"How can you love the wolf and the Eskimo at the same time?": Representations of Indigenous peoples in nature magazines Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Vaughan, Margaret Ann M. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 05/10/2021 13:13:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/280661 "HOW CAN YOU LOVE THE WOLF AND THE ESKIMO AT THE SAME TIME?" REPRESENTATIONS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN NATURE MAGAZINES by Margaret Ann Mortensen Vaughan Copyright © Margaret Ann Mortensen Vaughan 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES PROGRAMS In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2004 UMI Number: 3145143 Copyright 2004 by Vaughan, Margaret Ann Mortensen All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3145143 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 The University of Arizona ® Graduate College As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Margarpt-. Ann Mnrf.pnspn Vangh?in entitled "How Can You Love the Wolf and the Eskimo at the Same Time?" Representations of Indigenous Peoples in Nature Magazines and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy // -f D y./ Jose^ H. Stauss ate •' mm JdM4 Dr . K ^ Taiani .ate hNs. Hiller liatt (/ date date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recomrpeft^ that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. DissejtatSn^ Joseph H. Stauss dat^ ' u 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fiilfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES 7 ABSTRACT 8 INTRODUCTION , 9 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 11 LITERATURE REVIEW 14 Nature Magazines, Nature Writing, and Indigenous Representations 14 Meanings of Nature 17 Influential Texts and Styles in Nature Writing. 21 The Uses of Binary Oppositions 28 Interactions between Environmental Organizations and Native Peoples 31 METHODOLOGY 35 Influences on the Textual Data-gathering Methods 35 Ethnographic Content Analysis. 36 Critical Discourse Analysis 36 Linguistic Anthropological Methods 38 News and Magazine Discourse 41 Visual Texts 42 Stereotypes .43 Social Constructionism 44 Research Procedures 45 AUDUBON MAGAZINE ACROSS THE YEARS: SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS IN ONE PUBLICATION 51 "NATURE," "SELF," AND THE 'THE INDIGENOUS OTHER" IN NATURE MAGAZINES 58 Writing about Nature, Self and "the Other" 58 First Effect: Referencing Indigenous Peoples to Educate about Nature 62 Teale's Essay. 62 Geese. 63 Groundnuts. 65 Poetic Imagery. 70 Second Effect: "Self: Some Identities of the Euro-American Nature Writer vis-a-vis Indigenous Peoples 71 Pioneer 72 Explorers 82 The Naturalist/ornithologist vis-a-vis Mayan Indians 86 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Jorge Ibarra, the ornithologist according to Bowes. 87 Mavan Indians according to Bowes 87 "Indians" and Woodcraft Indians: Personal Identities at Audubon 90 Third Effect: Depictions of Indigenous People in the Incidental Reference 99 Indigenous Peoples as Guides and Labor Forces for Naturalists 99 Ecological Knowledge and Uses of Nature in the Incidental References 110 Indigenous Peoples as Attackers and Exploiters: Barriers to Botanizing and Birding 115 Indigenous Peoples as Vehicles for Nostalgia. 121 The Ecological Indian 123 Indigenous Peoples and Political Activism 123 Ethnographic Descriptions 126 Indigenous Peoples as Metaphors and Similes 126 Indigenous Presence in Nature Nomenclature and Place Names 128 Derogatory Nomenclature 129 "Indian File" and "Indian Trail." 130 Origins Explained: Indian Pipes and Indian Poke 134 Reinforcing the Belief of the Natural tlirough Nomenclature. .135 The Belief that the Indians Have a Knack for Naming. 136 THE COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.... 138 Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Controversies 146 Scientist as Activist in 1963 146 Comparing Coverage of the U'wa Community Facing Big Oil 152 U'wa in Audubon 152 U'wa in Earth Island Journal. 156 Racializing Treaty Rights and Freezing Geography: Controversy over Wall-Eye Spear Fishing in Wisconsin 160 Conclusion: Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Controversies 164 Indigenous "Mis"Management of Resources and Land 164 Management of a Wildlife Reserve 165 Eagles. Indians, and Audubon ....169 The Everglades: Where Are the Seminole and Miccosukee Nations? 181 The Special Issue 181 The Timeline. 183 Articles about the Everglades. 184 Subsistence Hunting in Alaska 188 Aleuts as Hunters ...188 Eskimos as Subsistence Hunters 195 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Representations of Eskimo Relationships with Whales and Whaling... .204 Nez Perce Wolf Recovery Project: Coverage in Two Nature Magazines 213 Conclusion: Indigenous "Mis"management of Resources and Land 220 Usage of Ecological Indian Imagery 221 Advocating for an Issue (with the Aid of the Ecological Indian) 221 An Audubon Perspective on the Crying Indian: The Symbol of the Trashmakers 229 An Essay about the Ecological Indian .237 Conclusion: Usage of Ecological Indian Imagery. .242 Indigenous Knowledge Systems Mediated by Audubon Contributors. 242 Educating Indigenous Children about the Environment 254 Profiles 261 CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH 273 Conclusions 273 Further Research 278 APPENDIX A ARTICLE ANALYSIS TEMPLATE 279 APPENDIX B LETTER OF INQUIRY 284 APPENDIX C CONSENT FORM ....285 APPENDIX D INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR AUDUBON MAGAZINE EDITORIAL STAFF 288 REFERENCES CITED 289 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1, Editors' Terms from 1960-2002 TABLE 2, Descriptions of Native Americans and Pioneers TABLE 3, Full-length Articles in Audubon from 1960-2002 TABLE 4, Descriptors of U'wa and Guerrillas 8 ABSTRACT This research examined Audubon magazine's representations of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Textual and image analysis spanned the years 1960 to 2002. Text and images were analyzed using cultural studies methods of critical textual analysis, critical discourse analysis, and ethnographic content analysis. Some of these representations were compared to other environmental magazines. Analysis included nature writing and news stories that covered the Keep America Beautiful Campaign, the use of eagles by Native Americans, the Nez Perce Wolf recovery project, the U'wa struggle against oil companies, and other issues. Contributors to the nature writing genre often utilized brief references to Indigenous peoples in order to make points about nature, identities, and Indigenous peoples. 1 concluded that the imagery was not monolithic across time or across a particular topic. The "ecological Indian" image was both challenged and reinforced. A vast array of Indigenous images supported the magazine's goals, one goal being the encouragement of activism among readers. Letters-to-the- editor served as a dialogic space for perspectives not represented in the magazine's articles. 9 INTRODUCTION The title, "How Can You Love the Wolf and the Eskimo at the Same Time?" originated from a quote from the Audubon magazine article "Where Have all the Tutu Gone?" by John G. Mitchell (1977, March, p. 10). The quote concerned a wolf extermination campaign targeted to protect a dwindling caribou population and ensure that Alaska Natives would have a population of caribou to hunt for food. The Alaska State Fish and Game department had prepared stacks of letters to send to environmentalists protesting the wolf extermination. A bureaucrat commented that few letters from environmentalists had arrived and asked, "How can you love the wolf and the Eskimo at the same time?" In other words, the bureaucrat's question suggested some environmentalists' difficulties in supporting wolves over Indigenous peoples. On other levels, the bureaucrat's question revealed the complexity of relationships