Our work to advance environmental justice with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation continues!
Workshop: Understanding barriers to consultation on mining
We held the first of many workshops with partners in Owyhee, NV, at the end of March. Representatives from the Sho-Pai Culture, Fish and Game, and Tribal Environmental Protection Program (TEPP) departments, and Chairman Mason of the Tribal Council gathered with representatives from TIFO and Idaho Conservation League (ICL). We had productive discussions that covered:
- Current processes in Tribal departments for responding to mining proposals.
- The greatest needs of each department.
- Future activities are being planned to develop a program that helps the Sho-Pai “triage” mining proposals and provide strong responses to them.
Community Meeting: Introducing grant activities to the community
At the end of April, we joined the Tribe in celebrating the groundbreaking of their new school. During the community gathering, TEPP and TIFO presented to community members about our 3-year EPA environmental justice grant. We will continue to build awareness by visiting smaller groups, such as the senior center and parent groups, before a second community meeting later this year.
Whitney, Marina, and Brock traveled to Duck Valley in early July. They installed an AccuWeather Station and two PurpleAir monitors. A remaining PurpleAir monitor will be installed at a future visit. With all three monitors and the weather station, air quality monitoring will span the breadth of the most populated areas of the reservation. Now SPT can access real-time air quality information for reservations, as can anyone with internet access. To learn more about PurpleAir, check out this article on the TIFO blog.
During our July trip, we also held a kick-off meeting for GIS training. Six people from SPT and Marina are taking an online GIS course from UC Berkeley. The GIS training will increase SPT’s capacity to develop a geospatial record of cultural and wildlife resources and sacred sites on the reservation. This information will establish baseline data for better input during government-to-government consultations.
In mid-August, Casey and Marina joined SPT in welcoming the EPA grant officers to Duck Valley for the first time. We had an insightful meeting with members of the Tribal Council and leaders in various SPT departments to discuss the challenges in responding to the numerous consultation requests for activities on Tribal lands. Discussion included the significant increase in fast-tracked lithium mining proposals, an issue that initiated this grant. Outcomes of this discussion included identifying government-to-government resources that may assist the Tribe in a technical capacity and ideas for potential collaboration with other organizations and Tribes.
Training: GIS mapping of culturally relevant sites
We currently have seven individuals enrolled in a GIS specialization course through UC Davis online. This course explores spatial analysis and cartography and teaches the basics of ArcGIS. This effort aims to establish a baseline database of DVIR resources and sacred sites that the Sho-Pai can use in determining the potential impacts of regional mining projects.
Training: Reviewing NEPA process and environmental impact statements
The first two of these training sessions are scheduled for June 17-18 in Duck Valley. These trainings provide important knowledge of and skill building on Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. EIS documents are required for major Federal actions that significantly impact the environment. These include mining activities on federal land and on or near Tribal lands. An EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of a project and includes measures to reduce/avoid impacts, maps and technical details, and information and analyses gathered from public comments. We expect eight people from multiple DVIR departments to attend the training, which will be led by TIFO and supported by Idaho Conservation League, EPA, and Great Basin Resource Watch.
Check out the new DVIR project page on the TIFO website: www.terragraphicsinternational.org/duckvalley-ej
“This is my first time in Karakalpakstan, and I am most struck by the kindness and generosity of our partners. The smiles and laughs are a daily highlight and balance out long days of work. We could not do this work without them! It has been wonderful to meet with locals and hear their perspectives on the environmental health issues in Karakalpakstan. The Aral Sea crisis has affected folks in many different ways, but the conversation almost always comes back to the issue of drinking water quality and quantity. We have learned much about environmental operations, monitoring, and reporting in the region.
This trip has shown me how valuable it is to be on the ground in project communities to have these conversations, make networking connections, and attend meetings in person. I think it would be very challenging, if not impossible, to yield the same result trying to obtain information, achieve our goals, and maintain relationships virtually from the US.
One of the highlights was visiting the Aral Sea Museum’s ‘ship graveyard’ and a museum where fishermen (up to 20 at a time!) used to stay while on land—the bunkhouse was frozen in time, with household goods scattered throughout the building.
I have very much enjoyed this experience and feel very fortunate to work with and learn from great folks and work on such a unique yet critical project.“
– Marina Steiner
TIFO engaged with representatives from several organizations and individuals focused on environmental health, including the International Innovation Center for the Aral Sea Basin (a national-level Uzbek government organization), the World Aral Region Charity, and NPR reporters working on an extensive story about the Aral Sea. The team also took the opportunity to interview local Karakalpaks affected by the Aral Sea crisis, including a memorable hour-long discussion with an elderly Moynaq man who captained a fishing boat on the Aral Sea for 25 years.
