American Indian Responses to

Environmental Challenges

Kumeyaay people have lived for thousands of years in a semi-arid region of southern California and northern Mexico. This Kumeyaay man is dressed for a traditional dance. Date unknown

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"Most of the clans did a migration every year up through the drainages, through the ones that their clans claimed, and harvested the resources along the way."

The arrival of the Spanish in Kumeyaay territory began a long era of enormous changes to Kumeyaay ways of life. This mission was built in 1769 by the Spanish in present-day San Diego, California. 2007

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"So we had hundreds of Indian people living all over the rural areas, in little clusters where they had no rights of citizenship. They had no rights to go out and claim land, on the very land that they and their ancestors had been living on for thousands of years. They were people without a country."

The 19th and 20th centuries brought even more changes to Kumeyaay people. They were not able to live and survive in ways they always had and life became very difficult. The Campo Kumeyaay reservation was established in 1893, where this family was photographed. 1908

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"Starting around the 1870s, the cattlemen moved up into this area."

Cattle were first introduced into Kumeyaay territory by the Spanish. Later, the Americans brought even more cattle deeper into Kumeyaay lands. This photo depicts cattle ranching in southern California. Date unknown

Fidel Hyde, senior technician, Campo Environmental Protection Agency

"When we found out what the cattle were doing to our water with high nitrates, stream-bank erosion, it made a big difference to me and to the tribal members."

In spite of the difficult changes the Kumeyaay people endured, they are thriving today. Since 1976, the Campo Kumeyaay have governed under their own constitution. They operate their own fire department and medical facilities and provide many other services for Campo Kumeyaay citizens. 2010

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"And in 1975, the tribe adopted its first constitution."

The Campo Environmental Protection Agency works to keep the environment healthy. 2010

Oak trees are an important part of the chaparral environment that dominates Campo Kumeyaay homelands. Oaks grow best in valleys where enough water is available. 2010

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"There are hundreds of oak trees that go up through the valleys. And these provided one of our staples, which was the acorn."

Oak trees have long been an important source of food for the Kumeyaay. The acorns, or seeds of the oak tree, are used to produce a food that the Kumeyaay call shawii. 2010

Paul Cuero, Jr., singer and tribal councilman

"When we'd go pick acorns, they would say, 'You have to leave enough for the squirrels and the other animals.'"

In the semi-arid chaparral environment of Kumeyaay homelands, wetland areas are most often found in the valleys where small creeks run and the water table is close to the surface. 2010

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"And then when you get into the very lowest parts of the valleys, you encounter the wetland areas. And the wetlands were a big source of medicinal plants and foods.""

Coyote is one of many wildlife species that frequent the wetlands environment of the Kumeyaay homelands. 2007

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"All the wildlife that comes in is really amazing."

The homelands of the Kumeyaay are semi-arid, but they traditionally supported the Kumeyaay people with abundant plant and animal life. 2010

Paul Cuero, Jr., singer and tribal councilman

"Because we live in a area that we don't get much water, we had to come up with techniques of, ways of, storing water, because in ancient times, we didn't have ways of digging with drills like we do today for water."

The Kumeyaay knew how to manage the land so that it would continue to provide for the people. Specialists known as Kuseyaay advised about techniques such as controlled burning, used to make the environment healthier. 2010

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"And these Kuseyaay would offer their advice, and they would tell the shmulqs when it was time to move to another area, or when it was time to burn an area, or when it was time to harvest different plants. . . . They were astronomers, and they understood the constellations, and they knew the seasons."

The environment of the Campo Kumeayaay homelands is especially susceptible to damage caused by grazing animals, such as cattle. 2009

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

The cattle eat the babies, so as the new trees are coming up, they are continually mowing them down. So the trees are not able to get established.

Sage is native to the chaparral environment, but not to wetland areas. When a wetland disappears, different plants — such as sage — move in. 2009

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

So eventually over time . . . you see a lot of the non-native plants began to replace the native plants.

The grazing of cattle and the draining of wetlands by ranchers and farmers are two factors that have contributed to the loss of water in Campo Kumeyaay homelands. ca. 1990

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

There is no vegetation here anymore to really hold back the water when it does rain.

Because the native vegetation doesn't regenerate very quickly, cattle grazing has caused plants and water to disappear. 2009

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

Oak trees were considered a kind of a pest tree by a lot of the settlers. They came into this area in the 1870s, and they cut down a lot of the oaks.

