Affiliate Position
- Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies Faculty Associate, Washington University in St. Louis
Specializations
- Water Security Research
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Governments, and Communities
- Climate, Native Health and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Research Areas
Courses
- INFO 300 - Research Methods
Biography
Clarita Lefthand-Begay is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington's Information School (iSchool) and a citizen of the Navajo Nation. She holds a PhD in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences from the University of Washington’s School of Public Health and conducts interdisciplinary research on how Tribal nations and communities protect and promote their knowledge, data, and information. Her work includes examining tribal water insecurity and climate health challenges, designing adaptive measures to strengthen resilience, and collaborating with multiple tribal communities and organizations in the US on climate change and water security initiatives. As the Director of the Tribal Water Security Network and the Indigenous Health Equity Lab at the iSchool, Dr. Lefthand-Begay leads teams that examine the water insecurity challenges faced by tribes in the US and around the globe, and mentors graduate and undergraduate students on projects related to water justice, tribally-led co-stewardship approaches, Tribal Institutional Review Board processes, and Indigenous research ethics. She also serves as deputy director of the new UW Center for Environmental Health Equity, which focuses on increasing environmental and energy justice opportunities and technical assistance to Tribal nations and other communities disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards and burdens. Dr. Lefthand-Begay is a leading voice in promoting cultural revitalization, self-determination, and environmental justice, and teaches classes on western research methods, Indigenous research methods, as well as on Indigenous data sovereignty.
Education
- Ph D, Environmental and Occupational Hygiene, University of Washington, 2014
- MS, Environmental Health, University of Washington, 2007
- BS, Biological Sciences, University of Arizona, 2002
Publications and Contributions
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Journal Article, Academic JournalIndigenous Research Ethics and Tribal Research Review Boards in the United States: Analyzing Online Presence and Emerging Themes in Documentation (2024)Research Ethics, pp. 1–30
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ReportChapter 15: Human Health (2023)Fifth National Climate Assessment
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Instructor's ManualResearch Methods for Informatics Undergraduate Students: A Lab Workbook (2023)
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ReportSystematic Literature Review Protocol: Water In(security) among Native American and Alaskan Native communities in the United States (2021)
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Journal Article, Academic JournalDecolonizing Risk Communication: Indigenous Responses to COVID-19 using Social Media (2020)Journal of Indigenous Social Development
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Journal Article, Academic JournalIndigenous research ethics requirements: An examination of six Tribal Institutional Review Board Applications and Processes in the United States (2020)Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 15(4), pp. 279-291
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Journal Article, Academic JournalThe Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples Initiative—Community Lectures, Student Conferences, and Tribal Interactions for Academic and Tribal Partnerships (2020)Western Humanities Review
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ReportReport for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (2019)Tribal Water Security Summit
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Book Entry, Almanac or EncyclopediaIntroduction to climate science:Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops (2018)Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops
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Book Entry, Almanac or EncyclopediaHuman health Impacts:Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops (2018)Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops
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Book Entry, Almanac or EncyclopediaIntroduction to Climate Adaptation:Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops (2018)Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops
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Book Entry, Almanac or EncyclopediaIntroduction to tribal rights. In Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops (2018)Tribal Community Gatherings and Talking Circle Protocol: A Guidebook for Hosting Community-based Workshops.
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Journal Article, Academic JournalNative American Perspectives on Health and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (2018)Environmental Health Perspectives, 126(12), pp. 10
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Focus Group Field Research GuideTribal Water Security Project. (2018). Focus Group Research Protocol and Guide: A Cross Cultural Comparison of Water Insecurity Impacts on the Health and Culture of Indigenous Peoples: Water, Place, and Culture (United States Tribes) (2018)
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Research Protocol and GuidebookTribal community gatherings and talking circle protocol: A guidebook for hosting communitybased workshops (2018)
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Conference PaperIndigenous Information System in Chiapas, Mexico: integrating community radio, library and impact assessment for community development (2017)Proceedings of iConference 2017
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Journal Article, Academic JournalMolecular Detection of Viable Bacterial Pathogens in Water by Ratiometric Pre-rRNA Analysis (2010)Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 76(3), pp. 960-962
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Journal Article, Professional JournalCultivating a space for intergenerational research mentorship through Knowledge Families
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Journal Article, Academic JournalInformed Consent in the U.S. Indigenous Peoples Context: A Systematic Literature ReviewBMC Ethics
Presentations
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Climate Change and Human Health - Update from the Fifth National Climate Assessment
(2024)
1st Annual CAFÉ Climate & Health Conference, NIH Research Coordinating Center - Virtual
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Enhancing Data Sovereignty for Tribal Nations, Communities, and Organizations: UW Center for Environmental Health Equity
(2024)
Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Tribal Operations Committee - Region 10 EPA, Pacific Northwest
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NCA5 Webinar: Human Health and COVID-19
(2024)
US Global Change Research Program - Virtual
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Before and Beyond Consultation
(2023)
National Wilderness Workshop 2023 - Missoula, Montana
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How do we incorporate TEK into federal decision-making?
