THESIS CULTURALLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN WATER AND RIVER CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT: THE WIND RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION, WYOMING Submitted by Cathleen M. Flanagan Department of Earth Resources In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Spring2000 ,-/ f ...' ';;cJ I t: \ f tJ/ COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY March 28, 2000 WE HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER OUR SUPERVISION BY CATHLEEN M. FLANAGAN ENTITLED "CULTURALLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN WATER AND RIVER CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT: THE WIND RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION, WYOMING" BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING IN PART REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE. iii OOLORADO STATE UN IV. LIBRARIES ABSTRACT OF THESIS CULTURALLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN WATER AND RIVER CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT: THE WIND RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION, WYOMING Knowledge is based on a set of assumptions about reality and the world that is dictated by environment, tradition and religion (Sterling, 1990). Indigenous people and their culturally specific knowledge associated with local ecosystems are being credited with bio-diversity protection around the world. As a result, environmental managers are acknowledging the long-range environmental benefits of indigenous approaches for managing natural resources. This recognition has catalyzed the inclusion of indigenous people in the development of sustainable resource management solutions, affording them a voice in nature conservation and resource management agendas in areas around the world. However, in the United States, Native Americans' cultural and ecological knowledge of local ecosystems has been overlooked in making resource management decisions. Although current research has explored the value and protection of indigenous knowledge, little effort has been focused on developing ways to integrate indigenous ecological knowledge with Euro-American scientific knowledge to obtain sustainable solutions to resource dilemmas. This thesis concentrated on developing a conceptual model of Shoshone and Arapaho indigenous ecological knowledge associated with water and the riparian corridor. The research has shown that elements of the Shoshone and Arapaho indigenous knowledge systems that were incorporated in Tribal water law are not reflected in Wyoming water laws. The methodology applied in this thesis was developed into a procedural outline to determine whether indigenous ecological and cultural knowledge has been equitably integrated into Euro-American water management schemes. This procedure may provide a iv concrete outline for applying these techniques to varying resource management questions within different indigenous cultures. The research shows that indigenous ecological knowledge and management practice associated with river corridor areas are related to the culturally significant perceptions and uses of biological and natural resources of the localized ecosystem. Cathleen M. Flanagan Department of Earth Resources Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523 Spring 2000 v TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE-COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY ................................................................. III ABSTRACT OF THESIS .......................................................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•.••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• VI LIST OF FIGURES •••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• IX LIST OF TABLES •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• X AC:KNOWLEDGEMENT •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2 CHAPTER 1.0-INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 3 1.1 WIND RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION CASE STUDY ..•...............•..........•.......•...••.•....•••••......•..•.....•..... 4 1.2 STUDY SITE-THE WIND RIVERS INDIAN RESERVATION .................................................................. .4 1.2.1 The Wind River Basin .............................................................................................................. 5 1.2.2 Social and Economic State ofthe Wind River Reservation ..................................................... 5 1.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WATER AND KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS .............................................. 12 1.4 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................................. 13 1.5 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2-LITERATURE REVIEW ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 14 2.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................ 14 2.1.1 Culture. Knowledge and the Environment ............................................................................ 15 2.1.2 Resource Management According to Euro-American Society .............................................. 16 2.1.3 A Call for Indigenous Ecological Knowledge ....................................................................... 19 2.1.4 The View ofNative American Indigenous Knowledge .......................................................... 19 2.1.5 Methods ofIdentifying, Protecting and Utilizing Indigenous Knowledge ............................. 23 2.1. 6 Ways ofExamining Decision making process in Water Resource Management................... 26 vi CHAPTER 3.0 -METHODS & ANAl.YSIS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 29 3.1 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 29 3.1. J Indigenous Knowledge Research .......................................................................................... 29 3.1.2 Preliminary Site Visits ........................................................................................................... 3D 3. J.3 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................ 38 3.2. J Transcription ofRaw Data .................................................................................................... 38 3.2.2 Searchfor 'Cultural Importance' in Wyoming Water Law .................................................... 39 CHAPTER 4.0-RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................................................... 41 4.1 INITIAL(RAW) DATABASE OF CULTURALLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION (CSI) ................................. .41 4.2 FINALIZED DATABASE OF CSI AND COGNIZED MODEL .................................................................41 4.2.1 Holistic View ofEnvironment ................................................................................................ 49 4.2.2 Spiritual Connection to Land and Water ............................................................................... 50 4.2.3 Human Existence ................................................................................................................... 51 4.3 HOW THE TRIBAL WORLD-VIEW INFLUENCES WATER RESOURCE DECISIONS .............................. 51 4.4 THE SOCIAL AND NATURAL CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING DECISIONS ............................................... 53 4.5 CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON THE WIND RIVER WATER CODE ........................................................ 53 4.6 THE SHOSHONE AND ARAPAHO DECISION MAKING PROCESS ......................................................... 62 4. 7 CSI IN THE WYOMING STATE WATER STATUES ............................................................................ 66 4. 7. J Tribal Decision making process in Wyoming Water Statutes ................................................ 66 4. 7.2 Discussion ofIntegration ...................................................................................................... 70 CHAPTER 5.0-CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 74 5.1 PROCEDURAL MODEL FOR INTEGRATION OF CULTURALLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION ..................... 74 5.2 CONCLUDING REMARKS ................................................................................................................ 78 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................................................... Sl APPENDIX A-TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEWS OF SAMPLE POPULATION•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A-1 APPENDIX B-TABLES OF CULTURALLY SPECIFIC INFORMATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• B-1 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIG.1.1. WINDRIVERRESERVATIONVICINITYMAP 6 FIG. 1.2. MAP OF THE WIND RIVER BASIN AND THE RESERVATIONS LOCATION 7 FIG. 1.3. THE HEADWATERS OF THE WIND RIVER WITHIN THE WIND RivER MOUNTAINS 8 FIG. 1.4. THE DIVERSE TERRAIN OF THE WIND RIVER RESERVATION: 9 FIG. 3.1.