Science, Story, and the Land: A Conversation with Dr. Jani Ingram
On February 25th, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Jani Ingram for our Spring 2026 Native Voices in STEM presentation. Dr. Ingram is a Diné (Navajo) Regents’ Professor of Chemistry at Northern Arizona University, and her talk, “Partnering with Native American Students and Communities in Science and Training,” was both informative and genuinely moving. Whether you joined us in person or via Zoom, it was a wonderful afternoon.
Research That Hits Close to Home
A significant portion of Dr. Ingram’s presentation focused on a research study she led in the Cove community on the Navajo Nation. The area has a long history tied to uranium mining, and decades of abandoned mine sites have left the surrounding community with serious and lingering questions about environmental exposure and its effects on health.
One of the core questions her team sought to answer was whether livestock grazing near those abandoned mines were accumulating uranium and other heavy metals in their tissues. This is not just an academic question. For many Navajo families, traditionally raised sheep are a meaningful part of both diet and cultural life, so understanding what may be present in the meat and organs of those animals has real implications for community health.
Working alongside Navajo community members, Dr. Ingram and her research team collected organ and tissue samples from sheep in both the study area and a nearby reference area where mining had not occurred. Organs including bone, muscle, kidney, and liver were analyzed for the presence of uranium and other heavy metals. The butchering process itself was carried out in keeping with Navajo tradition, which speaks to how thoughtfully the study was designed from the start. This was community-driven science in the truest sense.
The results of this research are contributing to a broader conversation about environmental health in the Cove community and in similar communities across the Navajo Nation. While there is still much work to be done, studies like this one are an important step toward getting communities the information they deserve.
The Student Experience in STEM
What made this presentation especially memorable was the honest conversation Dr. Ingram opened up about what Native students encounter as they navigate their way through scientific training. These are not always easy things to talk about, and her willingness to name them directly was appreciated.
She described some of the barriers that can arise when Indigenous worldviews and Western scientific frameworks do not quite align. Something as routine as an assignment that asks students to place an economic value on land or natural resources can feel fundamentally at odds with how many Native students understand their relationship to the earth. Working with cadavers or animal remains in a lab setting carries spiritual significance that standard academic environments rarely pause to acknowledge. These are not small friction points. For students already navigating the challenges of higher education, they add another layer that most of their classmates never have to consider.
Dr. Ingram was clear that these challenges, while real, do not mean that Native students do not belong in science. Quite the opposite. She emphasized that Indigenous perspectives strengthen scientific work and that there is growing space for research that is both rigorous and culturally grounded. Her own career is a testament to that.
Thank You, Dr. Ingram
We are grateful to Dr. Ingram for sharing her time, her research, and her insight with our community. The presentation was followed by a Student Mentoring Cohort Session open to all students, which was a wonderful way to close out the afternoon.
We look forward to continuing this series and bringing more voices and perspectives to our NVIS community. For more information, visit nativefewsalliance.org or feel free to reach out to me directly at jcjbruce@arizona.edu.