What America Lost When It Lost the Bison

By migrating in huge herds, bison behave like a force of nature, engineering and intensifying waves of spring greenery that other grazers rely on.

Photo credit: Justin A. Morris / Getty

By Ed Yong for the Atlantic, November 18th, 2019

Chris Geremia was surprised. After considerable effort, and substantial risk to life and limb, he and his colleagues finally had the results from their decade-long experiment, and those results were both clear and unexpected: Bison do not surf.

Specifically, bison (or buffalo) don’t follow the waves of new shoots that burst from the ground every spring. This phenomenon, known as surfing the green wave, allows animals to eat plants at their most nutritious, when they’re full of nitrogen and proteins and low in indigestible matter. Such freshness is fleeting, and so grazers undertake large migrations to track the new greenery as it crests across the landscape. Over the past decade, scientists have shown that mule deer, barnacle geese, elk, elephants, Mongolian gazelles, and a dozen other species all do this. Geremia wanted to see whether bison, which once formed the largest grazing herds in North America, follow the same pattern.

Beginning in 2005, he and his colleagues started putting GPS collars on bison in Yellowstone National Park, home to the largest remaining herd in North America, and the only one that truly migrates. Their sociable nature makes for an impressive spectacle, but also creates a problem: When you tranquilize one of them, the others tend to surround their fallen herd-mate. “It took a few years to learn the confidence to walk into this group of a hundred animals, each weighing between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds, and put a collar on the one that’s sleeping,” says Geremia, who works at the National Park Service. “Most of the time, the others just move away.”

Once it had collared enough bison, the team used satellite images to see whether the animals’ movements matched the appearance of new greenery. “They really didn’t,” Geremia says. “They start to surf, but then they stop,” allowing several weeks’ worth of fresh vegetation to pass them by.

Confused, the team followed the bison in person, and collected dung samples to see whether the animals were suffering from a nutritional deficit because of their lax migrations. The poop, however, revealed that the bison were still consuming as much protein as if they had continued to surf the wave. “It threw us for a complete loop,” Geremia says. “How can they fall behind but still have an incredibly high-quality diet?”

He found out by fencing off small patches of land along the bison migration route. By comparing the plants within and beyond the fences, the team learned that bison graze so intensely that they freeze plants in early spring for weeks at a time, preventing them from maturing and forcing them to continuously produce young shoots. Other North American mammals like mule deer can’t do this, because they travel in small-enough groups that plants can still outgrow the effects of their grazing. Bison, however, gather in the thousands. By moving in synchrony, they don’t have to surf the green wave. Uniquely, they can also create it.

Their actions change the landscape. In areas where bison graze, plants contain 50 to 90 percent more nutrients by the end of the summer. This not only provides extra nourishment for other grazers, but prolongs the growing season of the plants themselves. And by trimming back the plant cover in one year, bison allow more sunlight to fall on the next year’s greenery, accelerating its growth. When Geremia’s team looked at parts of Yellowstone where bison numbers have fluctuated, it found that the green wave grew in intensity and crested over a longer period as the herds grew larger. The bison engineer and intensify the spring. And astonishingly, they had a stronger influence on the timing of plant growth than weather and other environmental variables. They’re equivalent to a force of nature.

That force would have been even more powerful in centuries past, when 30 to 60 million bison roamed North America. “They would have been everywhere,” says Matthew Kauffman of the University of Wyoming, who led the new study. “The productivity of those grasslands would have been radically different because there are that many bison, trampling, eating, defecating, and urinating.” These herds must have changed the path of the green wave, and inadvertently governed the fates of other animals that surf it, from deer to elk to bighorn sheep. What happened, then, when European colonizers virtually eliminated the bison? By 1900, fewer than 600 remained.

When we lose animals, we also lose everything those animals do. When insects decline, plants go unpollinated and predators go unfed. When birds disappear, pests go uncontrolled and seeds stay put. When herds of bighorn sheep and moose are shot, their generational knowledge disappears and migration routes go extinct, as Kauffman showed last year. And when bison are exterminated, springtime changes in ways that we still don’t fully understand.

They’ve rebounded somewhat, but still occupy less than 1 percent of their former range. There are probably about 500,000 bison around today, but the majority are part of privately owned herds. Only 20,000 or so live on public lands, and only 8,000 of those can move freely. And of those unfenced bison, about 5,500 live in Yellowstone. “This large population can change how spring happens,” Geremia says, “but there aren’t a lot of other places today where bison have the landscape that they do here.” It’s not enough to preserve bison numbers without also conserving bison behavior. If the animals exist, but aren’t allowed to migrate, there will still be a bison-shaped hole in the world.

