iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Come work with me @dukeenvironment.bsky.social! The Division of Environmental Social Systems (ESS) at the Nicholas School of the Environment invites applications for the Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics & Management... academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32409 #Environment #Academia

academicjobsonline.org

Duke University, NSOE-Faculty

Job #AJO32409, Clarence Korstian Professor of Forest Economics and Management, NSOE-Faculty, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, US

088

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Although I left @ncstate.bsky.social ~5 years ago, my recorded #EnvironmentalJustice lesson is still part of the online orientation course taken by incoming students & their families: "Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions." This year, >1300 new students completed the course! doi.org/10.52750/427...

doi.org

Climate Change and Environmental Justice

Dr. Ryan Emanuel discusses the inequities of climate change in terms of who is impacted. He introduces how "seven generations thinking" is one way to reduce inequities and environmental harm.

030

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

First Day of Class in my 20th year as a professor! This fall I'm teaching my usual grad-level course in Environmental Justice and also co-teaching two special, year-long courses in Indigenous studies through Duke's Bass Connections program. This is an off year for my graduate hydrology course. #FDOC

Selfie of Ryan standing in front of a dark blue sign reading "Duke, Grainger Hall, Nicholas School of the Environment." Ryan is wearing a nice, button-down shirt, a blue baseball cap, and a corn necklace. Leafy green trees almost completely obscure pale blue sky in the background. Ryan is smiling.

0121

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I have a sixth sense, but only for knowing when my dishwasher is nearly out of rinse aid. It may be the most useless supernatural power.

010

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

Matt Stone @mynameismattstone.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Julian Pierce would have been the first Lumbee Superior Court judge in county history. It would have finally given Lumbee people a voice. They elected him anyway, ten weeks dead, by two thousand votes. My great-uncle was the sheriff. Here’s what I found. thegrounded.ghost.io/the-election...

021

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Great #SciComm advice - would like it twice if I could!

020

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Yesterday, Lumbee voters rejected the tribal government‘s bid to amend constitutional language on gaming. If you want to learn more, read this great report from Sarah Nagem of the Border Belt Independent! Then (if I may humbly suggest) read my longish thread below.

120

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

New essay in the latest issue of @ecotonemagazine.bsky.social in which I reflect on #ClimateChange, racism, memory, & more. I wrote the 1st draft back in 2020-2021 as part of a preface for ON THE SWAMP. As the book evolved, this piece fell to the wayside. I'm glad it finally found a home in Ecotone!

063

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

Ecotone Magazine @ecotonemagazine.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Today we’re featuring Ryan E. Emanuel’s “Countermemories and Climate Change,” a Climate Annotation on memory, oppressive history, and understanding. Free to read online for the next two weeks. ecotonemagazine.org/climate-anno... @WaterPotential.bsky.social

041

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

ON THE SWAMP is a Silver winner of the 2026 Nautilus book awards, and I’m grateful for the recognition. The book explores #EnvironmentalJustice through perspectives of Lumbee & other Indigenous peoples of present-day eastern North Carolina. Check it out! uncpress.org/978146967832...

Nautilus Book Award poster showing silver medal and open book against a red background.

Cover image from On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice

3168

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

Johnnie Jae @johnniejae.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

What Landback isn't is a demand for Non-Natives to hand over their housekeys or master plan to rid the land of Non-Natives. Landback is a framework, a set of ideas & possibilities that can take very different shapes depending on the land in question, the tribe involved and people doing the work.

127941

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Great visit to University of Minnesota this week. I gave a seminar on environmental justice for environmental science & had conversations on topics ranging from the challenges of confronting colonialism in academia to the joys of finding a good conference roommate. I also squeezed in 2 short runs.

Budding trees overhang the Mississippi River along the East Bank path in Minneapolis. In the foreground, last year’s tall grass glows in the setting sun. The wide river flows in the background while shadowy trees cover the far bank.

The sun begins to set over the Franklin Avenue bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The silhouette of an empty park bench is visible in the foreground while the bluffs along the west bank rise in the background.

A turkey prepares to eat a donut that has been discarded in the grass outside of a dorm on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

0173

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

This year, @americanrivers.bsky.social placed the Lumbee River on its list of Most Endangered Rivers due to contamination from PFAS & other “forever chemicals.” See their write-up here 👇🏽. I’m also dropping links below to some of my research on river’s environment, history, & cultural significance.