In addition to data collection, TIFO conducted maintenance on weather stations and air quality monitors installed last year. At the request of MOHK, TIFO also tested water conductivity (a proxy for water salinity) on various filtered and non-filtered water samples to evaluate the effectiveness of filtration systems and baseline tap water quality.
This visit was essential for ensuring TIFO’s continued presence in Karakalpakstan as MSF prepares to close its operations in the region. The historical data collected will be instrumental in developing a more informed and localized intervention program in the future.
Each year, TIFO professionals teach an intensive course in Environmental Health for the American University of Armenia Turpanjian College of Health Sciences. This course is an opportunity for Master’s of Public Health students to explore environmental issues that impact health outcomes globally. This year’s cohort is 16 students from 5 countries: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, India, and Armenia.
During the first half of the course, Casey covered the basics of human health risk assessment, building an understanding of how people are exposed to contaminants at work, school, and home. For the second half of class, our colleague Marc Nascarella from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) guided the students through a case study of environmental exposures and interventions in the Kyrgyz Republic, using our 8-year project to demonstrate how exposures contribute to disease and how interventions can reduce those exposures and improve community health.
“I remember as a kid growing up in rural Idaho, the edge of the world was delineated by a small ridge of otherwise unremarkable mountains. On a couple of occasions, and never quite successfully, I tried climbing them just so I could peek over the top and see what was on the other side. I think for a lot of kids like me, who grew up in these isolated bubble communities, getting out of your hometown, much less pursuing a graduate degree or attending a top university, can seem out of reach.
This next chapter is the culmination of years of hard work and studying, but I believe it is also in large part traceable to my time with TIFO. These are the people who really believed in me and pushed me to apply. In just under two years, TIFO has provided me with a strong academic network and research experience and helped me develop the technical skills and knowledge essential to this field. It is exciting to now stand on that childhood ledge and look out at all the possibilities, ready for a lifetime of contributions to the topics I care deeply about.
While the coming years will surely be hectic, Moscow and the TIFO community will always have a place in my heart, and I will be looking forward to the times our paths cross again.“
– Brock Keller
In March, we were notified that our application for the Idaho Humanities Council Major Grant was approved! The $6,000 award will support TIFO in organizing, preserving, and archiving the extensive records in the personal possession of TIFO co-founder Ian von Lindern. Approximately 250 boxes with records pertaining to the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex superfund site in Northern Idaho have been in storage for decades. They contain:
- Company records from the Bunker Hill Environmental Affairs corporate vault (retrieved before being destroyed).
- Records from the Bunker Hill Superfund project.
- Discovery materials from numerous government and private civil litigation actions.
- Lead poisoning data from the CDC and EPA.
- Original Lead Health Study Records from the former Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (retrieved before being destroyed).
- Newspaper clippings, reports, etc.
TIFO’s predecessor company, TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering (now Alta Science and Engineering), led the cleanup efforts of the Bunker Hill superfund site. Bunker Hill is an important part of Idaho’s history, as well as TIFO’s. For decades, the poisoning of families, environmental damages, and culpable negligence by mine operators played out on many fronts:
- Studies of the high lead levels in local children contributed to lead health standards used today.
- Litigation established a federally designated “Superfund” site and court settlements for impacted families.
Despite historical accounts written to date, key documents missing from the narrative are in storage; Whitney is rolling up her sleeves and “digging in” to these records to ensure the Bunker Hill story can be preserved and amplified, with the long-term goal of making the untold story of the Bunker Hill tragedy available to a wider audience through digital access and storytelling. We have partnered with the University of Idaho Archives and Special Collections to organize documents for eventual transition into their collection.
TIFO uses PurpleAir® monitors to track real-time air quality at our project sites around the globe. We are passionate about increasing open access to environmental data in the communities we support. In addition to providing real-time information about particulate matter (PM), the sensors also provide valuable measurements of atmospheric conditions such as temperature and humidity, often unavailable in remote regions. Air quality data is important for TIFO projects because it helps us:
- Identify risk factors and how they vary by location, season, and time of day.
- Identify pollution sources.
- Monitor changes over time related to climate change and industrial pollution.
- Tell a more complete story of regional factors impacting environmental health.
