JoRee LaFrance – also known as Iichiinmáatchileesh/Fortunate with Horses – comes from the Apsáalooke/Crow Nation located in southeastern Montana. She holds a B.A. in Earth Sciences and Native American Studies from Dartmouth College and is now a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. Her PhD research – Contaminant Behavior in the Indige-FEWSS nexus: Addressing the concentration- discharge relationship in the Little Bighorn River watershed, Crow Reservation, Montana – seeks to understand the relationship of seasonal river flows and pollutant flux using high frequency sampling, multiparameter sensors, and advanced technologies in chemical analysis. Her ultimate goal is to support the Apsáalooke Nation in setting their own water quality standards based on cultural uses by obtaining treatment-as-state status under the Clean Water Act. She is an Aspen Institute Forum on Women and girls SOAR Fellow, CNAY Generation Indigenous Movement Builders Fellow, UNITY 25 Under 25 Recipient, University of Arizona CALS Impact Leader Fellow, CLIMAS Environment and Society Fellow, Carson Scholar, National GEM Fellow, Sloan Scholar, as well as an NSF NRT Indigenous Food, Energy, Water Security, and Sovereignty (Indige-FEWSS) Fellow. In her free time, JoRee enjoys serving as a community organizer/advocate, hanging out with the elders and youth in her family, riding horses, playing with her two dogs, beading, and running a few games of basketball.
Photo Credit: Robyn Iron of Votonae Photography
