“We are the ones that we are waiting for” - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 129

the governmental agencies clearly acknowledge the importance of cross-cultural
training and the engagement of TEK in their programming. At a federal level, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes a Tribal Environmental
newsletter to enhance communications with tribal communities. The EPA designed
the newsletter as a forum for the EPA and tribal communities to share information
in a timely manner. As editor Mary Lauterbach explained, the newsletter also helps
Indigenous communities deal with pervasive environmental issues by curbing
limited institutional capacity. Lauterbach notes:
Many at EPA have heard from Tribes that improving our ways of
communication would be greatly beneficial to EPA and Tribal partnerships.
It is fairly well known that Tribal environmental programs and office staff are
often overwhelmed with information from numerous and varied sources.
Tribes have expressed the great difficulties for their limited Tribal staff to sort
through and select pertinent information in a timely fashion. Many Tribes do
not have the size or infrastructure to deal with the many diverse office and
media programs sources of information. Tribal representatives have continued
to advise EPA that Tribes tend to relate to the environment differently as they
view the world in a holistic fashion, and would prefer the Agency decrease
its use of administrating Tribal environmental protection programs through
its traditional “stove piping” approaches, such as air and water. Since many
Tribes view all things as being inter-related, it may be better to learn about
the environment holistically.
Later in the newsletter, Lauterbach names a litany of environmental concerns, and
subsequent health effects, facing tribal communities. For example, environmental
health experts link mining, industry, and development activities to a decline in air
and water quality and growing health issues such as increased rates of asthma, cancer,
and diabetes. Despite the daunting statistics, Lauterbach expresses optimism that
the partnership between federal agencies and tribal communities will lead to a better
future. Drawing attention to the importance of TEK, she notes:
Amazingly, they use their knowledge of the past to make a better future.
Thousands of years of experience, information, and science are resulting in
outcomes that we all need to pay attention to for our world. Through
Indigenous knowledge, along with some of the best science in EPA, we will
sustain the Tribes and all people in the future. The development of the tribal
environmental newsletter is one example of a governance mechanism designed
to foster better communication and build on each other's strengths. The
(scientific) capacity of the federal government and the traditional knowledge
of the Native communities work together to help address issues of shared
concern. When used in conjunction with a commitment to greater cultural
understanding, this is a positive step in cross-cultural, multijurisdictional
governance.