NATIVE AMERICAN CONCERNS

  The Native American Tribes on the Lower Snake River

  The 13 Native American Tribes on the Lower Snake River have a deep-rooted attachment to the river, its resources and its surroundings. They are of historic, cultural, spiritual, and economic value to the tribes. The tribes designated by the US Army Corps of Engineers as those whose rights or interests may be affected by Federal Actions in the Lower Snake are the: Umatilla, Yakima, Nez Perce, Coleville, Wanapum, Burns Paiute Tribe, Couer d’Alene Tribe, Kalispel, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, Northwestern band of the Shoshoni Nation, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Spokane Tribe.

  As the United States government took away the rights to the land the Native Americans inhabited in the 1850’s, they attempted to compensate them with certain other rights. Treaties were signed with local tribes. These treaties ensure the “right of taking fish”. This right has been interpreted by the US Supreme Court to mean half of the Columbia Basin salmon harvest. This right was given in exchange for 40 million acres of land. At the time the right was granted, the salmon runs were at harvestable levels. Currently, it is estimated that the runs are seven to ten times below harvestable levels.  What this means in terms of legal ramifications is unclear. The federal government may be liable if the runs are not restored, leaving the taxpayers with a bill of somewhere between six and twelve billion dollars. Whatever the value of the lost salmon, it is clear that if the Native Americans in the 1800’s had understood that the actions of the US government would cause the salmon population to dwindle as it has, they would not have agreed to the conditions of the treaties they signed.

  The salmon is at the center of Native American material and spiritual life. The following chart shows the severe impact of the dams on the salmon harvest of five tribes.

*Source: “Tribal Circumstances & Impacts from the Lower Snake River Project on the Nez Perce, Yakima, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Shoshone Bannock Tribes” (Meyer, 1999)

The value of the Lower Snake and Columbia basin is more far-reaching than the issues of livelihood impacted by the dams.  The Native American tribes attach a cultural significance too much of the wildlife in the Basin, and places sacred to the tribes are impacted by the actions of the government on the lower Snake River. Gravesites cannot be reached because of flooding from the dams and cannot be visited or maintained.

“In sum, there’s a huge connection between salmon and tribal health. Restoring salmon restores a way of life. It restores physical activity. It restores mental health. It improves nutrition and thus restores physical health. It restores a traditional food source, which we know isn’t everything - but its a big deal. It allows families to share time together and builds connections between family members. It passes on traditions that are being lost. If the salmon come back, these positive changes would start.”

—Chris Walsh, Yakima Psycho-Social Nursing Specialist

The value of the salmon is made larger by the present circumstance of the tribes. While all these tribes are distinct and should not be thrown together, there are some generalizations that can be made. In general, the reservations are impoverished and have been infiltrated by problems such as drug and alcohol abuse. Too many, the salmon represent more than what is internalized by most benefit-cost analyses. They are a symbol of hope. They are also a symbol of the constant infringement by the federal government on the traditional tribal life.

  The US government has a clear obligation to live up to the treaties it signed with the tribes in the 1850’s. What is most frustrating for the tribes as the river continues to be transformed for profit, it is for the profit of the white man, and at the expense of their way of life. Issues of environmental justice are raised, as Native Americans continue to be impacted negatively at a disproportional rate.

Resources and links:

www.americanrivers.org

Meyer, 1999 “Tribal Circumstances & Impacts from the Lower Snake River Project on the Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Shoshone Bannock Tribes”

http://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/ps/

www.critfc.org/index.html