues (Harding, 

2013).

Under the grant, “Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe From 

Methyl Mercury,” researchers explained to those considered 

to have increased risk from exposure to mercury—mothers 

with young children, women of childbearing age, children 

and elders—who consume mercury-contaminated walleye 

in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin how to use 

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife fish advisory maps 

to reduce their risk. The data collected under the grant 

were used to recommend that no more than one walleye 

meal per month from the affected lakes be consumed by 

these people. To reduce risk in children, the researchers 

presented fish advisory information at Boys’ and Girls’ Club 

gatherings. The children were provided with maps to take 

home and encouraged to share them with their families 

(DeWeese et al, 2007; Kmiecik and Foran, 2007; Madsen 

et al., 2007). For more information about how data 

24 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Practical Applications

•Use methods that better assess the exposure 

risk of sensitive populations to help these 

individuals avoid or reduce exposures and 

protect their health. 

•Develop environmental public health 

indicators that reflect the community’s heath 

views and priorities to assess and improve 

the health status of its members.
Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 25

the researchers have 

continued the work 

initiated in the original 

STAR grant by partnering 

with the Puget Sound 

Partnership and 

representatives from the 

Lower Elwha Tribe, the 

Suquamish Tribe and the 

Port Gamble S’Kllalam 

Tribe to develop tribalspecific health indicators 

for the Salish Sea. This 

research is being carried 

out under a new STAR 

grant, “Tribal Environmental 

Public Health Indicators.” 

During the first year of the 

project, the researchers 

were able to establish 

a set of environmental 

public health indicators for Coast Salish communities 

near Puget Sound, Washington, that reflect how the 

communities view and prioritize health. These “Indigenous 

Health Indicators” include six key health indicators, each 

with three components: 

• Resources security (abundance, access and sharing).

• Community connection (cooperation, participation/

roles and familiarity.

• Ceremonial use (gatherings/ceremonies, giving 

thanks and feeding the Spirit).

• Education (elders, youth and the Teachings).

• Self determination (healing, economic development 

and restoration).

• Well-being (connection to nature, confidence and 

resilience). 

The next step is to test the indicator set with tribal citizens 

by employing it to assess the health status of the tribal 

communities (Donatuto, 2012).

The researchers of the grant, “An Epidemiologic Study 

of Time Trends and Health Effects of Persistent Organic 

Pollutants, Mercury and Micronutrients,” investigated 

risks to Alaska Native Yupik newborn infants and their 

mothers, who live in the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta of 

southwestern Alaska and consume the traditional marine 

subsistence diet. Data regarding blood levels of mercury, 

lead, cadmium, arsenic and omega-3 fatty acids in these 

populations have been collected and are being analyzed. 

These data will allow any potential associations between 

maternal exposure and potential adverse pregnancy 

outcomes (e.g., gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, 

preterm delivery, birth defects, growth abnormalities) 

to be examined as well as any associations between 

micronutrients and positive pregnancy and infant health 

outcomes. The researchers also collected salmon tissue 

for parallel analysis. The results will be used to inform the 

Alaska Native residents of the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta 

about trends in human tissue levels and any evidence of 

negative and positive health outcomes. The salmon data, 

combined with sea mammal data from other studies, 

will enable subsistence hunters and consumers to have 

confidence in the low contaminant levels in the salmon 

and consume those sea mammal species that have 

been found to have the lowest levels of contaminants. 

Village-specific harvest adaptation plans will be developed 

to ensure the lowest exposure for pregnant women and 

children while still preserving the enormous cultural and 

public health value of the traditional diet (Berner, 2013). l

Jim Gibson, Swinomish shellfish biologist, provides an offering and asks for abundant 

harvests and protection from harm during the upcoming fishing seasons in a ceremony 

called the Blessing of the Fleet. Also known as the First Salmon Ceremony, the ceremony 

is enacted by many Pacific Northwest tribes.

generated through this grant were used to develop the 

cumulative risk scenarios and fish advisory maps, please 

see the section entitled, Subsistence Foods and Water 

Resources.

Risk assessment was an important component of another 

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR grant, 

“Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish.” 

The researchers partnered with Oregon State University to 

develop a Swinomish Traditional Cultural Lifeways Exposure 

Scenario and perform passive air monitoring of polycyclic 

aromatic hydrocarbons, one of the suite of chemicals 

identified as potentially hazardous in the STAR research. 

A partnership with Seattle University was used to explore 

the issues of treaty rights and fish consumption (Donatuto, 

2010). For more information about how data from this 

grant were used to develop the exposure scenario, please 

see the section entitled, Subsistence Foods and Water 

Resources. Although the grant has been completed, 
Executive Summary

Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

Several STAR grants and fellowships have influenced 

state regulations and tribal management plans. 

Based on the results of a STAR grant, “Bioaccumulative 

Toxics in Native American Shellfish,” and other studies 

that have found high levels of toxins in fish and shellfish 

in and around tribal gathering places, the Washington 

Department of Ecology began re-examining the state’s 

water quality standards in the fall of 2010 (Brooks, 2010). 

Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality has been 

working closely with state, federal and tribal governments 

and industries to set a stricter water quality standard, one 

that would allow people to safely eat not just one serving 

of fish or shellfish per month but one serving per day 

(State of Oregon, 2007). EPA has encouraged individual 

states to set standards based on data that show how 

much fish people typically consume from state waters. In 

the absence of those data, the federal standard of about 

one 7-ounce serving of fish per month applies, and this 

has been the state of Washington’s standard for more 

than 2 decades (State of Washington, 2009, 2010). In the 

state review of the fish consumption rate, the Swinomish 

are advocating for historical consumption rates, which are 

perhaps as high as 1 pound of fish per person per day 

(Brooks, 2010). At the time of publication of this report, 

the state of Washington had not revised its limits; more 

information can be found at the Washington Department 

of Ecology website.

The quantitative data produced by a STAR fellowship, 

“Makah Traditional Environmental Knowledge and Gray 

Whale Conservation,” were used by a tribal biologist 

to support the implementation of stricter water quality 

standards on the Makah Nation reservation than those 

issued by the state of Washington. The data indicated that 

tribal consumption of locally caught fish was significantly 

higher than the levels used to develop the previous 

standards (Sepez, 2011).

The results of a STAR fellowship, “Linking Traditional 

Knowledge and Environmental Policy in the Cherokee 

Nation of Oklahoma,” continue to be used internally by 

the Cherokee Nation in northeastern Oklahoma to design 

its Tribal Integrated Resource Management Plan. The 

plan serves as formal guidance for all of the Cherokee 

Nation’s land and resource planning and management 

issues. The grant resulted in the formation of a group, 

composed of Cherokee elders who are knowledgeable 

on the subject of Cherokee ethnobotany, to advise the 

Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Department. The elders 

work with departmental staff on Tribal Integrated Resource 

Management Plan implementation, as well as on larger 

goals of cultural and environmental protection (Carroll, 

2011). 

26 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 
Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 27

The “Space-Time Aquatic Resources Modeling and Analysis 

Program,” a STAR-funded center, worked with 10 tribes in 

four states to assist with the development of tribal aquatic 

water quality monitoring plans that take into account 

definitive tribal needs for monitoring cultural uses of tribal 

water. The tribes involved in the research actively pursued 

the protection of culturally sensitive water uses, such as 

hand-dredging of clay for pottery making and wetland 

plant harvesting for construction of sweat lodges and 

cradle boards (Johnson, 2003). 

l

Practical Applications •Use research to help establish environmental 

quality standards that take into account 

community practices and unique exposures 

of special populations to protect their health. 

•Help communities develop conservation 

plans that allow them to manage and 

monitor their resources so that community 

members can continue to safely use them.

Future Directions for Tribal Research

Future tribal research supported by EPA will 

explore new strategies, methods and tools to 

assess environmental health exposure among AI/

AN populations as well as identify other research 

opportunities for advancing health protection while 

maintaining traditional tribal lifeways. Ongoing 

research needs for many tribal communities include 

protection of drinking water from enteric pathogens 

such as Escherichia coli, protection and survival 

of native plants, better understanding of health 

issues surrounding climate change, the impacts of 

widespread pesticide use and endocrine disrupting 

chemicals, indoor air quality, and the extent and 

impacts of consumption of contaminated meat from 

animals that tribal communities raise or harvest 

(e.g., bison, deer, elk). Past and current STAR 

research has attempted to address components of 

many of these issues (e.g., climate change impacts, 

endocrine disrupting chemicals, indoor air quality, 

cumulative risk related to subsistence foods), 

although not always in tribal settings.

An emerging topic of concern for many tribes is 

hydraulic fracturing (fracking). In addition to sharing 

in the immense benefits of fracking, tribal, Alaska 

Native and other communities in the United States 

are in need of research and guidance related to 

potential adverse ecological and human health 

impacts of this activity. For example, what are the 

considerations regarding the quality and availability 

of fresh water resources used for pumping? What 

are the potential health impacts of and exposure 

scenarios related to the chemical mixtures used in 

the extraction processes? What are waste disposal 

concerns and approaches that safeguard the 

ecosystem and human health? In addition, there 

are considerations involving air quality, groundwater 

contamination, and destabilization of rock formations 

and topography from drilling.

An ongoing issue is related to the ability of tribal 

community members and staff to gain technical 

expertise and capacity for applying for grants and 

responding to solicitations. Please see Appendix 

G for information about training and workshops 

that are available from EPA’s Office of Grants and 

Debarment and the contact information for the 

current Regional Tribal Program Managers in Regions 

9 and 10, where the majority of tribes reside. 

Finally, there is an opportunity to establish regional 

tribal research partnerships that would serve as a 

resource for National EPA-Tribal Science Council 

Tribal Representatives in linking regional priorities 

to tribal research needs. This effort would develop a 

systematic method to connect ORD scientists (e.g., 

Regional Science Liaisons and scientists in the 

regional research facilities) with tribal scientists to 

collaborate on shared goals, communicate current 

research efforts and pursue common scientific goals 

for communities. It also is expected that the National 

EPA-Tribal Science Council’s semiannual meetings 

will continue to provide an opportunity for research 

and science communication across tribes and 

regions, including participation by STAR grantees.

EPA’s Air, Climate and Energy Research Program 

released its 2012 RFA, “Measurements and Modeling 

for Quantifying Air Quality and Climatic Impacts 

of Residential Biomass or Coal Combustion for 

Cooking, Heating, and Lighting.” This solicitation 

included a component that focused on the 

“developing world and Indian tribes and Alaska 

Native groups.” The goal is to quantify the extent that 

interventions for cleaner cooking, heating or lighting 

can impact air quality and climate, which in turn 

affect human health and welfare (U.S. EPA, 2012a).
Future Directions for Tribal Research

30 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

The Tribal Environmental Health Research Program 

released its latest RFA, “Science for Sustainable and 

Healthy Tribes,” in February 2013 (U.S. EPA, 2013a). In 

preparation for this RFA and to help identify tribal research 

priorities, the program hosted an RFA Strategy Session at 

the National EPA-Tribal Science Council-sponsored 2010 

National Tribal Science Forum in Traverse City, Michigan. 

EPA and Tribal Representatives discussed current tribal 

environmental challenges as a basis for determining the 

focus of the RFA. Many topics of interest were identified 

during the session. Climate change was acknowledged 

as an overarching issue; of specific concern was tribal 

adaptability to climate change. Water concerns included 

drinking water quality and quantity as well as the presence 

of wastewater and heavy metals in rivers. Indoor air quality 

was another tribal concern, specifically exposure to mold, 

radon and formaldehyde. Mercury contamination in fish 

is considered a global issue, with dietary change and 

adaptation being a specific concern among AI/AN people. 

Stewardship of tribal lands and tribal control of research 

performed on these lands also emerged as important 

topics. Another key issue discussed was environmental 

enforcement and protection against unlawful agricultural 

practices on reservations (Breville, 2011). 

Building on its 2006 priorities, the National EPA-Tribal 

Science Council initiated a tribally driven process to 

identify priority science issues of national significance 

in Indian country. The process commenced with the 

publication of a document that outlined the background 

of the National Tribal Science Priorities (U.S. EPA, 2011a). 

The document was sent to all federally recognized tribes 

and other tribal organizations and included criteria to 

allow them to identify their science priorities for Agency 

consideration as national priorities. An initial set of 

environmental concerns for AI/AN populations to consider 

included: 

• Climate change impacts on tribal health, well being, 

and safety as well as on local food sources (with 

emphasis on adaptation/mitigation strategies).

• Off-reservation sources adversely affecting ambient 

air quality conditions in tribal communities and 

comprehensive monitoring for environmental triggers 

of respiratory distress.

• Impacts of indoor air quality associated with building 

ventilation (i.e., to assess and mitigate for mold, 

radon and asbestos) and other sources of pollution 

(e.g., wood stoves, tobacco consumption, open dump 

burning) (U.S. EPA, 2011a). 

As a result of the process, the National EPA-Tribal Science 

Council highlighted climate change and the integration of 

traditional ecological knowledge in environmental science, 

policy and decision making as two primary research 

concerns for Agency action (U.S. EPA, 2011b, 2011c). 

At the July 2011 National Tribal Operations Committee 

meeting, the National Tribal Caucus and EPA Administrator 

Lisa Jackson endorsed these priorities as issues that align 

with their respective efforts to protect human health and 

the environment in Indian country (U.S. EPA, 2012i).

Building on the priority-setting efforts of the National EPATribal Science Council, this solicitation invites applications 

for research on climate change and indoor air quality that 

integrates traditional ecological knowledge for informed 

science, policy and decision making (U.S. EPA, 2013a). 

Since the RFA strategy session at the 2010 National Tribal 

Science Forum, several EPA members of the National 

EPA-Tribal Science Council have continued to provide 

substantive input on updated drafts of the RFA, serving as 

writing team members and reviewers (McOliver, 2013a). 

The RFA was developed with input from four EPA program 

offices (Office of Science Policy, Office of Children’s Health 

Protection, American Indian Environmental Office and the 

Indoor Environments Division within the Office of Radiation 

and Indoor Air); three regional offices (Regions 5, 7 and 

10); and three ORD laboratories and centers (National 

Risk Management Research Laboratory, National Exposure 

Research Laboratory and National Center for Environmental 

Assessment) (Breville, 2011; McOliver, 2013b). l
Conclusion

The synthesis of more than a decade of research 

conducted under EPA’s Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program has resulted in the identification 

of practical applications that apply to each of the 

themes. In terms of cultural practices, language and 

traditional ecological knowledge, it is important to 

understand and integrate the cultural aspects of 

the community into research and develop culturally 

relevant educational materials, such as a booklet 

on wild plant knowledge in the Cherokee language, 

to explain risks and how to mitigate them to more 

effectively reduce exposures of sensitive populations 

as they engage in traditional practices.

One practical application regarding subsistence foods 

and water resources is that it is necessary to utilize 

community-based research to develop wellness plans, 

such as those being developed by the Alaska Native 

Tribal Health Consortium around sustenance berry 

use, that preserve traditional diets while managing 

risk and protecting public health. Another is that 

using quantitative data on contaminant levels, such 

as those used by the St. Lawrence Island Yupik 

people to assess the contaminants in rendered oils 

and organ meat that are part of their traditional 

diet, can help communities avoid or reduce the risks 

associated with traditional diets.

Community-based participatory research and 

community outreach and education are very 

important when partnering with AI/AN communities. 

