Bio

Helina Alvarez is an Indigenous doctoral student in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior with the Human-Environment System Research Group at Boise State University, located on Shoshone, Bannock and Paiute Territory. Her dissertation focuses on the intersection of settler colonialism and climate change on the Fort Hall Reservation and the impact on the Fort Hall Bottoms water resources. She has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from Cal Poly Humboldt and a master’s degree in conservation leadership from Colorado State University. In her free time, Helina enjoys finding the best tacos shops, traveling abroad, being in or near a body of water and spending time with the humans, animals and nature that bring her joy!

Helina is most interested in working with Indigenous communities and supporting their resilience adaptation strategies facing climate change and colonial impacts. She primarily studies these intersections on the Fort Hall Reservation with the Newe/Shoshone-Bannock People. This fall, Helina plans on spending the semester living near the reservation to begin her methods of interviews, focus groups and elder dialogue to see what themes emerge through the eyes of the Newe/Shoshone-Bannock People. She is also interested in the preservation of water, especially in the West, as water faces the chaos of a climate crisis, policies and water rights.

Learn more about Helina’s research