Superfund Research Program
Community Engagement Core
Project Leader: Karletta Chief
Co-Investigators: Raina M. Maier, Stephanie Carroll
Grant Number: P42ES004940
Funding Period: 2005-2025
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Hazardous Waste Sites
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Final Progress Reports
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Final Progress Reports
Major University of Arizona Community Engagement Core (CEC) accomplishments include development of 6 videos; 3 interviews, and 3 newsletters; hosting of 4 seminars/webinars; presentation at 3 symposia; 8 conferences; 19 community events; hosting of 2 radio forums, and 5 workshops; and attendance at 4 tribal Institutional Review Board (IRB) meetings. A few outreach highlights include development of 6 short videos of environmental and health results from the Gold King Mine study in the Navajo Nation and partnering with Southwest Environmental Health Center Tribal Forum on Disaster Response and Research in Tribal Lands on tribal disasters. The outreach efforts include a Gold King Mine Spill Diné Exposure Project Teach-In reaching over 100 Navajo farmers and a Diné Citizen Science Water Quality Training at Whitehorse High School. The CEC also hosted a seminar by Perry H. Charley of Diné College entitled “Nukescape: Uranium Impacts on Dine’ Lands. 2019” and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Training. Karletta Chief, Ph.D., delivered a keynote to nearly 200 attendees (majority of who were tribal members and managers) at the EPA Tribal Conference in Ak-chin, AZ in October 2019 about engaging with tribal communities to address environmental challenges. To ensure protection of tribal partnerships, the CEC attended 4 tribal IRB meetings to obtain approval to present at tribal meetings and workshops. This outreach to tribal communities regarding mining impacts reaches thousands of tribal members. It increases the knowledge of mining impacts on tribal people and lands and contributes to informed decision making for tribes regarding tribal activities and exposure.