It is essential to develop strong partnerships with 

the community and enlist community representatives 

to guide the research design and implementation, 

as was done for the research project on the 

Crow Reservation that was guided by the Crow 

Environmental Health Steering Committee. This 

approach ensures that the research is informed by 

the local culture and relevant to the communities’ 

needs and, ultimately, that the results will be more 

readily accepted and used to protect community 

health and natural resources. It also is important 

to communicate research results to community 

members in a culturally sensitive manner, as was 

done, for example, during the town council meetings 

of the Northern Alaskan Iñupiat, and provide personal 

followup in the native language, such as the inhome followup in the Crow language provided to 

Crow residents, to increase the community members’ 

understanding of the results and how to use 

them to reduce their exposures to environmental 

contaminants.

In terms of risk assessment and sensitive 

populations, incorporating risk assessment 

methodologies to create exposure scenarios that 

can be applied at the national, regional and local 

levels, such as those detailed in the Traditional 

Tribal Subsistence Exposure Scenario and Risk 

Assessment Guidance Manual, ultimately help 

sensitive populations to reduce exposures and 

protect community and environmental health. Also, 

stakeholders must use the knowledge obtained 

from environmental public health indicators that are 

reflective of communities’ health views and priorities, 

such as the Tribal Environmental Public Health 

Indicators that were developed for Salish Sea tribes, 

to assess and improve the health status of these 

communities and their members.
32 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Conclusions

Finally, grants funded under EPA’s Tribal Environmental 

Health Research Program have had positive impacts 

on regulations and management plans. One practical 

application of the research is to develop and use 

quantitative data to establish environmental quality 

standards that more accurately reflect the unique 

exposures of special populations, such as the stricter water 

quality standards established by the Makah Nation based 

on STAR grant data, to ultimately reduce their risks and 

protect their health and culturally important resources. 

Research also can be used to assist communities in 

developing resource management and monitoring plans, 

such as the tribal aquatic water quality monitoring plans 

developed by several tribes to monitor cultural uses of 

tribal water, that protect environmental resources and 

community health.

As they have done for more than a decade, EPA’s Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program and the Agency 

research programs that it helps to support will continue 

to engage and collaborate with AI/AN communities 

and partners. These programs will continue to provide 

opportunities for tribal and Alaska Native citizens, scientists 

and engineers and other partners to participate in 

collaborative partnerships that further their communities’ 

capacity for identifying environmental health concerns and 

research strategies, developing sustainable and culturally 

relevant solutions, and supporting decision making, with 

the goal of protecting the health and the environment of 

AI/AN communities. 

These EPA programs play an important role in addressing 

the myriad stressors threatening the health, wellness and 

lifeways of AI/AN populations that are striving to maintain 

their long-standing, intricate relationships with the natural 

environment. The research funded under the STAR Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program has supported 

the critical research priorities of importance to tribal 

communities. NCER anticipates that future collaborations 

with the National EPA-Tribal Science Council and other 

tribal science partners will ensure that the EPA STAR 

grants program continues to fund critical, leading-edge 

research that results in improved human heath for 

tribal communities and protection of the tribal natural 

resources. l
References

Appendix A: Summary of Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program STAR Grants by RFA

Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program STAR Grants

Appendix C: Tribal Environmental Health Research Program 

Presentations

Appendix D: Overview of Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program Grantee Webinars

Appendix E: Summary Tables of EPA Tribal Research Projects 

Discussed Within the Report

Appendix F: Practical Applications of EPA Tribal Research

Appendix G: Additional Resources
34 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

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Appendix A: Summary of Prior NCER Tribal Research

36 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Appendix A: Summary of Tribal 

Environmental Health Research 

Program STAR Grants by RFA

Issues in Tribal Environmental Research and Health 

Promotion: Novel Approaches for Assessing and Managing 

Cumulative Risks and Impacts of Global Climate Change 

(2007 RFA)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the need 

to increase capacity within the tribes to assess differential subsistencebased exposures related to cumulative chemical exposures and global 

climate changes. As a result, this solicitation was designed to stimulate 

community-based participatory research to generate data that identified 

subsistence resources, sensitive populations within tribal communities, 

complex chemical exposures from multiple sources and routes, and 

links between environmental stressors and health outcomes. The Agency 

was interested in research proposals that developed culturally relevant 

strategies for exposure mitigation and/or health promotion. Four grants 

were awarded under this RFA (U.S. EPA. 2012e). The remaining research 

projects are scheduled to conclude in 2014.

R833705: An Epidemiologic Study of Time Trends and Health 

Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Mercury and 

Micronutrients

This project is being carried out in Yupik Alaska Native residents living 

in the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta of southwestern Alaska. Salmon 

are the largest component of the subsistence diet for Alaska Native 

people in the delta, with seals being second in importance in coastal 

communities. Prior work has shown that pregnant Yupik women have 

levels of persistent organic pollutants similar to other Arctic women, with 

higher toxaphene, brominated flame retardants and mercury levels than 

most other Arctic pregnant women. 

The objectives of the research project were to: (1) determine time 

trends in tissue levels of persistent organic pollutants, mercury and 

omega-3 fatty acids in a cohort of 200 pregnant Yupik women and 

infants (because climate change has increased atmospheric and ocean 

transport of persistent organic pollutants and mercury to Alaska and 

the Bering Sea, resulting in persistent organic pollutants and mercury 

uptake by salmon, marine mammals and humans) and (2) determine, 

using health record review, physical exam and statistical analysis, any 

association between maternal levels of persistent organic pollutants and 

mercury and risk for adverse health outcomes in mothers, infants and 

prior cohort children between 4 and 7 years of age (because Alaska 

Native infants have a higher risk of a serious infection in the first year 

of life and a higher risk for congenital heart disease). The proposal 

is examining the relative risk of these outcomes if they are prenatally 

exposed to persistent organic pollutants in the highest tercile of the 

cohort. Alaska Native 4- to 7-year-old children in the highest tercile of 

prenatal mercury exposure are being compared to determine whether 

they have significantly higher blood pressure than those in the lowest 

tercile. Alaska Native women with blood levels of persistent organic 

pollutants in the highest tercile are being compared with those having 

POP levels in the lowest tercile to determine they have a greater risk of 

diabetes. 

R833706: Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to 

Contaminants via Water Sources on the Crow Reservation 

in Montana

This project is a community-based participatory research project that 

involves the University of New England, Montana State University, Little 

Big Horn College and the Crow Tribe in developing risk assessment 

methodology for multimedia exposure to contaminants in water and 

wastewater. The objectives of the research were to: (1) establish a 

sampling and analysis program to assess contaminant loadings to 

water and aquatic/wetland subsistence foods, (2) evaluate lifestyle and 

cultural practices that contribute to exposure risk from water sources, 

(3) supplement the current Tribal LifeLineTM software to include water 

contamination and exposure factors specific to reservation settings, and 

(4) design and support culturally appropriate risk communication and 

risk management measures that minimize impact on subsistence and 

other traditional practices, which may be transferable to other tribes. This 

research will test the following hypotheses: 

• Contamination is not adequately monitored, and water resources on 

the reservation are more contaminated than similar rural, non-AI/AN 

communities.

• Subsistence lifestyles and cultural practices of Crow Reservation 

communities place them at increased risk of exposure to 

environmental contaminants.

• The Tribal LifeLineTM software will more accurately assess risks if it 

includes exposure to water contaminants.

• A community-based participatory research approach to understanding 

exposure pathways will contribute to developing culturally appropriate 

mitigation strategies

• Including the local tribal college in risk assessment and management

will substantially strengthen and sustain community-based 

participatory research methodology on reservations.

R833707: Impacts of Climate Change on Health Benefits of a Tribal 

Alaskan Resource: Integrating Traditional Ecological 

Knowledge With Risk Assessment Through Local 

Monitoring

Within Alaska Native communities, traditional ecological knowledge 

has long held that wild indigenous berries are a health-promoting, lifesustaining resource. Modern science recently has elucidated specific 

health-protective, adaptogenic properties of the natural components 

within berry fruits. This project integrates biological scientific data 

relevant to wild berry bioactive properties with community perceptions 

of risk under the threat of global climate change and encroachment 

on the habitat of the berry resources. The research hypothesis is that 

there are predictable links between climatic stress factors and shifts 

in climatic regimes, berry fruit composition and the preventative/

therapeutic value of berries to combat diabetes and other complications 

of metabolic syndrome. It also is expected that tribal community 

approaches to mitigating health risks through dietary berries will be 

conditioned by community-held risk perceptions, local tribal knowledge 

and uncertainties regarding global climate change impacts on these 

valued resources. 

The objectives of the research project were to: (1) provide a baseline 

assessment of the bioactivity (health risk mitigation properties) of berry 

resources as influenced by climatic stress factors relevant to global 

climate change via cross-comparison of two Alaska tribal communities 

characterized by inherently different climatic regimes and (2) assess 

local traditional knowledge and risk perceptions regarding community 

health, berries and climate change and integrate these aspects with 

biophysical findings for informed local health-related decision-making.

R833708: Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Environmental 

and Psycho-Social Stressors that Threaten the Pohlik-lah 

and Ner-er-ner Lifeway: The Yurok Tribe’s Approach

Coastal and river resources are primary and secondary food sources for 

a majority of Yurok tribal members, particularly those residing near or 

within Yurok ancestral territory. The researchers combined ethnography 

and qualitative data on subsistence resources and practices from 

previous and current tribal studies with quantitative data on chemical 

exposures and epidemiological analyses of health data to determine 

how these factors interact to affect the health of various vulnerable 

populations within the Yurok Tribe.

The specific objectives of this research project were to: (1) identify the 

chemical stressors and contaminants known to be used or to occur 

historically and contemporarily throughout the Klamath River Basin and 

watershed, (2) identify the common mechanism groups, pathways and 

contaminants known to be used or to occur throughout the Klamath 

Basin that are associated with adverse health outcomes, (3) collect 

primary data on the current conditions of Klamath River water and 

select key subsistence species by testing for selected contaminants and 

chemical stressors as identified in the first two objectives, (4) identify 

relationships between resource health and tribal member health, and 

(5) develop geographic information system tools, educational materials, 

measures and policies designed to reduce, minimize or prevent risks of 

exposures by subsistence practitioners to improve and protect Klamath 

River tribal members’ and resource health. During the course of the 

project, the researchers identified three additional research questions: 

What contaminants currently are detectable in the river and key aquatic 

subsistence resources? Is there a relationship between environmental 

health as reflected by resource health and community health? How can 

this study and the data produced from this study be used to identify and 

reduce risk and improve tribal member and resource health?
Appendix A: Summary of Prior NCER Tribal Research

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 37

Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and 

Risks From Toxic Substances in the Environment (2002 

RFA)

This RFA focused on the need to develop methods to assess 

subsistence-based exposure and increase capacity within the tribes 

to assess environmental health threats from subsistence life styles. It 

was designed to promote research that would help understand the 

risks derived from the combined or “cumulative” exposure experience 

associated with concurrent dietary, cultural and related practices. The 

solicitation invited applications in two areas: (1) exposure and effects 

assessment methods that can be broadly applied across geographic 

regions and tribal populations and (2) risk management strategies and 

options that would lead to reduction in risk from exposure. Five grants 

were awarded under this RFA (U.S. EPA, 2012e).

R831043: Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian 

Yupiks from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

The researchers previously showed that the Siberian Yupik people 

of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, have relatively high serum levels of 

polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides. This project examined 

traditional foods of the Yupik people for polychlorinated biphenyls, three 

pesticides and several metals to determine those that are the most 

significant sources of exposure and how preparation for consumption 

influences the level of contaminants.

R831044: Iakotisa’tstentsera:wis Ne Ohontsia: Reducing Risk by 

Restoring Relationships

This project aimed to develop and implement a research program to 

examine the impacts that toxic substances have had on the traditional 

cultural practices of Haudenosaunee Nations. This project provided training 

to teachers, youth and Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force staff 

who are dealing with a variety of toxic substances impacting their health, 

lands and future. Community-based participatory research methodologies 

were used to develop culturally appropriate intervention materials and 

design educational strategies based on oral tradition. The objectives of 

the research project were to: (1) empower and strengthen the capacity 

of Haudenosaunee scientists, environmental staff and educators; (2) 

build on existing partnerships to share expertise and experiences; and 

(3) provide hands-on training about the relationship between toxic 

substances and traditional cultural practices. Secondary objectives were 

to identify culturally appropriate strategies that effectively communicate 

environmental health issues to Haudenosaunee, including youth, and 

identify strategies that effectively evaluate the success of the project.

R831045: Risks to Northern Alaskan Iñupiat: Assessing Potential 

Effects of Oil Contamination on Subsistence Lifestyles, 

Health and Nutrition

Scientists have focused on the potential effects of toxic substances on 

Native American populations with subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic 

and found that risks from toxicant exposures range from direct health 

hazards to changes in lifestyle that may impair nutrition and health. 

Also, petroleum hydrocarbons may enter the Arctic environment in a 

variety of ways and can enter humans through species that form a 

major part of the Iñupiat diet. In Barrow, Alaska, 75 percent of Iñupiat 

households consume bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), and 

nearly 50 percent consume bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus). 

Marine mammals are exposed to petroleum directly or through their 

diet and may metabolically transform petroleum-related compounds. 

Based on indications from toxicological properties, polycyclic aromatic 

hydrocarbons in the human diet should be investigated. At the time of 

the grant application, limited information was available on the extent to 

which species eaten by the Iñupiat were exposed to and contaminated 

by petroleum. Contamination could cause Iñupiat households to avoid 

eating traditional foods, and handling and preparation of foods affect 

levels of ingested polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 

The focus of this project was to evaluate the potential exposure to 

the native Eskimos from petroleum exploration and drilling on their 

subsistence harvested foods. The specific objectives of the research 

were to: (1) characterize levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 

in a range of tissues from bowhead whales and bearded seals, (2) 

characterize PAH levels in meat and other food items following their 

handling and preparation for consumption, (3) document traditional 

biomarkers that hunters and field scientists could use to accept or 

reject tissues for consumption following harvest, (4) assess chemical or 

histological assays that could serve as low cost biomarkers of exposure, 

(5) use published information and the results of this study to develop 

a risk assessment model incorporating health risks associated with 

ingestion of petroleum-related compounds and cultural and nutritional 

risks related to avoidance of certain foods, and (6) develop outreach 

and public awareness programs to inform residents in northern Alaska of 

issues, potential consequences and options. 

R831046: Lifestyles and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and 

Risks From Toxic Substances in the Environment

The overall goals of the project were to prepare a set of regional 

traditional tribal subsistence exposure scenarios based on the major 

ecological zones across the lower 48 states. The specific objectives 

were to: (1) establish an advisory board of tribal and university 

community members to provide expertise in tribal cultural lifestyles, 

nutrition, ecology and activity patterns; actively guide the project; 

validate scenarios for cultural and numerical accuracy; and ensure 

that they meet tribal needs; (2) develop regional traditional tribal 

subsistence multipathway exposure scenarios based on ecocultural zone 

delineations, major exposure factors, regional food patterns and unique 

exposure pathways; and (3) develop a draft Tribal Exposure Scenario 

Guidance Manual for use by tribes to modify, refine and adapt these 

regional scenarios for their site-specific and/or individual tribal situations.

R831047: Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe From Methyl Mercury

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, evaluate and 

document a comprehensive, systematic and culturally sensitive 

intervention program to the reduce risks associated with subsistencebased consumption of methyl mercury-contaminated fish. This research 

project was built on EPA and National Academy of Sciences evaluations 

of the toxicology of methyl mercury. 

