Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Indian “Problem” In Washington And Oregon: Exploring Connections Between Natural Resources And Indian Policy, Kevin Bourgault, Stefanie Wickstrom, Rex Wirth

Political Science Faculty Scholarship

Relationships between indigenous Americans and non-indigenous settlers of the western United States were determined in great part by the presence or absence of natural resources for which the groups competed. This paper is a study of the shifting patterns of inter-ethnic relations and governmental policies towards Indians and resources in Washington and Oregon from the 1850s to the present. We explore the connections between natural resource endowments on aboriginal lands, beliefs about indigenous peoples, and changing governmental policies affecting indigenous American communities in the two states. As philosophies guiding natural resource management have evolved over the course of the 20th …