Many wetlands were drained intentionally to make room for livestock and crops. 2009

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

When the water level was high, there was a big wet meadow around the riparian area. . . . The ranchers and farmers they saw it as swamp land that you had to get rid of. So in a lot of cases they would actually go in and cut a channel down through the middle to intentionally drain it.

The Campo EPA monitors water quality on the reservation, ensuring that there is a supply of clean fresh water for community members. 2010

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"And so in 1990, when the Campo EPA was created, one of the tasks given to CEPA was to find a permanent solution to this. And so what was done at CEPA was to look back in the records, and look at what was done traditionally. What was done in our villages, and what was done in our environment."

The Campo Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1990 to preserve and protect the environment on the Campo Kumeyaay reservation. They perform a variety of tasks to make the environment as healthy as possible. 2009

Paul Cuero, Jr., singer and tribal councilman

"So there was techniques that were taught to us by our what we call Kuseyaay. On our reservation, . . . we use an old technique that was recorded through an anthropologist. And she asked them about a lot of different things, and one of things they talked about was how to slow water down."

Kumeyaay people long ago dropped rocks in areas where they wanted water to stay at the surface. Today, the Campo EPA is building modern versions of traditional rock-drop structures to counter the effects of environmental damage. ca. 2008

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"One of the things that came out was that the building of rock-drop structures—placing rocks in the channels and rocks and brush—was something that was commonly done to try to enhance the wetland areas. And so we took that and adapted it."

The Campo EPA grows a variety of native plants that they replant in repaired wetlands and community landscaping. These native plants are important not only to the environment, but also to the culture of the Campo Kumeyaay people. This yucca plant has many uses, and can even be made into a kind of soap. 2010

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"The whole area that had once been on its way to becoming a desert became a lush habitat. Many different types of animals have been seen there. It was also a place where we could harvest our traditional medicine plants and traditional food plants."

The Campo Kumeyaay people are looking for new ways to sustain the environment. This wind farm takes advantage of the high elevation and strong winds that are common to that part of the reservation to generate alternate power and provide additional income for the community. 2009

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"What we did on Campo reservation is eliminated commercial cattle grazing. It just got to be too hard to try to preserve our wetland areas."

The map shows the many locations where Campo EPA has placed rock-drop structures to stop erosion and hold water. 2010

Monique LaChappa, tribal chairwoman

"You can see that the tribal people are still caretakers of the earth, and it comes from our heart."

By learning Kumeyaay dances and other cultural traditions, Campo Kumeyaay children also learn the value of protecting and preserving the environment that has sustained their people for thousands of years. ca. 2003

Stan Rodriguez, Kumeyaay language instructor

"I mean, there is a limit, and if we do not take care of our resources, if we do not take care of these things, if we are not—if we do not live in harmony, then we're going to destroy it. If we destroy it, we're going to destroy ourselves."

This Desert Cottontail rabbit needs a healthy environment to survive. The restoration work of the Campo Kumeyaay Nation supports wetlands life, from the smallest microorganisms to the biggest animals and plants found in the area. 2009

Michael Connolly, environmental consultant and former tribal councilman

"There are many people and many organizations that want to work with us to try to preserve the ecosystems in many of these valleys. And I think that's something that is a benefit, not only to our people, but to all people."

Oak trees can live to be hundreds of years old. Some of them are so massive they create their own micro-environment. Oak trees are an important part of the healthy environment being restored in the Campo Kumeyaay Nation. 2009

Paul Cuero, Jr., singer and tribal councilman

"My uncle used to say, 'The land is the law. If you don't have water, you can't live. If you don't have the vegetation that we use, if we don't have our oak trees, the acorns . . . we can't survive.' So if we don't take care of those very things, we're not taking care of ourselves."

In Kumeyaay culture, water is sacred. It supports and maintains life and has to be treated with respect. This restored wetland on the Campo reservation is an expression of the cultural importance that water has to the Kumeyaay people. 2009

Stan Rodriguez, Kumeyaay language instructor

"But in all these things, all things that we talk about, water is a very sacred thing, and when we say [Kumeyaay phrase], we take care of that water. We watch over it. We hold it with respect. It's something that not only keeps us alive physically, also spiritually. It's a very sacred thing."

The Kumeyaay language and culture has always been closely tied to caring for the land around them. In addition to their environmental efforts, the Kumeyaay people are working hard to preserve their language in classes such as this one. 2010

The Leech Lake Reservation was created in 1855, when the Ojibwe living around Leech Lake signed treaties with the U.S. government. It was three years later, in 1858, that the state of Minnesota was admitted to the Union.

