Bridging science and tradition: Dr. Joslynn Lee inspires the next generation of Native scientists
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DURANGO, Colo. — Joslynn Lee’s research as assistant professor of chemistry at Fort Lewis College centers environmental studies. In 2015, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) crew accidently released 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater at the Gold King Mine north of Silverton. The spill flowed from Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River, down through Durango and into the San Juan River.
Lee, who is of the Diné (Navajo), K’awaika (Laguna Pueblo) and Haak’u (Acoma Pueblo) people, is committed to studying what is in the water.
In 2019, she launched a Monitoring Environmental Microbiome program at Fort Lewis College to encourage Native American and underrepresented students to explore data science and scientific computing while studying the mining impacts on the San Juan Watershed, all framed within the broader context of environmental and social justice.
Outside the classroom and lab, Lee enjoys hiking and working on jigsaw puzzles.
Rocky Mountain PBS spoke with Lee about her path to becoming a scientist and her efforts to inspire the next generation. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Rocky Mountain PBS: What inspired you to become a scientist?
Joslynn Lee: I grew up in Farmington, New Mexico, and have close ties to the environment. I always went outside to explore the landscape and had a lot of questions of what plants grow in this area and why is this happening here since we’re in a desert in New Mexico.
When I wanted to pursue a career, I only really saw medical doctor as a way to impact my home community. But once I got into college, I got introduced to chemistry and just found this field is so vast and there’s so many career paths.
I was able to do research and found so many methods of studying bacteria and things we can’t see, and look at chemical reactions. It was really cool to have that perspective.
I really liked working on the computer. At the time there was a shift of computer storage space and the capability of using the internet. In grad school, I got interested in protein structure and how to handle the data. That pushed me into thinking about how we look at biological data.
I think the curiosity I had as a kid — how things work, making observations and learning about things — helps sustain me through science.
RMPBS: How has your background influenced your teaching and your approach to DNA study?
JL: When we think about DNA, it’s in a cell. And that cell comes from tissue or some living entity. Some tribal communities have taboos on dealing with tissue specimens of a human. The Indigenous perspective is you don’t want to be taking things from other people because you don’t want to disrupt the mental health of who you’re taking it from and the person taking it.
That’s one of the perspectives that can come up with people who don’t want to work with DNA. That’s also why I do the environmental side because I can just think of taking care of Mother Earth and look at bacteria that have generic information.
Because we serve a lot of Indigenous students, we should be respectful of whoever’s coming into the class. They can make that decision but we should let them know if we’re working with cells that come from a human. I like to give them the options.
RMPBS: What might be some of the challenges Native students face in getting into the STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) field.
JL: We had one graduate who grew up on the Navajo Nation. It’s large and there aren’t schools in every community. So he had to take an hour by bus to school, one way. How can we get those students to catch up if they’re spending a lot of time having that barrier, which could cause other things of not being able to focus on school sometimes.
I think the difficult reality is the lack of equal access to education at the high school level. I know that some schools are underfunded in many reservations, so some students don’t come with the strongest background to enter into some STEM major right away.
They have to take some courses that prepare them to get into our major courses. Sometimes it’s not feasible for them to graduate in four years because of the prep class.
I think we miss a good chunk of students who could fit into it but maybe they weren’t placed in the right classes right away or they find out about some of our STEM classes later. Some of them don’t even know there is a chemistry major or what can you do with the chemistry major.
RMPBS: How do you encourage Native students to get involved in STEM?
JL: I connect with the Native American Center, talk to first year incoming students. I usually present there and share with them that we’re friendly faculty, we’re here to support you. I think if they see a face or someone who has a lived experience like them, then they can also pursue it.
This fall we’re doing a series of workshops on traditional knowledge in science. We’re going to try to incorporate traditional knowledge of food and astronomy and build it into hands-on experience. So some students can see that their ancestors and family have practiced science, but [it] may not be a formal discipline.
Like my grandma, when she was picking plants to look at how to make natural dyes based on what you mix together. And then if you need to wash this, how do you keep the color? This is kind of like organic chemistry, analytical chemistry.
Research is really in a dominant perspective of who has the money, who has the resources to make all these discoveries. But a lot of people have been doing science throughout the world, they’re not just not told in that manner.
RMPBS: Can you tell us more about the FCL outdoor equity program?
JL: I’ve noticed Durango is a predominantly white community. I love getting out on the trails and I think there are different barriers, whether it’s financial or educational. So I wrote a grant to the Colorado Parks & Wildlife and a call to get youth in the outdoor space. Youth goes up to 24. We want to do activities to get our Indigenous, latinx, LGBTQ+ students to feel comfortable in more entry-level outdoor experiences.
We have outdoor pursuits on campus, but it’s at a level where you kind of have to have some base knowledge of outdoor skills, versus our group where you can come learn with us. We’ll drive you out, show you different trails, think about proper footwear and safety in a space that is predominately for BIPOC people.
I also think there are different perspectives on how you approach the outdoors. I think a lot of people see it as you go and hike up to the top of the mountain and say you conquered it from that colonial perspective. It’s very harmful because some of these mountains here have meaning to a lot of the Indigenous people.
For our group, when we go out we don’t see it as a checkbox. No, we’re connecting our being with Mother Earth.
RMPBS: Is there anything you want to say to students who might want to get into STEM?
JL: I think with anything in STEM, having a growth mindset is important. Instead of assuming you have to have this cookie cutter, think of it more as how can I access tools to help me learn. You might have to be creative or put in the extra effort, but you can do it!