Local Food Production and Community Illness Narratives: Responses to Environmental Contamination and Health Studies in the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne By Elizabeth Hoover B.A., Williams College 2001 A.M., Brown University, 2003 A Dissertation submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology at Brown University Providence RI May 2010 Copyright © 2010 by Elizabeth M. Hoover This dissertation by Elizabeth Hoover is accepted in its present form by the Department of Anthropology as satisfying the dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date……………………………. ……………..…………………………………………. Shepard Krech III, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date……………………………. …………. …………………………………………… Patricia Rubertone, Reader Date…………………………… ……….. ……………………………………………….. William Simmons, Reader Date…………………………… ………..………………………………………………… Phil Brown, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date……………………………………….. …………………………………………………… Dean of the Graduate School Elizabeth Hoover Department of Anthropology Sociology/Anthropology Department Box 1886 1 Alpha Dr Brown University Elizabethtown College Providence RI 02912 Elizabethtown PA 17022 ph: 518-265-9400 ph: 518-265-9400 [email protected] [email protected] Education Brown University , Providence, RI. PhD in Anthropology, 2010 Dissertation: Local Food Production and Community Illness Narratives: Responses to Environmental Contamination in the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne Sheridan Teaching Certificates I, II, and III 2006-2009 Certificate I: “The Teaching Seminar,” Certificate II: “The Classroom Tools Seminar,” Certificate III: “The Professional Development Seminar” MA in Anthropology, 2003 Master’s Paper: Arbiters of Authenticity; Living History in Native American Museums. Williams College , Williamstown, MA. BA in Anthropology and Psychology, 2001 Honors Thesis: The Self-Identification of Mixed-Blood Indians in the United States and Canada. Research Interests Environmental contamination in Native American communities, subsistence revival and community garden efforts, environmental justice, community based participatory research, political ecology, and health research conducted in Native American communities. Teaching Competencies Environmental Anthropology, Anthropology of Native North America, Northeast Native American History and Culture, Environmental Justice, Issues of Food and Community Agriculture, Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Health, Community Based Participatory Research, Insider and Indigenous Anthropology, Native Americans and the Media, Museum Studies. Teaching Experience Environmental Anthropology (Instructor) * Elizabethtown College, Sociology/Anthropology Department, Spring 2010 This class introduces some of the main theoretical approaches and practical applications of the study of environmental anthropology. We examine some of the main cultural and social aspects of the human-environment interface, such as different belief and value systems relating to the environment, resource conflict iv and management, conservation and biodiversity, agriculture and food security, climate change, and the environmental justice movement. Native North America; Political and Cultural Issues (Instructor) , * Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown PA), Sociology/Anthropology Department, Fall 2009 * Brown University (Providence RI), Ethnic Studies Department, Fall 2006 and Spring 2005 * University of Rhode Island (Kingston RI), Anthropology Department, Fall 2005 This class gives a broad over view of the diverse politics, cultures, histories, and representations of the Native peoples of North America, focusing on several key issues in the scholarship about, and lives of, Native peoples. I expected students to finish the class with a comprehension of the present day status of American Indians, in addition to an appreciation of their historical circumstances. Native Americans in the Media , (Instructor) * Brown University, Ethnic Studies Department, Spring 2006 This course explores the ways in which Indigenous Americans have been constructed in the White American imagination, as well as through self- representation from Frontier phase of American history, through contemporary images in American popular culture and media. War and Society , served as a teaching assistant for Professor Catherine Lutz, Brown University Anthropology Dept, Spring 2004. American Indian Education , served as the moderator for a student-run independent study, Brown University Ethnic Studies Program, Spring 2004. From Coyotes to Casinos , served as a teaching assistant for Professor Shepard Krech III, Brown University Anthropology Dept, Fall 2003. Grants, Fellowships, Awards Society for Applied Anthropology Beatrice Medicine Travel Award 2010 Provided travel funds to Merida, Mexico to present at the annual SfAA meeting K Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award 2010 Recognizes graduate students who show exemplary promise as future leaders of higher education; who demonstrate a commitment to developing academic and civic responsibility in themselves and others; and whose work reflects a strong emphasis on teaching and learning. Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship 2009-2010 Provides funding for dissertation completion. Swearer Center (Brown University) Dissertation Award 2009-2010 For students who are engaged in a community-based dissertation. NSF Cultural Anthropology Dissertation Improvement Grant 2008-2009 Provides funds for students to conduct dissertation field research Switzer Environmental Fellowship 2008—2009 v Academic awards for early-career environmental leaders working on projects that aim to directly improve environmental quality. ELP Environmental Leadership Program Fellowship 2008-2009 Series of workshops designed to build the leadership capacity of emerging environmental leaders Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship , Honorable Mention List 2008-2009 Graduate Fellowship , Brown University Graduate School 2008-2009 Lynn Reyer Tribal Community Development Grant, issued by the Society for the Preservation of American Indian Culture 2008-2009 For MA or PhD research relevant to Tribal community development Pre-dissertation Research Fellowship , Brown University Graduate School, 2006 To conduct exploratory research on environmental justice issues in Akwesasne prior to dissertation proposal writing Travel Fellowship Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, 2005 To conduct research on Iroquois beadwork at the Salamanca and Akwesasne reservations Summer Research Fellowship , Brown University Graduate School 2003 To conduct research on the formation of a Wampanoag cultural center Summer Masters Research Fellowship , Brown University Grad School 2002 To conduct research on Native American living history museums for MA thesis Irene Diamond Fellowship , Brown University, 2001-2002 To cover tuition and stipend for select minority first year students Ronald McNair Scholars Program , Williams College, 1999-2001 To increase attainment of PhD degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) Fellowship , Andover MA, July 2000 To encourage more students of color to become teachers Class of 1957 Scholarship , Williamstown MA, October 1999 and October 2000 Awarded to Juniors and Seniors who have successfully combined campus leadership with academic achievement Research Assistantships Brown Superfund Basic Research Program , Outreach Core May 2005-June 2008 The Outreach Core was part of a NIEHS funded project led by Professor Phil Brown in the Sociology and Environmental Studies departments. My duties involved assisting local community groups dealing with issues of environmental contamination through research, advocacy, public outreach and education, as well as working with state and federal environmental agencies. Social and Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology , September 2005- May 2008 NSF funded NIRT (Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams) grant project also led by Professor Brown, which involved interviewing scientists and surveying students about their views on the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology research. vi Iewirokwas Program/First Environment Research Project of Akwesasne, January 2007- Present Aboriginal midwifery and environmental health project directed by Katsi Cook. Work involves attending environmental health conferences, archival research, and assisting her with the editing of numerous grant and book projects. Publications Brown, Phil; Stephen Zavestoski , Sabrina McCormick , Brian Mayer , Rachel Morello- Frosch , Rebecca Gasior Altman , Crystal Adams , and Elizabeth Hoover . In Press. “Embodied Health Movements: Uncharted Territory in Social Movement Research” In Contested Illnesses: Ethnographic Explorations . Edited by Phil Brown, Rachel Morello-Frosch, and Stephen Zavestoski. University of California Press. (In press) Brown,Phil; Rachel Morello-Frosch, Stephen Zavestoski, Laura Senier, Rebecca Altman, Elizabeth Hoover , Sabrina McCormick, Brian Mayer, and Crystal Adams. In Press. “Health Social Movements : Advancing Traditional Medical Sociology Concepts” In Handbook of Health, Illness & Healing: Blueprint for the 21st Century. Ed by Bernice A. Pescosolido, Jack K. Martin, Jane McLeod, and Anne Rogers, New York: Springer (in press). Brown, Phil; Rachel Morello-Frosch , Stephen Zavestoski, Laura Senier, Rebecca Altman, Elizabeth Hoover , Sabrina McCormick, Brian Mayer, and Crystal Adams. In Press. “Field Analysis and Policy Ethnography: