MS Thesis Defense – Patrick Austin Freeland

Friday, February 28^th

3:00 PM

PFEN 120

Abstract

Climate Change Risk, Impact, & Vulnerability in Indian Country

Very little literature exists which details how climate change impacts Indian Country. This study investigates how US newspaper stories published from 1991 to 2011 present American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) perceptions, and observations, of environmental changes resulting from climate change. Several specific risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities were documented, and observations of climate change from AI/AN perceptions were analyzed for content to identify three frames of perspective: pan-Indian, tribally-specific, and individual perceptions.

Gaining Consent: Navigating the Tribal IRB Process

By law, ethical considerations are paramount when dealing with research in AI/AN tribes and communities. While each nation is supposed to review research to assess the risk and beneficence of research, in practice several tribes have neither a standing research ethics committee nor institutional review board (IRB).

This research details the methodology of contact, communication, and consideration when working with

tribal nations in the US.

Christal Musser

Program Coordinator

Ecological Sciences and Engineering

Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs

The Purdue University Graduate School | Purdue University

Ernest C. Young Hall, Room B-40 | 155 S. Grant Street | West Lafayette, IN 47907

Email: musser@purdue.edu | Web: www.purdue.edu/ese

Phone: 765-494-2102 | Fax: 765-496-6271

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