That hole was felt most keenly by Native Americans, many of whom see the buffalo as a sacred symbol and a crucial part of their culture. Now indigenous groups are leading efforts to reintroduce free-roaming buffalo throughout their lands. At least 30 tribes across the U.S. and Canada have signed a treaty that commits to restoring the animals across 6.3 million acres, and some hope to have several thousand-strong herds within 50 years.

“The near extinction of the buffalo left a major gap,” said Leroy Little Bear, a Blood Tribe member and a retired professor at the University of Lethbridge, in a statement. “The treaty on buffalo restoration aims to begin to fill that gap and once again partner with the buffalo to bring about cultural and ecological balance.”

This article published in The Atlantic, November 18th, 2019. Click here to view the original article.

Wallowa students dig in on the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland Project

Two 5th graders from Wallowa Elementary School collect dirt for the tree planting.

By Bill Bradshaw for the Wallowa County Chieftain

Wallowa Elementary School fifth graders dug in to help restore riparian vegetation on the Tamkaliks grounds Tuesday, Nov. 5th. Eleven students in Jennifer Gibbs’ 5th-grade class at Wallowa Elementary School divided up into four groups, ready to go to work. Angela Bombaci, education coordinator for the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland Project (aka, Tamkaliks grounds) guided their efforts. The WBNPHP includes 320 acres of land, with the Wallowa River and its riparian zone running along its south-east boundary.

The mission for the afternoon was to help restore a portion of the riverside riparian area. The students would plant riparian-zone native trees and shrubs, including black cottonwoods, chokecherries, red osier dogwoods, wild roses, and ocean spray on about 5 acres of land near the northeast riverbank.

Local botanist and conservationist June Colony introduced the students to the shrubs and trees they were to plant, provided instructions, and talked briefly about the ecosystems along the Wallowa River.

“Each plant has its own way to survive,” she told the students. “And each has its best place to grow.” Colony pointed at the very tall and stately trees along the river.

“See those cottonwoods over there, how tall they are?” she asked. “You wouldn’t want to plant them right next to the longhouse, would you?”

Bombaci said the purpose of the planting is multifaceted.

“This is partly for education and partly to make a good community space,” she said, adding that a project later this fall will build off-stream river channels so that young salmon and steelhead will have refuges from fast-moving river waters. be more about restoring native habitat.

This upcoming project will restore the kind of riparian habitat the once occupied the lowlands and marshes along the river.

“This whole valley was full of cottonwoods, willows, and water-loving plants,” Bombaci said. “But when the river was channelized much of the riparian zone was eliminated and changed into pastures or hay fields.” Now there’s just a thin strip of riparian zone left, right along the banks of the river. Gradually, the Homeland Project wants to return their land to a place for fish and wildlife as well as people. “One of our goals on this property is to embrace native plants to have them be habitat for wild animals to kind of leave the land as it is,” she said. “Of course, it was used as pasture and for farming before we purchased it. Our long-term goal is to deal with weeds and invasive species and restore native plants and habitat.”

The Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland Project provides a place for the descendants of Chief Joseph’s band of the Nez Perce, also known as the Wallowa or Wallama band, to come home to. The nonprofit has a board that includes Wallowa Band descendants who today live on the CTUIR reservation near Pendleton, at Lapwai, Idaho; and near Colville, Wash., where the Chief Joseph Band was exiled, as well as local Wallowa County residents.

“The idea is this is an outpost of the homeland, a home base where people can come, visit, camp and have access to the place where their people lived, where we can celebrate culture and hold the Tamkaliks Powwow the weekend before Chief Joseph Days in Joseph,”she said.

Jennifer Gibbs, the teacher in charge of the students during the planting exercise, was happy with the day’s outcome.

“The kids are learning and are very enthused. … It’s still school, it’s just that school can be outside. It shows they can learn other places besides just in the classroom.”

When Scientists “Discover” What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries

When it supports their claims, Western scientists value what Traditional Knowledge has to offer. If not, they dismiss it.

A team of researchers in northern Australia have documented kites and falcons, “firehawks,” intentionally carrying burning sticks to spread fire: It is just one example of western science catching up to Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. (James Padolsey/Unsplash)

By George Nicholas of The Conversation

Our knowledge of what the denizens of the animal kingdom are up to, especially when humans aren’t around, has steadily increased over the last 50 years. For example, we know now that animals use tools in their daily lives. Chimps use twigs to fish for termites; sea otters break open shellfish on rocks they selected; octopi carry coconut shell halves to later use as shelters.