264

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

The severity of the western US snow drought notwithstanding, it warmed my heart to hear Kelsey Jencso—Montana State Climatologist & a friend of 20+ years—on the radio yesterday. He says the segment was recorded 2 weeks ago, which makes the situation all the more dire. www.npr.org/2026/04/08/n...

npr.org

Light snowpack is setting up conditions for drought and fires in the U.S. West

The West has had one of the worst winters for snowpack on record. The lack of snow is causing drought across much of the reason and spelling trouble for communities.

030

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

I made James Locklear's "365 Days of Lumbee History" on Facebook! Locklear is a journalist & editor of Native Visions magazine, a monthly publication in and around Lumbee territory. Last fall, he began a year of daily posts featuring a tribal member, past or present. www.facebook.com/share/p/1Axf...

$Screenshot showing text of Facebook post showing the following text: "Day 82 of 365 Days of Lumbee History: Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel Dr. Ryan Emanuel is a scientist and professor known for research and advocacy on topics related to the environment and education. Many people know about his research on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which in 2017 revealed unusually large American Indian populations living along the pipeline route. That work ultimately helped to stop the 600-mile, $8 billion fracked gas pipeline from being built. His research has helped to initiate statewide discussions about tribal consultation and environmental permitting, and it has influenced national policies on environmental permitting and safety regulations. Emanuel also studies the cultural and historical connections between American Indians and their traditional lands and waters, and he has partnered with tribal communities throughout North Carolina to address various issues around water and cultural heritage. His book, On the Swamp, examines these issues from his perspective as scientist and citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Emanuel has a background in hydrology (water science), which he first encountered while working for the US Geological Survey, a federal agency that collects and stewards most of the nation’s water data. He worked for the US Geological Survey before and during his undergraduate studies at Duke, and he assisted staff with projects that involved collecting water samples, measuring streamflow, mapping floodplains, and building a network of rainfall monitoring stations. Emanuel earned a Bachelor’s degree in geology from Duke, completing an honors thesis on streamflow in Duke Forest. After graduating from Duke, Emanuel worked for two years in manufacturing before enrolling in..."$

1113

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

68 years ago today, Lumbee people & their allies routed the KKK at the Battle of Hayes Pond. Read a brief summary in my unrolled 2018 Twitter thread below or a detailed retelling in Malinda Lowery’s 2020 Scalawag piece: scalawagmagazine.org/2020/01/ambu.... #CivilRights #Indigenous #Lumbees

0112

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

It's official - the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has renamed itself the Advancing Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (still AISES). Membership voted to change the name earlier this year to better reflect the organization's geographic scope. aises.org

aises.org

AISES | Advancing Indigenous People in STEM

AISES is a national nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, an...

041

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

dr. e. katherine @actualkatherine.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Also. In celebration of the Lumbees finally receiving federal recognition, here's a taste of Dr Ashley Minner-Jones' EXTRAORDINARY work documenting and telling the stories of Lumbee Baltimore www.baltimorereservation.com

baltimorereservation.com

East Baltimore’s Historic American Indian “Reservation”

Learn about places and spaces important to American Indian history and heritage in Baltimore, MD, with a focus on East Baltimore’s 20th-century “Reservation”.

1339

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

Governor Josh Stein @ncgovernor.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

The Lumbee Tribe has been in North Carolina since long before we became a state. The Lumbee were officially recognized by the State of North Carolina in 1885 and have fought for their fair share from the federal government for more than a century.

16111

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

The 1956 Lumbee Act was amended this week, concluding a decades-long effort to have Congress strike discriminatory language that subjected Lumbees to nearly 70 years of partial federal recognition. But no longer. The Lumbee Tribe of NC is now *fully* recognized by the US—the 575th Native Nation.

1155

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

15 years ago today (Dec 15, 2010) I published an ope-ed on Lumbee recognition in @newsobserver.com. I hadn't seen this piece in a while & was struck that it foreshadows my work on Indigenous rights & #EnvironmentalJustice... several years before these terms entered my professional lexicon. #ncpol