(2023)
Yale School of the Environment and Yale Center for Environmental Justice - New Haven, Connecticut
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Tribal Water Sovereignty & Security Panel
(2023)
ATNI’s Changing Currents Tribal Water Summit - Coos Bay, Oregon
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Driven by Tribal Water Values: Strengthening Access to Sustainable and Safe Drinking Water in Partnership with the Akiak Native Community
(2022)
Climate Justice for All: Climate Justice through an Equity Lens Poster Exhibit, - Seattle, WA
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Tribal Water, Governance, Equity, and Opportunity
(2022)
Currents Virtual Summit Series - Virtual
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Caretaking as tradition: Indigenous technology, language, and identity for water, land, and environmental protection
(2021)
NAISA 2021 Virtual Conference - Virtual
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Climate change, water and resilience
(2021)
Climate Change Program Speaker Series, Washington University in St. Louis Climate Change Program - St. Louis, MO (virtual)
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Climate change, water, and resilience
(2021)
Climate Change Program Speaker Series - St. Louis, MO
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Curriculum Development for Native Youth: Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Systems and Tribal Water Security
(2021)
Seattle University - Seattle, WA (virtual)
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Curriculum Development for Native Youth: Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Systems and Tribal Water Security
(2021)
Seattle University - Seattle, WA
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Environmental Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Environment Water
(2021)
EJ Symposium presented by Washington State Attorney General’s Office and Gonzaga University - Virtual
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Executive Summary: Best Practices for Creating Compelling COVID-19 Related Messaging for AIAN Youth on TikTok
(2021)
UW iSchool NNAIK Initiative - Seattle, WA
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Indigenous People’s Water Security: From the Himalayan Mountains to the Arctic and the Pacific Ocean
(2021)
NAISA 2021 Virtual Conference - Virtual
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Tribal Environmental Health Summit 2021.
(2021)
Tribal Environmental Health Summit 2021 - Canceled due to COVID-19
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Tribally Driven Research for Designing Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Systems
(2021)
Information School’s Tribal Water Security and Tribal Research Ethics Research Group - Seattle, WA
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Tribally Driven Research for Designing Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Systems
(2021)
Scholars Program Speaker Series, American Indian & Indigenous Studies (AIIS) - (virtual)
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Tribally Driven Research for Designing Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Systems
(2021)
Scholars Program Speaker Series, American Indian & Indigenous Studies (AIIS). - Virtual
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Water Stewards: Healing our water to heal our communities
(2021)
The 16th Annual Vine Deloria, Jr. Indigenous Studies Symposium - Bellingham, WA
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Water, Health, and Being Human
(2021)
Washington University in St. Louis Climate Change Program - St. Louis, MO
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Going Public: Opening Scholarship to All Symposium
(2020)
University of Washington Libraries - Seattle, WA
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Next Steps in Tribal Water Security on the Kuskokwim River
(2020)
Akiak Native Community Center - Akiak, AK
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Tribal Water Security: Health and Wellbeing. Contested Spaces. Power and Resistance in the Pacific Northwest.