This study attempted to revise the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife 

Commission’s geographic information system-based fish advisory 

methodology to comply with EPA risk-based fish consumption guidance 

while not significantly compromising Anishinaabe culture. Secondly, 

the study aimed to develop connections to social-tribal networks and 

systematically train health care providers, tribal fish harvesters, elders 

and youth in the use of the geographic information system-based fish 

advisory. Third, the research project aimed to implement the geographic 

information system-based intervention program through established 

networks to reach mothers with young children, women of childbearing 

age, pregnant mothers, breastfeeding mothers and children under the 

age of 15. Finally, the study evaluated and documented the efficacy 

of the geographic information system-based intervention program 

by measuring the change in knowledge and behaviors of targeted 

populations as well as the educators of those populations before and 

after implementation.

Environmental Justice: Partnerships for Communication 

(2000 RFA)

The goal of this RFA was to promote research aimed at achieving 

environmental justice by identifying and addressing disproportionately 

high and adverse effects of environmental agents on human health 

in low-income and minority populations. The Agency desired to 

promote research activities such as the development of methods for 

risk communication in low-income and underserved communities 

unfavorably impacted by environmental hazards; development of 

community-based, culturally sensitive educational programs to reduce 

adverse health effects from environmental toxicants in low-income and 

underserved communities; promotion of public awareness through 

community-based training to increase environmental health literacy; and 

raising the awareness of health care providers about disorders resulting 

from exposure to environmental hazards. One grant was awarded under 

this RFA (U.S. EPA, 2012e).

R829476: Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish

The two-part central hypothesis of this research project stated that the 

Swinomish people are exposed to low-level, chronic, bioaccumulative 

toxics when participating in subsistence consumption of shellfish in traditional harvesting areas and that this exposure contributes to the high 

incidences of health-related problems on the reservation. The two primary 

objectives of the project were to: (1) determine the type and concentrations of bioaccumulative toxics present in shellfish and (2) determine 

what, if any, connections exist between shellfish toxics and the health 

of the Swinomish people. The secondary objective was to communicate 

effective and culturally appropriate information regarding identified health 

risks to the Swinomish community and nearby tribes who also participate 

in subsistence shellfish harvesting to develop and implement mitigation 

measures to reduce health risks from shellfish consumption. 

This project was intended to complement other ongoing, funded projects, 

such as the paralytic shellfish poison monitoring program, fresh and 

marine water quality monitoring programs, ambient air quality program, 

the EPA nonpoint source pollution Clean Water Act Section 319 program, 

and the Swinomish indoor air quality/medical clinic health monitoring 

program. 
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

38 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Hamner S, Broadaway SC, Berg E, Stettner S, Pyle BH, Big Man N, 

Old Elk J, Eggers MJ, Doyle J, Kindness L, Good Luck B, Ford TE, and 

Camper AK. 2013. Detection and Source Tracking of Escherichia coli, 

Harboring Intimin and Shiga Toxin Genes, Isolated From the Little Bighorn 

River, Montana. International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

doi: 10.1080/09603123.2013.835030. E-published 17 Sept. 

Harding AK, Harper B, Stone D, O’Neill C, Berger P, Harris S, and Donatuto 

J. 2012. Conducting Research With Tribal Communities: Sovereignty, 

Ethics, and Data-Sharing Issues. Environmental Health Perspectives

120(1):6–10. 

Harper BL, Harding AK, Harris S, and Berger P. 2012. Subsistence 

Exposure Scenarios for Tribal Applications. Human and Ecological Risk 

Assessment: An International Journal 18(4):810–831.

Judd NL, Drew CH, Acharya C, Marine Resources for Future Generations, 

Mitchell TA, Donatuto JL, Burns GW, Burbacher TM, and Faustman EM. 

2005. Framing Scientific Analyses for Risk Management of Environmental 

Hazards by Communities: Case Studies With Seafood Safety Issues. 

Environmental Health Perspectives 113(11):1502–1508.

Kellogg J, Higgs C, and Lila MA. 2011. Prospects for Commercialisation 

of an Alaska Native Wild Resource as a Commodity Crop. The Journal of 

Entrepreneurship 20(1):77–101.

Kellogg J, Joseph G, Andrae-Marobela K, Sosome A, Flint C, Kormarnytsky 

S, Fear G, Struwe L, Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2010. Screens-to-Nature: 

Opening Doors to Traditional Knowledge and Hands-on Science 

Education. NACTA Journal 54(3):41–48.

Kellogg J, Wang J, Flint C, Ribnicky D, Kuhn P, González De Mejia E, 

Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2010. Alaskan Wild Berry Resources and Human 

Health Under the Cloud of Climate Change. Journal of Agricultural and 

Food Chemistry 58(7):3884–3900.

Light AR. 2008. Beyond the Myth of Everglades Settlement: The Need for 

Sustainability Jurisprudence. Tulsa Law Review 44(1):253–274.

Light AR. 2006. The Waiter at the Party: A Parable of Ecosystem 

Management in the Everglades. ELR News and Analysis 36(10):10771–

10785.

Lila MA, Kellogg J, Flint C, and Raskin I. 2010. Arctic Berries: Stressed for 

Success. Pharmaceutical Biology 48 (Suppl 1):2.

Madsen ER, DeWeese AD, Kmiecik N, Foran JA, and Chiriboga ED. 

2008. Methods To Develop Consumption Advice for Methyl MercuryContaminated Walleye Harvested by Ojibwe Tribes in the 1837 and 1842 

Ceded Territories of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, USA. Integrated 

Environmental Assessment and Management 4(1):118–124.

Sepez J. 2008. Historical Ecology of Makah Subsistence Foraging 

Patterns. Journal of Ethnobiology 28(1):110–133.

Sepez J. 2002. Treaty Rights and the Right to Culture: Native American 

Subsistence Issues in U.S. Law. Cultural Dynamics 14(2):143–159.

Sepez J. 1998. Aboriginal Whaling—Biological Diversity Meets Cultural 

Diversity. Northwest Science 72(2):142–145.

Sepez J and Lazrus H (eds.). 2005. Special Theme Issue: Traditional 

Environmental Knowledge in Federal Natural Resource Management 

Agencies. Practicing Anthropology 27(1):1–48.

Solomon M. A Sacred Duty: Tribal “Treatment as State” Under the Clean 

Water Act and Restoring Native Fisheries in the Upper Columbia River 

Basin. Society & Natural Resources (in review).

Solomon M. Culture Matters: A Game Theoretic Analysis of Tribal/State 

Water Resource Conflicts in the Upper Columbia River Basin. The Social 

Science Journal (in review). 

Wei CA and Woodin T. 2011. Undergraduate Research Experiences in 

Biology: Alternatives to the Apprenticeship Model. CBE—Life Sciences 

Education 10(2):123–131. 

Welfinger-Smith G, Minholz JL, Byrne S, Waghiyi V, Gologergen J, Kava 

J, Apatiki M, Ungott E, Miller PK, Arnason JG, and Carpenter DO. 2011. 

Organochlorine and Metal Contaminants in Traditional Foods From St. 

Lawrence Island, Alaska. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 

Part A, 74(18):1195–1214.

Welfinger-Smith G. 2008. Contaminants in the Traditional Foods of 

the Yupik People of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska—Exposure Pathways, 

Collaborative Interventions, and Prevention. Epidemiology 19(6):S72–

S73.

Zota AR, Schaider LA, Ettinger AS, Wright RO, Shine JP, and Spengler JD. 

2011. Metal Sources and Exposures in the Homes of Young Children 

Living Near a Mining-Impacted Superfund Site. Journal of Exposure 

Science and Environmental Epidemiology 2011;21(5):495–505.

Zota AR, Willis R, Jim R, Norris GA, Shine JP, Duvall RM, Schaider LA, 

and Spengler JD. 2009. Impact of Mine Waste on Airborne Respirable 

Particulates in Northeastern, Oklahoma, United States. Journal of the Air 

& Waste Management Association 59(11):1347–1357.

Books, Proceedings, Technical Reports, Guidance Manuals and Other 

Publications

Arquette M and Cole M. 2004. Restoring Our Relationships for the Future. 

In: Blaser M, Feit HA, and McRae G (eds). In the Way of Development: 

Indigenous Peoples, Life Projects and Globalization. ZedBooks: London, 

pp. 332–350. 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Broadaway SC, Eggers MJ, Hamner S, Parker A, Camper AK, and Pyle 

BH. 2013. Detection of Cryptosporidium using Fluorescent in situ

Hybridization and Solid Phase Laser Cytometry (in preparation).

Christopher S, Saha R, Lachapelle P, Jennings D, Colclough Y, Cooper C, 

Cummins C, Eggers MJ, FourStar K, Harris K, Kuntz SW, LaFromboise V, 

LaVeaux D, McDonald T, Bird JR, Rink E, and Webster L. 2011. Applying 

Indigenous Community-Based Participatory Research Principles to 

Partnership Development in Health Disparities Research. Family and 

Community Health 34(3):246–255. 

Cummins C, Doyle JT, Kindness L, Lefthand MJ, Bear Don’t Walk UJ, 

Bends A, Broadaway SC, Camper AK, Fitch R, Ford TE, Hamner S, Morrison 

AR, Richards CL, Young SL, and Eggers MJ. 2010. Community-Based 

Participatory Research in Indian Country: Improving Health Through 

Water Quality Research and Awareness. Family and Community Health

33(3):166–174.

DeWeese AD, Kmiecik NE, Chiriboga ED, and Foran JA. 2009. Efficacy 

of Risk-Based, Culturally Sensitive Ogaa (Walleye) Consumption Advice 

for Anishinaabe Tribal Members in the Great Lakes Region. Risk Analysis

29(5):729–742.

Donatuto J and Harper BL. 2008. Issues in Evaluating Fish Consumption 

Rates for Native American Tribes. Risk Analysis 28:1497–1506.

Doyle JT, Redsteer MH, and Eggers MJ. 2013 Exploring Effects of Climate 

Change on Northern Plains American Indian Health. Climatic Change

120(3):643–655. 

Flint CG, Robinson ES, Kellogg J, Ferguson G, BouFajreldin L, Dolan 

M, Raskin I, and Lila MA. Promoting Wellness in Alaskan Villages: 

Integrating Traditional Knowledge and Science of Wild Berries. EcoHealth

2011;8(2):199–209.

Foran JA, DeWeese AD, Hudson MJ, and Kmiecik NE. 2010. Evaluation 

of Mercury Exposure Reduction Through a Fish Consumption Advisory 

Program for Anishinaabe Tribal Members in Northern Wisconsin, 

Michigan, and Minnesota. Journal of Environmental and Public Health. 

Article ID 802584, 7 pp. (doi:10.1155/2010/802584)

Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal 

Environmental Health Research Program 

STAR Grants
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 39

Basabe FA and Donatuto J. 2001. Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native 

American Shellfish Quality Assurance Project Plan. Swinomish Indian 

Tribal Community: La Conner, Washington.

California Tribal Epidemiology Center. 2012. Yurok Tribe Environmental 

Community Health Profile 2004–2011. California Tribal Epidemiology 

Center, California Rural Indian Health Board: Sacramento, California. 

March. 

Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Department. 2009. Wild Plants of 

the Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Nation Foundation: Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Donatuto J. 2002. Quality Assurance Project Plan for Speciated Arsenic 

Analyses in Saxidomis giganteus. Swinomish Indian Tribal Community: La 

Conner, Washington.

Eggers MJ, Lefthand MJ, Young SL, Doyle JT, and Plenty Hoops A. 2013. 

When It Comes to Water, We Are All Close Neighbors. Published on It All 

Starts With Science: An EPA Blog About Science Matters. 6 June. http://

blog.epa.gov/science/2013/06/when-it-comes-to-water-we-are-all-closeneighbors/

Etnier M and Sepez J. 2008. Changing Patterns of Sea Mammal 

Exploitation among the Makah. In: Layton R, Maschner H, and 

Papagianni D (eds.). Time and Change: Archaeology and Anthropological 

Perspectives on the Long-Term in Hunter-Gatherer Societies. Oxbow 

Press: Woodbridge, Connecticut, pp. 143–158.

Fitch JH. 2009. Pedagogic Opportunities in Designing and Developing 

Sustainable Affordable Housing and Outdoor Classrooms in Southwest 

Florida. Greening of the Campus VIII Conference Proceedings, 

Indianapolis, Indiana, 20–23 September. 

Harper BL, Harding AK, Waterhouse T, and Harris S. 2007. Traditional Tribal 

Subsistence Exposure Scenario and Risk Assessment Guidance Manual. 

Oregon State University Printing and Mailing: Corvallis, Oregon.

Johnson SW. 2003. Needs Assessment of Tribal Requirements for 

Instruction in the Use of Statistically-Based Aquatic Water Quality 

Monitoring Techniques. Final Report prepared by Water Quality 

Technology, Inc.: Fort Collins, Colorado. 12 pp. 

Johnson W and Sepez-Aradanas J. 1999. Harvest From the Sea 

(editorial). The New York Times, The Seattle Times, and The Port Angeles 

Daily News. 21 May. 

Kellogg J, Yousef GG, Grace MH, Flint C, Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2009. 

Partnering With Alaskan Communities To Examine Health Benefits 

of Traditional Wild Berries. The FASEB Journal 23(Meeting Abstract 

Supplement):LB469. 

Kellogg JJ. 2009. Bioexploration of Wild Alaskan Berries: From Field 

Screening to Functional Food. M.S. Thesis. University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign: Urbana, Illinois. 

Lila MA, Kellogg J, Flint C, and Raskin I. 2010. Arctic Berries: Stressed for 

Success. Pharmaceutical Biology 48(Suppl 1):2. 

Native Lens Video. 2006. Slow Burn (documentary film). 

Norman K, Sepez J, Lazrus H, Milne N, Package C, Russell S, Grant K, 

Petersen Lewis R, Primo J, Springer E, Styles M, Tilt B, and Vaccaro I. 

2007. Community Profiles for West Coast and North Pacific Fisheries—

Washington, Oregon, California, and other U.S. States. National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration Technical Memorandum NMFSNWFSC-85. 602 pp.

Reynolds III JE and Wetzel DL. 2007. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon 

(PAH) Residues in Matrices of Bowhead Whales (Balaena mysticetus) 

and Bearded Seals (Erignathus barbatus). Proceedings of the 17th 

Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Cape Town, 

South Africa, 29 November–3 December.

Reynolds III JE, Wetzel DL, Hanns C, Mercurio P, and O’Hara TM. 2005. 

Analyses of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments, Fish and 

Marine Mammals From the North Slope of Alaska. Proceedings of 

International Symposium on Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic, St. 

Petersburg, Russia, 13–15 September, pp. 594–598.

Rickard PM and Hargrave G. 2008. KANIEN’KEHA:KA: Living the Language. 

Video aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Fall.

Sepez-Aradanas J and Tweedie A. 1999. Makah Harpoons vs. Media 

Hype: Cultural Stereotypes, Academic Research, and Public Policy. Oregon 

Humanities Magazine Fall 1999:48–53.

Swinomish 13 Moons Coloring Book.

Swinomish 13 Moons Traditional Foods Book.

Swinomish Tribe Office of Planning and Community. 2006. 

Bioaccumulative Toxics in Subsistence-Harvested Shellfish—Contaminant 

Results and Risk Assessment. 1 December. 

Urquhart NS and Moore JC. 2004. Statistics in EPA’s STAR Program: 

Learning Materials for Surface Water Monitoring. OPPTS Tribal News 

4(3):45–46.

