Presenter: Cholena Wright
Faculty Mentor: Brian Klopotek
Presentation Type: Oral
Primary Research Area: Humanities
Major: Political Science
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe located in western Washington state fell victim to a mysterious run of reproductive challenges. Over the span of more than a decade the majority of pregnancies in the community resulted in miscarriage, still born, and infant mortality. This tragic and overwhelming loss of pregnancies went largely ignored for years and remains unexplained to this day. The paper will attempt to offer insight into the potential for environmental pollution and contamination due to nearby fishing, cranberry, and forestry industries. The industries were negligent in their use of endocrine disrupting toxins and pesticides. Thus, the paper will argue that these industries were the perpetrators of environmental racism against the Shoalwater, and directly involved in causing this reproductive tragedy. Environmental degradation has prevented countless tribes from practicing their traditional ways, encroached on their traditional territory, and had adverse effect on the health of these nations. The Shoalwater are a very extreme example of how environmental racism, harmful stereotypes, and wanton disregard practiced by industries can reify intergenerational trauma and perpetuate the stolen generation practices of colonialism.