There are significant pregnancy health disparities experienced by American Indians in the Great Plains region that are not well understood. Community-based research projects (CBRPs) are one of the best ways to understand why these disparities exist and how we can reduce them. Conducting a CBRP requires building a trusting relationship with the American Indian community and the researchers. As well as having community members and researchers work together on the project will show that we value the community members and their input just as much as our own. It will also allow us to write the findings from a community perspective not just an outsider’s perspective. Our McNair research plan is to establish a trusting CBRP collaboration with the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa Indians focusing on institutions that will help us conduct the Healthy American Indian Pregnancy Project that is under grant consideration.

Possession Sound, located in the northeast arm of the Whidbey Basin, is in close proximity to urbanized and industrialized areas where rainfall produces surface runoff throughout the year. Urban runoff carries a variety of pollutants and heavy metals into Possession Sound, increasing the levels in the aquatic environment. Students at the Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA) have been conducting research of biological, physical, and chemical parameters at five rotating sites since 2010, including collection of benthic sediments for heavy metal analysis. We compiled data records from this time period, as well as ongoing sampling, to observe trends between location and heavy metal concentration. The Everett Environmental Laboratory completes the analysis of six heavy metals; for this study, we selected lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) due to their potential to cause adverse effects in the marine environment. We hypothesized that sampling sites closer to shore would contain higher concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn compared to a sampling site farther away from cities and industrial areas. Using archived data from 2012-2015, and ongoing research in 2016, we compared three locations of varying distance from shore. The results showed higher levels of Pb near Mukilteo (closest to shore), with an average of 7.4 mg/kg. Contradicting the hypothesis, the location furthest from shore had the highest average values of Cu and Zn (6.7 mg/kg and 30.9 mg/kg, respectively). Considering these data, further monitoring of Possession Sound for anthropogenic influence will be conducted of sediment near storm drains adjacent to marine ecosystems in areas such as eelgrass beds, which act as a nursery for many invertebrate species in Possession Sound and have the ability to bioaccumulate heavy metals, removing them from the sediment.