Connections to water: How water governance has affected the connections between the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Peoples and the Yakima River

Northwest Indian College, Bellingham WA

Investigators

Abstract

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's Indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions increases the opportunities for their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project, titled “Connections to water: How water governance has affected the connections between the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Peoples and the Yakima River” directly aligns with that goal. Conducted by a faculty member at Northwest Indian College (NWIC), the project aims to understand the Yakima River’s role within the Yakama Nation’s culture, history, and sense of place. Using archived information and the ancestral and present perspectives of the Yakama people, this study aims to generate important information about the past and current relationship and interactions between the Yakama people and the river and how governance and use of the river has influenced these activities over time. The project provides a platform for including the Yakama perspective in the history of the river. By engaging the faculty member in cutting-edge research, the project enhances the college’s research capacity and prepares her for future research work that engages NWIC students. Utilizing grounded theory and a mixed methods approach, the research study begins with an examination of archived city, state, and Tribal records related to the river, including audiovisual and digital material such as newspaper articles, art, legislation, and videotapes. Interviews with Tribal and state officials about the history of the river will be combined with archived data to develop a preliminary framework for examining how the river and its relationship to the Yakama people has progressed over time. Employing a qualitative reflective design, the study will then use chain referral strategies to engage Yakama Tribal members in interviews and the use of PhotoVoice to represent their relationship to the river with the intention of establishing how the evolution of that relationship correlates with the historical use and governance of the river. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.