A note from the author: The following narrative has been informed by 10 interviews and conversations held with knowledgeable professionals, tribal members and experienced tribal elders. The tribal leaders I talked with ranged from Tribal Council members to professionals in natural resource and cultural fields. The Tribes represented in my talks were heavy to the Northwest of the United States, including Umatilla, Kalispel, Kalapuya, Umpqua and Chinook but also reached the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. I also talked with Board Members from a Land Trust and Soil and Water Conservation District. I appreciate and value the time and knowledge of everyone who shared their thoughts and experience with me.
This paper also reflects a collection of experiences and teachings I have gained over many years; some from formal conferences and training, some from books and published studies and some from casual coffee talks or while working in the forest. I want to respect everyone who has helped me learn. I struggle with how to give proper acknowledgement as I don't want to just credit the most recent. For this paper I have acknowledged the published material but have left the personal conversations personal. I do this out of respect and knowing those that have shared wisdom with me did so to try to help others learn and understand.
I have also used the collective pronoun "we" in the following pages. I am a tribal member giving suggestions to those who might work with tribes, however the point is, that we all need to educate ourselves and keep an open mind to the experiences of others. People are different, tribes are different. I am still learning and will continue to try as we move forward.
Introduction
Today we see an interest in working with and learning from the original inhabitants of the land. The Indigenous people of the area have a long record of sustainable land use practices and there is much to learn from them. This statement is not new. Some people have been making this claim for decades, more recently we are seeing and experiencing the reality and truth in it. Historic wildfires, climate change, invasive species, etc. all impact lands at historic levels with ever increasing intensity. Scientists, politicians and land managers are looking for data; they are looking for people working on real solutions, and in many cases these can be found on tribal reservations. Despite this fact, there is often a gap between the land knowledge shown on tribal lands and the traditional scientific and land management communities. Bridging this gap will be vital to addressing many of the environmental issues we face, we need to learn how to approach Native people in a way that is respectful to ourselves, the issue at hand and of course the teachers.
Learning from the Native people is not a new concept. The quaint story goes back to the early days of pilgrims and explorers learning the ways of the land and being saved by the local Indians. Interestingly, the story usually involves a certain amount of trepidation in approaching the Natives. Some might say we have come a long way and no longer struggle with these cultural differences. Science has become the great equalizer in our ever-present effort to learn and progress, and we now deal in the realm of clean factual data. We are taught to approach data unemotionally and how to package information for efficient analysis. In some areas of study people are seeing the value in a wider spectrum of learning and sharing. The excitement comes when we are reminded that some valuable data resides within people and cultures. We are still humans and collectives of humans. People have histories, values and emotions and within we find valuable information to help us with issues we face today. Native people can be a source of data if we work to communicate and connect.
Preparing to Engage & Understand
Word choices matter
Effective communication requires us to have some basic understanding or awareness of who we are, or who we choose to engage with. If we want to talk with a car mechanic, we look for someone with this title. If we need to find someone to work on a computer issue we look for a person with relevant experience. The way we identify people can be a means of showing respect. Labels can be important and useful; in some circumstances they can also be harmful. In the context of this paper, we are not talking about labels or titles to identify skills or professions; we are discussing a much deeper identity, a cultural, family historic naming that comes with pride and deep knowledge. We must use caution and careful awareness here, to avoid generalizations, tokenism or unintended insults.
What are the proper terms to use when talking and working with Native people? How do we refer to the individual and the collective without being overly broad? Our society and academia debate word choice and usage, over time we decide to stop using certain harmful words for the wellbeing of people. We know that words can convey a negative stereotype that we do not want to continue. For example, the use of “squaw” in place names was once common. Today we see efforts to replace this word negative towards Native women with a label respective to the strength and wisdom of these women. Another word we see questioned is the use of “Indian.” There are many legitimate discussions happening around this word, the origin and history. Should it still be used today? For these struggles it will help us to look as directly as possible to the people affected. Ask a leader from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation or the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Look to the tribes to see the word choices they are using. How do they refer to themselves in speeches, publications or media? Most people will not mind if you ask, they will appreciate your interest in knowing and getting it right. Yes, this can be difficult at times. We know a word can be used in the title of a tribal people and yet in another instance be used in an improper manner. Context matters, it matters a great deal. All people want to be treated respectfully. Tribal members want to be known for their highest qualities. They want other people to understand and respect their unique standing, different from any other group in the United States:
Sovereignty. This is much different than looking at an ethnic or minority status.
