Elwha River Dams and Alta Dam; People, Politics, and Ecosystems

Ericka Michal

Courtesy of http://www.thefullwiki.org/Glines_Canyon_Dam

Image from p. 153 C.M. Briggs NORSK GEOGRAFISK TIDSSKRIFT 60 (2006)

When investigating the Elwha and Alta Dams, I have found the similarities to be a bit overwhelming.

Not only are there environmental issues that have, and are being faced; there is also the respect factor of the

indigenous people that have called the two areas home for thousands of years. In the research put into this

paper, I seek to investigate and summarize not only the historical reliance of the Sami and Lower Elwha-

Klallam Tribe on the Alta-Kautokeino and Elwha River areas for subsistence fishing, reindeer migration for

herding, and established living areas to include villages; but also the lack of importance given their

indigenous voice regarding their existence, future wellbeing as a people, and native knowledge of the areas

to be developed and changed. Some of the information to follow is what I have learned in classes while

studying in Neah Bay with Dr. David Huelsbeck, and in my Sami class with Dr. Troy Storfjell at Pacific

Lutheran University.

The materials and sources researched include scholarly articles, legal accounts of court actions and

decisions, ecological impact of the areas since the dams were put in place, and what is to be expected when

the Elwha Dam is removed. The Boldt Decision of February 12, 1974 affirmed the rights of Native

Americans to fish in their “usual and accustomed grounds and stations” as was written into Federal treaties

with tribes in the Northwest in 1854 and 1855, respectively, and has set the stage for the fisheries as we

know them today.

When the Alta Dam was constructed in 1981, valuable traditional reindeer grazing pasture and

migratory routes were flooded and destroyed, limiting a rapidly decreasing supply of reindeer herding

grazing opportunity for Sami, and changing the habitat of the Alta-Kautokeino Basin. Not only did the

Sami object to the proposed construction of the dam prior to 1980, their indigenous voice was not consulted

by the government, nor listened to as the inhabitants of the area to be so dramatically changed and affected

by the construction of the dam. Briggs writes and quotes “the social effects of the dam upon the Saami

were significant. Although only a fairly small percentage of Saami living in Alta-Kautokeino were actively

involved in reindeer pastoralism, its existence and persistence during the past centuries had provided a form

of identity distinct from the Norwegian culture (Riseth 2003). By endangering one of the last viable

migratory areas for reindeer in the north, the Alta Dam threatened this identity. Such damage is, of course,

difficult or impossible to quantify. Yet the persistent opposition of the Saami to the project, and the reports

from Saami themselves regarding the importance of the river and surrounding lands, made clear that the

Alta project was considered an intrusion into Saami and local ways of life (Heitmann 1998, T. Bongo,

personal communication 2000).” (Briggs, p. 156-157)

Just as in the Boldt decision, what resulted was a civil unrest that changed the face of the Sami people as

the world knew them. Having undergone Norwegianization in schools and society, and denial of

historically Sami used fishing and grazing lands; the Sami finally stood up and demanded to be heard.

Their voice is still echoing in social and educational reform with schools that now teach in Sami as well as

Norwegian, the emergence of Yoik as a cultural and now popular music venue, and the establishment of the

Samediggi in 1987 in Norway. The educated Sami of the 20th

century are now among the leaders of the

21st century, and utilizing their traditional and western education to bring Sami rights and issues to the

attention of the Norwegian government, as well as the world.

The same instance can be seen as having occurred in the Native American people of North America.

They also underwent extreme marginalization and discrimination with schooling and being assigned tribal

reservation lands on which to live, that, at the whim of the government, could, and still can, be disbanded

from the trust lands they inhabit. They do not truly own the land upon which they live; it is held in a trust

for them by the government, and they are given the rights to hunt and fish within their usual and

accustomed territories.

As time continues forward, the Native American people continue to become more and more involved in

politics, education, and preservation of their indigenous cultures. Like the Sami, they have not failed to

assimilate to the new era that western colonization ushered in. Conversely, they have always sought new

technology and adapted it to their culture as needed, should it benefit their society. To expect a Sami or

Native American to greet you wearing “native” dress, with feathers, furs, skins, and war paint on is simply

another denigration of people that have a proud history that they honor, yet continue to enhance with

modern technological advances, and the education they have received. Their indigenous knowledge from

their traditional teachings serves to add to the world’s understanding of lands they have dwelled in for

thousands of years, not impede progress. Yet, by ignoring the people that have lived there, and applying

generalizations to the effect of “we know better what they need, than they do themselves” marginalizes the

Sami and Native Americans even further, and turns society’s back on problems we could have avoided, had

we simply leant an ear to the gentle voice, that had to become a roar, in order to be heard.