(2020)
Pacific Northwest History Conference - Virtual
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A Global Collaboration: Challenges in Water Security and Indigenous Wellbeing
(2019)
School of Arts, Kathmandu University - Dhulikhel, Nepal
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Creating a Collaborative Space for Dialogue and Action
(2019)
Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ: Indigenous Foods and Ecological Knowledge Symposium (Native American and Indigenous Studies Association) - Seattle, WA
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Indigenous research ethics requirements: An examination of six Tribal Institutional Review Board Applications and Processes in the United States
(2019)
Provost Richard’s iSchool Visit - Seattle, WA
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Indigenous Stories from the Workplace
(2019)
Native Business Association Speaking Panel - Seattle, WA
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Indigenous Systems of Knowledge at the Intersections of the Information Science Field and Academia
(2019)
HASTAC 2019 Decolonizing Technologies, Reprogramming Education Conference - Vancouver, British Columbia
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Keynote Address
(2019)
Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples (2019 Western Humanities Alliance Conference) - Eugene, OR
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Land and Seascape Identities of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Adaptation
(2019)
People on the Land Landscape, Traditional Knowledge, Environment - Vancouver, British Columbia
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State of Water Security Among Washington State Tribes
(2019)
ATNI Fall Convention - Suquamish, WA
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Tribal Research Review Boards
(2019)
McNair Scholars Program, Undergraduate Research Symposium - Seattle, WA
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Tribal Water Security
(2019)
Provost Richard’s iSchool Visit - Seattle, WA
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Tribal Water Summit: Building Capacity in Indian Country by Honoring Our Relationship with Water
(2019)
He Au Honua: Indigenous Research Conference - Kahului, HI
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Using Science and Traditional Knowledge to Support Tribal Climate Policy
(2019)
The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) Climate Summit - Spokane, WA
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Environmental Justice for Washington and Beyond
(2018)
Annual UW Environmental Law Symposium - Seattle, WA
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Tribal Research and Data Governance: A Comparison of Six Tribal Institutional Review Board Applications in the United States
(2018)
National Ronald E. McNair Research Conference - Chicago, IL
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Tribal Research and Data Governance: A Comparison of Six Tribal Institutional Review Board Applications in the United States
(2018)
iSchool Research Fair - Seattle, WA
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Tribal Research and Data Governance: A Comparison of Six Tribal Institutional Review Board Applications in the United States
(2018)
Undergraduate Research Symposium - Seattle, WA
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Water Insecurity & Indigenous Peoples
(2018)
UW-Nepal Partnerships in Health Innovation: Multi-disciplinary Collaborations to Advance Population Health Symposium, UW Department of Bioengineering and Department of Global Health - Seattle, WA
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A tribally- based resiliency toolkit for community members. What makes Tribal Nations resilient to the impacts of climate change?
(2017)
8th Annual National Tribal Public Health Summit - Anchorage, AK
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Center for Native American Environmental Health Research Equity: Abandoned Hardrock Mines/Uranium Mines
(2017)
Regional Tribal Operations Committee (RTOC) EPA Region VIII - Rapid City, SD
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Climate Adaptation, Human Health and Environmental Health
(2017)
Climate Adaptation Workshop - Akiak, AK
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Community Resilience and Tribal Self-Determination
(2017)
Changing Current’s Tribal Water Summit: Summit to Sea, University of Oregon, Law School, Knight Law Center - Eugene, OR
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Creating a tribally-based toolkit to encourage community-driven resilience planning
(2017)
Pacific Northwest Climate Conference - Tacoma, WA
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Native American Knowledge Systems: Sovereign Rights, Protections and Protocols
(2017)
Integrating Exposure Science Across Diverse Communities - Research Triangle, NC
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Overview of Tribal Research in the Environmental Health Disparities Centers
(2017)
Integrating Exposure Science Across Diverse Communities - Research Triangle, NC
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Panel speaker on the intersections between race and ecologies
(2017)
University of Washington - Seattle, WA
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Perspectives on Genetic Research in the Navajo Nation (talk delivered by Dr. Claw)
(2017)
Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board Conference Navajo Nation Museum - Window Rock, Arizona
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Previous Genetics Research with the Navajo
(2017)
Tribal Data Sharing & Genetics Policy Development Workshop, UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center - Albuquerque, NM
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Summer Research Training by the Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research: Risk assessment (RA), risk management framework and gaps in addressing Native American health needs
(2017)
Native Environmental Health Equities Center Annual Meeting and EAC meeting - Rapid City, SD
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The UW Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment (EDGE) Center 2017 Annual Retreat
(2017)
Campus-Community Capacity Building for Climate Change Research and Adaptation (NIEHS Supplement Project Talk), UW Center for Urban Horticulture - Seattle, WA
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Tribal Sovereign Rights, Knowledge and Data Protections and Protocols in the Environmental Health Sciences U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10
(2017)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 - Seattle, WA
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Tribally-Based Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Workshop in the Pacific Northwest (presented by Maggie Sander)