Read more on the TIFO blog >>
Pat Hart has been a consistent supporter of TIFO since its founding. She embodies the principles of acting locally and thinking globally, with a mind toward actions that benefit future generations near and far. She is fiercely passionate about justice and the team here at TIFO is so very grateful for all she does for our small community and the world. Pat is a member of the TIFO Outreach Committee, where she supports our efforts to grow the TIFO family through her knowledge and experience in communication and storytelling. She helped us draft our Idaho Humanities Council grant and continues to support us in the massive undertaking of archiving and telling the Bunker Hill story.
Pat Hart is a retired professor of Journalism and American Studies at the University of Idaho, where her research and publications bridge the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from historical photographs of the silver mining in Wallace, through child relinquishment and adoption in the Pacific Northwest, and most recently the impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho. She lives in a lively multigenerational household with her daughter’s family and her life partner and research collaborator Ivar Nelson.
"It’s not easy to know how to tackle worldwide health and environmental problems if you’re not an expert. The environmental impact of mining is big, sometimes far away, and solutions reliant on technological expertise few people have. But that’s not the case with TIFO. When I support TIFO with my own set of tools and expertise as a researcher, editor, teacher, and volunteer, I know my time and donations support a small but mighty team full of experience using proven methods to endow local communities with the tools and knowledge they need to save and improve lives. TIFO does this every day, face-to-face, both at home and abroad. It’s so gratifying to know that my small contribution of time and money is multiplied a hundred times when a child, a family, a worker, or an entire community can lead lives safer from the effects of mining."
- Pat Hart
University of Idaho Guest Lecture
Casey spoke with the students in the University of Idaho Global Climate Change course taught by Nick Koenig in March, sharing perspectives on populations most impacted by climate change from our work in the Aral Sea Region of Karakalpakstan and the Shoshone Paiute Lands of Idaho/Nevada. The diverse group of students from across the university had excellent questions and perspectives about climate justice locally and globally.
Moscow High School Visit
In February Brock visited with 20 Moscow High School Environmental Club students, led by MHS faculty and friend of TIFO Lee Anne Eareckson. Brock introduced TIFO, an overview of environmental health issues, and presented about the Kyrgyzstan and Aral Sea projects. He then led an open discussion with the students about environmental health and climate change. Student engagement was high, and an overarching theme developed on the importance and impact of local, grassroots-level environmental work and the power it has to make meaningful impacts – especially in issues like climate change.
WSU Tabling Event
Whitney, Brock, Sandra Spearman (TIFO outreach volunteer and former collaborator on the Kyrgyzstan project), Chris Bitikofer (TIFO supporter), and Razan Ahmed (TIFO student volunteer) tabled at WSU on April 21st for an event hosted by WSU’s Environmental Sustainability Alliance. It was wonderful to get to speak with students and community members about our programs and hear about people’s passion for environmental justice!
TIFO Meat and Greet
5:30 - 7:30 PM
Tuesday, March 25
Shattuck West Taproom
630 N. Almon St., Suite 135,
Moscow, ID
Eat sausage, do good. Happy Hog meatery will be grilling up sausages with all proceeds going to TIFO and Shattuck West Taproom will donate $1 from each beverage sold. Learn More >>
Earth Gives
Sept. 6 - Oct. 1
www.earthgives.org/organization/TIFO
Earth Gives Day is Oct. 1, 2024! Earth Gives is a 26-day nationwide giving day focused on the most critical issue of our time - the climate crisis. Save the date, spread the word, and become an earth giver!
TIFO Annual Celebration
5:30 PM, Friday, Nov. 15
1912 Center
412 E 3rd St., Moscow, ID
Mark your calendars for the TIFO Annual Celebration! Look forward to food, fun, and live dancing music by Jon & Rand Band as we celebrate another year of accomplishments and YOU - the wonderful community who helps us make it all happen.
- Casey Bartrem Listed as a Social Impact Woman to Watch in 2024. TIFO.
- It Takes a Team. University of Idaho, Pg. 8.
- ‘This is our homeland’: Idaho tribes gather in Boise to commemorate ancestral lands. The Spokesman-Review.
- Congo lawyers say they have new evidence on Apple’s minerals supply chain. Reuters.
- US court absolves top tech companies in Congo’s child labor case. ABC News.
- Native American voices are finally factoring into energy projects – a hydropower ruling is a victory for environmental justice on tribal lands. The Conversation.
- Nigeria is emerging as a critical mineral hub. The government is cracking down on illegal operations. AP News.