The latest discovery has taken this assessment to new heights, literally. A team of researchers led by Mark Bonta and Robert Gosford in northern Australia has documented kites and falcons, colloquially termed “firehawks,” intentionally carrying burning sticks to spread fire. While it has long been known that birds will take advantage of natural fires that cause insects, rodents and reptiles to flee and thus increase feeding opportunities, that they would intercede to spread fire to unburned locales is astounding.

It’s thus no surprise that this study has attracted great attention as it adds intentionality and planning to the repertoire of non-human use of tools. Previous accounts of avian use of fire have been dismissed or at least viewed with some skepticism.

While new to Western science, the behaviours of the nighthawks have long been known to the Alawa, MalakMalak, Jawoyn, and other Indigenous peoples of northern Australia whose ancestors occupied their lands for tens of thousands of years. Contrary to most scientific studies, Bonta and Gosford’s team foregrounded their research in traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge. They also note that local awareness of the behaviour of the firehawks is ingrained within some of their ceremonial practices, beliefs and creation accounts.

The worldwide attention given to the firehawks article provides an opportunity to explore the double standard that exists concerning the acceptance of Traditional Knowledge by practitioners of Western science.

Traditional knowledge

Our knowledge of the world comes from many sources. In my field, archaeologists have long depended upon ethnographic sources of information — detailed observations or information derived directly from communities studied — to help develop or test interpretations about past peoples’ lives.

In recent years, many scholars have become aware of the large body of information known as Traditional Knowledge (TK), Indigenous Knowledge (IK), or Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), amongst other terms. These knowledge systems, developed over countless generations, are based on individual and collectively learned experiences and explanations of the world, verified by elders, and conveyed and guided experiential learning, and by oral traditions and other means of record keeping.

Traditional Knowledge has today become a highly valued source of information for archaeologists, ecologists, biologists, ethnobotanists, climatologists and others. This information ranges from medicinal properties of plants and insights into the value of biological diversity to caribou migration patterns and the effects of intentional burning of the landscape to manage particular resources. For example, some climatology studies have incorporated Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge) to explain changes in sea ice conditions observed over many generations.

Despite the wide acknowledgement of their demonstrated value, many scientists continue to have had an uneasy alliance with TK and Indigenous oral histories. On the one hand, TK and other types of local knowledge are valued when they support or supplements archaeological, or other scientific evidence.

However, when the situation is reversed — when Traditional Knowledge is seen to challenge scientific “truths” — then its utility is questioned or dismissed as myth. Science is promoted as objective, quantifiable, and the foundation for “real” knowledge creation or evaluation while TK may be seen as anecdotal, imprecise and unfamiliar in form.

Multiple ways of knowing

Are Indigenous and Western systems of knowledge categorically antithetical? Or do they offer multiple points of entry into knowledge of the world, past and present? There are many cases where science and history are catching up with what Indigenous peoples have long known.

In the past two decades, archaeologists and environmental scientists working in coastal British Columbia have come to recognize evidence of mariculture — the intentional management of marine resources — that pre-dates European settlement. Over the course of thousands of years, the ancestors of the Kwakwaka'wakw and other Indigenous groups there created and maintained what have become known as “clam gardens” — rock-walled, terrace-like constructions that provide ideal habit for butter clams and other edible shellfish.

To the Kwakwaka'wakw, these were known as loxiwey, according to Clan Chief Adam Dick (Kwaxsistalla) who has shared this term and his knowledge of the practice with researchers.

Kwaxsistalla Chief Adam Dick with a butter clam. (Nancy Turner)

As marine ecologist Amy Groesbeck and colleagues have demonstrated, these structures increase shellfish productivity and resource security significantly. This resource management strategy reflects a sophisticated body of ecological understanding and practice that predates modern management systems by millennia.

These published research studies now prove that Indigenous communities knew about mariculture for generations but Western scientists never asked them about it before. Once tangible remains were detected, it was clear mariculture management was in use for thousands of years. There is a move underway by various Indigenous communities in the region to restore and recreate clam gardens and put them back into use.

A second example demonstrates how Indigenous oral histories correct inaccurate or incomplete historical accounts. There are significant differences between Lakota and Cheyenne accounts of what transpired at the Battle of Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn) in 1876, and the historical accounts that appeared soon after the battle by white commentators.

The Lakota and Cheyenne can be considered more objective than white accounts of the battle that are tainted by Eurocentric bias. The ledger drawings of Red Horse, a Minneconjou Sioux participant in the battle, record precise details such as trooper’s uniforms, the location of wounds on horses, and the distribution of Indian and white casualties.