Sovereignty & Treaty Rights
Tribes are sovereign nations within the United States with the ability to govern themselves. They have the right to define their membership, to pass and enforce laws with tribal police and to hold tribal court. Most citizens of the United States have a working understanding of sovereignty in relation to other countries. They know the laws and rights of people in Canada or Russia are different than here and citizens of those countries have the right to govern themselves.
Despite this basic knowledge, people of the United States do not spend much time considering the importance of sovereignty, likely because they have not seen it removed or seriously threatened. Tribal leaders know the public has a poor understanding of tribal sovereignty. The public sees tribal people as another minority group and acts accordingly. It is important that we spend some time learning about this unique status and how it affects tribal decisions and actions. We can help educate ourselves by looking for ways a tribal government is living and protecting their rights as a sovereign nation.
The United States government negotiated and signed treaties with many tribes. The Supreme Court traditionally defines treaties as agreements between sovereign governments and are considered the “supreme Law of the Land.” The federal government signed treaties, not contracts, with tribes and understood the sovereign standing of tribal nations. The Supreme Court has struggled with the concept at times, but we can see understanding in early cases such as Justice John Marshall (1832, Worcester v. Georgia) where he stated the Cherokee Nation “has the right to govern itself,” and “the laws of Georgia can have no force within the territorial limits of the Cherokee Nation” agreeing the state does not have authority over the Tribe. Justice Hugo Black later reaffirmed this understanding when he said (1948, United States v. Santa Fe Railroad) “the tribes are distinct nations with their own governments.” Despite these examples of clear understanding, the government and courts have confused themselves at times and challenged their own previous agreements.
The ability of tribes to be self-governing and to have a legal relationship with the federal government has been established through treaties negotiated and signed by both parties. Tribes know this, the leaders know this, and the members live it. Tribes practice sovereignty everyday through the many forms of self-governance. Maintaining treaty rights and holding the governments to these obligations is a basic calling of tribal members. Tribes ceded vast areas of land through the treaty process, however while doing so the tribes retained many rights not exchanged in this process. These reserved rights and governmental obligations established through treaties are foundational for tribes. Tribal members know treaty rights can quickly disappear if the rights are not continually reasserted, it has happened before. Understanding the individual treaties and the historic struggles to keep the basic rights will help us to learn and work with these tribes and people.
Having a meaningful conversation with a person Indigenous to the United States will benefit from a certain level of understanding and from some pre-work on our part. We are familiar with researching a person or company for job or hiring prospects. We do this to learn inside language, past actions and maybe key in on future needs or behaviors. But does this research methodology work as well when we are approaching Tribal nations or individual Native people? Perhaps a similar effort with Indigenous people requires this, and more. Perhaps, the basic research can be useful- if we can also understand it in the proper context such as multigenerational impacts and we also evaluate why we are asking, what is our real purpose in this process?
"We should know whose ceded lands we are working and living on. What tribe is the keeper of the knowledge or data for this area?"
Indigenous knowledge
Native people possess a base of knowledge gathered over generations. Sometimes referred to as Indigenous knowledge, lifeways or often-used term Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). One can find a fair amount of research and published material on this subject and this paper is not intended to delve deep into understanding the topic. However, it is important we know the basics of any request for information. The US Fish and Wildlife Service published a TEK fact sheet in 2011 in which they explain the key concepts of TEK (Rinkevich et al., 2011). Their paper explains the foundation of this type of knowledge as relating to a specific place, time and relationships.
We could explore each of these characteristics in detail but for now it is important we know they combine to form this valuable knowledge. A knowledge that is often hard to explain, sometimes has been analogized to a farmer getting to know his land and knowing the best crops to plant where and when. The comparison seems weak when reading the words of George W. Aguilar Sr. in his book When the River Ran Wild! Indian Traditions on the Mid-Columbia and the Warm Springs Reservation. Mr. Aguilar shares in his introduction his father drowned while fishing the rapids and “To this day the bones of my father lie at the bottom of this stretch of water…” (Aguilar, Sr., 2005). To fish a river holding the bones of your father creates a certain significant type of connection to the resource. A connection few people have had and understand. The question we should evaluate is if we can give the data the proper deference if we take it out of the cultural context.
