Tag: Oral Session 1M

Climate Change, Water Policy, and Society in the Peruvian Andes

Presenter(s): Rennie Kendrick − Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Mark Carey

Oral Session 1M

Research Area: Social Science, Humanities

Climate change has posed a threat to fresh water supplies, which has worsened conflicts over water. Simultaneously, corporations have strategically offered water privatization schemes as a solution to climate change problems. Although privatization may benefit key economic interests, a review of literature examining its impact on water users in Peru as a
case study and its impact on the environment at large, calls into question the viability of this model. I argue that water privatization in Peru has produced negative social impacts on water access, including reduced water access for certain groups, violation of traditional meanings of water, and changes to water’s legal character. More broadly, the privatization of water resources represents a larger flaw in current approaches to climate change, which often rely on market-based solutions over governmental regulation. Because market-based solutions rely on the integrity of private actors, these private actors may, and often do, make decisions that further undermine the natural environment. An understanding of both the negative social and environmental impacts of water privatization will eventually lead to creation of new forms of water governance in the face of climate change and social inequities.

Indigenous Perspectives on the Occupation of Malheur: Comparing Contemporary Responses from Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Sources

Presenter(s): Doug Sam − Environmental Studies, Geography

Faculty Mentor(s): Peter Walker

Oral Session 1M

Research Area: Social Science

On 2 January 2016, armed militants led by Ammon Bundy seized the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon and began a month-long occupation of the refuge as part of a revived movement to pressure the federal government into transferring public lands to state and local authorities. Narratives surrounding this event center on the interests of the occupying militants vs. those of the public. This occludes the perspectives of Indigenous Americans, particularly the Northern Paiute of the Burns Paiute Tribe whose ancestors have lived in the area since time immoral. Comparing responses contemporary to the occupation from Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices, this study frames the Malheur Occupation outside of the settler-colonial context in which it is couched. Indigenous peoples responded in a distinct, independent manner from either the occupiers or the public at large. This has often been ignored or given reduced importance in the general discourse over public lands in the American West. However, recognition of the Indigenous perspective is imperative to a comprehensive and decolonized understanding of this significant event in Oregon, American West.

Climate Change, Water Policy, and Society in the Peruvian Andes

Presenter(s): Rennie Kendrick − Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Mark Carey

Oral Session 1M

Research Area: Social Science/Humanities

Climate change has posed a threat to fresh water supplies, which has worsened conflicts over water. Simultaneously, corporations have strategically offered water privatization schemes as a solution to climate change problems. Although privatization may benefit key economic interests, a review of literature examining its impact on water users in Peru as a
case study and its impact on the environment at large, calls into question the viability of this model. I argue that water privatization in Peru has produced negative social impacts on water access, including reduced water access for certain groups, violation of traditional meanings of water, and changes to water’s legal character. More broadly, the privatization of water resources represents a larger flaw in current approaches to climate change, which often rely on market-based solutions over governmental regulation. Because market-based solutions rely on the integrity of private actors, these private actors may, and often do, make decisions that further undermine the natural environment. An understanding of both the negative social and environmental impacts of water privatization will eventually lead to creation of new forms of water governance in the face of climate change and social inequities.

Inter-Tribal Dynamics of the Warm Springs and Grand Ronde Reservations: A Historical Legacy of Discrimination, Prejudice, and Settler-Colonialism

Presenter(s): Clara Gorman − History

Faculty Mentor(s): Jennifer O’Neal, Kevin Hatfield

Oral Session 1M

Research Area: Humanities

Funding: Vice President for Research and Innovation Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2017)

In 2016, Northern Paiute tribal elder Myra Johnson-Orange stated, “Before the coming of the white man, there were peaceful feelings among the tribes that are now, what I call, inter-tribal racism.” Myra’s statement seamlessly captures the central research question I am pursuing, comprised of two interconnected components. The first part examines how Oregon’s tribal history of the Western Slope and Northern Great Basin regions, specifically historical tribal animosities and alliances, has shaped and characterized contemporary inter-tribal dynamics on the Warm Springs and Grand Ronde Reservations. The second part explores what these contemporary inter-tribal dynamics look like in regards to cultural fusion, tribal and inter- tribal identity, cultural politics, and inter-tribal discrimination. There currently exists little academic or historical research that specifically examines the cultural inter-tribal dynamics of either The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs or The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. With the creation of the Indian Reservation System, historically hostile tribes are forced to live together as one representative sovereign nation. The dominant discourse assumes that inter-tribal dynamics are characterized by a notion of unity and a semblance of tribal equality. However, this widespread assumption fails to recognize the individuality of each tribe and tribal member, limiting equal tribal representation on a political, social, and cultural  level. In an attempt to record Native history from an exclusively Native perspective, I plan to conduct my research using a methodology of oral history within a framework of decolonization. Ultimately, my research will be discussed in a comparative framework, examining similarities and differences in tribal history and contemporary inter-tribal relations that exist on the two Reservations. I anticipate that the different geographic locations of each Reservation and the various levels of historical tribal engagement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs will indicate some degree of existing inter-tribal prejudice and discrimination in both communities.