Wapner J. 2011. The Struggle to Save Alaska’s ‘Illness-Busting’ Wild 

Berries. The Ecologist 7 September. 

Weisiger M. 2009. Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country. University of 

Washington Press: Seattle, Washington.

Wetzel DL, Mercurio P, Reynolds III JE, and George JC. 2007. The Pursuit 

of Precise and Accurate Methods To Determine Ages of Bowhead Whales 

(Balaena mysticetus). Proceedings of the 17th Biennial Conference 

on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Capetown, South Africa, 29 

November–3 December.

Wetzel DL and Reynolds III JE. 2006. Review of Effects of PAH Exposures 

on Marine Mammals and a Suggested Approach for Assessing PAH 

Levels and Effects in Sotalia. Proceedings of the Workshop on Research 

and Conservation of the Genus Sotalia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19–23 

June.

Presentations

Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. 2004. Iakoti’satstenhserá:wis 

Ne Ohón:tsia: They Strengthen The Earth Program Valuation.

Arquette M. 2007. Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment Inc. 

Akwesasne Freedom School: A Place to Maintain and Renew 

Relationships. Presented at the State University of New York Potsdam 

Campus Festival and International Conference: Connections and 

Intersections—Our Changing Landscape, Potsdam, New York, 18–22 

April. 

Arquette M. 2006. Haudenosaunee Environmental Protection Process 

(HEPP): Applying Traditional Teachings to Protect the Natural World and 

Promote a Sustainable Society. Presented at the National Forum on 

Tribal Environmental Science, Quinault Indian Nation, Ocean Shores, 

Washington, 24–28 September. 

Arquette M. 2005. Connecting social and environmental factors to 

measure and track environmental health disparities summary report. 

Presented at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of 

Children’s Health Protection Meeting, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 

Michigan, 24–25 May. 

Berner JE. 2012. Human Health Effects of Persistent Organic 

Contaminants in the Arctic: Update of Current Findings. Presented to the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental 

Research, Washington, DC, May.

Berner JE. 2011. Maternal Organics Monitoring (MOM) Study Data. 

Presented at the Summer Institute of Circumpolar Health Research, Oulu 

University, Oulu, Finland, June.

Berner JE. 2010. Maternal Organics Monitoring (MOM) Study Data. 

Presented at the Annual General Meeting of the International Network for 

Circumpolar Health Research, Copenhagen, Denmark, 18–19 May.

Berner JE. 2009. Maternal Organics Monitoring Program and Initial 

Findings. Presented at the Annual General Meeting of the International 

Network for Circumpolar Health Research, Copenhagen, Denmark, 18–19 

May.

Berner JE. 2009. Climate Change and Contaminants in Subsistence 

Foods: A Tribal Program To Monitor the Health of Alaskan Yupik Woman 

and Children. Presented jointly at the Promoting Environmental Health 

in Native American Communities Webinar Series and the National EPATribal Science Council, 10 December.
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

40 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Berner JE. 2009. Maternal Organics Monitoring Program and Initial 

Findings. Presented to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/

National Center for Environmental Health, Atlanta, Georgia, July.

Berner JE. 2009. Maternal Organics Monitoring Program and Initial 

Findings. Presented to the Yukon Kusokwim Human Studies Committee, 

Bethel, Alaska, December.

Berner JE. 2009. Maternal Organics Monitoring Program and Initial 

Findings. Presented at the Northern Contaminants Program and Arctic 

Monitoring Assessment Program (AMAP) Symposium on Human Health 

and Arctic Environmental Contaminants, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, 10–12 

June.

Big Man N, Smith Backbone A, Cummins C, Eggers M, and Camper A. 

2009. Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to Contaminants 

Through Water Sources on the Crow Reservation. Poster presented at the 

Western Region COBRE-INBRE Scientific Conference, Big Sky, Montana, 

16–18 September.

Burger J, Gochfield M, and Harper B. 2008. Identifying High-End and 

Highly Impacted Fish Consumers: Methods for Assessing Exposure Risk 

for Populations with High Fish Consumption Rates. Presented at the 

International Society of Exposure Analysis Annual Meeting, Pasadena, 

California, 13 October.

Camper AK, Doyle J, Bear Don’t Walk U, Lefthand M, Shield M, Cummins 

C, Good Luck B, Hamner S, Broadaway S, and Eggers, M. 2010. 

Community-Based Risk Assessment on the Crow Reservation. Presented 

at the Center for Native Health Partnerships Webinar, Bozeman, Montana, 

20 December.

Cummins C, Bends A, Young S, and Eggers M. 2010. Crow Water Quality 

Project: Using community based participatory research to address 

local environmental and health concerns. Panel presentation at the 

Earth Rights: Learning the Language of Indigenous Environmentalism 

Conference, Bozeman, Montana, 1–2 April.

Cummins C, Doyle J, Kindness L, Young SL, Ford TE, and Eggers MJ. 

2010. Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to Contaminants 

via Water Sources on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Panel 

presentation at the 2010 National Tribal Science Forum, Traverse City, 

Michigan, 10 June. 

Cummins C and Eggers M. 2009. Developing Community BasedParticipatory Research With Little Big Horn College, the Crow Reservation 

Community and Montana State University. Presented at the Western 

Region COBRE-INBRE Scientific Conference, Big Sky, Montana, 16–18 

September.

Cummins C, Ford T, Doyle J, Kindness L, Bear Don’t Walk U, and 

Eggers M. 2009. Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to 

Contaminants via Water Sources on the Crow Reservation in Montana. 

Presented at the Promoting Environmental Health in Native American 

Communities Webinar Series, 18 November.

Croom DB and Lila MA. 2013. Bioexploration Beyond The Field – To the 

Laboratory, Curriculum, Clinical, and Commercial. Presented at the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Education Challenge (HEC) 

Workshop/United Tribes Technical College Summer Camp, Bismarck, 

North Dakota, July.

Croom DB and Lila MA. 2013. Goals and Outcomes for Student 

Bioexploration Experiences. Presented at the USDA HEC Finale Workshop, 

Kannapolis, North Carolina, July.

Croom DB and Lila MA. 2013. TEK + STNs + STEM: Measuring Levels of 

Engagement. Presented at the USDA HEC Finale Workshop Curriculum 

Roundtable, Kannapolis, North Carolina, July.

Croom DB and Lila MA. 2013. The Science Behind Traditional Knowledge: 

An In-Field Plants Bioassay Method Boosts STEM Engagement of 

American Indian and Alaska Native High School Students. Presented at 

the 59th Annual North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture 

Conference, Blacksburg, Virginia, 26 June.

Dietrich E, Rao V, Allen C, Doyle JT, Old Coyote TJ, Eggers MJ, and 

Camper AK. 2013. Service Learning to Address Drinking Water Quality 

through Community-Based Participatory Research on the Crow 

Reservation. Presented at the Montana INBRE Network Research and 

Training Symposium, Bozeman, Montana, 17–19, April. 

Donatuto J. 2006. The Importance of Fish Consumption Surveys 

for Native Americans. Seminar presented at the University of British 

Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Donatuto J. 2006. Swinomish Tribe’s Bioaccumulative Toxics and Native 

American Shellfish Project. Presented to the Skagit Marine Resources 

Committee, Mt. Vernon, Washington.

Donatuto J. 2006. Swinomish Tribe’s Bioaccumulative Toxics and Native 

American Shellfish Project. Presented at the People for Puget Sound’s 

Toxics Forum, Seattle, Washington.

Donatuto J. 2006. Articulating Sociocultural Health Effects From 

Contaminated Subsistence Foods. Presented at the 141st American 

Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Exposition, Boston, 

Massachusetts, 4–8 November.

Donatuto J. 2006. Fish Consumption and Policy in the Tribal Context. 

Presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied 

Anthropology, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 28 March–2 April.

Donatuto J. 2006. Results and Discussion of the Swinomish Tribe’s 

Toxics in Shellfish Project. Presented at the U.S. Environmental Port 

Agency Tribal Leaders Summit, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian 

Reservation, Pendleton, Oregon.

Donatuto J. 2006. Results and Discussion of the Swinomish Tribe’s 

Toxics in Shellfish Project. Presented at the National Forum on 

Tribal Environmental Science, Quinault Indian Nation, Ocean Shores, 

Washington, 24–28 September.

Donatuto J. 2005. Rounding the Home Stretch: Learning Experiences 

from the Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish Project. 

Presented at the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference, 

Seattle, Washington, 29–31 March.

Donatuto J. 2005. Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish. 

Presented at the Region 10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tribal 

Leaders Summit, Sitka, Alaska.

Donatuto J. 2004. Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish. 

Presented at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 Tribal 

Conference: Collaborating for Success, Bow, Washington, 19 May.

Donatuto J. 2004. Update on the Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native 

American Shellfish Project. Poster presented at the National Institute 

for Environmental Health Sciences Annual Grantees Conference, 

Albuquerque, New Mexico, 13–15 June.

Donatuto J. 2004. Swinomish Toxics Trends in Sediment Monitoring 

Project Report. Presented to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, La 

Conner, Washington.

Donatuto J. 2004. Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish. 

Presented at the National Tribal Environmental Council Meeting, 

Marysville, Washington.

Donatuto J. 2004. Developing a Human Health and Cultural Risk 

Assessment: Toxics in Shellfish on the Swinomish Reservation. Presented 

at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, 

Dallas, Texas, 31 March–4 April.

Donatuto J. 2004. Subsistence Lifeways: Native American Fish 

Consumption Rates and Risk. Presented at the Fourth Society of 

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry World Congress and 25th 

Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, 14–18 November.

Donatuto J. 2003. Project Design and Implementation: Bioaccumulative 

Toxics in Native American Shellfish. Presented at the Georgia Basin/ 

Puget Sound Research Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 

31 March–3 April.
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 41

Donatuto J. 2003. Project Design and Implementation: Bioaccumulative 

Toxics in Native American Shellfish. Presented to the Northwest Indian 

Fisheries Commission, La Conner, Washington.

Donatuto J. 2003. Project Design and Implementation: Bioaccumulative 

Toxics in Native American Shellfish. Presented at the People for Puget 

Sound Meeting, Bellingham, Washington.

Donatuto J and Basabe T. 2003. Project Design and Implementation: 

Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish. Presented at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science To Achieve Results Human 

Health Symposium, Washington, DC, 9–10 April.

Donatuto J and Campbell L. 2003. Project Design and Implementation: 

Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish. Presented at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Forum, Washington, DC, 

5–7 May.

Donatuto J and Harper B. 2008. Defining and Evaluating Risks 

from Contaminated Food in a Native American Fishing Community 

(Swinomish). Presented at the International Society of Exposure Analysis 

Annual Meeting, Pasadena, California, 15 October.

Donatuto J and O’Hara C. 2002. Project Design and Implementation: 

Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish. Presented at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 Tribal Conference, 

Lincoln City, Oregon.

Donatuto J and Smith K. 2005. Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native 

American Shellfish. Poster presented at the National Institute for 

Environmental Health Sciences Annual Grantees Conference , Talkeetna, 

Alaska, 19–22 September.

Doyle JT, Kindness L, Bear Don’t Walk UJ, Realbird J, Eggers MJ, Bends 

AL, Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee, and Camper AK. 

2012. For As Long As the Grass Shall Grow and the Rivers Shall Flow: 

Clean Water, a Sovereign Responsibility. Plenary presentation at the 

National Congress of American Indians Tribal Leader and Scholar Forum, 

Lincoln, Nebraska, 17–20 June.

Doyle JT, Kindness L, Bear Don’t Walk U, Realbird J, Eggers MJ, Crow 

Environmental Health Steering Committee, Ford TE, and Camper AK. 

2013. Addressing Disparities in Safe Drinking Water Access on the Crow 

Reservation, Montana. Presented at the Environmental Health Disparities 

and Environmental Justice Meeting, Raleigh, North Carolina, 29–31 July.

Doyle JT, Kindness L, Bear Don’t Walk U, Realbird J, Eggers MJ, Crow 

Environmental Health Steering Committee, Ford TE, and Camper 

AK. 2012. Reducing Tribal Health Disparities Through Solving Water 

Infrastructure Challenges. Presented at the National Institutes of 

Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences Fourth Biennial 

National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE), 

Washington, DC, 25–27 June.

Doyle JT, Kindness L, Bear Don’t Walk U, Realbird J, Eggers MJ, Old 

Coyote TJ, Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee, Ford TE, and 

Camper AK. 2012. Addressing Disparities in Safe Drinking Water Access 

on the Crow Reservation, Montana. Presented at the National Institutes 

of Health Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities, 

National Harbor, Maryland, 17–19 December.

Doyle JT, Kindness L, Bends AL, Eggers MJ, Old Coyote TJ, Crow 

Environmental Health Steering Committee, and Camper AK. 2012. For As 

Long As the Grass Shall Grow and the Rivers Shall Flow: Clean Water, a 

Sovereign Responsibility. Panel presentation at the National Congress of 

American Indians Tribal Leader and Scholar Forum, Lincoln, Nebraska, 

17–20 June.

Doyle JT and Young SL. 2013. Understanding and Addressing Disparities 

in Safe Drinking Water Access on the Crow Reservation. Presented at the 

Third Biennial Western Regional IDeA Scientific Conference, Honolulu, 

Hawaii, 6–8 October.

Eggers MJ and Bull Chief E. 2012. Health Risks of Lead Exposure from 

Elk and Deer Meat Consumption. Presented at the Native American 

Fish & Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Great Plains Regional Conference, 

Bozeman, Montana, 27–29 March.

Eggers MJ, Cummins C, Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee, 

Sigler A, Hamner S, Richards CL, Big Man N, Ford TE, and Camper AK. 

2010. Community-Based Risk Assessment on the Crow Reservation. 

Poster presented at the Third Biennial National IDeA Symposium of 

Biomedical Research Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, 16–18 June.

Eggers M, Cummins C, Richards C, the Crow Environmental Health 

Steering Committee, Hamner S, Broadaway S, Young SL, Ford, T, and 

Camper A. 2009. Community-Based Risk Assessment on the Crow 

Reservation. Poster presented at the Western Region COBRE-INBRE 

Scientific Conference, Big Sky, Montana, 16–18 September.

Eggers MJ, Doyle JT, Lefthand ML, Kindness L, Young SL, Good Luck 

BT, McCormick AKHG, Dietrich E, Felicia DL, Ford TE, Roberts D, and 

Camper AK. 2013. Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to 

Waterborne Contaminants, Crow Reservation, Montana. Presented at the 

Environmental Health Disparities and Environmental Justice Meeting, 

Raleigh, North Carolina, 29–31 July.

Eggers MJ, Doyle JT, Old Coyote TJ, Camper AK, Crow Environmental 

Health Steering Committee, Ford TE. 2012. Addressing Health Disparities 

and Learning Science Through Community-Based Participatory Research, 

Crow Reservation, Montana. Invited panel presentation at the National 

Institutes of Health Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health 

Disparities, National Harbor, Maryland, 17–19 December.

Eggers MJ, Moore-Nall AL, Doyle JT, Crow Environmental Health Steering 

Committee, Lageson DR, Roberts D, and Camper AK. 2013. Crow Water 

Quality Project: A Community Based Participatory Approach Finds 

Elevated Uranium in Wells on the Crow Indian Reservation, Big Horn 

County, Montana. Presented at the Fifth Annual International Conference 

on Medical Geology, Arlington, Virginia, 25–29 August.