"The question we should evaluate is whether we can give the data the proper deference if we take it out of the cultural context."
Native American Tribes
Relationships before transactions
The majority of our interactions today are intentionally impersonal, we maximize efficiency through a strict focus on the deal in front of us. From the grocery store checkout to ordering food at a restaurant; our transactions don't often move beyond the basic greetings. Trying to learn about the person we are interacting with, if it is a real person, would often seem frivolous to frustrating and possibly confusing our intentions for most of our daily life. But as we know, people are different; cultures, expectations and situations are different, and our approach should change as we are more aware of the people, place and time in front of us. We need relationships to effectively share information. We need to develop a relationship approach well beyond the business transaction. In this space we can help everyone involved if we take the time to understand the person and the tribal affiliation and associated culture.
Native American tribes can be analyzed through a variety of different lenses. These lenses can be historical and cultural, stories and relationships brought forward and seen in the tribe today, some of these can be hard to see, learn about and understand, and this is ok. The lens can also be a contemporary look including how the tribal government is formed, their approach to state and federal governments and other entities. These characteristics are in most cases, easier to see and learn about. As can be expected, a third lens is a blending of both- how tribes approach life and times today while valuing their culture. This is an area where tribal people themselves continue to debate as they decide how to best live in the world but of their culture. As students, we can help ourselves when we recognize the struggles that are happening on the Reservations and within each tribal member. While someone may ask a serious question regarding tribal knowledge, the tribal member may themselves be trying to understand the issue and feel lacking when not having an appropriate response.
Knowing tribes can be complex, even for some tribal members. We could look at their origin stories, religious practices and what has survived today. We could look at the history of relationships with the natural world around them and how these were reflected in the stories; and then look at land management practices today to see if we can find similarities. We would learn much from studying their languages, the geographic areas of each and how they are practiced today. History offers many interesting topics one could explore. This paper will touch on a few governmental practices, how the actions affected tribes and how we still see impacts today.
Relationships with the federal government
Native peoples have seen and lived government policy. Reservation life is a study in failed federal policy. The next policy was always designed in some way to “fix” the problems previously created. Sometimes the solution appears to have been to remove Native people as far away as possible; other times the policy was to erase tribes through various types of forced assimilation. As the United States expanded from east to west the attempts to address the conflicts created an assortment of tribal laws and policies that were hard to understand at the time. Today, over a century later these actions still have an effect on the tribal government, the people and their lives.
For instance, where are the treaties negotiated by Congress, but never ratified? Some tribes are still today fighting to have their treaties recognized. We can ask ourselves, how does the 1887 Dawes Act and an allotted land base affect tribal land management decisions today? Stephen Dow Beckham talks about this history of Western Oregon in his book The Indians of Western Oregon. Beckham presents the struggles and hardship tribes lived in Western Oregon, but these same experiences or very similar ones can be found across the United States. There are many ways the tribes and the federal government have interacted long ago and over long periods; we must not miss seeing how the past still impacts tribes today. Our ability to make connections and build relationships will improve if we can educate ourselves on how the past is relevant today, and try to understand the perspective of the Native leaders.
Federal Recognition
Tribal identity is a combination of many different factors and characteristics. Each characteristic can provide some perspective on tribal values and possibly how best to approach them. One of the most basic classifications for tribes is whether they are federally recognized. A quick internet search notes that 574 tribes are currently recognized by the federal government, but those not recognized are harder to quantify but appear to be in the hundreds. Does this status matter? It depends on who is asking the question. If you are a representative of a governmental entity and hope to initiate formal consultation it is very important that you are working with a federally recognized tribe; if you are looking for a Native person to show you how they gather and prepare first foods then maybe federal status is not as important. Fact is, this is of high importance to the Tribe and their people. All that are federally recognized know the importance and have worked hard to protect this status, some have lost the status and had to work for years to restore it.
