The use of cultural risk assessment within the 1994 Tribal land-grant colleges and universities

In 1994, the United States Congress established 35 Colleges or Universities on Reservation Lands of the Native Americans throughout the Midwest and Western United States. These new institutions were provided annual funds from the United States Department of Agriculture for education, research and extension, components of the Land-Grant system. Today, issues related to risk assessment and risk management confront tribal decision-makers as they cope with risks, both real and perceived, that include the transportation of hazardous materials through the reservation, the clean-up of contaminated sites within the reservation, the environmental restoration of Federal facilities, the siting of waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, the development of tribal mineral and other natural resources, and the construction and operation of industrial and commercial facilities within the reservation. Tribal decision-makers lack Indian-specific epidemiologic, genetic, and cultural information that impact current risk assessment models needed to incorporate tribal cultural issues. There is a need to enhance the science skills of tribal college faculty in assisting tribal councils and tribal colleges in the long-term planning and stewardship of natural resources on their reservations.