Transformation Network Indigenous Engagement: What Information Do Indigenous Communities Need, and What Do Researchers Need to Know to Work With Them?

Please join us on Wednesday, September 25^th at 11am MT for a talk by Lani Tsinnajinnie, PhD of the University of New Mexico and Sharon Hausam, PhD of University of Oklahoma about their current effort to gather the information needs of Southwest Indigenous Communities and how researchers and scholars can best support them.

Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie and Dr. Sharon Hausam will present on “Transformation Network Indigenous Engagement: What Information Do Indigenous Communities Need, and What Do Researchers Need to Know to Work With Them?” at our September Speaker Series. They will describe the importance and history of Indigenous engagement as part of the Transformation Network from the proposal stage to the current work plan and beyond. The presentation will distinguish between “information needs” and “research needs,” discuss relationships and partnerships between community representatives and researchers, describe the advisory committee and community engagement process, and explore the range of potentially useful and usable resources that may support researchers working with Indigenous communities. The presentation will open up more discussion about the resources that researchers would find most useful as they strive to support this TN goal, which could include both practical and theoretical materials, case studies, general information about Tribal history or about specific Tribes, and technical assistance.

Dr. Sharon Hausam is a Climate Adaptation Planner & Research Scientist with the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, a regional organization covering Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Texas. Her professional practice and research address community-based and collaborative planning by Tribal, Indigenous, and other historically-marginalized communities; the use of information from western science and Indigenous knowledges in planning; adaptation and resilience; and climate and environmental justice. She has eighteen years of experience working as an employee of federally recognized Tribes, as well as experience working as a consultant and for regional organizations that coordinate with the Tribes within their boundaries. She has led the development of water, forestry, climate adaptation, renewable energy, land use, housing, capital project, transportation, recreation, economic development, and other strategic plans. Dr. Hausam helped initiate and continues to co-lead the New Mexico Tribal Planners’ Roundtable. She has taught Indigenous Environmental Planning and Planning on Native American Lands classes at the University of New Mexico, School of Architecture and Planning, since 2008, and is an affiliate of the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute. Dr. Hausam holds a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology and Art, a Master of Environmental Studies with a concentration in Social Ecology and Community Development, and a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning. She lives between the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande on traditional Southern Tiwa Pueblo land in what is currently known as Albuquerque.

Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie (she/her) is Diné/Filipina from Na’neelzhiin, NM. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Regional Planning at UNM. She received dual bachelor’s degrees in Native American Studies and Environmental Science in 2007 and a Master in Water Resources degree in 2011 from UNM. She earned her PhD in Hydrology from New Mexico Tech in 2018. Her research expertise is in mountain and watershed hydrology and her work focuses on helping Indigenous and rural communities plan for and understand the impacts of climate change on water resources.

Join Us on Zoom:

https://unm.zoom.us/j/91036334450