Development of a Culturally Anchored Qualitative Approach to Conduct and Analyze Focus Group Narratives Collected in Diné (Navajo) Communities to Understand the Impacts of the Gold King Mine Spill of 2015

The Gold King Mine Spill (Spill) occurred in August 2015 upstream from Silverton, Colorado and released three million gallons of contaminated water into the Animas River, a tributary to the San Juan River that flows across the Navajo Nation. Using principles of community-engaged research, the Gold King Mine Spill Diné Exposure Project co-developed a culturally anchored approach to conduct focus groups and analyze narratives collected in three Diné (Navajo) communities along the San Juan River within 9 months of the Spill. Focus group questions were designed to document the socio-cultural impacts of the Spill. This paper: (1) outlines the partnerships and approvals; (2) describes focus group design, training, data collection and analysis; and (3) reflects on the use of a culturally anchored approach in Indigenous, specifically Diné-centered research. Diné social and cultural etiquette and concepts of relationality were used to adapt standard (non-Indigenous) qualitative methods. Findings describe community perceptions of short-term impacts of the disaster, as well as past and present injustices, communication related to the Spill, and concerns of persistent threats to Diné lifeways. The culturally anchored approach was critical in fostering trust with Diné participants and aligned with the candor of the discussions.

Portable X-ray Fluorescence (PXRF) Analysis of Total Metal(loid)s and Sequential Extraction of Bioavailable Arsenic in Agricultural Soils of Animas Watershed

The Animas River provides irrigation water in northwestern New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. Concerns regarding the river water quality arose on August 5, 2015, when approximately 11.35 million liters of heavy metal contaminated water was accidentally released from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River. This study sought to determine the total concentrations of 7 heavy metal(loid)s (As, Pb, and Zn as metals of concern and Fe, Mn, Ca, and Cu as metals of interest) using portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) in two agricultural fields and compare these values to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional screening levels (RSL). Total concentrations of 6 out of 7 metals were below the RSL; only As exceeded the soil screening value of 7.07 mg kg−1 at some locations in the agricultural fields. We also determined water-soluble (WS) and exchangeable fractions (Ex) of As that might be available for agricultural crop uptake using sequential extractions. The WS-As ranged from 0.014 to 0.074 mg kg−1 and Ex-As ranged from 0.135 to 0.248 mg kg−1 and thus were less than 1 and 3% of the total As concentration respectively (ranging from 5.62 to 14.79 mg kg−1) and not considered a threat for plant tissue accumulation. While the concentrations of As observed in the agricultural fields may have exceeded screening levels, the As was not apparently plant available and its risk to crops was determined to be low.