colville visit

I am visiting a class on Tribal Governance. There are three other humphreys taking the class with me. Total class strength: 22. Visiting a class is not attending the full class, just a couple of lectures and of course a field visit. The idea is to learn about how Native American government works and their relationship with the State and Federal governments. Since I am studying the use of stakeholder negotiations for river basin management, was interested in this for the following reasons: · The Native Americans are a historically marginalized group who have been sometimes declared the stewards of their environment, and at other times, simply robbed of their resources as per the whims of the government. · they have a philosophy of life which is inseparably linked to their environment- despite the fact that now many of them live in ecosystems very different from what they might 'belong' to · Currently, they are recognized as sovereign within the USA (whatever that means) and are responsible for the management of their resources- human, financial and natural. · They have to continually negotiate with the state and federal govts for the recognition of this responsibility. · They have special rights when it comes to harvesting natural resources, which leads to tension with the other authorities, and I too, do not understand how tribal rights can take precedence over conservation necessities. · Finally, was curious about Native Americans. You know that when I was getting ready to go to the states was hoping that I would have the chance to visit a reservation- even if only as a tourist. So feel extremely honoured and privileged to have had this chance to visit and speak to the various officials, and learn about the issues involved. So where do I start? The people, always the people. David Harrison: teacher of the course. He starts speaking and you sit up straight. Clear, focused, incisive, insightful. John Sirius: Also teacher of the course. Member of the Okanogan tribe. Member of the council and administrator of the Culture, History and Archaeology section. In an area where 75% of students drop out of school and the few who go on to college use their education as a ticket out (and who can blame them?), John got a Master's in Public Affairs from UW and returned to take an active role in government. Has been working both within the tribe to make it more far-sighted and also to preserve their way of life; and outside the tribe for tribal sovereignty issues. In fact, he is the one who started this course at UW in the first place- to influence future policy makers and leaders and create awareness about tribal issues. Educated, ambitious, articulate, dedicated to his people, passionate about his land and his culture. What a fantastic role model for the youth! The other people: Met several officials of the tribal council- both Native and non-Native. The areas were fish and wildlife (which is environmental management), energy, Social Welfare, Ctec (which is a corporation created to manage for-profit companies), resource management police, a seedling nursery. Which is a pretty good cross section of the affairs the tribe faces. And then we visited a school the tribe is managing. The only public school managed by a tribe in the area. We also spoke with John's aunt who spoke about her experiences with a catholic boarding school when she was a child. I would perhaps have liked to interact more with the community, but in retrospect, feel that it was purposely managed so that we do not meet non-council people. We only met people who were working in field relevant to our field of study. This presented the tribal people as professionals rather than 'exhibits' which I think was quite respectful and sensitive. So I won't complain. And john has invited us for a celebration they have in November end, so will like to go then The landscape: Hmm. As in Sikkim, I travelled with my mouth open. We travelled almost exactly north-west of Seattle. Away from the coast, over the Cascade Mountains and into the plains. Approximately 6 hours one-way. So first we went through the low mixed forest and climbed into the coniferous forest of the mountains. And the colours! The coniferous trees were mixed with larch which is the most unimaginable yellow possible- well, you don't have to imagine it, am attaching a photo. And then when we reached the area we were supposed to be- Omak and Spokane county, we were in arid scrub desert. The area is made up of what is left after the glaciers recede which is mainly stony, sandy soil. Low hills with rocks that have been polished be the glaciers and a few stands of trees- all bright yellow and orange. Some rivers pass through the land- the Omak creek which flows into the Okanogan River which flows into the Columbia which flows into the sea and which I am studying as it is the focus of incredibly complicated treaties. And the colours! If the trees are all fire, the land is all ice- it is purple and grey and blue. And the skies- so huge an expanse- like perhaps Ladakh. Huge, huge land spreading away so that one feels very insignificant indeed. But am attaching a snap of that too. And the flowers- sage brush and gorse and a hundred things I don't know. Makes one weep to see so much beauty. And just to cap things off, on the way back, it was snowing in the mountains! Isn't that magical? The travel experiences: Passed through some little towns. They have these big lighted signboards to tell of important happenings in the area and one town was so small that they were putting up 'Brenda's 30th Birthday". And stayed in a motel. And after dinner, we went for a walk, came across some swings and swung up, up, up. On the way back, stopped at a Bavarian village in the middle of Washington State! Complete with streets named Amadeus strasse, and chocolate factories, and German beer and restaurants serving sauerkraut.

13 oct

when my sister and i were small ,we had a lovely book called 'WHAT I SAW". Each page began with i saw, i saw and described a scene in one line.And there was a lovely illustration by Mario Miranda. So here is my list for the last week.
I saw, i saw:

• a man practicing his juggling over and over on the lawns opposite Parrington hall
• a small group practicing skateboarding on a red brick square, against the light of the setting sun, so that i could only see silhouettes and long, long shadows against a red and purple background.
• a mother gull being harassed by an overgrown and very demanding juvenile
• large, bright yellow leaves floating down on to a wet and reflecting road so that it seemed as if two sets of leaves are rushing towards each other
• my house filled with 18 people of 14 nationalities, talking, eating, drinking and solving all the world's problems at once.
• Parrington Lawn which was so green when i came, now a blaze of red and yellow and pink .
• a small bunch of purple crocuses growing under a bush
• Mt. Rainier more clearly than i have ever done before
• some people pruning canna at the university. i wanted the stems and was too diffident to ask. but i was with a friend and he asked for me, and so I took half a dozen 5-foot tall canna plants home, where they now stand all purple and red. and an old stranger told me," you are a smart woman to take these home."

What I learnt;

• the history of tribal governance policy in the states
• the US-Canada boundary waters treaty
• how to eat with chopsticks
• how to open a bottle with- another bottle! (ok, i couldn't do it, but i know it can be done, and someday will)
• what my leadership style is and where i need to improve. That was actually quite difficult. we had to complete a survey and think about our experiences .

8 sept

i have a house!!! it is built in 1909, 2 bdr with wooden flooring, lovely curved ceilings, and the quaintest kitchen you have ever seen with a ceramic sink and funny wooden units- pure wood, not plywood. The bath is nice too, with a tub! and old fixtures! We have a nice front yard, and a small back yard (shared) and very beautiful. the front yard has topiary and HUGE yellow roses- fragrant!

The apartment is major news, but am very happy for several other reasons. was feeling a little dumb for the last few days, but today feel more a part of things. I learnt how to use the phone booths, managed to sort out my change (very confusing- the five cent coins are larger that the quarters), found a drugstore (it was closed, but now I can be clean and contact lensed), and best of all, found the loveliest bookstore. It is called Twice Told Tales and sells second hand books for 2-7$. Spent an hour there today just being there and going through the books. Was so happy to find a Pico Iyer that I actually stood there a couple of minutes just holding the book. The store is all brown and green with wooden shelves and hand lettered signs. And they have two Very Large, Very Identical, Very Orange and Very FAT cats. i think I will be there pretty often. And I found a hardware store. Of such things are life's victories made.