Research and projects centered in respect, reciprocity, and community

We develop and test innovative models for scientific research and education, informed by Indigenous ways of knowing and community values. Our goal is to understand how Indigenous protocols and practices, which have guided human relationships with the land, water, air, plant and animal lifeforms for millennia, can guide present-day natural resource stewardship.

Photo by Brianne Dewani Lauro. Brianne’s grandfather, David Cabreros, also known as “Papa” prepares his fishing boat at sunset for the next morning. Story here.

 
 
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Our research themes

 

Indigenous research & data governance

We emphasize Indigenous-led research and data governance in our research and practice through upholding Indigenous rights to govern the collection, ownership, and application of their own data. This includes researching mechanisms for working in partnership with current community knowledge holders and decision-makers and supporting the upcoming generation of Indigenous data stewards.

 

Community-engaged climate resilience

Climate resilience is grounded in community knowledge and action. With this understanding we innovate and apply community-based climate research models that engage local and Indigenous community members, and that are guided by their knowledges, experiences, and priorities for climate resilience. 

 

Indigenous land stewardship

Indigenous knowledge and value systems have guided land and stewardship for countless generations. We support the development and revision of land and natural resource research, teaching, and stewardship models that effectively and ethically engage Indigenous knowledges and values in practice.

 
 

Some of our current projects

Supporting Indigenous data stewards: Indigenous governance and ethics in scientific research

Through funding support from the National Science Foundation (SMA/SBE Award #1911673) we are exploring two critical questions: 1) What factors and indicators represent effective and ethically responsible research practice in Indigenous communities? and 2) To what extent are these factors and indicators represented in codes of ethics and responsible research guidelines that U.S. federal agencies currently provide to tribal, agency, and academic researchers? We draw from existing Indigenous ethics frameworks, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to inform our analytical framework, which we are applying to federal research guidelines for Indigenous environmental research.

Our findings will support a national standard for ethics in Indigenous research, including providing training materials to support ethics training for researchers and supporting capacity for Indigenous data stewards.

Image title: Ifheektavaan “Truth Bearer”
Artwork credited to Lyn Risling (Karuk) with support from California Indian Legal Services

Project webpage

Shifting from extractive to self-determined: Enhancing Indigenous research and data governance in Southwest climate adaptation initiatives

Despite a growing global recognition among researchers and resource managers of the value of Indigenous knowledge and practices for enhancing human capacity to adapt to climate change, we face historic inequities that hinder cross-cultural knowledge exchange and innovation. This includes a tendency towards extractive research, accessing Indigenous knowledges without regarding Indigenous decision-making needs, sovereignty, or rights for self-determination.

Our project aims to address these inequities and serve societal needs by providing practical pathways for shifting from extractive to Indigenous self-determined research, effectively reducing barriers for Tribal governance and knowledge exchange in climate adaptation. We aim for outputs generated from this project to serve as culturally-responsive, evidence-based resources to effectively enhance the capacity of researchers, managers, and decision-makers working on climate adaptation initiatives that engage Indigenous knowledges, and serve to strengthen inter-Tribal and Tribal/non-Tribal partnerships.

This study draws from previous work by David-Chavez assessing Indigenous engagement in climate research, which can be found in link below.

Read the paper

Community-based research and education for Caribbean climate resilience 

Caribbean island communities, long familiar with extreme weather and climate events, have been drawing from Indigenous and local knowledge systems for climate adaptation for generations. Much of this knowledge, including climate resilient harvesting and agricultural practices, and knowledge of indicators of seasonal shifts is maintained in oral history and traditional practices.

Our study supports Indigenous and local land and data stewards through an intergenerational, community-based research and education model. This model supports local youth and community members as researchers, community-generated research questions through the guidance of our community advisory group, and honors local elders and knowledge holders as our primary data sources, partnering this knowledge with climate data from science institutions. To learn more about our findings, check out our recent paper!

Through this model we also learned how engaging in Indigenous and culturally-responsive science research and education can positively impact science-related attitudes and identities among historically marginalized scholars. We are now working with local artists and our community advisory council to translate our study findings into community and youth climate education resources, including an Indigenous seasonal agricultural calendar.

This work was featured on a podcast!
 

Why this work matters

Indigenous leadership for our shared futures

Though Indigenous knowledges and values have guided land stewardship for countless generations, historical legacies of colonization and oppression create numerous challenges for balanced and respectful exchange and collaboration. As scientists we recognize the need to engage all sources of knowledge to care for our lifeways and shared futures.

Our work provides pathways and guidance for reconciliation work in which diverse ways of knowing can come together around shared stewardship values. This includes developing protocols for cross-cultural knowledge exchange and collaborative research centered on respect and reciprocity.

 
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