Projects

Our research agenda is envisioned to be carried out in several phases over a time period of three to five years. Our first pilot project will focus on the geographical region of San Diego, California and Baja California and will involve the following:

Project 1: Dr. Alan Kilpatrick, San Diego State University, will head a research team that will work with tribal members of the Cuyapaipe reservation, San Diego county and the Pai Pai Indian population living at the Santa Catarina ejido in Baja California (Mexico). These native communities are both isolated and yet are in proximity to burgeoning urban areas (San Diego and Ensenada). The team will examine various methods to maximize the natural resource base at both sites by utilizing extensive GIS data.

Project 2: Dr. Octaviana Trujillo, Arizona State University, is working with the Cocopah Tribe at Somerton, Arizona to develop an environmental education program for children on the reservation.

Project 3: Dr. John Peterson, University of Texas at El Paso, will head a research team who will collaborate with the Tigua Pueblo who live in the border zone of El Paso, Texas/ Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The SCERP team will study the development of wind energy resources on the Tigua reservation by utilizing GIS surveys.

Project 4: A research project has also been initiated with the Tohono O’odham Tribe in southern Arizona under the direction of Dr. Dan McCool, University of Utah. McCool’s team will undertake an extensive GIS survey of designated reservation areas to create a natural resource baseline.

Project 5: Dr. John Mexal, New Mexico State University, will also work with the Tohono O’odham tribe in Arizona. The objective of his work will be to determine whether the waste material from the Cyprus-Tohono copper mine can be productively converted into a soil amendment.

A key component of our research plan will be to maintain a "respectful methodology." We do not seek to approach the tribes as "outside experts" but as collaborators seeking mutually beneficial solutions. As a result, we will approach these projects with the greatest sensitivity toward the collective Indian concerns and will make every effort to involve the tribes at every stage of the research. Our ultimate goal is to foster inter-tribal cooperation on a binational level which builds capacity by utilizing existing tribal resources.

In summary, over a three to five year span, SCERP faculty from the five U.S. universities as well as a number of Mexican universities and NGOs will work closely with interested native communities and appropriate government agencies to accomplish the following goals:

1) identify, in consultation with the tribes, the need for baseline environmental data on the reservation or Indian community.

2) in consultation with the tribes, analyze their unique political problems, help the tribes assess the effectiveness of various conflict resolution methodologies, and investigate the impact of government environmental policies on tribal sovereignty.

3) provide public outreach by sponsoring conferences and workshops to disseminate the results of the research.

These U.S.-Mexico Indian communities were selected for a number of reasons. First, some of the SCERP faculty have already conducted field work among these tribal groups and, thus, we have a good data base upon which to conduct further research. Second, because of our prior efforts, we have a good working relationship with tribal members. Finally, because this series of research initiatives are designed to complement existing efforts and not to duplicate activities initiated by the tribal governments or by outside agencies such as the EPA or IHS; therefore, we believe that our projects will have a high probability of success.

The significance of the SCERP Border Tribes Program is that it will develop information and analysis about border environmental issues that will have practical application to the various stakeholders involved. The mechanisms applied in carrying out these four projects will be fully described in a final bilingual document so that other indigenous communities interested in utilizing the same models will be able to maximize their use. As a result, it is projected that the outcomes of these binational research efforts will be of utility to all actors involved in border environmental issues such as federal, state, and local authorities on both sides of the international boundaries, local communities, private sector organizations, and university scholars.