(2017)
National Adaptation Forum - Saint Paul, MN
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Working with tribes in Alaska and the Northwest
(2017)
Tribal Environmental Health Forum - Chandler, AZ
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Addressing Tribal Water Security Challenges in the 21st Century
(2016)
Tribal Leadership Summit, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
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Climate Change Science and Adaptation
(2016)
Nisqually Community Climate Adaptation Workshop - Olympia, WA
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Native American Perspectives on Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change
(2016)
Seattle King County Speaker Series - Seattle, WA
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Water Security, Climate, Tribal Environmental Health: Projecting Seven Generations
(2016)
Northern Arizona University Bridges’ End of the Summer Banquet - Flagstaff, AZ
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Engaging citizen scientists in the aftermath of disasters and emergence of new concerns
(2015)
International Society of Exposure Science (ISES) - Nevada, USA
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Food Sovereignty and Lessons from The Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxw
(2015)
Indigenous Ways of Knowing Cultural Food Practices and Ecological Knowledge Summit - Bellingham, WA
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Tribal community concerns, climate change and adaptation
(2015)
The National Conference of State Legislators Legislative Summit - Seattle, WA
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Water Security, Ecosystem Services, and Indigenous Well-Being in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest
(2015)
Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) - Washington, DC
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Water security: the value of water and our well-being
(2015)
Centre for Aboriginal Health Research's Annual speaker series - Canada
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Employing an Interdisciplinary Approach to Food Security and Indigenous Health
(2014)
2014 Washington State Public Health Association Conference - Wenatchee, WA
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Groundwater Sustainability: Indigenous cultural values, uses and sources
(2014)
2014 Ground Water Protection Council Annual Forum - Seattle, WA
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The Value of Water
(2014)
Nisqually Community Development Committee Presentation Series - Washington, USA
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Using a value-based approach to inform environmental management decision making aimed to meet the water insecurity needs of two tribal communities
(2014)
2014 Annual Ph.D. Symposium: The Centrality of Urban in the Anthropocene: Implications for Graduate Research and Education - Seattle, WA
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Water Security, Climate Change and Indigenous Health
(2014)
9th Annual Vine Deloria, Jr. Indigenous Studies Symposium, Northwest Indian College - Bellingham, WA
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Water Security, Food Security, Health, and Self–Determination
(2014)
The Living Breath of Wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ” Indigenous Ways of Knowing Symposium, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
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What it means to be an Indigenous Scientist: My life and research experiences
(2014)
National Indian Center for Marine Environmental Research & Education at the Northwest Indian College - Bellingham, WA
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Building a Community-based Native Environmental Justice Program in Higher Education
(2013)
National Indian Education Association Conference - Rapid City, SD
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Indigenous Women in the Sciences
(2013)
“The Living Breath of Wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ” Indigenous Ways of Knowing Cultural Food Practices and Ecological Knowledge Symposium - Seattle, WA
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Self-determination, environmental health stewardship and water health disparities
(2013)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Addressing Historical Inequities: Environmental Justice for Native Americans - Research Triangle Park, NC
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Self-determination, environmental health stewardship and water health disparities
(2013)
“Environmental Health Disparities and Environmental Justice” Series, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) - Seattle, WA
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Water security among Pacific Northwestern and Southwestern Tribal Communities
(2013)
American Public Health Association (APHA) American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Caucus - San Francisco, CA
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A values-based approach to identifying disconnects between Tribal community values and water quality standards in the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern United States
(2012)
First Stewards Symposium - Washington, DC
-
If we are going to survive, we have to do something!
(2012)
First Stewards Symposium, as Witness for West Coast Panel - Washington, DC
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Water Security and Sovereignty among Pacific Northwest and Southwestern Tribal nations
(2012)
2012 National Conference "Asking Permission to Come Ashore: Journeys to Indigenous Health and Health Research," Native Research Network - Seattle, WA
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A values-based approach to identifying disconnects between Tribal community values and water quality standards in the Pacific Northwest
(2011)
American Public Health Association (APHA) - Washington, DC
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Molecular Detection of Viable Bacterial Pathogens in Water By Ratiometric Pre-rRNA Analysis
(2010)
University of Washington Human Health and Oceans Center and NOAA's North West Fisheries Science Oceans and Human Health Center - Seattle, WA
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Microbial Source Tracking in the Tulalip Bay
(2007)
Society of the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science - Kansas City, KS
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Microbial Source Tracking in the Tulalip Bay
(2007)
National Environmental Health Association - Atlantic City, NJ
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Microbial Source Tracking in the Tulalip Bay
(2007)
Northwest Indian College - Bellingham, WA