Native Lands-Andrew Davidson

I have previously taken a lower division class on Native American history in winter of 2020 and I have been exposed to this topic of native lands before. With legislation such as the Dawes Act and the creation of Bureau of Indian affairs, many Native Americans had their land taken away from them. This ties back to this week because now there is the notion that allowing natives to have more agency in environmental affairs will help environmental issues.

              Now the same lands that many native tribes saw as scared are being destroyed because of outsiders. I believe that the American government should listen to the Native Americans and allow them to have a larger role in environmental affairs. The Native American culture and history is plentiful with knowledge of the environment in America for they have been here for thousands of years and have passed down their knowledge for generations. Professor Trafzer mentions that the native tribes see their environment as scared and see environmental protection as a major necessity (1863).  Professor Trafzer mentions in “Integrating Native Science into a Tribal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”, that Tribal EPAs need to understand the culture science of tribes to get a better understanding of the history and connection that tribes have with their environment (1864). By communicating and allowing Native Tribes to participate in environmental protection, all of North America can benefit.

              When it comes to the topic of Ammon Bundy and his band of ranchers who intended to take federal lands I believe natives should not work with them. These types of men intend to use the land in worse ways than the Federal government. They intend to use the land to make a profit off of ranching or some type of cash crop. Native American tribes should be given the right to use the Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge for their ancestors have lived on that land for thousands as years.

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