Transcript Melvin McNair Poster Final 42511

Complacency and Lack of Discourse
Regarding Tribal Land Boundaries on the
Wind River Indian Reservation
Melvin Arthur
Department of Social Work,
Dr. Christopher Russell
Department of English
PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT
History of Property Rights and
Current Ramifications
This project will investigate the current
symbolic interpersonal relationship
existing among Northern Arapaho tribal
members and Eastern Shoshone tribal
members. Recent court proceedings
have demanded a unification of the
Shoshone and Arapaho entities in order
to litigate tribal property rights in the
interest of all tribal members on the
Wind River Indian Reservation.
Methods
This study will use narrative inquiry consisting of one-on-one interviews with participants.
•Participants
•All participants will be over the age of 18 years of age living on or near the area
surrounding the Wind River Indian Reservation.
• Ten to twenty tribal members from the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes
will be included in the study.
•Criteria will be based on participants formal and informal leadership roles, long term
personal relationships, and positions of authority in both tribes.
Procedure
Statement of the Problem
The study is designed to determine if
the complacency and lack of discourse
on tribal land boundaries differs among
Northern Arapaho and Eastern
Shoshone tribal members on the Wind
River Indian Reservation.
•Data Collection and Analysis
Importance of the Study
This study could be important to the
members of both the Northern Arapaho
and Eastern Shoshone Tribes, as it
discusses the bipartisan issue that
leaves property boundaries in dispute
on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
The study may bring to light the nature
of the pacifisms that stymies a
resolution of property rights for future
generations.
Northern
Arapaho
Eastern
Shoshone
•Data will be gathered through personal interviews that are somewhat unstructured. This
will allow for spontaneity of participants to more deeply explore their experiences using
open ended questions.
•The interviews will take from 30-45 minutes.
•Interviews will be recorded and transcribed.
•Coding will be based on similar experiences among the members of the communities in
and around the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Hypothesis
I hypothesize that Northern Arapaho
and Eastern Shoshone Tribal members
on the Wind River Indian Reservation
and surrounding areas will offer
different reasons for their complacency
and lack of discourse concerning tribal
land issues.
Chief Black Coal (l) and Chief Washakie (r). Images
courtesy of the American Heritage Center, UW.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the McNair Scholars
Program as well as Zackie Salmon, Susan
Stoddard, Dr. Christopher Russell, my
family and the Wind River Indian
Reservation.
Map of Wind River Indian Reservation