WITHDRAWN: Environmental Reproductive Justice Experiences in an Indigenous Gulf Coast Tribe

Background and Purpose:

Environmental reproductive justice (ERJ) is increasingly being utilized as a framework for exploring how environmental exploitation and pollution contribute to reproductive health and reproductive injustices. However, little research explores how settler colonialism and historical oppression contribute to the physical transformation of land, and how this undermines Indigenous tribal members health. Even less research explores the intersection of environmental justice (EJ) and reproductive justice (RJ) among Indigenous groups, especially in the Gulf South, who are especially vulnerable to environmental justice issues due to climate change, land loss, and oil company exploitation, and for tribes that are non-federally recognized.

Methods:

A qualitative descriptive research methodology was used. This methodology is culturally congruent with conducting research with Indigenous groups. The PI worked with a community advisory board (CAB) made up of tribal members to ensure the project was culturally appropriate and to explore how to make the end product of the research beneficial for the health of the tribal community. Data were collected through qualitative semi-structured life-history interviews with female tribal members who self-identified as members of the tribe. All female community members over the age of 18 were eligible to participate. Interviews were conducted where individuals feel most comfortable, and frequently took place in interviewee homes and at tribal community centers. Women were recruited through the use of fliers, word-of-mouth and snow-ball sampling. Interviews were recorded and took between 1-1 1/2 hours and were then transcribed verbatim and analyzed with NVivo software.

Results:

Three key themes emerged illustrating the ERJ framework. These include: (a) Environmental Injustices; (b) Concerns About Community Health; and (c) Experiences of Reproductive Injustices. Findings of this study reveal that central components of reproductive justice, including the ability to have children and the ability to raise children in safe and healthy environments are undermined by EJ issues in the community. Women were cognizant of the impact environmental harms were having on their own health, that of their children, and of the community as a whole. These experiences are contextualized using the ERJ framework.

Conclusions and Implications:

This study is unique in applying the ERJ framework to a Gulf Coast, and to a non-federally recognized, Indigenous tribe. The results of this research suggest that tribal members not only are exposed to environmental hazards in the form of climate change, pollution, land loss and oil company exploitation, but that these threats act as a continuation of settler colonialism and undermine the health and reproductive capabilities of the tribal community. These findings highlight the urgent need for government and corporations to take action to address and remedy the environmental and health damages that have been caused, in addition to the need for tribal sovereignty over their land. Because of the rapid changes occurring to the environment, and their negative impact on the health of tribal communities, the need for action is urgent. Recognizing Indigenous sovereignty is central to addressing these ERJ issues.