Eggers MJ, Old Coyote TJ, Doyle JT, Kindness L, Lefthand MJ, Bear Don’t 

Walk UJ, Young SL, Bends AL, Good Luck B, Stewart R, Leider A, White 

Clay S, Dietrich E, Ford TE, and Camper AK. 2012. Using Community 

Based Risk Assessment to Address Health Risks from Waterborne 

Contaminants on the Crow Reservation. Presented at the National 

Institutes of Health Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health 

Disparities, National Harbor, Maryland, 17–19 December.

Eggers MJ, Old Coyote TJ, Dietrich E, Doyle JT, Lefthand MJ, Kindness 

L, Bear Don’t Walk UJ, Young, SL, Bends AL, Good Luck B, Stewart 

R, Hamner S, Broadaway SC, Ford TE, and Camper AK. 2012. Using 

Community-Based Risk Assessment to Reduce Tribal Health Risks from 

Water Contamination. Poster presented at the National Institutes of 

Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences Fourth Biennial 

National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE), 

Washington, DC, 25–27 June.

Eggers M, Old Coyote T, Ford T, Camper A, and Crow Environmental 

Health Steering Committee. 2011. Community-Based Risk Assessment of 

Exposure to Contaminants via Water Sources on the Crow Reservation 

in Montana. Presented to the Harvard University Group, Pine Creek, 

Montana, 6 June. 

Etnier M and Sepez J. 2003. Ecological, Political, and Cultural 

Explanations for Changing Patterns of Sea Mammal Exploitation Among 

the Makah. Presented at the Alaska Anthropological Association Annual 

Meeting, Fairbanks, Alaska, March.

Fields N, Wetzel D, Reynolds J, Miller P, Waghiyi V, Kmiecik N, Donatuto 

J, Harper B, Harris S, Waterhous T, and Harding A. 2006. Advancing 

Exposure and Intervention Research to Protect Native American Tribal 

Populations. Poster presented at the International Conference on 

Environment, Epidemiology, and Exposure, Paris, France, 2–6 September.

Fitch JH. 2009. Sustainability: An Emerging Substrate for Creativity, 

Interdisciplinarity, Integrative Learning, and Survival. Presented at the 

31st Conference of the Association for Integrated Studies, University of 

Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 8 October.

Flint CG. 2010. Perceptions of Ecosystem Services and Threats to 

Well-Being From an Alaska Native Community. Presented at the ACES 

(A Community on Ecosystem Services) Meeting, Gila River Indian 

Community, Phoenix, AZ, 6–9 December. 
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

42 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Flint C and Lila MA. 2009. Alaskan Subsistence Resources and 

Communities at Risk: Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Risk 

Perception Assessment, and Plant Science in Participatory Research. 

Presented at the Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Madison, 

Wisconsin, 30 July–2 August. 

Flint CG and Lila MA. 2010. Traditional Knowledge and Perceptions 

of Ecosystem and Community Well-Being in Three Alaska Native 

Communities. Presented at the International Symposium for Society and 

Resource Management, Corpus Christi, TX, 6–10 June. 

Foran J. 2004. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Fish Advisory 

Program and STAR Grant Plans. Presented at the Fifth Annual 

Environmental and Occupational Health Conference, Minneapolis, 

Minnesota, 11–13 July. 

Foran J. 2004. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Fish Advisory 

Program and STAR Grant Plans. Presented at the Great Lakes Research 

Consortium State-National Consumption Advisory Workshop. 

Ford TE, Eggers MJ, Cummins C, Doyle J, Kindness L, and Young SL. 

2010. Translating Community-Based Participatory Research: Lessons 

Learned. Panel presentation at the 2010 National Tribal Science Forum, 

Traverse City, Michigan, 6–10 June.

Ford TE, Eggers MJ, Old Coyote TJ, Good Luck B, Felicia DL, Doyle JT, 

Kindness L, Leider A, Moore-Nall A, Dietrich E, and Camper AK. 2012. 

Comprehensive Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to 

Water-Borne Contaminants on the Crow Reservation. Presented at the 

EPA Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Webinar, 17 October. 

Hamner S, Broadaway S, Big Man N, Old Elk J, Doyle J, Kindness L, 

Pyle B, Eggers M, Camper AK, and Ford T. 2012. Detection of Multiple 

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Serotypes in the Little Bighorn River, 

Montana, USA. Presented at the Society for General Microbiology Spring 

Conference 2012, Dublin, Ireland, 26–29 March.

Harding A and Harper B. 2011. Addressing Tribal Exposures to Polycyclic 

Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Building Tribal Capacity Through 

a Tribal-University Partnership. Presented at the National Institute of 

Environmental Health Sciences and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Superfund Research Program Risk e-Learning Series Webinar, 23 May.

Harding A, Harper B, Harris S, Stone D, Anderson K, Simonich S, Uesugi S, 

Forsberg N, Motorykin O, Cardenas A, and Waters K. 2012. Working With 

a Native American Community to Characterize (and Define) Their “Risk”: 

Risk as a Value-Based Decision Based on Important Cultural Practices. 

Presented at the 140th American Public Health Association Annual 

Meeting and Exposition, San Francisco, California, 30 October. 

Harding AK, Harper BL, and Harris S. 2008. Estimating Environmental 

Exposures for Tribes Engaged in Traditional Subsistence Lifestyles. Poster 

presented at the 136th American Public Health Association Annual 

Meeting and Exposition, San Diego, California, 25–29 October.

Harper B. 2010. Research Ethics and Informed Tribal Consent. Presented 

at the Symposium on Conducting Research in Tribal Communities, 

Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 7 April.

Harper B. 2009. Exposure Scenarios—Fish Consumption Rates Within 

the larger Tribal Exposure Context. Presented at the Tribal Rights and 

Fish Consumption Workshop: Issues and Opportunities for the Pacific 

Northwest, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 12 August.

Harper B. 2008. Bridging Western and Traditional Science in Assessing 

Exposure in Subsistence Populations. Presented at the 18th Annual 

International Society of Exposure Analysis Annual Meeting, Pasadena, 

California, 15 October.

Harper B. 2008. Constructing Traditional Tribal Subsistence Exposure 

Scenarios. Presented at the 18th Annual International Society of 

Exposure Analysis Annual Meeting, Pasadena, California, 15 October.

Harper B and Harding A. 2008. Tribal Exposure Analysis and Scenario 

Development. Presented at the EPA National Risk Assessors Training, 

Seattle, Washington, 8 October.

Harper B, Harding A, and Harris S. 2007. A Multidisciplinary Approach 

to Developing Tribal Exposure Scenarios. Presented at the International 

Society for Exposure Analysis Annual Meeting, Durham, North Carolina, 

18 October.

Harper B, Harding A, Waterhous T, Harris S, and Fleming H. 2006. 

Estimating Environmental Exposures for Tribes Practicing Traditional 

Subsistence Lifestyles: Part 1: Cross-Cultural Methods and Part 2: 

Research Results for Specific Exposure Pathways. Poster presented at the 

National Forum on Tribal Environmental Science, Quinault Indian Nation, 

Ocean Shores, Washington, 24–28 September.

Harper BL, Harding AK, Waterhous TS, Harris SG, Wilcox AR, McCulley EA, 

and Fleming HS. 2005. Regional Tribal Exposure Scenarios Based on 

Major Ecological Zones and Traditional Subsistence Lifestyles. Poster 

presented at the Oregon Public Health Association Annual Meeting and 

Conference, Corvallis, Oregon, 6 October.

Harper BL, Harding AK, Waterhous TS, Harris SG, Wilcox AR, McCulley EA, 

and Fleming HS. 2005. Regional Tribal Exposure Scenarios Based on 

Major Ecological Zones and Traditional Subsistence Lifestyles. Poster and 

presentation at the Annual Grantee Meeting Sponsored by the National 

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, 

Talkeetna, Alaska, 19–22 September.

Harper B, Harding A, Waterhous T, Wilcox A, and Harris S. 2009. EcoSocial Cultural Mapping: Tribal Lifestyles and Environmental Risks—

Regional Tribal Exposure Scenarios Based on Ecological Zones and 

Traditional Lifeways. Presented at the Promoting Environmental Health in 

Native American Communities Webinar Series, 30 June.

Harper B and Harris S. 2009. Climate, Drought, Adaptation. Invited 

presentation at the Workshop on Climate, Drought, and Early Warning on 

Western Native Lands, Jackson Lake Lodge, Grand Teton National Park, 

Wyoming, 9–11 June.

Harper B and Harris S. 2007. Risk Assessment at the USDOE 

Hanford Nuclear Site With an Ecologically Based Tribal Human 

Health Subsistence Exposure Scenario. Presented at the Society for 

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, 

Wisconsin, 15 November.

Harper B and Harris S. 2005. Tribal Perspectives on Exposure Assessment 

Presentation and Panel Discussion on Updating EPA’s Guidance on 

Exposure Assessment. Presented at the International Society for Exposure 

Assessment Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, 2 November.

Harris S, Harper B, Donatuto J, and Harding A. 2006. Impacts to Tribal 

Health and Culture of Mercury and Other Contaminants in Columbia 

Basin Fish. Presentation at the Conference on Mercury as a Global 

Pollutant: Toward Integration of Science, Policy, and Socioeconomics, 

Madison, Wisconsin, 6–11 August. 

Harris SG, Harper BL, and Harding AK. 2004. Risks From Tribal 

Subsistence Lifeways in the Columbia Basin. Presentation at the Fourth 

Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry World Congress, 

Portland, Oregon, 14–18 November. 

Kellogg J, Flint C, Ferguson G, Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2010. Phytochemical 

Composition and Bioactivity of Wild Alaskan Berries. Presented at the 

2010 Joint Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy 

and the Phytochemical Society of North America, St. Petersburg Beach, 

Florida, 10–14 July. 

Kellogg J, Flint C, Ferguson G, Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2010. Partnering 

With Alaska Native Communities to Link Science and Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge of Wild Berry Resources. Presented at the 2010 

National Tribal Science Forum, Traverse City, Michigan, 6–10 June.

Kellogg J, Yousef GG, Grace MH, Flint C, Raskin I, and Lila. 2009. 

Partnering With Alaskan Communities to Examine Health Benefits of 

Traditional Wild Berries. Presented at Experimental Biology 2009, New 

Orleans, Louisiana, 18–22 April. 

Kellogg J, Yousef GG, Grace MH, Flint C, Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2009. 

Partnering With Alaskan Communities to Examine Health Benefits of 

Traditional Wild Berries. Presented at the National Science Teachers 

Association National Conference on Science Education, New Orleans, 

Louisiana, 19–22 March. 

Kellogg J, Wang J, Ribnicky D, Kuhn P, Raskin I, and Lila MA. 2010. 

Phytochemical Composition and Bioactivity of Wild Alaskan Berries. 

Presented at the 33rd Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists, 

Louisville, Kentucky, 16–19 June. 
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 43

King J. 2007. Iakotisa’tstentsera:wis Ne Ohontsia: Reducing Risk by 

Restoring Relationships. Workshop presentation at the Haudenosaunee 

Environmental Youth Conference.

Kmiecik N. 2008. Intervention research and Probabilities of Risk in 

Walleye-Harvesting Ojibwe Communities. Presented at the International 

Society of Environmental Epidemiology and International Society of 

Exposure Analysis Joint Annual Meeting, Pasadena, California, 12–16 

October. 

Kmiecik N. 2008. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Joint Conference of the National Tribal Forum 

and National Tribal Air Association, Las Vegas, Nevada, 3–5 June. 

Kmiecik N. 2008. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Final report presented to the Voigt Intertribal Task Force, Mole 

Lake, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2008. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Final report presented to Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife 

Commission Board of Commissioners, Mole Lake, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2007. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, San 

Antonio, Texas, 9–12 December. 

Kmiecik N. 2007. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the 135th American Public Health Association 

Annual Meeting and Exposition, Washington, DC, 3–7 November. 

Kmiecik N. 2007. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Poster presented at the National Forum on Contaminants in 

Fish, Portland, Maine, 23–26 July. 

Kmiecik N. 2007. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society 

Annual Meeting, Reno, Nevada, 20–24 May. 

Kmiecik N. 2007. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, 

Great Lakes Region, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2007. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From 

Methyl Mercury. Presented at the Multi-State Workgroup Annual Meeting, 

Madison, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Boys and Girls Club Meeting of the Bad River 

Tribe, Odanah, Wisconsin, 23 October. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the National Forum on Tribal Environmental 

Science, Quinault Indian Nation, Ocean Shores, Washington, 27 

September. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. STAR Grant Project Progress to Date. Poster presented 

at the National Forum on Tribal Environmental Science, Quinault Indian 

Nation, Ocean Shores, Washington, 27 September. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Poster presented at the National Forum on Tribal Environmental 

Science, Quinault Indian Nation, Ocean Shores, Washington, 25 

September. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Mercury as a Global Pollutant. Poster presented at the 

National Forum on Tribal Environmental Science, Quinault Indian Nation, 

Ocean Shores, Washington, 25 September. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Fish Consumption Rates of Select Anishinaabe Tribal 

Members. Presented at the Eighth International Conference on Mercury 

as a Global Pollutant, Madison, Wisconsin, 8 August. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Mercury as a Global Pollutant. Presented at the Eighth 

International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Madison, 

Wisconsin, 8 August. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Boys and Girls Club Meeting of the Lac Courte 

Oreilles Tribe, Hayward, Wisconsin, 20 July. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Bad River Community Meeting, Odanah, 

Wisconsin, 5 June. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Mercury, Chippewa Flowage Mercury Concentrations, 

and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Fish Advisory Program. 

Presented at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College, Hayward, 

Wisconsin, 24 April. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From 

Methyl Mercury. Presented at the Bad River Spearer’s Meeting, Odanah, 

Wisconsin, 22 March. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Fish Consumption Rates of Select Anishinaabe Tribal 

Members. Presented at the 14th Annual Midwest Chapter Meeting of 

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 

21 March. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the 14th Annual Midwest Chapter Meeting of the 

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 

21 March. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Great Lakes Native American Elders Meeting, 

Oneida, Wisconsin, 3 February. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Foster Grandparents/Senior Companions 

Meetings, Mole Lake Foster Reservation, Mole Lake, Wisconsin, 24 

January. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Foster Grandparents/Senior Companions 

Meeting, St. Croix Reservation, Webster, Wisconsin, 24 January. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Foster Grandparents/Senior Companions 

Meeting, Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, Hayward, Wisconsin, 18 

January. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Foster Grandparents/Senior Companions 

Meeting, Red Cliff Reservation, Red Cliff, Wisconsin, 17 January. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Reducing Health Risks to the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury. Presented at the Foster Grandparents/Senior Companions 

Meeting, Bad River Reservation, Odanah, Wisconsin, 17 January. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Bad River 

Community Meeting, Odanah, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2006. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Great 

Lakes Native American Elders Meeting, Oneida, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. STAR Grant Project Progress. Presented at the 

Environmental Justice/Community-Based Participatory Research and 

Tribal Research Programs Annual Grantee Meeting, Talkeetna, Alaska, 

19–22 September.

