Karletta Chief, Ph.D. – Partnering with Tribal Communities to Protect Water from Pollution and Climate Change
Karletta Chief, Ph.D., a hydrologist at the University of Arizona, facilitates collaborations between Indigenous communities and researchers to build resilience and improve environmental health.
Chief explained how her interest in water stemmed from growing up within Navajo nation.
“Water is a real part of my identity,” Chief explained in a Science Friday video series. “The Navajo people, or Diné people, have this deep connection to the environment.”
Despite the importance of the environment to their livelihood and culture, Chief’s community lives where their environment is threatened by mining operations.
“Coal mining pollution affected my family both environmentally and health wise, and that is what fueled my motivation to study water and help my community understand how to better protect themselves.”
After receiving her Ph.D. in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona, Chief completed her postdoctoral research at the Desert Research Institute, where she began to explore how climate change can further affect tribal communities’ water.