Tribes respect lands
Blaine Hubbard - March 12th, 2008Jaime Pinkham and Charles Wilkinson addressed a packed auditorium on Feb. 28 to begin the lecture series in western landscapes conservation, hosted by the M.S. Program in Environmental Science and Policy.
The lecture series is aimed at educating students, faculty and community members on issues of resource management and conservation among Native American tribes.
Pinkham is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe and the president of the Intertribal Timber Council. He has also been elected twice to the Nez Perce governing body and has managed the tribe’s Natural Resources and Fisheries Departments.
Wilkinson is a celebrated author, a professor at Colorado Law School and has been active in Indian and public land law since graduating from Stanford in 1966.
In his speech, Pinkham addressed many issues, including the effect dams have on salmon, the reintroduction of the grey wolf, and the importance of tribal, state and national agencies working together on these issues.
Pinkham talked about the Nez Perce understanding that maintaining a healthy community is inextricable from sustaining the land that supports them. He mentioned an instance when federal agencies were limiting the tribe’s access to traditional foods because of the use of pesticides to combat noxious weeds.
He also addressed the hydro-systems and various dams in the country, mentioning the stress they put on the environment and marine animals, particularly salmon. He talked about the federal government’s failure to understand the biological repercussions on species and their habitats.
“Their conclusion was made on a claim that the dams are now an efficient of the environmental baseline,” Pinkham said. “So on the fifth day when God had created all the creatures, he was supposed to rest, but perhaps he was out building dams.”
Pinkham said no other people at any time in history have achieved more than what has been accomplished in the last several years regarding environmental conservation and reclamation.
“Our time has come, our land is calling,” Pinkham said.
As indication of the collaboration between the Nez Perce and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pinkham spoke about the successful reintroduction of the grey wolf in Idaho even with reluctant state lawmakers working against them.
He referred to his tactics as “wildlife mitigation with a heart.”
Pinkham also stressed the significance of the family, saying that it is important to learn from the elders in order to make a better world for the younger generation.
“I used to make reflection up in the mountain or down by the river, but now I make that reflection with a little girl sitting on my knee,” he said referring to his granddaughter. “And now the future has a face. It makes me wonder if we have the strength in our hearts or the depth of our wisdom to make this a better world for her.”
Pinkham described the importance of the environment to the United States and its historical struggle with freedom.
“This country’s first symbol of freedom is nature,” Pinkham said.
He asked the crowd how future generations will view the history of our generation—what accomplishments we achieved and what failures we overcame.
Pinkham left one last thought with the crowd: “history’s scars don’t heal.”
Charles Wilkinson, professor at Colorado Law School-CU Boulder, spoke next, focusing on co-managment practices among tribes, state and federal agencies.
In his speech, Wilkinson addressed a variety of topics. He pointed out recent tribal land acquisition programs and revealed tribal land ethics and priorities, including recreation versus spirituality.
Wilkinson mentioned the responsibilities that tribal governments have for the people, especially in the face of 30 to 40 percent unemployment, but also spoke of the many accomplishments reached by these tribes.
“There is no question,” Pinkham said, “when you look at the tribal governments in this country and their land ethics, the pride is deeper and more profound than the other governments’. If the federal or state governments had the priorities that the tribes do, and they dedicated a percentage of their resources like the tribes do, our environmental practice would be very different today.”
Wilkinson went on to give examples of tribal achievements in issues of forest and wildlife management. He addressed the preservation of native plants, the use of modern technology and natural resource management.
Both speakers reiterated the importance of respecting the land and wildlife in order to preserve a symbiotic relationship.
The next lectures on western landscapes conservation will be made on March 24 by David Getches, Kathy Jacobs and Brent Haddad on the topic of water scarcity. The final event will be held on April 7 with Barry Noon and Dan Rohlf, speaking about forest management and policy.