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Fish Forum, Baltimore, Maryland, 18–21 

September. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the American 

Fisheries Society 135th Annual Meeting, Anchorage, Alaska, 10–15 

September. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Great 

Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife All Staff Meeting, Odanah, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Great 

Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Board of Commissioners Meeting, Lac du 

Flambeau, Wisconsin. 
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

44 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Bad River 

Spearer’s Meeting, Odanah, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Mole 

Lake Spearer’s Meeting, Mole Lake, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Voigt 

Intertribal Task Force Meeting, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Honor 

Our Children and Maternal Child Health Staff Meeting, Lac du Flambeau, 

Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the 

Consolidated Childhood Programs Staff Meeting, Hayward, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2005. Updated Geographic Information System Maps, 

Including Walleye Advice and the STAR Grant. Presented at the Midwest 

Environmental Advocates Forum, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. 

Kmiecik N. 2004. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Fish Advisory 

Program and STAR Grant Plans. Presented at the Wisconsin 

Environmental Health Conference, Wisconsin, October. 

Kmiecik N. 2004. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Fish Advisory 

Program and STAR Grant Plans. Presented at the Great Lakes Consortium 

State-National Fish Consumption Advisory Workshop. 

Lefthand MJ, Eggers MJ, Old Coyote TJ, Doyle JT, Kindness L, Bear Don’t 

Walk UJ, Young SL, Bends AL, Good Luck B, Stewart R, Leider A, White 

Clay S, Dietrich E, Ford TE, and Camper AK. 2012. Holistic Community 

Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to Contaminants via Water Sources. 

Presented at the 140th American Public Health Association Annual 

Meeting and Exposition, San Francisco, California, 27–31 October.

Lila MA. 2013. Stressed for Success: Why Plants from Arctic Extremes are 

Extremely Health-Protective. Presented at the Alaska Plants as Food and 

Medicine Symposium, Girdwood, Alaska, May.

Lila MA. 2013. The Science and the Traditional Knowledge Behind HalthProtective Plant Foods. Presented at the Washington State University 

Molecular Plant Sciences Seminar, Pullman, Washington, April.

Lila MA. 2013. Culturally Acceptable Strategies for Boosting Protein and 

Phytoactive Delivery in Rural Villages. Seminar presented at the University 

of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, March.

Lila MA. 2013. Stressed for Success: Berry Wild Origins’ Impact on 

Health-Relevant Properties. Seminar presented at the University of Alaska 

Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, March.

Lila MA. 2012. Stressed for Success: How the Berry’s Wild Origins Result 

in Multifaceted Health Protections. Presented at the 10th International 

Symposium on Vaccinium and Other Superfruits, in conjunction with 

ISHS-IFU, MECC Maastricht, The Netherlands, 17–22 June. 

Lila MA. 2012. Capitalizing on the Health Benefits of Berryfruits: Science 

Versus the Marketplace. Presented at BiotechFruit 2012, Nelson, South 

Island, New Zealand, 20 March. 

Lila MA. 2012. Berry Health Benefits. Presented at the Swedish University 

of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Symposium—Bioactive Components in 

Plant Foods, Uppsala, Sweden, 15–16 March. 

Lila MA. 2011. Stressed for Success: Berry Crops, Environmental Stress, 

and Human Health Benefits. Keynote presentation at the North American 

Raspberry and Blackberry Association Conference, Savannah, Georgia, 

5–7 January. 

Lila MA. 2011. Berryfruits and Human Health: The Chemistry Behind the 

Bioactivity. Presented at the American Chemical Society (North Carolina 

Section) North Carolina Research Campus Meeting, Kannapolis, North 

Carolina. 

Lila MA. 2011. Environmental Stress, Wild Berry Fruits, and Human Health 

Benefits. Presented at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of 

Neurosciences Summer Seminar Series, Fairbanks, Alaska. 

Lila MA. 2009. Alaska Tribal Berry Resources and Human Health Under 

the Cloud of Climate Change. Presented at the Promoting Environmental 

Health in Native American Communities Webinar Series, 14 October. 

Lila MA. 2009. Berry Resources and Human Health....Under the Cloud 

of Climate Change. Presented at the International Berry Health Benefits 

Symposium, Monterey, California, 22–23 June.

Lila MA and Ferguson G. 2011. The Store Outside Your Door: Research 

Supporting Berries as a Valuable Traditional Food Resource in Diabetes 

Prevention. Presented at the Annual Alaska Native Diabetes Conference, 

Anchorage, Alaska, 30 November–December 2. 

Lila MA, Kellogg J, Flint C, and Raskin I. 2010. Arctic Berries: Stressed 

for Success. Presented at the Seventh Natural Health Product Research 

Conference: The Next Wave, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 24 May. 

McCormick AKHG, Pease B, Lefthand MJ, Eggers MJ, McCleary T, Felicia 

D, and Camper AK. 2012. Water, A Resource for Health: Understanding 

Impacts of Water Contamination in a Native American Community. 

Roundtable presentation at the 140th American Public Health 

Association Annual Meeting and Exposition, San Francisco, California, 

27–31 October.

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2010. Contaminants in the Traditional Foods of the Yupik People of St. 

Lawrence Island, Alaska—Exposure Pathways, Collaborative Interventions, 

and Prevention. Presented at the Strengthening Environmental Justice 

Research and Decision Making: A Symposium on the Science of 

Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts, Washington DC, 17–19 

March. 

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks from 

St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the 15th Annual Alaska Tribal 

Conference for Environmental Management, Anchorage, Alaska, 16–20 

November.

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks 

from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the University of Alaska 

Community-Based Research Institute, Nome, Alaska, July. 

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks 

from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the Arctic Monitoring and 

Assessment Programme and Northern Contaminants Programme Human 

Health and Arctic Environmental Contaminants Conference, Iqaluit, 

Nunavut, Canada, 10–12 June.

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks 

from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the Fourth Meeting of the 

Conference of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent 

Organic Pollutants, Geneva, Switzerland, 4–8 May.

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks from 

St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the American Association for 

the Advancement of Science Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, 12–16 February. 

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks 

from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the Alaska Forum on the 

Environment, Anchorage, Alaska, 2–6 February.

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2009. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks from 

St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the Kawerak Regional Health 

Conference, Nome, Alaska, February. 

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2008. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks 

from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the 2008 Joint Annual 

Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology 

and the International Society of Exposure Analysis, Pasadena, California, 

12–16 October. 
Appendix B: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 45

Miller PK, Carpenter DO, Eckstein L, Wellfinger-Smith G, and Waghiyi V. 

2006. Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu’piks 

from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Presented at the National Tribal Forum 

on Environmental Science, Quinault Indian Nation, Ocean Shores, 

Washington, 24–28 September. 

Moore-Nall A and Eggers MJ. 2012. Elevated Uranium and Lead in 

Wells on the Crow Reservation, Big Horn County—A Potential Problem. 

Presented at the 2012 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting 

and Exposition, Charlotte, North Carolina, 4–7 November.

Moore-Nall A and Eggers MJ. 2012. Elevated Uranium and Lead in 

Wells on the Crow Reservation, Big Horn County—A Potential Problem. 

Presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Montana Section of the 

American Water Resources Association, Butte, Montana, 11–12 October.

Moore-Nall A, Eggers MJ, Camper AK, and Lageson D. 2013. 

Elevated Uranium and Lead in Wells on the Crow Reservation, Big 

Horn County—A Potential Problem. Presented at the Earth Science 

Colloquium, Bozeman, Montana, 12–13 April.

Ramirez N and Steinberg SJ. 2010. Modeling Ecotoxicological Stressors 

Using Geographic Information Systems. Presented at Humboldt State 

University, Arcata, California. 

Ranco D and Borsuk M. 2011. The Clean Air Mercury Rule and Indian 

Tribes: Consultation, Subsistence, and Cost-Benefit Analysis. Presented at 

the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1 March.

Ranco D and Borsuk M. 2010. The Clean Air Mercury Rule and Indian 

Tribes: Sovereignty, Subsistence, and Participation. Presented at Bates 

College, Lewiston, Maine, 17 November.

Reynolds III JE and O’Hara TM. 2004. Goals and Objectives of the 

Risks to Northern Alaskan Iñupiat: Assessing Potential Effects of Oil 

Contamination on Subsistence Lifestyles, Health, and Nutrition Project. 

Presented to the City of Wainwright, Alaska, July. 

Reynolds III JE and Wetzel DL. 2005. Bowhead Whales, Bearded Seals, 

and Alaska Native Health. Invited presentation to the Alaska Forum on 

the Environment, Anchorage, Alaska, 7–11 February. 

Reynolds III JE and Wetzel DL. 2005. Bowhead Whales, Bearded Seals, 

and Alaska Native Health. Invited presentation to the Barrow Arctic 

Science Consortium’s Outreach Series, Iñupiat Heritage Center, Barrow, 

Alaska, February. 

Reynolds III JE, Wetzel DL, Hanns C, Mercurio P, and O’Hara TM. 2005. 

Analyses of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments, Fish and 

Marine Mammals From the North Slope of Alaska. Presented at the 

International Symposium on Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic, St. 

Petersburg, Russia, 13–15 September. 

Richards C, Eggers M, Pyle B, Camper A, and Ford T. 2009. Detection of 

Opportunistic Pathogens in Drinking Water and Associated Biofilms in 

Rural Montana. Poster presented at the Eurobiofilms Conference, Rome, 

Italy, 2–5 September.

Sepez J. 2003. Anthropological and Historical Contexts of Makah 

Whaling. Invited lecture presented at the GreenLAW Environmental Law 

Lecture Series, University of Washington Law School, Seattle, Washington.

Sepez, J. 2002. Makah Whaling and Sealing Into the Twenty-First 

Century. Invited lecture presented at the University of Washington 

Sociocultural Anthropology Colloquium Series: Indigenous Rights, 

Indigenous Resources, Indigenous Futures, Seattle, Washington, 18 

November.

Sepez J. 2002. If Middens Could Talk: Comparing Ancient, Historic, 

and Contemporary Makah Foraging Patterns. Presented at the Ninth 

International Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies, Edinburgh, 

Scotland, 12 September.

Sepez J. 2000. The Right to Culture in International Wildlife 

Management. Presented at the Society For Applied Anthropology 

Conference, San Francisco, California, 25 March.

Sloan K. 2012. Preliminary Findings of Pacific Lamprey Tissue Testing. 

Presented at the South Coast Lamprey Summit, North Bend, Oregon, 

22–24 May.

Sloan K and Fluharty S. 2012. Cumulative Risk and Yurok Tribal Lifeway. 

Presented at the U.S. EPA STAR Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program Webinar, November 7. 

Sloan K and Fluharty S. 2011. Yurok Tribe Environmental Justice and 

Climate Change Prioritization Project. Presented at the 19th Annual 

Region 9 Tribal EPA Conference, Pala, California, 20 October.

Sloan K and Fluharty S. 2010. Understanding the Cumulative Effects of 

Environmental and Psycho-Social Stressors That Threaten the Pohlik-lah

and Ner-er-ner Lifeway: The Yurok Tribe’s Approach. Presented at the 

2010 National Tribal Science Forum, Traverse City, Michigan, 7 June. 

Uesugi S, Harding A, Harper B, Harris S, Schure M, Kile M, and Goins 

T. 2012. Environment and Health Connections: Perspectives From 

Community Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian 

Reservation. Poster presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the 

Superfund Research Program, Raleigh, North Carolina, 21–24 October.

Uesugi S, Harding A, Harris S, Harper B, Simonich S, Anderson K, Stone D, 

Jia Y, Hirsch N, Cardenas A, and Sudakin D. 2011. Walking in Two Worlds: 

Tribal-University Partnerships, Capacity Building, Technology Transfer, and 

Developing Cultural Sensitivity in Toxicology and Environmental Health 

Research. Presented at Pacific Northwest Association of Toxicologists 

Annual Regional Chapter Meeting: The Art and Science of Research 

Translation in Toxicology, North Bonneville, Washington, 7 October.

Wetzel DL and Reynolds III JE. 2007. Bowhead Whales and Bearded 

Seals of Alaska’s North Slope: Contaminant Analysis and Nutritional 

Assessment. Presented to the citizens of Barrow, Alaska, at the Iñupiat 

Heritage Museum, Barrows, Alaska, October.

Wetzel DL and Reynolds III JE. 2007. Bowhead Whales and Bearded 

Seals of Alaska’s North Slope: Contaminant Analysis and Nutritional 

Assessment. Presented to the Tribal Council leaders in the Native Village 

of Wainwright, Alaska, October.

Wetzel DL, Reynolds III JE, Hanns C, and Mercurio P. 2006. Analysis of 

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Marine Mammals From the North 

Slope of Alaska. Presented at the National Forum on Tribal Environmental 

Science, Quinault Indian Nation, Ocean Shores, Washington, 24–28 

September. 

Young SL (moderator), Lefthand MJ, Good Luck BT, Kindness L, Stewart 

R, Doyle JT, McCormick AKHG. 2013. Finding Answers in Contrary 

Lessons. Presented at the National EPA-Tribal Science Council Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge Pre-Workshop Webinar Series Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge Webinar #2, 28 May.
Appendix C: Outputs From Tribal Environmental Health Research Program STAR Grants

46 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Appendix C: Tribal Environmental Health 

Research Program Presentations

Staff members from EPA’s Tribal Environmental Health Research Program have given a number of presentations about the research conducted within the program at national and international meetings. A representative list of 

these presentations is provided below.

Breville M. 2011. NCER Tribal Programs: An Overview. Presented to the 

EPA Office of International and Tribal Affairs, Washington, DC, 3 August.

Breville M. 2011. NCER Tribal Programs: An Overview. Presentation 

provided to the National EPA-Tribal Science Council, June. 

Breville M. 2010. NCER Tribal Environmental Health Overview. Presented 

at the 20th Annual International Society of Exposure Science Conference 

(joint with International Society for Environmental Epidemiology), Seoul, 

Korea, 30 August.

Breville M. 2010. Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Grants. 

Presented at the Tribal Environmental Health RFA Strategy Session, 2010 

National Tribal Science Forum, Traverse City, Michigan, 9 June.

Breville M. 2010. NCER Tribal Environmental Health Overview. Presented 

at the 2010 National Tribal Science Forum, Traverse City, Michigan, 7 

June.

Breville M. 2009. Educational Opportunities at EPA’s National Center 

for Environmental Research. Presented at the Fifth Biennial National 

Association of Fellowships Advisors Conference, Seattle, Washington, 16 

July.

McOliver C, O’Fallon L, and Finn S. 2013. Role of Federal Funding of 

Environmental Research in Building Capacity in Indigenous Communities. 

Poster presented during the Creating Healthy Native Communities—

Infrastructure, Capacity, and Equality in Indigenous Public Health 

Endeavors Poster Session at the American Public Health Association 

141st Annual Meeting and Exposition, Boston, Massachusetts, 3 

November.

McOliver C. 2012. Tribal Science: NCER STAR Program. Presented to EPA’s 

NCER, Washington, DC, 1 November.

McOliver C. 2012. Tribal Science: NCER STAR Program. Presented 

at the EPA Office of International and Tribal Affairs American Indian 

Environmental Office Tribal ecoAmbassadors Meeting, Washington, DC, 

October.

McOliver C. 2012. Tribal Science: NCER STAR Program. Presented to the 

EPA Office of International and Tribal Affairs, Washington, DC, Washington, 

DC, 5 September.
Appendix D: Overview of Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Grantee Webinars

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 47

Appendix D: Overview of Tribal 

Environmental Health Research 

Program Grantee Webinars

In 2009, the Tribal Environmental Health Research 

Program, in coordination with the National EPATribal Science Council, sponsored a series of webinars 

highlighting Science To Achieve Results (STAR) 

research focused on tribal environmental health and 

exposure concerns. Another series was held during the 

fall of 2012. This appendix provides an overview 

of the 2009 webinars and information about the 

2012 webinars.

