Assessing the Cultural Effects of Climate Change on Northwest Tribes
Assessing Climate Change Effects on Natural and Cultural Resources of Significance to Northwest Tribes
Dates
Start Date
2013-07-29
End Date
2014-06-30
Release Date
2013
Summary
Tribal communities have spiritually rich and complex connections with the natural environment, and their traditions, identities, and economies rely heavily on local natural resources. Because of this intimate connection with nature, tribes are especially vulnerable to climate changes that disrupt their surroundings. Surprisingly, however, few studies have delved deeply into Native thinking around climate change and its cultural impacts. This project sought to understand the ways in which Native American culture and cultural practices in the northwestern U.S. have been affected by climate change. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with tribal elders and cultural experts belonging to three Northwest tribes – the Confederated Tribes [...]
Summary
Tribal communities have spiritually rich and complex connections with the natural environment, and their traditions, identities, and economies rely heavily on local natural resources. Because of this intimate connection with nature, tribes are especially vulnerable to climate changes that disrupt their surroundings. Surprisingly, however, few studies have delved deeply into Native thinking around climate change and its cultural impacts.
This project sought to understand the ways in which Native American culture and cultural practices in the northwestern U.S. have been affected by climate change. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with tribal elders and cultural experts belonging to three Northwest tribes – the Confederated Tribes of Salish and Kootenai, the Qinault Indian Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
Researchers found that, in addition to altering some specific cultural practices, climate change is profoundly disrupting tribal identities. For tribes, one of the most significant effects of climate change is disturbance to the timing of natural cycles and seasonal changes, which have historically served as cues for culturally important activities. Many of the interviewees described a sense of unease associated with the fact that traditional wisdom may no longer be a sound basis for decision making, because environmental situations no longer match the information that has been passed down through generations. These findings can provide a foundation for understanding the cultural effects of climate change on Northwest tribes and may serve as a resource for tribes to assess climate change impacts on their practices and identity.
This research project sought to understand the ways in which aspects of Native American culture have been affected by climate change in the Northwest region of the U.S. There are aspects of tribal culture, such as songs, stories, prayers, and dances that include fish, wildlife, or plants as central images or main symbolic figures, and therefore may be affected by environmentally driven changes. The intimate connections that tribes have maintained with the natural environment are more spiritually rich and complex than non-Native consumptive views of natural resources. After careful consideration of tribe size, level of cultural activity, strength of ties to the environment, and connection to culturally significant and aboriginal geographic regions, three Northwest tribes were selected for this study--the Confederated Tribes of Salish and Kootenai, the Qinault Indian Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Information was collected through interviews with tribal elders and individuals with substantial cultural expertise. We found that in addition to changes in specific cultural practices, a profound disruption to identity connected with (a) changes in seasonality, disturbing the sense of natural time; and (b) a sense that wisdom passed down through generations is no longer a sound basis for which decisions are made. These observations contribute to the understanding of Northwest tribal culture and its vulnerability and adaptive capacity to a changing climate. This research documented traditional cultural commonalities among the tribes involved with this project and illustrated inter-tribal cultural adaptations to their prevailing environmental conditions. The results of this study will also provide tribes a resource to assess climate change impacts on their cultural practices and identity.
Primary data are restricted to project participants.
metadata
None
exclusiveUse
other than the restriction noted above, no exclusion
description
Primary data consist of oral interviews with no more than twelve tribal elders from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Quinault, and Confederated Salish-‐Kootenai Tribes, conducted in January and February 2014 by project postdoc Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield
repository
Each tribe will have digital copies of the interview with its own elders. OSU archives will also keep a copy.
contact
before June 30 2014: Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield, shatfield@coas.oregonstate.edu; after that, Philip Mote, pmote@coas.oregonstate.edu, 541-737-5694 or Gustavo Bisbal, gbisbal@usgs.gov
qualityChecks
None
protocols
Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield transcribed the audio files using standard procedures in the field of cultural anthropology.
citation
TBD - will depend on final project report authorship and titles
format
The audio files are in .mp4 format
restrictions
Primary data are culturally sensitive and, following protocols of the field of cultural anthropology and the plan for this project approved by OSU's Institutional Review Board, will not be publicly available. The research results will be made publicly available.
backupAndStorage
Files are stored in a password protected computer.
dataManagementResources
Resources need for data management are insignificant
volumeEstimate
70 MB
dataProcessing
Postdoctoral Research Associate Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield conducted the interviews and transcribed the audio files using standard procedures in the field of cultural anthropology.
name
Interview Data - Audio Files
output
accessAndSharing
No access
None
metadata
N/A
exclusiveUse
None
description
Transcripts of interviews, tabulations of analysis of subjects identified by interviewees
repository
In addition to the NCCWSC repository (ScienceBase) ,the OSU Archives
contact
before June 30, 2014: Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield, shatfield@coas.oregonstate.edu; after that, Philip Mote, pmote@coas.oregonstate.edu, 541-737-5694 or Gustavo Bisbal, gbisbal@usgs.gov
qualityChecks
N/A
citation
TBD - will depend on final project report authorship and titles
format
Microsoft Word documents
restrictions
Transcripts may include culturally sensitive data and, following protocols of the field of cultural anthropology and the plan for this project approved by OSU's Institutional Review Board, will not be publicly available. The research results will be made publicly available.
backupAndStorage
Digital copies are kept in a password protected computer