Reservations
The period between 1850 and 1887 is known as the Reservation Era. To meet the ever-expanding population and appetite for land, the federal government of the United States needed to clear Native people from their traditional lands. Treaties were presented to tribes and signed often by force, always when tribes were vulnerable. Tribes were then moved to Reservations that were a small fraction of the lands they once managed and were lacking in many ways. David Lewis talks about this history for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley. Often many different tribes were grouped together on the same Reservation, tribes that had different ceremonies, foods and religion. It is useful to understand the history of the federal government grouping tribes together on a reservation and creating this Confederation versus a Tribal Nation. It is good for people to understand that tribes were not asked what other tribes they would like to share space on a reservation. The federal government decided what tribes would be grouped together, a decision made for efficient management of the reservation by the government. In some cases, tribes were grouped together who held long-standing disagreements with each other. Think about how a tribal government will need to manage for today with this wide perspective of views and differences; how the many different languages, stories and ways of life are brought together within a single governing body. Think about sharing this data outside the tribe and trying to present a unified voice.
Ceded Lands
When tribes signed treaties, they ceded their historic lands to the federal government in exchange for the obligations from the same government. The treaties are not all the same. They were written by different men representing different political parties over decades. During this period the government seemed to change their thoughts on the value of reservations and their obligation to tribes. As the population of immigrants increased, the appetite for land was hard to meet and finding an out-of-the-way area for reservations became difficult. Some of the treaties negotiated and signed by tribes were never ratified by Congress. Those that were approved showed the slow progression of less offered for Native lands, smaller reservations and many, at best, temporary fixes. Tribes know they were abused and mistreated during the treaty period; however, they also know this document was signed by leaders of both governments and now is the foundation to holding the federal government responsible to its trust responsibility. Tribes know their treaties; they know them well. They know what was given up, the obligations of the federal government and the rights and powers they retained. If you intend to work with a specific tribe, reading and understanding their treaties is a good idea. We should know whose ceded lands we are working and living on. What tribe is the keepers of the knowledge or data for this area? We should know what these Native people were promised for the land, if the promises were kept and where these people are now.
Termination
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs archives, from 1953 until 1970, Congress terminated the federal recognition and standing of 60 Indian tribes in western Oregon. This law was presented as giving tribal people protections and rights the same as other citizens of the United States, but it was a disaster for tribes, their people, land and culture. For the Siletz Tribe, the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act of 1954 (PL588) was just as devastating as the title implies. Lack of federal services promised, lands gone along with jobs and an identity in question. This dark period for the Siletz people is explained in The People are Dancing Again: A History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon, by Charles Wilkenson. Thankfully, after years of hard work, the Siletz tribal status was restored with the federal government in 1977. Unfortunately, there are many tribal stories like the Siletz, especially in Western Oregon.
Tribes who experienced the termination period were affected greatly when it passed, and they are still dealing with the negative impacts. Some tribes are still fighting the battle for restoration, this is unjust and sad. Other tribes were successful in their restoration efforts, and this is to be celebrated. However, restoration itself has not fixed the vacuum created during the termination period. Much was lost during this time. Members left to find jobs, traditional areas were encroached upon, elders walked on, and knowledge was lost. These restored tribes have made amazing progress rebuilding their capacity today. They have a strong government, an educated membership and a wide variety of programs staffed by skilled professionals. But they are often different from a tribe that did not have to go through this termination to restoration process. Ironically, we will often find that the restoration process itself created a tribe who knows the importance of relationships off the reservation and see the value in collaboration. When we spend time learning and understanding some of this history we will be able to start connections and conversations from a place of empathy and respect.
"When we spend time learning and understanding some of this history, we will be able to start connections and conversations from a place of empathy and respect."
The federal government enacted a series of harmful actions that are still seen within the tribes today. Negative impacts on the tribes have affected the family unity and individual tribal members; however, this trauma is manifested in the individual in a variety of different ways. While important to learn about tribal history and the effects, we at some point need to transition to the individual level. We need to be able to talk to the person. As someone seeking to learn, we can spend some time considering what we are asking for and the expectations of the teacher. A few questions we should consider:
- How might we compensate the holder of such valuable information?
- Does the information need to be protected, and can we truly protect it?
- We should spend some time considering how the Native person acquired the knowledge and respecting this.
