Indigenous Environmental Justice and Fossil Fuel Infrastructure (2026-2027)
Background
Despite growing national attention to environmental justice and climate solutions, Indigenous environmental justice — which emphasizes sovereignty, self-determination and the rights articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — remains understudied in higher education. Indigenous environmental justice centers the meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples in decisions affecting their lands and livelihoods, particularly when development involves energy extraction or fossil fuel infrastructure.
In the United States, pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure are frequently routed through or near Indigenous communities without free, prior and informed consent. Nationally recognized movements such as the opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline underscore the need for deeper public understanding of the political, cultural and historical dimensions shaping Indigenous responses to energy development.
Project Description
This project will explore community perceptions of natural gas pipelines in Robeson County, North Carolina, a diverse rural county that includes the largest Indigenous population in the eastern United States and is home to the Lumbee Tribe. By combining archival research and oral histories, the project will illuminate how residents understand and respond to past and present fossil fuel infrastructure.
Students will learn foundational concepts in Indigenous environmental justice and conduct archival research using newspapers, state public records and historical documents from the North Carolina State Archives and Duke’s Rubenstein Library. As major themes and patterns emerge, team members will conduct a thematic analysis that will guide oral history interview protocols.
After preparing protocols and receiving oral history training from Duke instructors and external experts, students will conduct interviews in pairs in partnership with a community organization in Robeson County. Students will transcribe interviews, analyze the resulting qualitative data, and synthesize findings across archival and oral history work to produce materials for community partners and academic audiences.
Anticipated Outputs
- Digital archive of oral history recordings and transcripts related to natural gas pipeline development in Robeson County
- Qualitative dataset informing future scholarly publications
- Outreach materials for use by community partners
- Presentations at community-oriented conferences in North Carolina
Student Opportunities
Ideally, this team will include 5 graduate and 5 undergraduate students from disciplines such as history, environmental science and policy, cultural anthropology, public policy, divinity, earth and climate sciences and related fields. Students with an interest in qualitative methods, community-engaged research, Indigenous studies or environmental justice are especially encouraged to apply.
This project will equip students with the methodological and ethical tools needed to conduct community-engaged research through an Indigenous environmental justice lens. Team members will gain skills and experience in archival research, qualitative coding and analysis using advanced software, oral history collection, data stewardship, collaboration with community partners, and public scholarship and presentation. Graduate students will gain leadership experience by mentoring undergraduates and helping manage project deliverables.
In Fall 2026, this team will meet on Thursdays from 1:40-4:10 p.m.
Timing
Fall 2026 – Spring 2027
Fall 2026:
- Conduct archival research and thematic analysis
- Develop interview questions
Spring 2027:
- Train in oral history methods and ethics
- Conduct interviews in Robeson County
- Analyze and synthesize data
- Prepare project deliverables for community partners and conferences
Crediting
Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters