GA 6 - 2025

GA 6: Geoscience and Environmental Justice in Indigenous Communities

The 6th Geoscience Alliance (GA-6) conference took place in North Carolina and allowed for increased participation from the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, which have been underrepresented at prior Geoscience Alliance conferences. The conference theme, Geoscience and Environmental Justice in Indigenous Communities, focused on the distributions of environmental benefits and burdens in the United States, along with the environmental policies, practices, and power dynamics that influence these distributions. Noting that Indigenous communities regularly shoulder disproportionately large environmental burdens from pollution, resource extraction, and climate change, conference participants learned about, shared, and discussed some of the ways that Indigenous and western knowledges can be used to address these problems and promote environmental justice. By increasing the involvement of Native American communities underrepresented in geoscience and environmental science, the conference helped enhance human capacity in these fields at a national level.

The GA-6 conference elevated Indigenous perspectives in environmental justice research, education, and engagement, sparking ideas, dialogue, and collaboration among participants and their networks. The three-day conference, like past GA conferences, included discussion circles, workshops, a poster session, and field trips. The main objectives of the GA-6 conference were learning, networking and career progress, understanding, making the experience memorable, and growing the community. The conference fulfilled each of these objectives under the established and effective Geoscience Alliance principle that everyone teaches and everyone learns. The GA-6 conference also served to disseminate information to participants about opportunities such as Research Experience for Undergraduate programs, internships, and academic degree programs. The conference's focus on networking helped all participants build strong networks of peers and collaborators.

Location: Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment

Local Host: Professor Ryan Emanuel

April 24-26, 2025: GA6 Conference