Co-Producing the Watershed: polyvocal data and situated knowledges of the Duwamish River Valley Coordination Network
Topics: Environmental Science
, Cultural and Political Ecology
, Indigenous Peoples
Keywords: co-generation, post-industrial, place-based restoration, Native sovereinty, environmenal justice
Session Type: Virtual Paper
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 4/9/2021 03:05 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/9/2021 04:20 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 10
Authors:
Cleo Woelfle Erskine, University of Washington
Catherine De Almeida, University of Washington
Kristin Dew, University of Washington
Christopher Schell, University of Washington, Tacoma
P. Joshua Griffin, University of Washington, Seattle
Melanie Malone, University of Washington, Bothell
Amir Sheikh, Independent Scholar
Samantha Klein, University of Washington, Seattle
George Thomas, Jr., University of Washington, Seattle
James Lee, University of Washington, Seattle
Abstract
Frontline communities enlist cross-disciplinary scholars to develop more responsive science. Feminist science studies argue for situated forms of inquiry and collaboration across the researcher/researched divide. Indigenous research methodologies, in particular, ground scientific studies in protocol and relationality, sometimes using cosmopolitan methods in concert with Indigenous knowledge. However, these approaches are often dismissed as unreliable by environmental managers whose research is often disconnected from community concern, impeding revitalization of damaged landscapes.
Urban communities in the Lower Duwamish River have been underserved and overstudied. Enduring legacies of settler-colonialism, industrialization, and redlining reduced ecosystem function and harmed human health. Tribes and grassroots groups supported residents’ connection to this vibrant river through protests, policy, and community projects, holding agencies accountable for Superfund cleanup, which targets contaminants in sediment, shellfish, and fish. However, academic research often overlooks community priorities, or duplicates community studies.
The Duwamish Valley Research Coordination Network (DVRCN) addresses these gaps through co-created, community-driven assessment, visioning, and dissemination. The DVRCN “Science Shop” convenes a process for learning across academic, Indigenous, and local knowledges, linked with a lending library of field equipment, and a digital communication platform. We piloted this infrastructure to support the Duwamish Tribe’s watershed assessment and trail network design. Weaving together stream sensing, camera trapping, bioblitz and storytelling events, and drone mapping, we mobilize polyvocal ways of knowing and interpreting watershed health to generate research priorities among networked organizations. This approach can enable other biophysical research projects to challenge power dynamics, reshape knowledge politics, and reconfigure collaborations towards justice.