Elaine Fleming, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"They say that whatever happens to your food will happen to the people."

This nineteenth-century illustration shows Ojibwe people harvesting wild rice in the same way that it is harvested today.

Elaine Fleming, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"One of the prophecies that was given to us was that we would be leaving that place, and we would be journeying west . . . until we came to a place where food grew on the water. And that is that manoomin."

Ojibwe people lived in wigwams—homes made of bent tree limbs covered with birch bark. When people moved to a new area, they rolled up the bark and took it with them. 1923

Leslie Harper, director, Niigaane Ojibwe Language Immersion Program

"We have ties—there are connections we have—to the fish. There are connections we have to the birds and the trees and the rocks and the animals."

This fawn skin was sewn up and used as a bag to collect rice. ca. 1890-1900

Leslie Harper, director, Niigaane Ojibwe Language Immersion Program

"We're gifted with so much from everyone around us, from the trees, and from the rocks, from the water, from everyone around us. We don't just take and take and take."

The Ojibwe are experts at making birchbark containers. Extensive knowledge of the birch tree's life cycle is necessary to determine when to harvest the strongest or most flexible bark. ca. 1920–28

Colleen Wells, archeologist, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Heritage Sites Program

"The word manoomin almost has the sense of a life-force type. It has been so entwined in the culture that it obviously can't be seen as simply a food resource."

Moccasins and clothing were made from deer and elk hides. Often they were decorated with colorful glass beads. These moccasins feature a beautiful beaded floral design. ca. 1900

Ojibwe birchbark canoes are some of the best-designed watercraft ever invented. Usually made from the bark of one tree, they are shaped and sewn together ingeniously, making them watertight and capable of navigating the most treacherous rapids. ca. 1920

The Ojibwe have an extensive knowledge of the natural resources available to them. These bowls were carved from hardwood trees. 1890

Jeff Harper, water quality specialist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"So when I'm looking at the water, I'm taking in the history of what my parents and my grandparents told me and people in the community. I'm trying to think ahead to what my children and my grandchildren will see when they come out here to partake of the water and the wild rice."

Ojibwe people have been using the same methods of harvesting rice for centuries. 1939

Steve Smith, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"This rice is unique to each area, and an experienced wild-rice harvester could identify where a particular rice had come from—where it had been harvested from—by looking at it by the color, the size."

Wild rice dies in autumn. Seeds that fell in autumn take root underwater in spring, with shoots growing past the surface. Starting in late August, the seeds ripen gradually from the top down, then drop into the water. Wild rice plants are green during the growing season, and mature seeds are brown. 1998

Jeff Harper, water quality specialist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"We have a natural resource advisory committee and they're elders from the Leech Lake area here. What they'll do is they'll come out every few days and verify how long the rice is, and then they'll say, 'next week we're going to open this bed for harvesting.'"

Traditional harvesting doesn't deplete wild rice beds or disturb the wetland. As the rice is gently knocked into the bottom of the canoe, some grains fall into the water or remain on the stalks, replenishing the crop and nourishing wetland wildlife. 2010

Moist rice is spread to dry on a birch bark mat. ca.1940

Grace Rogers parching wild rice, Leech Lake Reservation. 1939

Chippewa Indians beating wild rice to break the husk. ca. 1925

Winnowing wild rice. 1939

Jeff Harper, water quality specialist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"It's a big part of our culture to share with people, to help out in times of need."

Jeff Harper, water quality specialist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"We know that everything that we do harms the resources."

Rice beds provide food and shelter for numerous species of birds, fish, and other animals. 1998

Steve Smith, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"There are several threats to wild-rice productivity and the sustainability of wild rice. One of the major threats is overdevelopment of lakes, wild-rice lakes."

Since the 1880s, dams have flooded wild-rice habitat along the Mississippi River drainage. More than 2000 dams in Minnesota and Wisconsin pose risks to wild rice plants. 1904

Susan Kedzie, invasive species program coordinator, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"Invasives have the potential to alter the way ecosystems function. Each plant or animal has a specific function. We say protect as much as you possibly can."

Purple loosestrife is a beautiful but aggressive invasive species that crowds out wild rice. Brought to North America in the 1800s for flower gardens, it quickly spread throughout the U.S. 2006

If Asian carp work their way upstream to the Leech Lake reservation, shallow-rooted rice could be damaged by their foraging, and they could pose a threat to other fish. The damage Asian carp could do is so serious, laws have been passed making it illegal to import them. Date unknown

Susan Kedzie, invasive species program coordinator, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"Any impact, whether it's an oil spill or an invasive species, has greater impact on a reservation because it's culturally important. It helps people connect with their past."

