EPA
United States
Env|ron
FACT SHEET: Grants for Research
°n Environmental Risks
Envronmentai Protection Associated with Tribal Lifestyles
and Cultural Practices
DESCRIPTION: To help understand the health effects of contaminants in the environment on tribal
populations, EPA has awarded five Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants to five institutions in the
United States. Research teams, including tribal participants, will focus on subsistence issues related to
mercury, PCBs, pesticides and other chemicals. Management strategies leading to a reduction in risk
from exposure to these and other chemicals will also be investigated. Each grant employs culturally-
sensitive methods that underscore subsistence practice and tribal lifeways, while also addressing
important exposure issues in tribal communities.
BACKGROUND: Tribes may be at especially high risk for environmentally-caused diseases because
of their subsistence lifestyles, occupations and customs and/or environmental releases impacting tribal
lands. In 2002, EPA STAR awarded a $1.2 million research grant to the Swinomish Indian Tribal
Community, located in the state of Washington. As part of this effort, researchers are studying 16
shellfish harvest areas in Washington that are commonly used by the Swinomish Tribal Community for
the presence of several chemicals and heavy metals.
In January 2002, EPA announced a Request for Applications (RFA) on tribal subsistence concerns called
"Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks from Toxic Substances in the
Environment." The RFA was issued in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Service's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in response to a request from the tribes to
the National EPA-Tribal Science Council. The RFA focused on research related to the lifestyle and
cultural practices of tribal populations and risks from toxic substances in the environment. Research
concentrates on two areas of interest: (1) developing exposure and effects assessment methods that can
be broadly applied across geographic regions and tribal populations, and (2) risk management strategies
and options that will lead to reduction in risk from pollutant exposures. Tribes were required to be part
of the research teams.
GRANT RECIPIENTS AND WHAT THEY ARE STUDYING:
• "Environmental Contaminants in Foodstuffs of Siberian Yu'piks from St. Lawrence Island,
Alaska." The Siberian Yu'pik people of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, have relatively high serum
levels of PCBs and pesticides. Alaska Community Action on Toxics, in partnership with
researchers at the State University of New York at Albany, will examine traditional foods of the
Yu'pik people for PCBs, three pesticides and several metals to determine which are the most
significant sources of exposure, and how food preparation influences the levels of contaminants.
Research Team: Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska and State University
of New York at Albany
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• "Risks to Northern Alaskan Inupiat: Assessing Potential Effects of Oil Contamination on
Subsistence Lifestyles, Health, and Nutrition." Building on existing collaborations with local
authorities and citizens of Alaska's Northern Slope, researchers will develop outreach tools and
messages, delivered by appropriate Native spokespersons, so that Alaskan Inupiats will be able to
make informed decisions on how they might reduce their risk from hydrocarbon exposure and to
maintain good nutrition and health. Native populations with subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic
may have exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons in their diets from many sources.
Research Team: Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida and the Department of Wildlife
Management, Northern Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska
• "lakotisa'tstentserarwis Ne Ohontsia: Reducing Risk by Restoring Relationships."
Research teams will examine the impacts of toxic substances on the traditional cultural practices
of Haudenosaunee Nations. Teachers, youth, and the Akwesasne Environmental Task Force staff
will be trained to reduce the risk associated with exposure to toxic substances while continuing to
support traditional cultural practices.
Research Team: Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment, Inc., Hogansburg, New York
"Lifestyles and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks from Toxic Substances in
the Environment." This partnership between tribal and university researchers will prepare
regional scenarios that illustrate where tribes are traditionally exposed to environmental
contaminants. The scenarios will be based on the major ecological zones across the U.S.mainland
and are modifiable so that they can be site-specific for individual tribal use.
Research Team: Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
• "Reducing Risks of the Anishinaabe from Methylmercury." Tribal researchers in
collaboration with Citizens for a Better Environment of Milwaukee, will develop, implement, and
evaluate a comprehensive, systematic and culturally sensitive intervention program to reduce
risks associated with subsistence-based consumption offish contaminated by methylmercury.
The study will focus on the Anishinaabe tribe in Northern Wisconsin.
Research Team: Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Odanah, Wisconsin, and
Citizens for a Better Environment of Milwaukee
WHAT IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THESE AWARDS? Five institutions will
receive $2.2 million for three years of study (each institution is receiving an award of approximately
$450,000).
CONTACT:
Nigel Fields, EPA National Center for Environmental Research at (202) 343-9767 or
fields.nigel@epa.gov.
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