Julie Brigham-Grette Advocates for Collaborative NSF Mandate in the Arctic
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Julie Brigham-Grette, a professor in the College of Natural Sciences’s Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences and a newly selected co-lead of the Climate Expert Group for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), recently admitted to Science that "she was 'an extractive scientist' when she began studying ancient Arctic climates four decades ago," due to norms in research at the time. Since then, she has worked to involve local people in any research she does.
With this in mind, Brigham-Grette received a $1.2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant in 2021 for a research project titled "Meq unguvatkarput (water is our livelihood)," developed in collaboration with tribal leaders. This collaborative approach, which Brigham-Grette views as "good practice," has now led to a new requirement for NSF funding.
The NSF will now mandate that researchers obtain written approval from any impacted federally recognized American Indian or Alaska Native Tribal Nation before receiving funding. This policy, which follows a series of executive orders by President Biden affirming tribal sovereignty, is the most significant action by a federal agency to formalize partnerships with Indigenous communities. Brigham-Grette explains it this way:
"Suppose someone came up to you and said, ‘Look, I want to camp in your backyard. And, oh, can I borrow your car?’ You’d want to know what’s going on, and maybe even how you might help. So I think it makes really good sense to plan ahead, build that relationship, and make sure you’re going to be welcome.”
— Julie Brigham-Grette to Science
Click here to read more in Science.