Untitled from the Red Horse Pictographic Account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1881. Red Horse (Minneconjou Lakota Sioux, 1822-1907), Graphite, colored pencil, and ink. NAA MS 2367A_08570700. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

In 1984, a fire at the battleground revealed military artifacts and human remains that prompted archaeological excavations. What this work revealed was a new, more accurate history of the battle that validated many elements of the Native American oral histories and accompanying pictographs and drawings of the events. However, without the archaeological evidence, many historians gave limited credence to the accounts obtained from the participating Native American warriors.

These examples, along with the firehawks study, demonstrate the reliability of Indigenous knowledge.

Opportunities at the intersection

As ways of knowing, Western and Indigenous Knowledge share several important and fundamental attributes. Both are constantly verified through repetition and verification, inference and prediction, empirical observations and recognition of pattern events.

While some actions leave no physical evidence (e.g. clam cultivation), and some experiments can’t be replicated (e.g. cold fusion), in the case of Indigenous knowledge, the absence of “empirical evidence” can be damning in terms of wider acceptance.

Some types of Indigenous knowledge simply fall outside the realm of prior Western understanding. In contrast to Western knowledge, which tends to be text based, reductionist, hierarchical and dependent on categorization (putting things into categories), Indigenous science does not strive for a universal set of explanations but is particularistic in orientation and often contextual.

One key attribute of Western science is developing and then testing hypotheses to ensure rigor and replicability in interpreting empirical observations or making predictions. Although hypothesis testing is not a feature of TEK, rigor and replicability are not absent.

Whether or not traditional knowledge systems and scientific reasoning are mutually supportive, even contradictory lines of evidence have value. Employing TK-based observations and explanations within multiple working hypotheses ensures consideration of a variety of predictive, interpretive or explanatory possibilities not constrained by Western expectation or logic. And hypotheses incorporating traditional knowledge-based information can lead the way toward unanticipated insights.

The travels of Glooscap, a major figure in Abenaki oral history and worldview, are found throughout the Mi'kmaw homeland of the Maritime provinces of eastern Canada. As a Transformer, Glooscap created many landscape features. Anthropologist Trudy Sable (Saint Mary’s University)  has noted a significant degree of correlation between places named in Mi'kmaw legends and oral histories and recorded archaeological sites.

Indigenous peoples don’t need Western science to validate or legitimate their knowledge system. Some do appreciate the verification, and there are partnerships developing worldwide with Indigenous knowledge holders and Western scientists working together.

This includes Traditional Ecological Knowledge informing government policies on resource management in some instances. But it is nonetheless problematic when their knowledge, which has been dismissed for so long by so many, becomes a valuable data set or used selectively by academics and others.

To return to the firehawks example, one way to look at this is that the scientists confirmed what the Indigenous peoples have long known about the birds’ use of fire. Or we can say that the Western scientists finally caught up with TK after several thousand years.

5 ways to honor Native Americans during National Native American Heritage Month

Mary Harris of Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation at Tamkaliks Celebration 2018 in Wallowa, Oregon (photography credit: Peter Lee)

(CNN) November is National Native American Heritage Month. It's a time to recognize the many sacrifices, contributions and achievements of Native American people, as well as celebrate their rich and vibrant cultures.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as "National American Indian Heritage Month." Although the name eventually changed, it started an annual tradition upheld in communities across the United States.

For those wanting to participate, here are five ways to honor Native Americans this month -- and every month.

Visit a reservation or museum

The US holds in trust 56.2 million acres of land for various Indian tribes and individuals, according to the US Department of Indian Affairs. There are approximately 326 reservations.

These reservations are not tourist attractions. Many are the remnants of native tribes' lands, while others were created by the federal government for Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their lands. They are homes for tribes and communities; it's where many live, work and raise their families.

However, some reservations welcome visitors and have even erected museums to educate the wider public about their history and culture. For example, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, features an engaging exhibit fit for all ages. The Cherokee community also hosts cultural events and sells items nearby.

Attend or host an educational event

The Library of Congress and National Archives are two of many national institutions hosting events about Native American history and culture this month.

Local institutions and organizations -- including libraries, schools and cultural groups -- will also host events, ranging from webinars to dance performances and even puppet shows.

If there are no events happening near you, consider hosting one. You don't have to be a Native American to appreciate and share their history and culture with your community.

A great way to start is by contacting a nearby reservation, museum, cultural group or academic and ask how you can collaborate. To ensure your event doesn't accidentally disrespect Native communities, run ideas by their community leaders first.

'Decolonize' your Thanksgiving dinner

The Thanksgiving story of pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a friendly meal will be reenacted and celebrated across the country on November 28.

But many Native Americans actually consider it a "Day of Mourning," pointing out the story overlooks how the introduction of European settlers spelled tragedy for indigenous communities.

For this reason, some Native American groups and their allies are calling on Americans to "decolonize" their Thanksgiving celebrations.

Some ways of doing this include putting away Native American decorations and tropes, introducing native dishes to the dinner table and engaging in conversations about Native American history with dinner guests.

Some native groups, including United American Indians of New England, invite people to participate in "Day of Mourning" marches.

Read the work of Native American authors

A great way to learn about Native American history and culture is to read a book by a Native American author.

Tommy Orange, Louise Erdrich, Stephen Graham Jones and Joy Harjo are among the many Native American authors celebrated for their works. Of course, not all their books are historical accounts. Many are fiction, romance and even horror.

Add some of their books to your Black Friday wish list.

You can also read up on the history of Native Americans using resources provided by the National Archives.

Support native-owned businesses and charities

Black Friday is just one day after Thanksgiving. Instead of spending all your money on Amazon, consider spending some at native-owned businesses or even donating to charities.

It's a great way to support native communities' economic well-being, as well as contribute to worthwhile social causes.

There's a long list of environmental, economic, education, health and rights groups that work to strengthen and empower native communities.

Consider making a donation this National Native American Heritage Month.

Battle at Bear Paw Commemoration

A drive from Wisdom, Montana to Chinook, Montana takes close to six hours. The distance is close to 355 miles, as you take a straight shot north toward the Canadian border. According to Google Maps, it would take an individual around 118 hours, almost five days non-stop, to walk that distance. Let’s throw into the equation cold weather, and at times bitter with snow on the ground in some places. It should also be noted that the journey will be alongside a group of some 800 people, including elders and children. Following the battle at Big Hole, the Nez Perce continued on in hopes of finding refuge in Canada. They traveled 1,170 miles in a matter of 51 days. When they arrived at C’aynnim Alikinwaaspa, Place of the Manure Fire, they were just 40 miles short of the Canadian Border where they decided to rest. The next five days would be a battle that would end in siege and the well known surrender speech by Chief Joseph.

When you go to the Bear Paw Battlefield in October, you arrive at beautiful hillsides and rolling plains, with perhaps a dusting of snow on the ground, and the beautiful mountains off to the side as the backdrop. You can walk a trail that is 1 and ¼ mile long, to get a closer view of the battlefield. The hike loops back around to the original view point, but there is also a turn off trail that will take you to Death Rock, where a number of Chiefs had their lives taken. Along that trail you will see several dug-out pits in the ground, where people laid to take coverage. You will see a number of rocks and areas where visitors left offerings. At the top of one hillside you will see a placard marking where Chief Ollokot fell on September 30, 1877. As you near the end of the trail you will find the burial area of the fallen soldiers. The final point is marked to be near the site where Chief Joseph met with Colonel Miles to surrender his rifle.

The memorial began with a crowd surrounding a circle of chairs, while the drum opened the commemoration. Wilfred “Scotty” Scott, gave opening remarks and thanked those that were able to attend. A strong wind howled as people stood on that hillside wrapped in coats, hats, gloves, and blankets. Though the sun was out, the wind chill made it feel significantly colder. Standing there, you couldn’t help but think about how those warriors felt as they were exposed to the elements and therefore you withstand the cold. The ceremony continued on with heartfelt words and stories. Following the completion of the ceremony, attendees disperse to walk the trail and grab food.

The Battlefield is in the midst of the Fort Belknap reservation, which has a deep appreciation for the Nez Perce and the battle they fought. Each year they host the Chief Joseph Pow Wow as a memorial to Chief Joseph and the warriors. The food is hot and fresh, prepared by Kristal Fox and her family. They have been providing food for the past ten years or so. Fox said her father was never an emotional man, however when he told the story of Chief Joseph and the battle he always cried. When she attended the memorial for the first time, she arrived and was shocked, “I got there and it was cold, and the people didn’t even have coffee.” She went home, and with her family, prepared sandwiches for everyone. They have been providing the meal ever since, “The Nez Perce should never come here hungry,” Fox said. Though this was the final battle, it was not the end of the fight. Even today, there are still rights the Nez Perce are fighting for. Just as the warriors in the battle of Bear Paw fought for their way of life, the Nez Perce will continue to fight to maintain those rights for the next several generations. The words Chief Joseph spoke may seem to mean surrender, but in reality it was another war strategy to ensure survival of the Nez Perce people.

“Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our Chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Too-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who leads the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows here they are, perhaps freezing to death. I want time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me my chiefs, I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

From the Nimiipuu Tribal Tribune

Enterprise Elementary School celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day

First graders in Mrs. Hook’s Enterprise Elementary School class examine a real bear claw necklace and beaded moccasins as part of understanding the close relationship between the Nez Perce and the natural world. The event was part of the school’s celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day.

By Ellen Morris Bishop for the Wallowa County Chieftain

Enterprise Elementary School and the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland Project collaborated to celebrate Oregon’s official holiday of Indigenous Peoples Day with discussions and hands-on displays about the lives and culture of the Nez Perce. About 100 children in grades K-3 participated. They examined teepees, necklaces, and the seasonal round calendar to learn about the Nez Perce’s relationship with the natural world. They thought about how a culture could use oral storytelling rather than writing to pass on its history. And they learned that people had lived here for more than 16,000 years.

“It’s important for children to understand both perspectives, and be aware of the bigger picture of what truly happened during the settlement of our land,” said Superintendent Erika Pinkerton.

“This is an opportunity to explore the deep history of this region,” said Angela Bombaci, of the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland Project who developed and coordinated the event. “We wanted the kids to know 1) Whose homeland they live in 2) That they were here long before any Europeans traveled here 3) That their respect and knowledge of the land allowed them to live well for thousands of years here 4) That Indigenous peoples know many things to be true about the ancient past even if not written in books, thanks to oral tradition and archaeological evidence. We were excited to receive the invitation from Enterprise Primary School. Indigenous People’s Day is a great opportunity to start a conversation with these young kids that we can build on as they grow up in this community. We hope to celebrate this holiday with even more students next year.”

Check out these opinion pieces featured in the Wallowa County Chieftain this week:

Indigenous People’s Day: a time to honor and remember

Some Northeast Oregonians and tribal members are dreaming of a freer Snake River

These states and cities are ditching Columbus Day to observe Indigenous Peoples' Day instead

Oregon Governor'Kate Brown’s official Indigenous People’s Day proclamation for 2019.

(CNN)Columbus Day has been a political lightning rod for states, cities and municipalities around the US for years now. Some have decided to do something about it.

Michigan, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia are among the most recent states and areas to change the October holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day" to recognize the native populations that were displaced and decimated after Christopher Columbus and other European explorers reached the continent.

Technically, Columbus Day is a federal holiday, which means it is recognized by the US government and thus brings the closure of non-essential government offices, and, usually, places like post offices and banks.

But states and local governments can choose not to observe a federal holiday. And, as is the case with a growing number of places, change the name and intent of the October holiday altogether.

Here's a list of states, cities and other local governments that have chosen to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day, as well as some places that don't observe the holiday at all.

States:

Vermont: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2019

Though the state made the unofficial switch in 2016 through a gubernatorial proclamation, the legislature just passed a bill making the adoption of IPD official.

Maine: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2019

New Mexico: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2019

Alaska: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2017

Governor Bill Walker also signed observances of the holiday in 2015 and 2016 before making the switch official in 2017.

South Dakota: Observes Native American Day as of 1990

Oregon: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2017

Hawaii: Observes Discoverers' Day in place of Columbus Day

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Louisiana: Governor John Edwards announced the adoption of Indigenous Peoples' Day in September, 2019

Michigan: On October 14th, 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared the day to be Indigenous People's Day "to uplift our country's indigenous roots, history, and contributions.."

Wisconsin: Governor Tony Evers established Indigenous People's Day via an executive order days before the observance in 2019.

Washington, D.C.: The DC Council voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day a few days before the 2019 observance.

North Carolina: Governor Roy Cooper has made yearly proclamations designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous People's Day.

Iowa: Iowa governor Kim Reynolds made a proclamation in 2018 designating Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Cities and counties

Note: Some of these places observe Indigenous People's Day. Others do not observe Columbus Day, and still others partake in alternate observances.