Promoting Environmental Health 

in Native American Communities:

A Webinar Series Addressing the Environmental 

Health and Exposure Concerns of North American 

Native Subsistence Populations 

Sponsored by the 

EPA’s STAR Research Grants Program and the National EPA-Tribal Science Council 

with additional support from EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and 

Environmental Education and the Human Health Research Program
Appendix D: Overview of Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Grantee Webinars

48 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Overview of the Research 

Many traditional North American Native Tribal Populations 

maintain intricate and ecologically interdependent 

relationships with the natural environment. Though many 

of these relationships developed over centuries, with 

knowledge and skills accumulated and passed across scores 

of generations, the rapid emergence of industrial chemical 

pollution; the availability of refined, processed foods; and 

social and political isolation have severely threatened the 

health, wellness, and way of life of individuals and entire 

Tribal communities in the United States. 

Recently, there has been increased emphasis on 

encouraging traditional diets, religious practices, and 

customs to restore and protect the health and knowledge 

base of Tribal communities, while concomitantly 

addressing issues of environmental pollution, social 

justice, and sovereignty. This seminar series featured 

Tribal communities and their research partners conducting 

dietary exposure, cumulative risk, climate change health 

effects, and risk reduction research that aimed to quantify 

and reduce environmental risks and to encourage or restore 

traditional, healthy ways of life for American Native 

communities. 

Specific objectives of the Webinar Series included: 

1. Understanding and reviewing research findings.

2. Exploring new strategies, methods, and tools for 

assessing environmental health exposure among 

Tribal populations.

3. Identifying research opportunities for advancing 

health protection and maintaining traditional 

Tribal ways of life.

The following pages provide one-page summaries of 

each webinar. To read a complete summary or to view the 

webinars, visit http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/events.htm.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) STAR 

Research Grants Program, in partnership with the National 

EPA-Tribal Science Council, conducted a webinar series 

designed to translate and disseminate recent findings of 

previous and current STAR-funded research addressing 

the environmental health and exposure concerns of North 

American Native subsistence populations. Additional 

support for the project was provided by the EPA Office of 

Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education 

and the Human Health Research Program.

The series highlighted research goals and preliminary 

findings of newly awarded projects focused on cumulative 

risk and climate change. These projects may particularly 

appeal to those interested in novel risk assessment methods 

or the potential direct and indirect impacts of global 

warming on the health outcomes to Alaska Natives. The 

results discussed in these webinars may be of particular 

interest to Agency risk assessors, Tribal environmental 

managers, and Tribal health care practitioners. 

The series consisted of four webinars conducted from 

June 30, 2009 to December 10, 2009: 

 “Eco-social Cultural Mapping: Tribal 

 Lifestyles and Environmental Risks,” 

 June 30, 2009.

 “Alaska Tribal Berry Resources and 

 Human Health Under the Cloud of 

 Climate Change,” October 14, 2009.

 “Community-Based Risk Assessment 

 of Exposure to Contaminants via Water 

 Sources on the Crow Reservation in 

 Montana,” November 18, 2009.

 “Climate Change and Contaminants 

 in Subsistence Foods: A Tribal Program

 to Monitor the Health of Alaska 

 Yupik Women and Children,” 

 December 10, 2009.

Executive Summary

Eco-social Cultural Mapping: Tribal Lifestyles and Environmental Risks –– 

Regional Tribal Exposure Scenarios Based on Ecological Zones and Traditional Lifeways

Barbara Harper,1, 2 Anna Harding,1

 Therese Waterhous,1 Anthony Wilcox,1 and Stuart Harris2

June 30, 2009 

To reconstruct traditional lifeways and natural resources, 

researchers conducted culturally competent interviews and 

reviewed anthropological literature that included traditional 

ecological knowledge, physiology, culture, ecology, ethnobotany, language and oral tradition, and exposure science. 

Major food groups were used to categorize caloric intake, 

and consumption and exposure rates were estimated based 

on cultural activities. This holistic overview approach to data 

collection was used, versus simple food consumption surveys 

to attain precise and accurate study results, and these multiple 

lines of evidence were peer-reviewed for a more robust and 

confident conclusion.

This research was conducted solely for the benefit of the 

Tribe, so it was critical to ensure their willing participation. 

An advisory board consisting of Tribal and technical members 

ensured that the communities were involved, informed 

(informed consent) and in control of the data (intellectual 

property). True informed consent was obtained after members 

were apprised of how the data would be used and potential 

misuse of the data was explained fully.

1 Oregon State University

2 Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

To read a complete summary or to 

view and/or listen to the webinar, visit 

http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/events.htm.

This project systematically described 

how Tribal people interact with 

the environment and how they 

might be exposed to environmental 

contaminants. The initial driver was 

the lack of exposure scenarios and 

exposure factors for use in Superfund 

risk assessments where Tribes and 

Tribal resources are affected. 

Tribal communities engage in active, outdoor lifestyles in 

all climates, with greater environmental contact rates in 

comparison to members of the suburban community. Diets 

of each Tribe are based on the natural resources present and 

the unique cultural uses. Consequently, most Tribal exposure 

factors are higher than EPA default rates. 

Exposures occur through food and medicine intake as well 

as through cultural, ceremonial, and occupational practices 

of Tribal members. Data were taken in consideration of the 

whole-life scenario—that is, data from full-time residents, not 

those with recreational status—and analyses were conducted 

assuming nutritionally complete diets for accurate statistical 

plotting.

Researchers operated under the basic concepts of ecology, 

cultural quality of life, a broader definition of health, 

contemporary suppression of resource use, and reconstruction 

of traditional lifeways. Researchers considered the 

biodiversity, landscapes, critical habitat, and human use of 

the local environment to determine food chain concentrations 

and socio-cultural exposures for evaluating eco-risk to the 

population.

The researchers recognized that contemporary suppression 

of resource use would have to be considered when collecting 

data. Local fish advisories, contaminated sites, and rights 

of access issues could restrict use and consumption and 

associated exposures, so real-time subsistence lifestyles and 

diets were measured for risk assessment. The outcomes would 

help target restoration efforts of the natural resources. 

Webinar Series

Promoting Environmental Health in 

Native American Communities

Sponsored by the EPA’s STAR Research Grants Program and the National EPA-Tribal Science Council with additional support 

from EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education and the Human Health Research Program

2
Appendix D: Overview of Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Grantee Webinars

A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 49

Alaska Tribal Berry Resources and Human Health Under the Cloud of Climate Change

Mary Ann Lila, Ph.D.,1 Courtney G. Flint, Ph.D., 2 Gary Ferguson, N.D.3

October 14, 2009 

Field screening of the berries was conducted under the 

Screens-to-Nature (STN) program to measure health benefits 

and help students and elders learn first-hand how the 

chemistry of wild berries makes them healthy for humans. 

The STN technology tested for amylases and amylase 

inhibitors; proteases and protease inhibitors; and antioxidants. 

Scientific analyses of the berries indicated that the amylaseinhibiting activity of berries slows down the process of 

turning starch into sugar (i.e., it has an important impact 

on diabetes); berries contain varying levels of antioxidants; 

and protease inhibitors in berries may help fight HIV/AIDS, 

parasitic diseases, and metabolic disorders.

Alaska Natives were engaged to assess their overall opinions 

and perspectives on their communities, including the risks 

and challenges they face from climate change, environmental 

contamination, threats to subsistence resources, as well as 

their concerns about their health and the vitality of their local

economies. Each community has concerns about diabetes, 

cancer, and unhealthy diets.

In all three communities, Tribal health issues were linked to 

the loss of a traditional way of life and a decreased emphasis 

on subsistence resources and foods. Many factors prevent 

the subsistence lifestyle. The influence of Western culture on 

Alaska Native youth and the high cost of fuel are also altering 

the cultural landscape. 

1 North Carolina State University

2 University of Illinois

3 Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

To read a complete summary or to 

view and/or listen to the webinar, visit 

http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/events.htm.

This project investigated the potential 

health and medical benefits of 

wild berries to Alaska Natives in 

three coastal communities. Wild 

Alaska Berries (salmonberries, bog 

blueberries, blue huckleberries, and 

blackberries/crowberries/mossberries) 

are a rich part of many Alaska Native 

people’s Tribal resources, and they 

produce beneficial biological compounds in response to the 

stresses they undergo during growth in the harsh climate. The 

research team worked with students and community members 

to look at the role berries play in the lives, lifestyle, and 

culture of Native Americans in each community. 

The participating communities—Seldova, Akutan, and Point 

Hope—are located along three distinctive coastal areas of 

Alaska. Each one has a complement of berries keyed to the 

health and economic benefits of the community. Berries are 

important for food, physical activity, sharing with family 

and friends, and keeping traditions alive. They are eaten in a 

variety of ways and stored for winter. Berries generally are 

considered healthy, but specific benefits are not very well 

known in the communities. Berries produced under stress 

offer enhanced health benefits to humans.

The project was conducted within a Community Based 

Participatory Research (CBPR) framework. CBPR involves 

collaboration that equitably includes community members, 

organizational representatives, and researchers in the project. 

The research team combined biological and social sciences, 

community participation, and integrated inquiry. 

Webinar Series

Promoting Environmental Health in 

Native American Communities

Sponsored by the EPA’s STAR Research Grants Program and the National EPA-Tribal Science Council with additional support 

from EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education and the Human Health Research Program

3

Community Based Risk Assessment of Exposure to Contaminants 

via Water Sources on the Crow Reservation in Montana 

Crescentia Cummins,1,2 Timothy Ford, Ph.D.,3

 John Doyle,2,4,5

Larry Kindness,1,2,4 Urban Bear Don’t Walk,2,4,6 Mari Eggers1,7

November 18, 2009 

This research project developed a risk 

assessment program focusing on the 

contamination of water sources on 

the Crow Reservation in Montana. 

Water, wastewater, and aquatic 

subsistence foods were collected and 

analyzed, and contamination from 

toxic substances in drinking water 

and surface water sources were evaluated. These data are 

being combined with an investigation into contemporary and 

traditional uses of water in the Crow community. 

LifeLine Tribal risk assessment modeling software will 

be used to assess the overall risks to the community from 

contaminated water sources. Potential outcomes from this 

research include a better understanding of the environmental 

risks of water sources associated with a subsistence-based 

lifestyle of Tribal populations. Also, through communitybased participation, this research may help improve Tribal 

capacity to manage and protect environment and health 

through health education and other risk communication 

measures.

The Crow Indian Reservation, located in south-central 

Montana, encompasses 2.8 million acres and has a 

population of about 8,000 people. Although much of the 

Reservation is rangeland, it does include a significant 

amount of agricultural land. 

Water has always been a treasured resource in the Crow 

community, and traditions and history surrounding water 

are still honored and practiced today. Rivers and springs 

continue to be used in many ceremonial practices and 

recreational purposes, including in the Native American 

Church, the Sun Dance, and Sweat Lodge ceremonies. 

However, water quality on the Reservation has deteriorated 

over the past 50 years, and, today, degradation of water 

quality is the community’s top environmental health 

concern.

Webinar Series

Promoting Environmental Health in 

Native American Communities

This research project employed a Community-Based 

Participatory Research (CBPR) model, which is defined 

as “[a] collaborative approach to research that equitably 

involves, for example, community members, organizational 

representatives, and researchers in all aspects of the research 

process.” 

The data from this project has helped the Apsaalooke Water 

and Wastewater Authority move into the next phase of its 

work, replacing wastewater lagoons and repairing water lines. 

The Authority is in the process of raising funds for Phase 3, 

which will include funds for drilling new drinking water wells 

and expansion of Little Big Horn College’s health education 

facility. 

1 Little Big Horn College

2 Crow Tribal member 

3 University of New England 

4 Apsaalooke Water and Wastewater Authority; Crow Environmental Health 

Steering Committee 

5 Big Horn County Commissioner; Big Horn County Health Board

6 Legal counsel for the Crow Indian Nation

7 Montana State University

To read a complete summary or to view and/or listen to the 

webinar, visit http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/events.htm.

Sponsored by the EPA’s STAR Research Grants Program and the National EPA-Tribal Science Council with additional support 

from EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education and the Human Health Research Program

4
Appendix D: Overview of Tribal Environmental Health Research Program Grantee Webinars

50 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Climate Change and Contaminants in Subsistence Foods: A Tribal Program to 

Monitor the Health of Alaska Yupik Women and Children

James E. Berner, M.D.1

December 10, 2009

This research attempted to discover the human toxicological 

effects of climate change and contaminants in the Arctic on 

subsistence food safety, including negative effects on Native 

people in terms of growth, neurologic development; endocrine 

disruption; immunologic effects; and adult chronic disease, 

which might turn out to be the most common effect of all.

In a comparison of women in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to 

other populations along the Arctic coast, the blood levels of 

persistent organic compounds in circumpolar pregnant women 

were less than or about average for the group. However, the 

Yupik population had substantially higher omega-3 fatty acid 

levels than any other pregnant Inupiat women on Alaska’s 

Arctic Ocean coast, and future studies will consider the risk 

and balance of these levels of fatty 

acids in the diet of pregnant women.

1 Division of Community Health Services, Alaska 

Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK

To read a complete summary or to view 

the webinar, visit http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/events.htm.

Dr. James E. Berner directs the 

Alaska Native Traditional Food Safety 

Monitoring Program, which assesses 

contaminant and micronutrient levels 

in pregnant Alaska Native women and 

evaluates health effects in mothers 

and newborn infants. In this webinar, 

Dr. Berner describes the climate 

changes taking place in Alaska and 

the contaminants these changes are bringing to Alaska. He 

discusses the impacts climate change and contaminants are 

having on the health of pregnant Alaska Yupik women and on 

subsistence food safety. 

Health impact mechanisms on the Native Alaska people 

because of climate change and contaminants in the Arctic 

include:

• The effect of contaminant transport on subsistence foods.

• The spread of zoonotic disease (diseases animals can give 

to people).

• Damage to permafrost-dependent infrastructure.

• Unintentional injury. 

• Extreme weather events.

Subsistence food safety is essential to the Alaska Native 

population in the following ways:

• Rural Alaska Natives are the most subsistence dependent 

population in the United States.

• Accumulation of organic contaminants in the food web 

biomagnifies and bioaccumulates, and the developing fetus 

and pregnant women are most sensitive to the toxicologic 

effects of contaminants and heavy metals.

• Traditional food has public health and culture benefits.

• Transport of contaminants by ocean, river, and atmospheric 

mechanisms may be increased by a warming climate.

Food safety issues surrounding contaminants include 

persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals that are 

present and threaten food safety, including mercury, lead, 

arsenic, and cadmium.

Webinar Series

Promoting Environmental Health in 

Native American Communities

Sponsored by the EPA’s STAR Research Grants Program and the National EPA-Tribal Science Council with additional support 

from EPA Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education and the Human Health Research Program

5
A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 51

Appendix E: Summary Tables of EPA Tribal Research 

Projects Discussed Within the Report

 STAR Grants Discussed in this Report and Funded Under the EPA Tribal Environmental Health Research Program (TEHRP)

Project Title (Grant Number) RFA Needs Addressed by Grant 

Principal 

Investigator(s)/

Fellow(s)

Institution(s) Project Period

Issues in Tribal Environmental Research and Health Promotion: Novel Approaches for Assessing and Managing Cumulative Risks and Impacts of Global Climate Change (2007 RFA)

An Epidemiologic Study of Time Trends and Health 

Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Mercury 

and Micronutrients (R833705)

•	Addressed tribal cumulative exposures to multiple environmental stressor in rural Yupik 

Alaska Native people.

