Exploring Cumulative Environmental Impacts on Native American and Alaska Native Community Health through Research and Practice at the U.S. EPA
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Executive Orders (EO) 13985 and 14008 were issued by the Biden administration in 2021 to support racial and environmental justice for underserved communities and address climate change. Both EOs prompted action throughout the federal government to address health inequities stemming from cumulative environmental impacts. The United States (US) federal government defines cumulative impacts as “the total burden and interaction from chemical and nonchemical stressors that affect health”. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Regan supported this directive by announcing an Agency-wide effort to better support underserved and marginalized communities through cumulative impact assessments. Researchers under the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) are partnering with EPA regional practitioners and scientists to advance the theoretical foundation for assessing cumulative impacts through methods, tools, and models.
Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages (NAT/ANV) have been and continue to be adversely burdened by cumulative environmental injustices. Scholars have highlighted the need to further examine cumulative environmental factors on health outcomes for Indigenous communities, including NAT/ANV. Reflecting this collective call, EPA ORD researchers developed a mixed methods study design to examine cumulative environmental impacts on NAT/ANV through a community-engaged and decolonizing lens. The study design will be piloted collaboratively between EPA ORD researchers, EPA regional practitioners and scientists, and willing NAT/ANV communities. This presentation will describe the study design, how the design addresses the cumulative impacts assessment federal directive, and the collaborative process this team has undergone to bridge the gap between research and practice to meet this call.