Displacement & Diaspora: Indigeneity in Northwest Arkansas

Description
Northwest Arkansas has a complex relationship with Indigeneity due to the erasure experience by the original inhabitants of the lands, and the presences of newly immigrated Indigenous groups such as the Marshallese people from the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Northwest Arkansas has a complex relationship with Indigeneity due to the erasure experience by the original inhabitants of the lands, and the presences of newly immigrated Indigenous groups such as the Marshallese people from the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Today, the Indigenous identity that is most commonly present within the Northwest Arkansas community are the Marshallese people. The reason as to why the original inhabitants of modern-day Northwest Arkansas are not the most prominently represented Indigenous group, is because of severe erasure, genocide, and systematic racism experienced by these people. This thesis will be investigating the Indigenous identities of Northwest Arkansas, which will include information on the first peoples and the modern-day presence of the Marshallese people. This thesis will particularly be focusing on the ways in which the legacy of colonialism and climate change have linked these groups in their displacement. Despite the differing time periods, the interconnectedness between these Indigenous populations’ experiences with colonialism and colonialist systems further demonstrates the threat that Indigenous populations still face today of erasure and continual oppression. Through both populations’ mutual experience with displacement and diaspora, this thesis will investigate how food can act as an essential connector between Indigenous individuals and their culture, as well as how food can be a form of reparations, healing, and future progress.
Date Created
2023-12
Agent

Examining Risk Frameworks in the Stibnite Gold Project: A Public Discourse Analysis of Four Key Actors

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Description
Contemporary renewable energy transitions require the extraction of critical minerals necessary to produce new green technologies. The Stibnite Gold Project located in Valley County, Idaho, is one of many proposed mine sites to supply raw materials for renewable energy infrastructure.

Contemporary renewable energy transitions require the extraction of critical minerals necessary to produce new green technologies. The Stibnite Gold Project located in Valley County, Idaho, is one of many proposed mine sites to supply raw materials for renewable energy infrastructure. A variety of actors including the mine operator, Perpetua Resources, use varying approaches to risk to measure the impacts of potential mine operations. A formal permitting process facilitated by US regulatory bodies assess these risks and proposals for their mitigation. This study examines the permitting process for the proposed mine, the Stibnite Gold Project, in Idaho in order to better understand what risks are considered and how they are conceptualized. Specifically, it examines public discourse from the mine operator Perpetua Resources, key regulators, key NGOs, and the Nez Perce tribal community. A critical discourse analysis reveals the development of distinct risk, economic, restorative, and decision authority narratives among each actor. These narratives shape approaches to risk. However, they also reveal settler colonialism and other intersecting systems of oppression are reinstated and/or resisted in each actors approach to risk. Drawing on existing literature as well as new empirical data from the discourse analysis, this study shows limits to prevailing approaches to risk that need to be addressed so that future efforts to advance sustainability-driven renewable energy transitions do not impose unjust costs on Indigenous peoples.
Date Created
2023
Agent

Black and Indigenous Food System Initiatives in Arizona

Description

This creative project is composed of two parts: a food map of Black and Indigenous food systems in Arizona and a written component analyzing the initiatives. The map is composed of thirty-five initiatives focused on agriculture, food preparation, food distribution,

This creative project is composed of two parts: a food map of Black and Indigenous food systems in Arizona and a written component analyzing the initiatives. The map is composed of thirty-five initiatives focused on agriculture, food preparation, food distribution, and traditional knowledge. Each initiative on the map has a summary of their work, a quote, and a link to their website to help viewers interact with and support these initiatives. The written portion contains an overview of some historical and current barriers for Black and Indigenous food systems and a database used to systematically analyze the initiatives for trends in demographics, focuses, goals, and barriers. This creative project aimed to assess barriers and opportunities for Black and Indigenous food systems while creating an accessible resource that compiles different initiatives within these communities.

Date Created
2023-05
Agent

Trash to Treasure: Turning Food Waste from Food Banks into Garden Compost

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Description
Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to

Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This thesis project set out to conduct a small-scale composting system that diverted would-be food waste from a local food bank to a community garden, where food scraps would decompose into compost to then be turned into a valuable, nutrient-rich amendment in that local garden. Engaging with this food bank and community garden allowed us to leverage the existing relationship between the two, and experiment and develop a framework that would demonstrate the feasibility of a long-term composting system in this community. By conducting this project throughout 2021, we saw where strategies worked well, what challenges remained, and where future opportunities could be expanded on. In the end, we diverted over 2000 lbs of uneaten food away from the food bank and into our composting system. We concluded our project report by providing a set of actionable recommendations and future framework guidelines that could be used by the local community garden in the future or be referenced to by other interested parties.
Date Created
2012-12
Agent

Trash to Treasure: Turning Food Waste from Food Banks into Garden Compost

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Description
Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to

Food waste is a significant problem in many developed nations, especially the United States. Each year millions of pounds of uneaten or partially eaten food scraps are thrown into landfill, where it degrades anaerobically, producing methane gas emissions, contributing to foul odors, and contributing to an unsustainable food system. This thesis project set out to conduct a small-scale composting system that diverted would-be food waste from a local food bank to a community garden, where food scraps would decompose into compost to then be turned into a valuable, nutrient-rich amendment in that local garden. Engaging with this food bank and community garden allowed us to leverage the existing relationship between the two, and experiment and develop a framework that would demonstrate the feasibility of a long-term composting system in this community. By conducting this project throughout 2021, we saw where strategies worked well, what challenges remained, and where future opportunities could be expanded on. In the end, we diverted over 2000 lbs of uneaten food away from the food bank and into our composting system. We concluded our project report by providing a set of actionable recommendations and future framework guidelines that could be used by the local community garden in the future or be referenced to by other interested parties.
Date Created
2021-12
Agent

Studio 303: Three sopranos & three clarinets

Date Created
2000-10-16
Agent