An investigation of United States federal policy attempts to reduce American Indian and Alaska Native disaster vulnerability.

摘要

United States disaster preparedness policy and American Indian Alaska Native policy both have a long and complex history. The intersection between these two policy arenas, however, has only emerged as a distinct area of concern over the past several decades, especially as related to preparing tribal areas for extreme events. This thesis aims to answer the following questions, in order to contribute to this important area of scholarship and practice: What policy actions have been taken by the Federal Government to address American Indian and Alaska Native disaster vulnerability? and To what extent have American Indian and Alaska Native tribes engaged with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the production of tribal mitigation plans under the Robert T. Stafford Act?.;In order to answer these questions, the thesis uses a mixed methodological approach harnessing document analysis, secondary descriptive statistical analysis, and GIS visualization techniques. It begins with a document analysis of historically relevant American Indian policy (1823-1970) and federal disaster policy (1950-2002). Further, it explores the convergence between these two arenas in the form of contemporary federal American Indian Alaska Native disaster policy (2002-2015). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has emerged as the primary federal institution focusing on American Indian Alaska Native (AIAN) disaster policy, both as the manifestation of executive and legislative orders and acts and through the production of comprehensive institutional tribal policies.;This research reveals that there are historical and contemporary policy issues related to AIAN sovereignty, consultation, and cooperation that have yet to be resolved within the Federal Government. Additionally ongoing issues of cost-sharing for smaller tribes contradicting principles of sovereignty in the face of disaster and a lack of policy attention on tribal security issues are areas of concern within current policy that have yet to be rectified by either FEMA or its superseding department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Many of these policy challenges are driven by a nebulous operationalization and definition of the term "vulnerability" by federal agencies, which has resulted in a limited lens of analysis that largely ignores factors of social vulnerability for AIAN populations and tribal areas.;The thesis also analyzes one of these key federal programs in more depth through a descriptive statistical and geographic analysis of FEMA's tribal mitigation planning program. The results are a summary comparison between non-publically available tribal mitigation planning data and historical tribal disaster declarations in order to gain a more specific understanding of tribes, States, and regions that are particularly at risk from disasters.;The analysis was conducted on the mitigation plan status of all 566 federally recognized tribes. The analysis shows that as of September 30, 2015, only 192 tribes (33.92%) have formally engaged with FEMA at any stage of the disaster mitigation planning process. Out of these 192 tribes, 117 (20.67% of all tribes) have a FEMA approved disaster plan in effect.;The importance of visualization in disaster planning has been recognized and embraced by FEMA through their development of rudimentary maps that include a range of information on disaster statistics for the United States. The importance of mapping software has also being acknowledged by tribes with current estimates suggesting that 45% of tribes are using some form of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) to manage land under tribal jurisdiction. As part of the contribution of this thesis, an Interactive Tribal Disaster Mitigation Map was created using GIS and building upon grounded visualization theory. The map acts as a potential tool for increased openness and collaboration between tribes and the Federal Government for future participatory disaster planning.;This thesis concludes with a summary of the findings and a discussion of the implications of the research. One major takeaway message is that if significant attention is not dedicated to encouraging more participation in FEMA's voluntary mitigation planning program, a sizeable proportion of the 1.1 million individuals living on AIAN areas remain at risk to future catastrophic disasters. While tribes may not be unique in their low levels of participation in mitigation planning compared to the nation as a whole, their status as a population that is particularly socially vulnerable means this is an undeniably important area of focus. New, experimental methods of data sharing and visualization provide the capacity for federal institutions such as FEMA to better understand and address AIAN disaster vulnerability through policy and action. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).