By Pat Nunnally
Connections between water and Indigenous lives have been in the news a great deal, especially after the Standing Rock conflict in 2016-17. Often, and deservedly so, articles speak to the spiritual and cultural meanings of water for different Indigenous groups, and to how those values have endured in the face of colonizing hostility or indifference. There is a growing literature on Indigenous science and water, a literature which this volume Water in the Native World exemplifies.
The guest editor for this issue, Dr. Karletta Chief, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, centers the importance of Indigenous science to preserving water futures when she writes, “In a sense, Indigenous hydroscientists become ‘water protectors’ by using science as a tool to address water challenges facing tribal communities..” (1) “Water protectors” has become a rallying cry for Indigenous water advocacy across the country, and Dr. Chief and the authors of the papers here broaden the meaning of “water protector,” advocating for conditions
where water challenges facing Indigenous communities are addressed and led by Indigenous hydroscientists; where Indigenous perspectives are not only included in the research but also drive the research questions; where Indigenous community members are co-authors; and where Indigenous students participate in data collection, analysis, synthesis and publication in the important research facing their communities (1).
Topically, the papers range across a variety of water-related science, policy, and social science concerns,including contaminants, cultural values of water, and climate change impacts on an important tribal fishery. Methodologically, papers include qualitative research, interviews with tribal members, as well as quantitative hydrological research. The papers demonstrate appropriate engagement, with tribal concerns driving research questions, not “helicopter” methodologies where tribal members are included only as an afterthought on predetermined research agendas.
As a whole, the volume speaks, either explicitly as in the Introduction, or implicitly, to the need for an evolving relationship between tribal nations, cultural groups, and institutions of higher education. “The development and fostering of tribal partnerships are delicate and require the trust of tribes in the researchers. A strong university tribal partnership not only involves transparency, on-going communication, and data sovereignty, but it also includes involving the tribe in the research either as co-authors or in the education and training of Indigenous students” (5).
The seven papers are standalone pieces, with abstracts and keywords as would be expected in a scientific journal. The Introduction, by Dr. Chief, explains the origin of this collection, which arose from a symposium and collection that preceded this work. Some of the references to the Introduction lead out to broader conversations about the relationships between Indigenous knowledge and communities and the practices of Western science, but readers looking for deep engagement with those ideas are recommended to the work of Dr. Kyle Powys Whyte at Michigan State and Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse, as well as many others.