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The Community Engagement Core is collaborating with Dr. Staci Simonich (Core D) and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community to begin an ambient air sampling project.

April 2016 Update

Dr. Simonich and three trainees, Drs. Cleo Davie-Martin, Courtney Roper (Training grant) and Amber Kramer returned to La Conner with Dr. Rohlman (CEC) to meet again with Mr. Larry Campbell for a second cultural tour. Following the tour, SRP researchers met with Swinomish staff to deploy two high-volume air quality monitors. The deployment included hands-on training. The training was recorded for incoming Swinomish technicians that will be collaborating on the project. Sampling will continue over the course of this year.

January 2016 Update

Drs. Simonich, Rohlman and Harding, along with SRP trainees Dr. Cleo Davie-Martin and Amber Kramer met with Dr. Tony Basabe (Air Quality Analyst) at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community to evaluate two sites that would hold high-volume air samplers. These samplers would collect particulate matter (PM2.5) and the particulate matter can also be assessed for the types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). See our video here about PAHs. The community is concerned about air quality as a result of their proximity to two oil refineries. Our collaborators at Swinomish were familiar with the study performed with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Lafontaine et al. 2015). One sampler will be placed at the Northwest Indian College site within the reservation, and a second one will be placed on the grounds of the Swinomish Indian Casino and Lodge. During their visit, co-investigator and Historical Preservation Officer, Larry Campbell gave them a cultural tour of the Swinomish reservation including a brief history of tribe, their land, their culture and their beliefs. The air quality monitors will be placed in April 2016 and sampling will continue over the course of this year.

(From left to right) Dr. Basabe shows the site where a air sampler will be placed at the Northwest Indian College to Dr. Simonich (Core D) and her post-doc, Dr. Cleo Davie-Martin and Dr. Harding (Core E).

Lafontaine S, Schrlau J, Butler J, Jia Y, Harper B, Harris S, et al. 2015. Relative influence of trans-pacific and regional atmospheric transport of pahs in the pacific northwest, u.S. Environmental science & technology.

Blair with clam — Blair Paulik out in the field with the butter clams.

The Samish Indian Nation invited Blair Paulik (OSU SRP Project 4 Trainee) and Diana Rohlman (OSU SRP CEC Coordinator) to the 3^rd annual Fidalgo Bay Science Conference on October 23, 2014.

Our SRP presented a poster highlighting the recent butter clam sampling performed with the Samish and Swinomish tribal communities. In addition, governmental agencies, university researchers, citizen scientists and Tribal scientists presented on restoration projects (Custom Plywood Mill), the surf smelt spawning study (Salish Sea Stewards) and the Samish Natural Resources Program projects (Current Projects).

Two Samish Tribal members opened the Fidalgo Bay Science Conference floor with song and traditional stories to explain the importance of a healthy environment.

Tribal events such as this give our SRP Trainees valuable professional development experiences, exposing them to the history and culture of our Tribal partners and ways to work successfully with them.

Poster Presentation:

Paulik LB, Rohlman D, Donatuto J, Woodward C, Kile M, Anderson KA, Harding A. Improving techniques for estimating butter clam (Saxidomus gigantean) contamination in the Salish Sea. Poster presented at: Fidalgo Bay Science Conference, hosted by the Samish Indian Nation; 2014 October 23; Anacortes, WA.

See the story “Tribes partner with OSU to study clam contamination” on the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission web site.

The OSU Superfund Center’s Community Engagement Core is fortunate to have an established partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).

The recently produced CTUIR – OSU 2012-2013 Newsletter shares the background, summary, and findings of a collaborative research project to understand polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure related to smoked salmon.

Salmon, a first food, is important to the subsistence of Native Americans living in the Pacific Northwest. Smoking salmon is one of the traditional ways to preserve this seasonally abundant food and make it available year round.

People can be exposed to PAHs from breathing contaminated air or eating smoked foods although many other exposure pathways exist.

Each volunteer wore air sampling equipment and turned it on every time they went into the smoking structures.

The data showed the air in the tipi and the smoke shed contained PAHs.

Pictured above from left: Traditional tipi, volunteer tending the fire in the tipi wearing an air sampler in black bag on his hip, traditional smoke shed.

The findings from this study were published in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
B, Harris S, Matzke M, Cardenas A, Waters K, Anderson K. (2012). Effect of Native American fish smoking methods on dietary exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and possible risks to human health. Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry, 60(27), 6899-6906. doi: 10.1021/jf300978m

Indigenous cultures perceive the natural environment as an essential link between traditional cultural practices, social connectedness, identity, and health. Many tribal communities face substantial health disparities related to exposure to environmental hazards. We asked 27 volunteers who were members of the CTUIR their opinions on meanings of health and how their environment interacts with their health.

The findings from the focus group discussions were published in the journal Environmental Justice.

Schure M, Kile ML, Harding AK, Harper B, Harris S, Uesugi S, Goins T. Perceptions of environment and health among community members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Environmental Justice. June 2013, 6(3): 115-120. doi:10.1089/env.2013.0022.

In addition, the CTUIR – OSU 2012-2013 Newsletter shares recently appointed members of the Tribal Advisory Board.

We hope you enjoy the newsletter!

The Community Engagement Core (CEC) engaged 27 Tribal members in three 90-minute focus group sessions to elicit feedback about tribal indicators of health, environmental health concerns, and the importance of smoked food as a cultural tradition. The findings were published in Environmental Justice.

Schure M, Kile ML, Harding AK, Harper B, Harris S, Uesugi S, Goins T. Perceptions of environment and health among community members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Environmental Justice. June 2013, 6(3): 115-120. doi:10.1089/env.2013.0022.

The CEC was also featured in the NIEHS publication, Celebrating 25 Years of the Superfund Research Program for research on PAH exposures during traditional smoking of salmon with the CTUIR research. You can also view the Please view the 2011 report for more information.

Stuart Harris and Anna Harding in a tipi smoking salmon
Mr. Stuart Harris and Dr. Anna Harding sit in the tipi that is measuring the air quality when smoking salmon.

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2014 Fidalgo Bay Science Conference Participation

Reducing Exposure & Preserving Cultural Traditions

New Publication Highlights Perceptions of Environmental Health Among Tribal Members

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