From the mid 1800s to the early 1900s, logging stripped the Leech Lake area of trees, increasing sediment in lakes and rivers. Change in sediment chemistry is thought to affect the establishment of wild-rice plants. 1892

Steve Smith, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"Wild rice is much like the Ojibwe people are: part of their natural world. Historically, the wild rice is also a part of its ecosystem, intimately tied to its ecosystem. And this cultivated rice violates that arrangement."

Bruce Johnson, director, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"That's why we have such good scientists employed. To help us save what we have left."

The Leech Lake band is taking steps to keep out invasive species that can crowd out wild rice. 2010

Becky Knowles, plant ecologist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"The wild rice, in and of itself, is naturally highly variable. And so the band has recognized that understanding the variability of rice is very important."

Scientists monitor water quality so they can understand its effect on wild rice growth. c. 2009

Becky Knowles, plant ecologist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"What we've done in the past is just compare photos to photos, and we can see from year to year that the overall coverage of rice is expanding or contracting, and so that we can know exactly where we need to focus our protection efforts."

Scientists collect data by taking random plant density samples from lakes. For each sample they place a quadrant into the water and count the number of plants and stalks within the square. c. 2009

Jeff Harper, water quality specialist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"We did a study on wild rice. We were also looking for mercury and PCBs and other widely known chemicals. We found that the plant does uptake those chemicals. We know that in humans, they cause nerve damage. We don't know what that does to the wild rice."

The tribe protects rice plants by requiring the use of traditional harvesting methods. Push poles are designed to disturb the bottom of the rice beds as little as possible. 1998

Jeff Harper, water quality specialist, Leech Lake Division of Resources Management

"We do know that we need clean water for the wild rice."

Levi Brown, environmental director, Leech Lake Division of Resource Management

"Within our water program, we do a lot of water sampling on a majority of the lakes within Leech Lake. But what we're looking for is a baseline data background, so we can measure the changes from year to year, and what's going on with the water."

Steve Smith, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"We give students a pretty full understanding of wild rice, and not only the scientific angle, but the cultural and historical angle, and talk about threats also, and what the future is for wild rice."

In the Environmental Studies program at Leech Lake Tribal College, students learn how to preserve wild rice beds. 2010

Elaine Fleming, instructor, Leech Lake Tribal College

"We have to understand values and we have to respect all things, that I am no greater than that tree, I am no greater than a stone."

At the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school, students learn Native language and culture. Part of this school's curriculum is about wild rice. 2010

Students in Leech Lake gain traditional knowledge about wild rice that has been passed down for generations as well as scientific information about the plant's habitat. 2009

Wild rice is much more than a commercial crop. It is sacred to the Ojibwe people. It remains, to this day, a key part of the Ojibwe diet, culture, and economy. 2007

Colleen Wells, archeologist, Leech Lake Heritage Sites Program

"A people's heritage is their past."

By protecting the wild rice, the Leech Lake people are protecting their culture. Children learn about their traditions not only by ricing, but through ceremonies, stories, and dance. 2007

Levi Brown, environmental director, Leech Lake Division of Resource Management

"We'll always have a good rice crop, if we have positive ricers who are out for the right reasons."

Puget Sound—home to the Lummi and other Northwest Coast American Indians. 2010

Felix Solomon, Lummi artist and former commercial fisherman

"Well, we have fished for thousands and thousands of years, and also salmon is a main staple of our diet and always has been and is still very important."

Five different species of salmon were once common in Lummi waters. 2007

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"The earth provided all of our needs: food, clothing, shelter. All of those things came from nature."

Cedar trees provided tools, shelter, clothing and even medicines. 2010

Felix Solomon, Lummi artist and former commercial fisherman

"And you couldn't buy your ropes or your gear. You made it. You made your boats. You made everything."

Shovel-nose canoes were used for travel and fishing by the Lummis. 1880-1910

Merle Jefferson, director, Lummi Natural Resources

"Before the white man came, there was no border.... We fished all through Puget Sound, into Canada. We followed the fish."

The Lummi People have survived on salmon for many generations — Lummi village. 1895

Merle Jefferson, director, Lummi Natural Resources

"Back when we first got our treaty, the BIA [U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs] tried to make us into farmers, but they couldn't do it. We live off the sea, because we are a fishing tribe."

