The goal of the proposed project, Health and Wellbeing Impact of Contamination of Traditional Food and Water on the Navajo, is to determine health risks and community impacts (e.g., consumption issues, threats to cultural values, spiritual concerns, and public health impacts) from exposure to environmental uranium and arsenic contamination of traditional food and water for Navajo communities. The approach for this project is to utilize a community-engaged research model to explore exposure pathways and to identify culturally applicable and community-constructed models for mitigation of the impact of the identified chemical contaminants on Navajo communities. An outcome of this project is the development of a model that will support culturally relevant and community-created policy with respect to contaminated traditional foods and water that will be scalable to other Native American communities, and potentially beyond those communities to other environmentally impacted cultural communities.
The Specific Aims of the proposed project are to: 1) Characterize the extent of metal contamination in culturally significant food and water sources for two Navajo communities; 2) Model dietary metal exposure and utilize the Indigenous Health Indicator to assess health impact; and 3) Develop a Community-Participatory Multi-Level Policy Intervention Model. Uranium associated with abandoned uranium mines and arsenic in traditional food such as sheep as well as water are a major concern to the Navajo.
Aim 1 will determine the extent of contamination in the food and water sources of the two Navajo communities. Following initial characterization of metal contamination, field work with subsequent chemical analysis is proposed.
Aim 2 will focus on collecting a dietary history of individuals in the Navajo communities to model uranium and arsenic exposure through consumption of traditional foods and water. Community level socio- cultural public health pathways will be identified and evaluated. The physiological exposure pathways and socio-cultural significance will be integrated in a culturally relevant and effective impact assessment model called the Indigenous Health Indicator (IHI) developed by Swinomish tribal environmental health workers.
In Aim 3, results from Aims 1 and 2 will be utilized to develop a culturally-relevant policy focused on contamination of traditional Native American foods. We are proposing to deploy a culturally directed, empirically tested model that will allow Native American communities to establish (and assess) culturally applicable environmental health interventions. It will be important in the policy work to consult with the Traditional Knowledge Holders from the tribes to best shape policies around traditional food consumption. We believe that this approach will result in policy that other Native American tribes can adapt to address contamination of traditional foods in their communities.
