Local Poverty and Local Knowledge in Remote Locations of the Pacific Northwest

Martha Henderson – The Evergreen State College

The Olympia Peninsula and eastern Oregon have experienced increasing poverty since the Great Recession. Localized poverty in remote areas of the region is acknowledged in census data and unemployment data. Missing from academic literature is an understanding of how increasing poverty has reshaped remote, micro-scale communities. Even more unknown are the impacts on individuals, families and local economies. This research seeks to acknowledge the power of local knowledge to maintain community in the post-recessional period in two remote locations of the Pacific Northwest. Using qualitative data to define degrees of localized knowledge and power, the story of poverty as a set of relationships between the personal and the state will be investigated. The project balances important studies in poverty at the macro and meso-scale of investigation and significant studies in the role of local governments during period of stress.

email: mhenders@evergreen.edu