Using Traditional Methods for Collaborative Fieldwork in a Uranium Food Chain Study on Diné Lands in the US Southwest

Collaborative research between scientists and local community members is often required to collect needed study samples and inform the overall study. This is particularly true in Indigenous communities where local knowledge and practices are integral to data collection, analysis, and dissemination. This study reports on a traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) collaborative methodological approach utilized for data collection in this unique community. In collaboration with Diné (Navajo) tribal harvesters and leaders in northwestern New Mexico, participants were recruited utilizing chain-referral recruitment and selection from a preexisting cohort. The research examined the extent of metal(loid) contamination in the primary food chain in a uranium (U) mining impacted area. Key food chain items (sheep, squash, herbal tea plants), water, and livestock forage samples were collected and determined for metal(loid)s (cesium, cadmium, molybdenum, lead, thorium, U, vanadium, arsenic, and selenium). This paper reports on the five-step process employed that involved local Diné food harvesters incorporating indigenous TEK and practices with Western science-based knowledge and practices. The five steps of harvest-based monitoring are: (1) identify goal and research questions, (2) design the study according to Diné and scientific protocols, (3) determine respective collaborative roles during fieldwork, (4) implement the fieldwork, and (5) analyze and disseminate the findings. Collaborative work supported constructs of respectfulness, trust, kinship, enhanced communication, and provided better understanding of contamination by researchers, community members, and leaders. The study allowed for the collection of baseline data and realistic reassessment goal recommendations for the future.