Page header from Op Ed section of Raleigh News & Observer, December 15, 2010. Header reads "Other Opinion" and subheading reads "Native Americans in North Carolina: The Lumbee Recognition Bill." First section of article reads: It is painful seeing important legislation languish on the House or Senate floor for a year or more only to expire at the end of a congressional session. Multiplying that feeling by
61 sessions of Congress gives a sense of the frustration and looming disappointment felt by North Carolina's Lumbee Tribe, American Indians who have been petitioning Congress for
federal recognition since 1888.
Numerous recognition bills have been introduced since then, but none has been passed to grant full federal recognition to the tribe. A bill currently in the Senate (co-sponsored by U.S.
Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan) would fully acknowledge the Lumbee Tribe, bringing with it a measure of justice that has been denied for 122 years. Last week, Hagan said she hopes
to amend this bill to legislation that will be voted on in the final days of the 111th Congress.
The current Lumbee Recognition bill passed the House over 18 months ago and has been awaiting a full Senate vote since October 2009. Since then, six senators have been playing
procedural games with the bill - using the so-called secret hold - to prevent a final vote. By their actions, these six lawmakers perpetuate a long-abandoned, failed federal policy toward
American Indians known as Termination.
Simply put, Termination (which lasted from the late 1940s to the late 1960s) aimed to extinguish government-to-
government relationships between the United States and American Indian tribes, "freeing" Indians from "Federal
supervision and control," in the words of Congress.
The implication was that American Indians, deprived of tribal sovereignty, would assimilate once and for all into
mainstream society.

First half of scanned two-column Op Ed by Ryan Emanuel entitled "A persistent people's long quest for justice." Text continues from previous image: The federal government eventually abandoned Termination, but not before more than 100 American Indian groups were impacted, including the Lumbee Tribe.
In 1956, Congress passed legislation acknowledging the Lumbee as American Indians while simultaneously
denying them an official relationship with the federal government. This half-measure of recognition also barred
the tribe from pursuing full recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Lumbee are the only tribe still
subject to this failed and abandoned policy, thanks to the anonymous senators blocking the current bill.
The State of North Carolina, on the other hand, has officially recognized the tribe since 1885, albeit under three
different names prior to "Lumbee." Some opponents of full Lumbee recognition have attempted to make hay of
these name changes, but the historical evidence paints a clear picture that non-Indian policymakers, bent on
imposing the racist hierarchy of segregation, heavily influenced the adoption of these names by the tribe.
For the tribe, these earlier names served as a survival mechanism to preserve scant resources and maintain their identity in the face of an oppressive and absurd regime. It was no picnic,
but in the end the institution of segregation, designed to repress and subjugate non-whites, tested and strengthened the tribe, preparing it to receive a name of its own choosing. That name, Lumbee, comes from the river that meanders through Robeson County, the principal seat of the tribe. The river is sacred to many Lumbee; its dark water and branching
swamps represent life, death and mystery all at once.

Bottom half of scanned two-column Op Ed by Ryan Emanuel entitled "A persistent people's long quest for justice." Text continues: I know many of these things because they were taught to me in the Lumbee home where I grew up, but I have learned even more from the painstaking research of scholars like UNC history professor and Lumbee Malinda Maynor Lowery and Appalachian State University library professor Glenn Ellen Starr Stilling. They and countless others have worked to assemble
a rich body of literature on Lumbee history, culture and society that must be addressed by anyone challenging the tribe's identity and long journey to federal recognition.
The tumultuous history of the Lumbee includes a number of events that all North Carolinians should know and care about. Lumbee ancestors led a full-on guerrilla war against corrupt
Confederate and Reconstructionist governments in Robeson County during the 1860s and 1870s. They founded the first public college for American Indians in 1887 (now fully integrated
into the state system as UNC Pembroke). Today's Lumbee elders delivered an abject drubbing to the Ku Klux Klan in 1958 at the Battle of Hayes Pond.
Part of the social justice of federal recognition includes validation of these and other Lumbee achievements, including a refusal to fully assimilate or have our history and ways terminated.
I speak only as an individual Lumbee, but I bear enough of our collective memory to discern, faintly, morality's legendary long arc. Its span may be longer than 122 years, but it is bending our way.

0140

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Our work is featured in today’s research news from @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social: “A new study highlights major educational gaps among environmental professionals regarding Indigenous peoples, and shows how those gaps can impact real-world decisions.” esa.org/blog/2025/12... #GeoSky #OpenAccess

esa.org

0136

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I tell students to mark the language that government agencies use to talk about Indigenous peoples, because it holds information about relationships & power dynamics. I have no insider knowledge, but I'm definitely marking the pivot from "Tribal Nation" to "Indian Tribe." www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...

nsf.gov

Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 1

This notice implements several revisions to NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1.

12911

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

The reconciled NDAA includes a provision to amend the 1956 Lumbee Act by removing a discriminatory, Termination-Era clause & inserting new language to affirm the Tribe's federal status. Here are a few resources to help make sense of what's happening & why. I may post more later.

131

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

ZoeSTodd (Dr Fish Philosopher Todd) @zoestodd.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Other folks have written & spoken powerfully about Thomas King specifically. What I query here, 9 years into the almost annual winter unveiling of a fraud in Canada, are the metaphysics of white colonial play-acting as native in the arts, literature, politics, academia. Colonial mirror worlds.