Flagstaff, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

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Berkeley, California

Burbank, California

Long Beach, California

Santa Cruz, California

San Fernando, California

San Luis Obispo, California

Watsonville, California

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Boulder, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

Durango, Colorado

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South Fulton, Georgia

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Moscow, Idaho

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Evanston, Illinois

Oak Park, Illinois

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Davenport, Iowa

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Lawrence, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

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Amherst, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Northampton, Massachusetts

Somerville, Massachusetts

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Alpena, Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

East Lansing, Michigan

Traverse City, Michigan

Ypsilanti, Michigan

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Minneapolis, Minnesota

Grand Rapids, Minnesota

St. Paul, Minnesota

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Bozeman, Montana

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Lincoln, Nebraska

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Durham, New Hampshire

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Newstead, New York

Ithaca, New York

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Carrboro, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

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Columbus, Ohio

Cincinnati , Ohio

Oberlin, Ohio

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Anadarko, Oklahoma

El Reno, Oklahoma

Lawton, Oklahoma

Norman, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

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Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Nashville, Tennessee

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Austin, Texas

Bexar County, Texas

Dallas, Texas

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Salt Lake City, Utah

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Charlottesville, Virginia

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Olympia, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Bainbridge Island, Washington

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Alexandria, Virginia

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

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Madison, Wisconsin

tıwi·teq̉ıs (Old Chief Joseph) memorial fence restored

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Repairs begin on the wall

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The wall is restored

By Ellen Morris Bishop for The Wallowa County Chieftain

LAPWAI, Idaho – Nez Perce National Historical Park recently restored the Old Chief Joseph’s Gravesite and Cemetery rock wall, located outside Joseph, Oregon. The month long masonry project, led by members of the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC), was finished Sept 20, 2019.

National Park Service employees and Idaho Conservation Corps interns replaced and repointed stones in the wall. “The project was unique because we had to match three different colors of historic mortar in the wall,” said Trent Martinez, Acting Chief of Facilities for the park. The work on the wall will stabilize the historic structure and preserve it for future generations.

Funding for the project was provided by the Federal Highway Administration and Oregon Department of Transportation in partnership with the National Park Service, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

The wall was originally constructed by a Civilian Conservation Corps crew comprised of Umatilla Tribal members in 1939.

In 1926, 2,500 people lined up to see the remains of tıwi·teq̉ıs or Old Chief Joseph reinterred at a new gravesite at the base of Lake Wallowa, overlooking the lands he once called home. Located in northeastern Oregon in the nimí·pu· or Nez Perce homeland, tıwi·teq̉ıs is the father of Chief Joseph, a leader during the conflict of 1877.

Tıwi·teq̉ıs was born between 1785 and 1790 and grew to be a leader of the groups of nimí·pu· living in the Wallowa’s. He signed the Treaty of 1855 but refused to put his mark to the Treaty of 1863. He died in 1871 but not before compelling his son to hold fast and defend his home land and people, “My son, never forget my dying words, This country holds your father’s body. Never sell the bones of your father and mother.” Unfortunately, under the threat of being evicted by the U.S. Army, Young Joseph and the Wallowa Band of nimí·pu· left the Wallowas in the spring of 1877 for the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho. When tıwi·teq̉ıs died, he was buried farther down the valley but his grave was desecrated.

Several prominent community leaders lobbied for tıwi·teq̉ıs to be reburied. In 1926 that happened. The grave is part of a place that is home, and very special to the Nez Perce.

The Old Chief Joseph’s Gravesite and Cemetery was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

Ancient Nez Perce village site yields oldest date of human habitation in North America

By Ellen Morris Bishop for the Wallowa County Chieftain

The oldest known human habitation in North America, more than 16,000 years in age, is located at the site of an ancient Nez Perce village known as Nipéhe, near the confluence of the Snake and Salmon Rivers. Oregon State University anthropologist Dr. Loren Davis and colleagues have dated animal bones and charcoal at the site, also known as Coopers Ferry, to 16,560 years ago. The Nez Perce Tribe participated in the excavations.

“Nipéhe is an ancient village founded by a young couple after a flood destroyed their previous home," said Nakia Williamson, the Nez Perce tribe’s director of cultural resources. “Our stories already tell us how long we’ve been here. … This [study] only reaffirms that. This is not just something that happened 16,000 years ago. It’s something that is still important to us today.”

The oldest North American known sites previously recognized include Paisely Caves in southeast Oregon, dated at about 14,000 years, the Galt site in Texas, dated at 16,000 years, but by a less precise method than Davis used, and another site in Pennslyvania which claims a 16,000 year date, but is controversial due to possible contamination of the dated material.

“The Cooper’s Ferry site is located along the Salmon River, which is a tributary of the larger Columbia River basin," Davis said. "Early peoples moving south along the Pacific coast would have encountered the Columbia River as the first place below the glaciers where they could easily walk and paddle in to North America. Essentially, the Columbia River corridor was the first off-ramp of a Pacific coast migration route."

Davis’ research is especially important because it supports the idea that the first peoples who arrived in North America came via a coastal route, rather than an ice-free corridor through central Canada which did not open until about 14,800 years ago. The idea of the first human migrations into North America through this central-Canada corridor has faded with the discovery of dates older than 14,000 years for archeological sites.

