Episode 61: Blackwater Swamps
“My people value water in ways that are different than a simple commodity or hazard. I wanna make sure that those values are present in conversations about what do we do going forward in this era of climate change, pollution, and flooding.”
A conversation with professor Ryan Emanuel (hydrologist, Lumbee tribe member, Duke University) about Indigenous survival and resilience across swamps, plains, and blackwaters in Eastern North Carolina. Released November 15, 2024.
guests on the show
Dr. Ryan Emanuel
Ryan Emanuel is a Lumbee hydrologist and community-engaged scholar from North Carolina. A tenured faculty member at Duke University, Ryan leads a research group based at the Duke River Center that studies how humans and our non-human relatives affect (and are affected by) water and environmental processes. Ryan’s research group studies complex relationships across academic disciplines, including ecohydrology, watershed science, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights. Ryan’s group is based in the Nicholas School of the Environment and is one of four research groups inhabiting the Duke River Center. His work promotes environmental justice and Indigenous rights through research, teaching, and public engagement. Ryan collaborates with tribal governments, Indigenous organizations, and other groups to promote environmental justice and Indigenous rights. He also serves on advisory committees and boards that advance these goals by informing policy and public conversations around energy, food, water, and sustainability.
Ryan is a former professor and University Faculty Scholar at NC State University, and he was a 2020-2021 Fellow at the National Humanities Center. He has written or co-authored more than 60 academic articles. Ryan’s book, On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice (UNC Press, 2024) is now available for purchase online and in bookstores.