41713

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Re-sharing a 2022 article from the journal Southern Cultures about 100+ years of extractive research on my Tribe. It's well known that extractive research can harm Indigenous peoples; my coauthor & I show how it can also lead to poor results & junk insights. www.southerncultures.org/article/stor...

southerncultures.org

Stories We Tell

Telling one’s own story is a way of asserting identity. It is simultaneously a fundamental responsibility and an inherent gift for each human being—and is often one of the first casualties of…

0133

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Dr. Seth Grooms is an Indigenous archaeology professor whose research puts community first. Check out his recent presentation for the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources on the eve of the state's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7_... #Lumbee

youtube.com

Archaeology: An American Indian Perspective

YouTube video by N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

0115

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

I found a timeline of my Interlibrary Loan requests from @ncsulibraries.bsky.social back when I was a professor at @ncstate.bsky.social. There are inklings of my book as far back as 2010 before the dam broke in 2016-2017. #Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvHist #OnTheSwamp @uncpress.bsky.social

3151

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

North Carolina Museum of Art @ncartmuseum.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

As part of American Indian Heritage Month, we're looking back at the artists featured in last year's exhibition, "To Take Shape and Meaning." Harlen Chavis Jr., a Lumbee freestyle artist, utilizes natural materials - pottery sherds, glass, copper, and gold to create culturally reflective jewelry.

041

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

New @nybooks.com essay by @robtsullivan.bsky.social interweaves reviews of On the Swamp & Wilkinson's Treaty Justice. ⚡ "If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction." ⚡ www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

nybooks.com

The Third Sovereign | Robert Sullivan

If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction.

083

Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel

Kylie M. Smith wrote an angry book @drkyliesmith.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

The wonderful people at @uncpress.bsky.social sent me an advance copy of my book and I think I’ll have a little cry now. You can order it from here and it will arrive soon (use code 01UNCP30) for a discount uncpress.org/978146968920...

My hand holding a book called Jim Crow in the Asylum: Psychiatry and civil Rights in the American South

2524044

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

#OnTheSwamp has been out for ~20 months, and I've traveled quite a bit sharing stories from the book & connections to other research topics. The travel was exciting, a mix of familiar & new. But glad to have a break until spring 2026. 74 total events since last spring, 56 of them in-person.

Graphic showing the cover of Ryan's book with a superimposed list of destinations where he traveled to talk about the book and other research in 2024 and 2025. The list reads:
Andover, NH
Asheville, NC
Atlanta, GA
Bellingham, WA
Chapel Hill, NC
Charlotte, NC
Clinton, NC
Durham, NC
Flagstaff, AZ
Greensboro, NC
Hillsborough, NC
Pembroke, NC
Pine Knoll Shores, NC
Raleigh, NC
Research Triangle Park, NC
Salisbury, NC
Southern Pines, NC
Storrs, CT
Vancouver, BC
Washington, DC
Waterloo, ON
Winston-Salem, NC
& Online

#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee

1131

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

This article by @aknewsom.bsky.social is a good summary of last week's Senate Indian Affairs committee hearing on S.107 - a bill that would strike discriminatory language from the 1956 Lumbee Act.

040

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Today the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on S.107, which amends the 1956 Lumbee Act by striking language that bans a formal relationship between Tribe & US. Recording embedded in page below. 👇🏽 www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/leg... #Indigenous

indian.senate.gov

Legislative Hearing on S.107, the Lumbee Fairness Act - Indian Affairs Committee

183

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Summary of recent fieldwork in coastal NC - We ground truthed part of a massive new dataset of ghost forests along the US east coast. First paper of the project, led by Henry Yeung (UVA), should be out soon. www.science.org/content/arti... #hydrology #remoteSensing #geosky

science.org

AI reveals vast ‘ghost forests’ along U.S. coast

Machine learning method counts nearly 12 million dead trees, many likely killed by rising seas

0164

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Redistricting splits up North Carolina's tribal service areas. It's especially bad for Lumbee and Coharie - each tribe's service area is split into 3 districts. Nationally, most Indigenous people live in cities. But NC flips that pattern, with most living in rural tribal service areas. #ncpol

0146

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

In 2016, numbers on the "NC Promise" plan pointed to an eventual ~$3M annual shortfall, which many people pointed out (myself included). I wasn't right on all details, but it was predictable that the General Assembly wouldn't fully fund the gap as enrollments grew on these campuses. #nced #ncpol

142

Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Clippy is clearly pulling the strings at Microsoft.

130