American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Comb Ridge, a one hundred mile monolith in southeastern Utah, represents a variety of important cultural symbols to the Navajo people living in the region. Among the symbols associated with this rock formation are: snakes, lightning, arrowheads, wind and Holy Wind, bears, and witchcraft as well as blessings. The land serves as a mnemonic device that teaches of ceremonial lore specific to various chantways. The article concludes having made the following points: (1) While local knowledge may vary or emphasize different aspects from a broader regional insight, they are intertwined and supportive. (2) Interpretation of Navajo sacred geography is dependent upon the teachings and ceremonial knowledge of the individual. (3) Familiarity with one set of teachings does not exclude other possibilities, but instead may often fortify and support their inclusion. (4) Interconnectedness of symbols on both a local and regional level strengthens their power. (5) All symbols discussed in this article are polysemic and multivocal. (6) Each symbol had a male or female counterpart that shared similar powers and functions. (7) Their powers are neutral, being capable of supporting good or evil, protection or aggression, depending on how the power is used. (8) Classification of objects in Navajo thought may be done through either function or qualities, in this case, by movement. (9) Only those who understand the meaning and inherent power of the object has the ability to safely use that power. (10) All symbols are highly viable in today’s world, providing protection and healing for those who understand their meaning and receive assistance from those who control the power.

Guilt, fear, power, politics, legitimacy, science, religion, and denial—all of these elements have played a role and are integral to the ongoing debate regarding the repatriation of Native American burials and associated funerary objects. Scientists and tribal groups have argued the repatriation issue for two decades, gradually reaching some common ground, but not without major tension that is, at times, of explosive proportion. Designed to support the repatriation process, the NAGPRA law companions well with anthropology. And anthropology provides an alternate lens by which to view population history through such means as skeletal biology which, in turn, has contributed to modern biomedical research. A continual investigation as to the relationship between disease processes and their effects on skeletal physiology and soft-tissue would be valuable in the determination of past and present disease patterns, as well as causal factors. Environment and genetics can be considered within the framework of the biocultural history of a population. Such knowledge has the potential to inform the present, as well as the past, and could be beneficial to modern Native American populations, having the potential for real-life applications in terms of public health and public policy making.

We investigate the Ojibwe experience of the logging era in the Great Lakes region (ca. 1860-1925) through a historical case study of forest management on the Bad River reservation, located in northern Wisconsin. Although primary forest clearance reshaped ecological, cultural, and political landscapes throughout the region, the Ojibwe experienced the logging era in ways that differed from their white neighbors. As treaty-defined land cessions catalyzed changes to the Bad River livelihood and economy, reservation forests took on a new meaning: the stands became the primary source of untapped capital for the band and the Indian Agency. In accordance with the fiducial responsibility of tribal trust doctrine, the Indian Agency was charged to manage reservation forest resources for the long-term benefit of tribal members. Harvest of the Bad river stands (ca. 1894-1922) produced 1.25-1.5 billion board feet of pine, other softwood, and hardwood timber, valued at approximately $7 million. And yet, Bad River reservation forests were largely depleted by 1925, while generating minimal lasting return for tribal members. We investigate why this failure occurred at Bad River. Our study revealed multiple reasons: 1) upheaval of the traditional Ojibwe economy, which degenerated into a timber dependent economy; 2) ineffective supervision of Indian agents by senior Indian Agency officials; 3) corruption by the designated timber contractor, which was tolerated by the Indian Office; 4) Indian Agency assumptions that Ojibwe culture should be reshaped to fit the model of Anglo-American settled agriculture. During the early 20th century, the agency vacillated between forestry practices designed to maximize economic return and those characteristic of scientific forestry, thus demonstrating its competing resource management objectives. These twin goals—conserving forests for the future and cutting forests to hasten assimilation—conflicted with one another, and the result was disastrous for both the Bad River reservation forest and economy.

This article offers a critical perspective on representations of American Indians in Environmental Education (EE) curriculum guides and programming. In order to politically and historically contextualize EE’s images of indigenous Americans, I trace the field’s enduring fascination with Indians to its scouting/nature education and environmental movement origins. Drawing on the anthropological concept of imperialist nostalgia, I argue that EE’s portrayals of American Indians depend upon the simultaneous erasure of contemporary Native realities and the glorification of a selectively monolithic Native past. They combine a denial of actual Indian peoples’ coevalness with calls for inventive emulation by non-Indians.

“Sharing Our Stories with All Canadians” is the trumpeted motto of APTN, the world’s first Indigenous television station with a country-wide broadcast license and fully Aboriginal controlled. Their daily broadcast, and that of Aboriginal radio stations, is a daily act of decolonizing the mainstream media. This article will call attention to some aspects of the presentation of Aboriginal issues in Canada’s mainstream media and outline the concept of ‘decolonizing the media’ before briefly discussing the conditions and frameworks of Indigenous media creation. It will then present a closer look at APTN and the radio stations Native Communications Incorporation (NCI) in Winnipeg and the Wawatay Radio Network (WRN) in Sioux Lookout. All of these media institutions are working to reach Aboriginal people across Canada to meet their information and entertainment needs from within their cultures as well as to build bridges across cultures to find the necessary common ground between Aboriginal and mainstream Canada. The article will explore the politics of the three media institutions concerning their mandates and missions, structure and government, staff, finance and advertisement, their focus and program, acquisition, and broadcast language in order to see how they can decolonize the Canadian media

This article explores trends in state and tribal court treatments of the Indian Child Welfare Act. The ICWA is a federal law passed in 1978 that seeks to ensure Indian tribes manage their own affairs by giving tribal courts jurisdiction in certain adoption cases of Native American children, and, where jurisdiction is not granted to tribal courts, provides guidelines for state courts to follow so as to preserve tribal interests. The article begins by giving a brief legislative history of the ICWA and its intended purpose. The article examines how, since the act was declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield in 1989, it has been interpreted by state courts in such a way that goes against the legislative history and purpose of the act as well as Supreme Court interpretation. The state courts have created the “existing Indian family exception” and the “good cause” exception contrary to the history and purpose of the act and the effect of these court created exceptions is to prevent tribal courts from acquiring jurisdiction over cases involving the adoption of their children. The article explores the judicial method of deciding these cases as well as the resultant situation and possible reasons for the disparate state court treatment. The article then looks at tribal court opinions interpreting the act, examining the way tribal courts approach the issues and what sources of law the courts use to reach their decision in a way that is consistent with tribal custom, state law, federal law, and the language of the ICWA. The article concludes that some state courts are lagging behind other state courts and tribal courts due to a mistrust and misunderstanding of tribal legal systems, and calls for greater understanding and respect to be given tribal legal systems.