Workshop: The Role of Geoscience In Environmental Health Through Food Sovereignty

University Of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth MN

Investigators

Abstract

Part 1 The purpose of this workshop is to bring together Native American/Alaska Native (NA/AN) tribal communities, leaders, elders, and cultural practitioners, faculty, students, geoscience and health professionals who engage in various aspects of geoscience, food sovereignty, and human health to emphasize both the importance geoscience plays in environmental sustainability and monitoring and the interconnectedness of geoscience in food sovereignty and thus human health. The workshop will contribute to empirical knowledge through the creation of a cross cultural geoscience learning community dedicated to respectfully and ethically coupling Traditional Knowledge and geoscience practices thereby expanding both knowledge systems. This workshop will add to the knowledge of collaboratively building upon best practices for engaging in geoscience research with tribal nations. Part 2 The workshop, which will weave together geoscience research with sustaining traditional nutritional methodologies will address the following questions 1) how does geoscience research impact Indigenous food sovereignty (implications from changing weather patterns)?, 2) what geoscience research is being conducted with tribal nations to monitor environmental health and sustainability? 3) why is geoscience research important for tribal nations? 4) what knowledge needs to be generated or shared regarding the coupling of tribal knowledge (TK) with geoscience? and 5) why is food sovereignty important? Throughout the workshop participants will be prompted to consider these questions to expand interdisciplinary partnerships, promote ethical and culturally aligned geoscience research, and highlight the importance of geoscience in environmental health and the role of geoscience research around issues of food sovereignty. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.