Respecting the Knowledge and the Individual
How do we show respect for knowledge? Daily we can find ourselves putting a value on certain useful information. For the services of a doctor, lawyer or plumber, society values their knowledge through a fee for service. For the most part we are not building a lasting relationship with any of these professionals. These transactions work well to provide us with the professions and skills necessary in most of our lives. But is there respect shown in the deal? Is it expected? We can respect the skill and professionalism but in the end, we are purchasing the service. Are the expectations different when dealing with Indigenous knowledge? Sometimes the situation may result in the common financial trade, and we pay for some valuable knowledge from a tribal member. From hiring a hunting guide on the Mescalero Reservation to purchasing fresh salmon from a Yakama fisherman along the Columbia River; we must still show respect, but we are paying for their traditional knowledge and skill, and that is good. They are using their culture to provide for their family, continuing a practice passed down to them, and rightfully proud of this work.
Can we pay for Knowledge?
In some circumstances money will not be an appropriate method to show respect for knowledge. If the idea of paying for the knowledge shared by native person makes us feel uneasy, maybe we are uncertain where the value is in the trade. Here we need to take the time to better understand what the holder of this information is looking for. We should give consideration to how the knowledge was acquired. Most often traditional knowledge will be a process of active learning in a specific place, with many years of artful study of what works and not, then passed from generation to the next.
The analogy is lacking but worth a try; a special recipe from a great-great grandmother passed down through hands-on teaching and now it is in your hands. If you give this recipe to a friend, what are you looking for in return? How does this person show you respect for this gift? Probably not cash. You want to hear back from them on how it was made exactly, as you explained, that they enjoyed the experience. You would want them to understand there are many emotions from the time you spent with your grandmother learning the recipe, the touch of her hands and smell in the kitchen, you can't pass these on but you want the person to understand these emotions are important parts of the recipe The last thing you want to see, is this person you trusted, posting the recipe on social media or selling it.
Family obligations
Each tribal member has their individual family history — and the vast majority know the stories from many generations back. It is common to know second cousins and the shared stories of their grandfathers. At a certain point keeping track of the numbers of generations removed becomes unnecessary and is replaced with a community of relatives. Family creates responsibility beyond laws and regulation; family creates an obligation. The obligation starts with recognizing the struggle of past generations, deepens when Natives recognize that despite efforts to see them gone their people are still here fighting, and becomes real with the understanding they are now responsible for passing this culture forward.
Tribal Considerations
There is a wide difference of opinion among tribal people concerning the sharing of information and knowledge. For some this subject can be emotional and create tension. Tribal culture and history are found within their shared experiences and knowledge. Considering this knowledge is the story of a life-way crucial to sustaining the people, it should not be surprising when the data is protected. As mentioned earlier in this paper, Native people may question why a non-Native person would need this information and the value in sharing it. Other Native people may have a different opinion. They see a need, perhaps a responsibility, to educate the public to some degree. George W. Aguilar Sr. shared a wealth of tribal teachings in his book about the Columbia River and the Warm Springs Tribes. Mr. Aguilar Sr. talks about learning from his ancestors in the oral tradition. He talks about how things have and continue to change but “...it is important that we remember the Old Ones and their lessons and stories.”
As mentioned, Dr. David Lewis expresses the importance of providing accurate information to those who want to learn. He knows there are sources of misinformation out there and this can be harmful to promoting cultural understanding. David shares his time with those interested in learning to help provide a credible source. We need to find and value that space between those who need to keep some information close to their heart and not share it and those that have worked through a process, allowing them to share with us. Is it possible for us to do good work while respecting both views?
Across the United States tribal governments are growing in their funding and abilities while they address resource problems on their lands. They are blending traditional uses and knowledge with modern science to protect their lands while meeting the needs of the membership. Is this still traditional ecological knowledge? It is real life learning on the ground. Learning that is tested on Reservations where the people see and feel the impacts each day. Building relationships and tapping into this knowledge can help with decisions off Reservations, if we make the phone call, make connections and build relationships. The stakes are too important not to try.
"If we decide to step into this space, we need to do so as a student first and educator when asked."
In Summary
There are other news stories available for your study and analysis. I encourage you to continue your education by studying the cases involving tribes and Native people. Look for ways the tribe is practicing and protecting their sovereignty and if the governments and people understand what the tribe is doing. Look for ways the tribe is using and protecting their culture and knowledge and if the response comes from a place of understanding and respect. Likely you will see times when the tribes are willing to work with others in an open and cooperative manner and other times it will appear less so. With an open and educated mind understanding this decision and others tribal actions may be easier to see. It is a process and a commitment.
"It is a process and a commitment."
