INTRODUCTION Fish advisories are issued in an effort to protect human health from exposure to contaminants, but Native American communities may suffer unintended health, social, and cultural consequences as a result of warnings against eating local fish. This paper focuses on the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, which lies downstream from a Superfund site, and explores how fish advisories have impacted fish consumption and health. METHODS 65 Akwesasne community members were interviewed between March 2008 and April 2009. Interviews were semi-structured, lasted from 30-90 minutes and consisted of open-ended questions about the impacts of environmental contamination on the community. Detailed field notes were also maintained during extensive visits between 2007-2011. Interviews were transcribed, and these transcripts as well as the field notes were analyzed in NVivo 8.0. This research received approval from the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment Research Advisory Committee, as well as the Brown University Institutional Review Board. RESULTS Three-quarters of the 50 Akwesasne Mohawks interviewed have ceased or significantly curtailed their local fish consumption due to the issuance of fish advisories or witnessing or hearing about deformities on fish. Many of these respondents have turned to outside sources of fish, from other communities or from grocery stores. This change in fish consumption concerns many residents because cultural and social connections developed around fishing are being lost and because fish has been replaced with high-fat high-carb processed foods, which has led to other health complications. One-quarter of the 50 interviewees still eat local fish, but these are generally middle-aged or older residents; fish consumption no longer occurs in the multi-generational social context it once did. CONCLUSIONS Human health in Native American communities such as Akwesasne is intimately tied to the health of the environment. Fish advisories should not be used as an institutional control to protect humans from exposure to contaminants; if Akwesasne are to achieve optimal health, the contaminated environment has to be remediated to a level that supports clean, edible fish.

中文翻译：

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美洲原住民社区鱼类咨询的文化和健康影响。

介绍 发布鱼类警告是为了保护人类健康免受污染物的影响，但由于警告不要食用当地鱼类，美洲原住民社区可能会遭受意外的健康、社会和文化后果。本文重点关注位于 Superfund 站点下游的 Akwesasne 莫霍克社区，并探讨鱼类咨询如何影响鱼类消费和健康。方法 2008 年 3 月至 2009 年 4 月期间，对 65 名 Akwesasne 社区成员进行了采访。采访是半结构化的，持续 30-90 分钟，包括关于环境污染对社区影响的开放式问题。在 2007-2011 年间的广泛访问期间，还保留了详细的实地记录。采访被转录，这些成绩单以及现场笔记在 NVivo 8.0 中进行了分析。这项研究获得了 Akwesasne 环境研究咨询委员会工作组以及布朗大学机构审查委员会的批准。结果 在接受采访的 50 名 Akwesasne Mohawks 中，有四分之三已停止或大幅减少当地鱼类消费，原因是发布鱼类警告或目睹或听到鱼类畸形。这些受访者中的许多人已转向外部鱼类来源、其他社区或杂货店。鱼类消费的这种变化引起了许多居民的关注，因为围绕捕鱼发展起来的文化和社会联系正在消失，而且鱼类已被高脂肪、高碳水化合物的加工食品所取代，这导致了其他健康并发症。50 名受访者中有四分之一仍然吃当地的鱼，但这些人一般是中老年人；鱼类消费不再像以前那样在多代社会环境中发生。结论 美洲原住民社区（如 Akwesasne）的人类健康与环境健康密切相关。鱼类咨询不应被用作保护人类免于接触污染物的制度控制；如果 Akwesasne 要达到最佳健康状态，受污染的环境必须得到修复，以维持清洁、可食用的鱼类。结论 美洲原住民社区（如 Akwesasne）的人类健康与环境健康密切相关。鱼类咨询不应被用作保护人类免于接触污染物的制度控制；如果 Akwesasne 要达到最佳健康状态，受污染的环境必须得到修复，以维持清洁、可食用的鱼类。结论 美洲原住民社区（如 Akwesasne）的人类健康与环境健康密切相关。鱼类咨询不应被用作保护人类免于接触污染物的制度控制；如果 Akwesasne 要达到最佳健康状态，受污染的环境必须得到修复，以维持清洁、可食用的鱼类。