Environmental Impacts of Military and Civilian Production and Consumption on Native American Homelands

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SES-0518722Gregory HooksChad SmithWashington State UniversityAs the United States built and sustained the world's strongest military, it acquired vast tracts of land. Research indicates that many of these military installations - especially those utilizing dangerous materials - were located on or near Indian lands. The PIs hypothesize that Native Americans face a disproportionate exposure to this toxic legacy of military activities than other citizens. Further, since economic development on and near reservations has been comparatively slow, it is anticipated that Native American face relatively less exposure to the toxic wastes generated by commercial activity. The investigators will use GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software to generate maps and perform multivariate analyses of the detailed geographic data thy will assemble. The core research questions addressed in this research are: (1) When compared to all places in the United States, are Native American homelands relatively more likely to face exposure to the environmental impacts of military activities?, and (2) When compared to all places in the United States, are Native American homelands relatively more likely to face exposure to the toxic waste of commercial production and consumption?Broader Impact: The database that will be compiled and the analyses that will be conducted is potentially useful to other researchers (e.g., environmental scientists as well as other social scientists), community residents and policy makers. That is, instead of merely documenting that hazardous materials are located in a given county, the study will identify the total number of hazardous sites (from multiple sources) within the confines of a community and within a given radius around each place. As such, these data and analyses will be useful to Native American communities and policy makers assessing and responding to environmental hazards.