And there is one more compelling argument for arrival via a coastal route. The carefully crafted projectile points found at Nipéhe/Cooper's Ferry are near-matches for points produced and used at the same time in Japan.

“The age, morphology, and technology of Cooper’s Ferry LU3 artifacts share notable similarities with the projectile point traditions dated from ~16,000 to 13,000 cal yr B.P. in Japan,” Davis notes in his paper. Davis and his colleagues also concluded that the age and forms of these tools suggest a cultural connection with northeastern Asia, which, he says “complements current evidence of shared genetic heritage between late Pleistocene peoples of northern Japan and North America.”

Importantly, the tools found at Nipéhe/Coopers Ferry were manufactured right there, on-site, and are truly North American-made. They were not imports, or tools transported by these hunters from a Japanese site. Davis and his team found multiple flakes that were produced during the manufacture of the points at the site. Or, as he writes, “Lithic tool maintenance is reflected by a burination flake bearing an exhausted unifacial working edge (fig. S6U) and by an igneous toolstone chopper tool edge rejuvenation flake. Artifact 73-61176 is an early-stage bifacial overshot thinning flake discovered in situ with a finely faceted bifacial platform and distal termination that removed a square edge from an opposing tool margin.”

In addition to providing the oldest known human habitation in North America, the site has also revealed a long history of human occupation, from about 8,300 to 16,560 years ago. The range and sources of dates include charcoal from hearth fires dating to about 9,000 to 9,250 years before present, bone fragments dated from 8,300 years BP to 16,560 BP and charcoal dating from 8,300 to 15,945 years BP.

Dates were provided by Davis' colleagues at Oxford University, using a highly accurate radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry technology.

There were horses in the landscape in those days. Bone fragments and one partial tooth (all undated so far) indicate the presence of an extinct North American horse, of unknown species. Unfortunately, the fragments were found among other large mammal bones at a site that Davis interprets as a “food processing station.” The age of the horse tooth is probably between 14,400 and 15,000 years, Davis notes.  These tooth fragments, along with the site’s ancient dates, mean that Nipéhe/Cooper’s Ferry is the oldest radiocarbon-dated site in North America that includes clear cut evidence that humans hunted and consumed horses, Davis said.

Davis’ work at the Nipéhe /Coopers Ferry site began in the 1990’s as an archeologist for the BLM. Recognizing its probable antiquity and importance, in 2009 he established the Oregon State University archeology field camp there. Students and faculty have been slowly uncovering the past ever since. In 2017, members of the Nez Perce tribe began participating in the research.

“Prior to getting these radiocarbon ages, the oldest things we’d found dated mostly in the 13,000-year range, and the earliest evidence of people in the Americas had been dated to just before 14,000 years old in a handful of other sites,” Davis said. “When I first saw that the lower archaeological layer contained radiocarbon ages older than 14,000 years, I was stunned but skeptical and needed to see those numbers repeated over and over just to be sure they’re right. So we ran more radiocarbon dates, and the lower layer consistently dated between 14,000-16,000 years old.”

The dates from the oldest artifacts challenge the long-held “Clovis First” theory of early migration to the Americas, which suggested that people crossed from Siberia into North America and traveled down through an opening in the ice sheet near the present-day Dakotas. The ice-free corridor is hypothesized to have opened as early as 14,800 years ago, well after the date of the oldest artifacts found at Cooper’s Ferry, Davis said.

“Now we have good evidence that people were in Idaho before that corridor opened,” he said. “This evidence leads us to conclude that early peoples moved south of continental ice sheets along the Pacific coast.”

Exactly how long ago that might have been remains unknown. Encampments along the coast would have been submerged as glacial melt drove sea levels higher. The Columbia River, and Columbia River basin, as Davis noted, would have been “the first off-ramp of a Pacific coast migration route.” It is likely that the inhabitants of Nipéhe/Cooper’s Ferry were not the first people to explore and inhabit the river valleys of the Columbia basin. But much of the evidence of possible earlier habitations along those rivers was likely erased by late Pleistocene Ice Age Missoula floods that persisted until about 15,000 years ago and the single Bonneville flood that raged down the Snake River 15,500 years ago. It is fortunate that the ancient Nipéhe/Cooper’s Ferry encampment was high enough to avoid the Bonneville’s floodwaters.

“We have 10 years’ worth of excavated artifacts and samples to analyze,” Davis said. “We anticipate we’ll make other exciting discoveries as we continue to study the artifacts and samples from our excavations.”

Want to dig deeper? Click here to download the original research article.