•	Evaluated the affect of global climate change on contaminants in the Bering Sea to address impacts on the cultural and physical health on Yupik Alaska Native people.

James Berner Alaska Native Tribal 

Health Consortium 

June 1, 2009 through May 31, 

2013 (Extended to May 21, 

2014)

Community-Based Risk Assessment of Exposure 

to Contaminants via Water Sources on the Crow 

Reservation in Montana (R833706) 

•	Provided a comprehensive assessment of tribal cumulative exposures of the Crow residents from their water sources.

•	Developed culturally appropriate risk communication specific to the Crow Nation to reduce 

subsistence-based risk.

Timothy Ford Montana State 

University and

University of New 

England

June 1, 2009, through May 31, 

2012 (Extended to May 31, 

2013)

Impacts of Climate Change on Health Benefits of 

a Tribal Alaskan Resource: Integrating Traditional 

Ecological Knowledge with Risk Assessment 

Through Local Monitoring (R833707) 

•	Provided a baseline assessment of sustenance berry bioactivity as influenced by global 

climate change and its impact on the cultural and physical health of three Alaska communities.

•	Integrated this information with biophysical findings for informed local health-related 

decision-making to reduce subsistence-based risk.

Mary Ann Lila University of Illinois at 

Urbana-Champaign

January 1, 2008, through 

December 31, 2011

Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Environmental and Psycho-Social Stressors that Threaten 

the Pohlik-lah and Ner-er-ner Lifeway: The Yurok 

Tribe’s Approach (R833708) 

•	Collected and evaluated health data on the Yurok Tribe with a focus on health problems 

associated with tribal cumulative exposures to target contaminants.

•	Determined with the tribe how the findings could reduce subsistence-based risk and 

preserve Yurok subsistence resources.

Kathleen Sloan Yurok Tribe Environmental ProgramJuly 1, 2008, through December 31, 2012

Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks From Toxic Substances in the Environment (2002 RFA)

Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of 

Siberian Yupiks from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska 

(R831043) 

•	Examined Yupik traditional foods and subsistence activities to determine food safety and 

ascertain the cumulative exposure profile of the tribe.

•	Discussed the project implications with the Yupik in a culturally sensitive manner in an 

effort to reduce subsistence-based risk without compromising lifestyles to a significant 

extent because traditional foods are vital to Yupik well-being and culture.

Pamela K. Miller Alaska Community 

Action on Toxics

December 1, 2003, through 

November 30, 2006

Iakotisa’tstentsera:wis Ne Ohontsia: Reducing Risk 

by Restoring Relationships (R831044)

•	Developed educational and intervention materials for the Mohawk community that 

promote traditional cultural and subsistence practices to reduce subsistence-based risk 

without compromising lifestyles to a significant extent while restoring healthy relationships with the natural world.

•	Identified culturally sensitive strategies to decrease the health risk associated with exposure to persistent toxic substances and reduce subsistence-based risk.

Mary Arquette Akwesasne Task Force 

on the Environment/ 

Haudenosaunee 

Environmental Task 

Force 

April 1, 2004, through March 

31, 2007

Risks to Northern Alaskan Iñupiat: Assessing Potential Effects of Oil Contamination on Subsistence 

Lifestyles, Health and Nutrition (R831045) 

•	Analyzed Iñupiat subsistence marine mammals to quantify subsistence-based exposures 

that occur primarily through food, cultural/ceremonial and occupational practices.

•	Presented study information and outcomes to the Iñupiat in a culturally sensitive manner 

in an effort to reduce risk in subsistence groups without compromising lifestyles to a 

significant extent.

Dana L. Wetzel Mote Marine Laboratory August 1, 2003, through July 

1, 2006

Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks From Toxic Substances in the 

Environment (R831046)

•	Prepared a set of regional traditional tribal subsistence exposure scenarios to reduce risk 

in subsistence groups without compromising lifestyles to a significant extent.

•	Developed a culturally sensitive publication, the Tribal Exposure Scenario Guidance 

Manual.

Barbara Harper Oregon State 

University

August 1, 2003 through July 

31, 2006
Appendix E: Summary Tables of EPA Tribal Research Projects Discussed Within the Report

52 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Project Title (Grant Number) Funding 

Program Request for Application

Principal 

Investigator(s)/

Fellow(s)

Institution(s) Project Period

Tribal Environmental Public Health 

Indicators (R834791)

NCER STAR 

Grant

Exploring Linkages Between Health Outcomes and Environmental 

Hazards, Exposures, and Interventions for Public Health Tracking 

and Risk Management (2009 NCER RFA)

Jamie Donatuto Swinomish Tribal Community July 1, 2011, through 

June 30, 2013

Midwest Hazardous Substance Research 

Center (R828770)

STAR-Funded 

Center

Hazardous Substance Research Centers—HSRC (2001 NCER RFA) M. Katherine 

Banks

Kansas State University (in partnership 

with Haskell Indian Nations University)

October 1, 2001, through 

September 30, 2006

Space-Time Aquatic Resources Modeling 

and Analysis Program (R829095)

STAR-Funded 

Center

Research Program on Statistical Survey Design and Analysis for 

Aquatic Resources (2001 NCER RFA)

N. Scott Urquhart Colorado State University October 1, 2001, through 

September 30, 2006

Rocky Mountain Training and Technical 

Assistance to Brownfields Communities 

Program (TR831579)

STAR Training 

Grant

HSRC—TTAB Brownfields (2003 NCER RFA) Charles D. 

Shackelford and 

Karl Burgher

Colorado State University and Montana 

Tech of the University of Montana (in 

partnership with Aaniih Nakoda College 

[formerly Fort Belknap College])

April 1, 2004, through 

March 30, 2007 

(Extended to March 30, 

2008)

Linking Traditional Knowledge and 

Environmental Policy in the Cherokee 

Nation of Oklahoma (F5C30541)

STAR Graduate 

Fellowship

STAR Graduate Fellowships (2005) Clinton R. Carroll University of California, Berkeley September 1, 2005, 

through August 31, 2007

Dine Bikeyah: Environment, Cultural 

Identity and Gender in Navajo Country 

(U915164)

STAR Graduate 

Fellowship

STAR Graduate Fellowships (1997) Marsha L. Weisiger University of Wisconsin–Madison September 1, 1997, 

through December 31, 

2000

Makah Traditional Environmental 

Knowledge and Gray Whale Conservation 

(U914970)

STAR Graduate 

Fellowship

STAR Graduate Fellowships (1996) Jennifer Sepez University of Washington January 1, 1996, through 

August 16, 1999

Use of Bone Char for the Removal of 

Arsenic and Uranium from Groundwater 

at the Pine Ridge Reservation (SU834713 

and SU835069)

P3 Phase I (SU834713): P3 Awards: A National Student Design 

Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and 

the Planet (2010)

Phase II: (SU835069): P3 Awards: A National Student Design 

Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and 

the Planet - Phase 2 (2011)

Charles J. Werth 

(Faculty Advisor), 

Jacob Becraft et 

al. (Student Team)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

(in partnership with Oglala Lakota 

College)

Phase I (SU834713): 

August 15, 2010, through 

August 14, 2011

Phase II: (SU835069): 

August 15, 2011, through 

August 14, 2013

Project Title (Grant Number) RFA Needs Addressed by Grant 

Principal 

Investigator(s)/

Fellow(s)

Institution(s) Project Period

Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe From Methyl 

Mercury (R831047) 

•	Analyzed Anishinaabe walleye consumption data and collected walleye mercury data to 

quantify subsistence-based exposures and predict the cumulative exposure profile of 

the Anishinaabe.

•	Developed a culturally sensitive intervention program, including fish advisory maps, to reduce subsistence-based risks from consumption of methylmercury-contaminated walleye 

without compromising lifestyles to a significant extent.

Jeffrey Foran Great Lakes Indian 

Fish and Wildlife 

Commission

July 1, 2003, through June 30, 

2006 (Extended to October 31, 

2007)

Environmental Justice: Partnerships for Communication (2000 RFA)

Bioaccumulative Toxics in Native American Shellfish (R829476) •	Established effective input from an underserved community affected by an environmental toxicant, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, by administering a community survey 

and conducting individual interviews of tribal citizens.

•	Developed community-based, culturally sensitive educational materials, including a 

Swinomish traditional food book, coloring book, documentary and posters, to mitigate 

adverse health effects from environmental toxicants in the Swinomish community.

Jamie Donatuto Swinomish Tribal 

Community

March 15, 2002, through 

March 14, 2006 (Extended to 

August 28, 2006)

Summary of Grants Discussed in This Report and Funded Under the EPA Tribal Environmental Health Research Program (TEHRP) continued

Summary of Non-TEHRP EPA-Funded Tribal Projects Discussed in This Report
A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 53

Appendix F: Practical Applications of 

EPA Tribal Research 

It is important that AI/AN communities, the larger public, researchers, 

health departments, practitioners, state and local regulators, and other 

stakeholders understand how tribal research conducted within the STAR 

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program and other EPA initiatives 

can provide them with practical applications and tools, methods and 

approaches that may be replicated in their own communities as they 

confront real-world environmental health issues.

Theme: Cultural Practices, Language and Traditional Ecological 

Knowledge

• Understand and integrate the cultural aspects of the community into 

research and develop culturally relevant educational materials, such 

as a booklet on wild plant knowledge in the Cherokee language, to 

explain risks and how to mitigate them to more effectively reduce 

exposures of sensitive populations as they engage in traditional 

practices.

Theme: Subsistence Foods and Water Resources

• Utilize community-based research to develop wellness plans, such as 

those being developed by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium 

around sustenance berry use, that preserve traditional diets while 

managing risk and protecting public health. 

• Use quantitative data on contaminant levels, such as those used by 

the St. Lawrence Island Yupik people to assess the contaminants in 

rendered oils and organ meat that are part of their traditional diet, to 

help communities avoid or reduce the risks associated with traditional 

diets.

Theme: Community-Based Participatory Research and Community 

Outreach and Education

• Develop strong partnerships with the community and enlist community 

representatives to guide the research design and implementation, as 

was done for the research project on the Crow Reservation that was 

guided by the Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee. This 

approach ensures that the research is informed by the local culture 

and relevant to the communities’ needs, and ultimately, the results will 

be more readily accepted and used to protect community health and 

natural resources. 

• Communicate research results to community members in a culturally 

sensitive manner, as was done, for example, during the town council 

meetings of the Northern Alaskan Iñupiat, and provide personal 

followup in the native language, such as the in-home followup in the 

Crow language provided to Crow residents, to increase the community 

members’ understanding of the results and how to use them to 

reduce their exposures to environmental contaminants.

Theme: Risk Assessment and Sensitive Populations

• Incorporate risk assessment methodologies to create exposure 

scenarios that can be applied at the national, regional and local 

levels, such as those detailed in the Traditional Tribal Subsistence 

Exposure Scenario and Risk Assessment Guidance Manual, ultimately 

helping sensitive populations to reduce exposures and protect 

community and environmental health.

• Use the knowledge obtained from environmental public health 

indicators that are reflective of communities’ health views and 

priorities, such as the Tribal Environmental Public Health Indicators 

that were developed for Salish Sea tribes, to assess and improve the 

health status of these communities and their members.

Theme: Impacts on Regulations and Management Plans

• Develop and use quantitative data to establish environmental quality 

standards that more accurately reflect the unique exposures of special 

populations, such as the stricter water quality standards established 

by the Makah Nation based on STAR grant data, to ultimately reduce 

their risks and protect their health and culturally important resources.

• Assist communities in developing resource management and 

monitoring plans, such as the tribal aquatic water quality monitoring 

plans developed by several tribes to monitor cultural uses of tribal 

water, that protect environmental resources and community health.
54 A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research: Results and Impacts from EPA’s Extramural Grants and Fellowship Programs 

Grantee Websites

EPA is not affiliated with the content of these websites.

Regional Tribal Exposure Scenarios Based on Major Ecological Zones 

and Traditional Subsistence Lifestyles Grant: http://health.oregonstate.

edu/research/featured-projects/tribal-grant

Space-Time Aquatic Resources Modeling and Analysis Program: 

http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~nsu/starmap/program.html

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Bioaccumulate Toxics in Native 

American Shellfish: http://www.swinomish-nsn.gov/Resources/

Environment/Shellfish/Bioaccumulate-Toxics-In-Native-American-Shellfish.

aspx

Technical Outreach Services for Native American Communities: 

http://www.engg.ksu.edu/chsr/outreach/tosnac/

Yurok Tribal Environmental Program: http://www.yuroktribe.org/

departments/ytep/ytep.htm

Federal Tribal Websites

EPA is not affiliated with the content of these websites.

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry: http://www.atsdr.cdc.

gov/tribal/

Indian Health Service: http://www.ihs.gov

U.S. Department of Agriculture: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/

usdahome?navid=OTR

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation: http://www.usbr.

gov/native/

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/nativeamerican/

U.S. Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/index.shtml

U.S. Geological Survey: http://www.usgs.gov/indian/

Grants Training: EPA-Supported Programs and Contacts

http://www.petetribal.org/

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/training/recip_train.htm

http://www.epa.gov/tp/contactinfo/regcontacts.htm

Region 9 Current Contact: Laura Ebbert (ebbert.laura@epa.gov)

Region 10 Current Contact: Sally Thomas (thomas.sally@epa.gov)

gov/tribal/

Grants Training: Non-EPA Programs

EPA is not affiliated with the content of this website.

The Administration for Native Americans has been hosting grant writing 

training across the country, including Alaska and Hawaii, on an annual 

basis for more than 15 years. There is no fee for tribes to attend; 

however, they must cover transportation-related expenses. The schedule 

can be found at: 

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ana/assistance/applicant-trainingtechnical-assistance

Appendix G: Additional Resources

NCER Program Websites

NCER Home Page: http://www.epa.gov/ncer

Events and Webinars: http://epa.gov/ncer/events

Fellowships Programs: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/fellow

People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for 

Sustainability: http://www.epa.gov/P3

Requests for Applications/Funding Announcements: http://www.epa.gov/

ncer/rfa

Small Business Innovation Research: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir

Tribal Environmental Health Research Program: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/

tribalresearch

EPA Tribal Websites

American Indian Environmental Office: http://www.epa.gov/aieo/index.htm

American Indian Environmental Office Tribal Portal: http://www.epa.gov/

indian/

Indoor Air Quality Tribal Partners Program: http://www.epa.gov/iaqtribal/

index.html

Region 1 Tribal Program in New England Portal: http://www.epa.gov/

region1/govt/tribes/index.html

Region 2 Indian Nations: http://www.epa.gov/region02/nations/index.html

Region 4 Indian Program: http://www.epa.gov/region4/indian/index.htm

Region 5 Indian Environmental Office: http://epa.gov/region5/tribes/

Region 6 Tribal Affairs: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6dra/oejta/

tribalaffairs/index.html

Region 7 Tribal Program: http://www.epa.gov/region07/tribal/index.htm

Region 8 Tribal Assistance Program: http://www.epa.gov/region8/tribes/

Region 9 Tribal Program: http://www.epa.gov/region09/tribal/

Region 10 Tribal Programs: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/tribal.NSF

Science in Indian Country: http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/who.htm

These website links were current at the time of publication, but they are 

subject to change.

Publication No. 601R14005

January 2014