About

P. Joshua Griffin is a scholar of settler descent working at the intersections of Indigenous studies, political ecology, critical environmental anthropology, climate change, and environmental justice. His community-engaged research focuses on Arctic Indigenous ecologies, climate change, environmental health, food sovereignty, hunting and fishing governance, and environmental planning. He is interested in approaches to climate adaptation that center Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, participatory digital methods to support Indigenous environmental history, cultural heritage, and planning, as well as coastal dynamics, sea level rise, climate-induced migration, and social movements for environmental and climate justice, including faith-based movements. Griffin holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Washington, an M.Div. in Theology and Religious Studies from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Religion from Dartmouth College. He is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Economics
• Law
• Social Science
• Business
• Ecology
• Environmental health
• Economic growth
• Development economics
• Public economics
• Geography
• Political economy
• Psychology
• Finance
• Marketing
• Environmental ethics
• Medicine
• Biology

Selected publications

• Environmental justice in ecosystem restoration frameworks

  Restoration Ecology · 2025-08-10 · 1 citations

  article

  Ecosystem restoration projects are happening frequently around the globe, driven in part by an increased awareness of the importance of healthy ecosystems to humans. These projects play an important role in mitigating the negative environmental impacts that vulnerable communities face. However, no clear frameworks exist on how restoration can be developed in ways that explicitly prioritize environmentally just processes and outcomes. While some frameworks exist that include principles of engagement and the use of multiple knowledge types, there remains a need for the intentional and specific inclusion of environmental justice in restoration frameworks. Restoration frameworks are prescriptive models that provide steps to guide restoration efforts of researchers, activists, and governments. Here we present a systematic literature review of restoration frameworks that represent research conducted across the globe with restoration test sites from nearly every continent. The majority of restoration frameworks currently fail to incorporate justice principles into any phase of restoration, nor do they prioritize justice as a process or outcome. Environmentally just frameworks need to integrate multiple types of justice including recognition, procedural justice, and distributive justice, as well as community empowerment in decision‐making. To address the lack of these aspects in current restoration frameworks, we propose a novel framework that incorporates these key principles of environmental justice into the restoration planning and implementation process. The intentional incorporation of environmental justice practices into ideation, scoping, and implementation can greatly increase the benefits of restoration to vulnerable communities while fostering ecosystem health.

  PublisherDOI

• From vulnerability to co-production

  2024-05-08

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter addresses a range of climate impacts facing Arctic Indigenous communities and the various frameworks that social scientists have used to understand and engage these challenges. Specifically, it examines community efforts to uphold and adapt marine mammal hunting in the context of rapidly declining sea ice in Northwest Alaska. Kivalina Volunteer Search and Rescue (KVL-SAR) is an association of hunters and first responders that plays a critical role in community safety, care, and resilience within the 500-person Iñupiaq community of Kivalina. This chapter describes an ongoing collaboration between KVL-SAR and the University of Washington to co-produce knowledge, action, and capacity in support of locally determined climate adaptation priorities. Drawing on Kyle Whyte’s concept of “Indigenous ecologies,” the chapter argues for Indigenous self-determination in creating and enacting adaptative climate solutions.

  PublisherDOI

• Indigenous food sovereignty through resurgent self-governance: centering Nuu-chah-nulth principles in sea otter management in Canada

  Ecology and Society · 2023 · 13 citations

  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Political Science

  Although North American settler governments face scrutiny over the ecological, social, and ethical shortcomings of environmental policy, many Indigenous Nations are pursuing a resurgence of environmental self-governance according to ancestral principles and practices. On the west coast of Vancouver Island, the reintroduction and prioritized conservation of sea otters by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) actively impedes the harvest of culturally and nutritionally significant shellfish species by Nuu-chah-nulth Nations. Integrating a range of qualitative methods, we argue that structural inequities, divergent normative and material priorities, and ontological differences animate a divide between Nuu-chah-nulth and Canadian state governing bodies in sea otter management. The DFO’s unwillingness to accommodate Indigenous knowledge, principles, and priorities in its sea otter management scheme reproduces the unequal power relations of settler colonialism to the detriment of Indigenous food sovereignty and security. We propose to reframe sea otter governance around the Nuu-chah-nulth principles of <em>hišukʔiš c̓awaak</em> (everything is one), <em>ʔiisaak</em> (respect with caring), and <em>ʔuʔaałuk</em> (taking care of). This reorientation is in alignment with the efforts of Indigenous peoples throughout Canada and globally to enact multi-species caretaking through the resurgence of self-governance rooted in ancestral knowledge and wisdom. Ultimately, we argue that a sea otter governance structure centering Nuu-chah-nulth principles, ecological knowledge, and leadership would be well-positioned to lead collaborations and respectful engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Nations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Arctic sea ice loss and fierce storms leave Kivalina’s volunteer Search and Rescue fighting to protect their island from climate disasters

  2023-04-26

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Intervention: The invisible labor of climate change adaptation

  Global Environmental Change · 2023 · 40 citations

  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  PublisherDOI

• Intervention: The Invisible Labor of Climate Change Adaptation

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Social equity is key to sustainable ocean governance

  npj Ocean Sustainability · 2022 · 89 citations

  • Political Science
  • Business
  • Political Science

  Abstract Calls to address social equity in ocean governance are expanding. Yet ‘equity’ is seldom clearly defined. Here we present a framework to support contextually-informed assessment of equity in ocean governance. Guiding questions include: (1) Where and (2) Why is equity being examined? (3) Equity for or amongst Whom ? (4) What is being distributed? (5) When is equity considered? And (6) How do governance structures impact equity? The framework supports consistent operationalization of equity, challenges oversimplification, and allows evaluation of progress. It is a step toward securing the equitable ocean governance already reflected in national and international commitments.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Thresholds

  Punctum Books · 2020-02-07

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The Retail Food Sector and Indigenous Peoples in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Scoping Review

  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2020 · 33 citations

  • Political Science
  • Business
  • Economic growth

  Indigenous Peoples in high-income countries experience higher burdens of food insecurity, obesity, and diet-related health conditions compared to national averages. The objective of this systematic scoping review is to synthesize information from the published literature on the methods/approaches, findings, and scope for research and interventions on the retail food sector servicing Indigenous Peoples in high-income countries. A structured literature search in two major international databases yielded 139 relevant peer-reviewed articles from nine countries. Most research was conducted in Oceania and North America, and in rural and remote regions. Several convergent issues were identified across global regions including limited grocery store availability/access, heightened exposure to unhealthy food environments, inadequate market food supplies (i.e., high prices, limited availability, and poor quality), and common underlying structural factors including socio-economic inequality and colonialism. A list of actions that can modify the nature and structure of retailing systems to enhance the availability, accessibility, and quality of healthful foods is identified. While continuing to (re)align research with community priorities, international collaboration may foster enhanced opportunities to strengthen the evidence base for policy and practice and contribute to the amelioration of diet quality and health at the population level.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Virtual projects: A learning and teaching strategy for maintaining connections during and post COVID-19

  Figshare · 2020-01-01

  article

Frequent coauthors

• William M. Fogarty

  Nationwide Children's Hospital

  15 shared

• Michael Mikulewicz

  Purchase College

  8 shared

• Benjamin Neimark

  5 shared

• Yoshitaka Ota

  University of Washington

  5 shared

• Vincent Guermond

  Queen Mary University of London

  5 shared

• Charlotte Coté

  4 shared

• Mathieu Colléter

  École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse

  4 shared

• Patrick Bigger

  3 shared