Official seal of the Lummi Nation.

Clams, another delicious food from the sea. 2010

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"There used to be a saying among our people that when the tide is out, when the tide is low, our table is set, we got our food."

Reef netting, an innovative way of catching salmon invented by the Lummis long ago. 1895

Felix Solomon, Lummi artist and former commercial fisherm

"Reef netting is a very old style of fishing."

Good stewardship of the land is essential. 2009

Steve Solomon, Lummi fish commissioner

"We are stewards of the land, the water, the sea."

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"We have stories of the Salmon Woman that brings her children the salmon to feed the people..."

Salmon is central to the Lummi culture, including Lummi art. Drawing by Si Low Leet Sa. 2010

Doralee Sanchez, culture education coordinator, Lummi Nation School

"When we were all fishing, it's tradition that when you catch your first salmon, we eat it and we offer the bones back out of respect."

Salmon are important to many species of the Northwest Coast ecosystem. 2009

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"We began to notice the water getting warmer, and the salmon weren't coming in to Puget Sound the way they used to."

Commercial fishermen are finding it harder and harder to catch enough salmon to make a living. 2009

Felix Solomon, Lummi artist and former commercial fisherman

"But salmon fishing itself, you can't make a living at it anymore."

Clearcut logging causes erosion and destroys salmon habitat. 2007

Leroy Deardorff, environmental director, Lummi Natural Resources

"Since those times, logging has come along, farming, development for homes, and housing, industry. And they have removed a lot of the stuff from along the edges of the river, the riparian area."

Although natural logjams provide good habitat for fish, most were removed to make river travel easier for people. Date unknown

Leroy Deardorff, environmental director, Lummi Natural Resources

"When the settlers came into this area, the logjams were seen as an impediment."

Sometimes so many fish were caught, the canneries couldn't process them all. 1895

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"And she used to tell us stories about how they had to take barge loads of salmon out to sea and dump them because cannery workers couldn't keep up."

Erosion and pollution are problems that farms contribute to in the waters where salmon live. 2010

Life-cycle of the Salmon. (Download a full-size version.)

Doralee Sanchez, culture education coordinator, Lummi Nation School

"We're not just stepping back and letting it happen. We're stepping up and doing something about it."

Frank Bob, watershed restoration assistant, Lummi Natural Resources

"Bringing back the habitat will bring back the fish."

"Engineered logjams duplicate natural features that create good habitat for salmon. 2010"

Merle Jefferson, director, Lummi Natural Resources

"And now we are putting logjams back in."

The Lummis fix riparian habitat to cool the water, stop erosion, and give fish a healthy place to live. 2010

Frank Bob, watershed restoration assistant, Lummi Natural Resources

"We do the interplanting to reintroduce conifers into areas where there are no conifers."

Culverts need to be large enough to allow spawning salmon to pass through. 1982

Frank Bob, watershed restoration assistant, Lummi Natural Resources

"On the upper watershed, we have worked in a lot of drainage-improvement projects."

By raising fish until they can safely be released into rivers, hatcheries help increase the population. 2008

Linda Delgado, salmon enhancement manager, Lummi Natural Resources

"Well, we work in a hatchery where...they are fed until they become a size where they can be released into the ocean to go and mature and return back to where they came from."

Farms have to meet rigorous requirements to be designated "salmon friendly.” 2010

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"Our elders had a ceremony that we recently revived called First Salmon Ceremony, where we pay respect to the salmon."

The First Salmon Ceremony is a way of showing respect for the salmon. 2010

Cynthia Wilson, culture teacher, Lummi Nation School

"I think the Salmon Ceremony is so important because it...allows us to have the children understand the identity and the purpose for their life, and to be strong leaders for us."

Lummi children take part in the First Salmon Ceremony. 2010

Doralee Sanchez, culture education coordinator, Lummi Nation School

"We are salmon people, and we will always be salmon people."

Lummi student art decorates the room where the salmon ceremony is held. 2010

Merle Jefferson, director, Lummi Natural Resources

"I think people need to understand that you have to respect and protect Mother Earth."

Salmon cooks over an open fire pit for the First Salmon Ceremony, Lummi Nation. 2010

James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department

"Clean air, clean water, clean oceans, clean lakes—we need to clean up our act as human beings."

A clean earth is needed. People can choose to make this happen. 2009

Students make the sticks the salmon is cooked on. 2010

The Lummi Nation is proud of its efforts to bring the salmon back.