The Sami and the Lower Elwha-Klallam are indigenous to the Elwha and Alta areas where the Elwha

and Alta Dams are located. They lived there long before the existence of the dams, and fed off of the fish

and wildlife the indigenous ecosystem provided a habitat for. Each of the indigenous groups had ways of

interacting with their environment, and hunting and gathering the food sources seasonally, storing them

according to established practices, and taking what was needed from the land and sea, thus, maintaining

sustainability for following generations. When treaties were signed with the US government in the years

1854-1855, indigenous people were allowed reserved rights to fish and hunt. The fish that were in the

Elwha River prior to the Elwha Dam’s construction were Chinook Salmon, referred to affectionately as

“June Hogs”, weighing as much as 90 pounds (40 kilograms), and could measure taller than most adults

when stood on end. Prior to the dam’s construction, salmon runs numbered in the area of 400,000 fish with

runs so huge that the river became “a wiggling mass from bank to bank”. (Angelo)

But, after 1913, when the first dam was built, salmon stocks plummeted. Today, the salmon runs

number approximately 2,000-3,000 fish. River advocates are optimistic that salmon stocks will rebound

once the dams come down. Part of the hope that the dam removal will rehabilitate the indigenous

ecosystem, is the planned gradual removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams. Over a three year

period, the plan is to gradually remove the dams, thus enabling much of the silt accumulated to be flushed

downstream, in hopes that over the coming years, habitat will return to a close reflection of the pre-dam

indigenous ecosystem, including the planned re-establishment of the salt marsh wetlands, and habitat for

soft-shelled clams and other shellfish. (Angelo)

The Elwha Act was signed into law in October of 1992 by President George H.W. Bush, and calls for

“full restoration of the Elwha River ecosystem and native anadromous fisheries.” (Elwha River Ecosystem

and Fisheries Restoration Act) Native anadromous fish are salmon or other fish that “run upward” while

migrating from salt water to fresh water in order to spawn. In the Elwha River’s case, it would be the

Chinook salmon discussed earlier. “The problem of getting juvenile fish safely past dams on their

downstream journeys and adult fish safely past dams when they return to spawn was recognized even

before the end of the 19th

century. In 1890, Washington’s Legislature passed a law requiring fish ways to be

built at dams “wherever food fish are wont to ascend.” The law authorized the state commissioner of

fisheries to levy fines for violations and ask courts to order the removal of illegal dams, but the law was not

well-enforced.” (nwcouncil.org) Elwha Dam was constructed, along with the Glines Canyon Dam, and

neither one has a method in place for the salmon to pass in order to spawn upstream. The habitat and

migratory habits are then interrupted, and the decline of a major resource begins in alarming numbers. In

1915, Washington State Fish Commissioner Leslie Darwin offered to waive the fish passage requirement,

allowing Thomas Aldwell, of the Olympic Power Company to build the dams. Aldwell did construct a

hatchery as well that adjoined the Elwha Dam; however in 1922 the hatchery was abandoned by

Washington State. (nps.gov Elwha Dam timeline)

So, even though the law had requirements to preserve the food source salmon provided in place, all it

took was an official to dismiss the law in favor of a business project. While the modernization of

Washington State was assisted by the hydroelectric dams being built, it came at the price of a valuable

ecosystem and food source being compromised and on the brink of extinction. The hopes of replicating the

original ecosystem as the dams on the Elwha River are dismantled are very optimistic, yet how realistic

they actually are is yet to be determined, as how the rebuilding of the indigenous ecosystem is implemented

is of tantamount importance.

While the salmon fishing industry has long been a strong economic resource, the Boldt Decision of 1974

sought to distribute the fish more equally amongst indigenous people in Washington State, and the non-

indigenous population. As a result of empowering the indigenous people, tribal fisheries became involved

and have been a voice of authority in protecting the rights upheld by the Boldt Decision, and in assisting

the maintenance of salmon populations. “The Lower Elwha-Klallam Tribe hatchery has operated since

approximately 1978. They and the Washington State run hatchery have focused on supplementation of the

salmonids below Elwha Dam and preservation of remnant fish populations, particularly Chinook salmon

(Winter and Crain 2008). The State hatchery produces Chinook salmon and has an annual egg take of 2.5

million and releases 2,700,000 Chinook salmon that are comprised of yearlings and sub-yearlings. The

tribal facility focuses on Coho salmon and steelhead and annually releases 750,000 Coho salmon, and

120,000 winter steelhead. The extent of reliance on Elwha salmon restoration varies with each species. In

general the proposed restoration strategies rely on the combination of hatchery enhancement and natural re-

colonization.” (The Osprey, Issue no. 65, p.6) In essence, since the mid 1970’s, tribal and State hatcheries

have been actively attempting to repopulate the rivers and streams with salmonid populations that are

genetically indigenous. The removal of the dams on the Elwha River, are anticipated to further rehabilitate

the decreased population, and indigenous ecosystem. In my opinion, the fact that the habitat also sits in the

Olympic National Park is a huge boon, as there is habitat left from a century ago to assimilate to and better

promote re-establishing the indigenous ecosystem. All of this effort is due to playing with the indigenous

ecosystem to begin with. Yes, humans can adapt and work closely with the environment to enhance

coexisting with nature, and do so in a less disruptive manner; at least, that is the attempt being made now.

By dismissing the voice(s) of the indigenous population of a region or country, you are losing the

indigenous knowledge already present, and risk throwing the entire ecosystem out of balance.

In looking at the Alta Dam, we see a similar situation where indigenous people have concern over

habitat, migration, and living within their traditional ways. In the 1960’s the Norwegian Water Resources

and Energy Administration began drawing up plans for the construction of the Alta dam. “Accidentally,

Trygve Lund Guttormsen, a Sami teacher from the village of Masi, happened across maps of his village

while in a regional engineering office in Narvik. These maps contained water markers following the 300 m

a.s.l. contour lines near Masi, indicating plans for a massive reservoir in the area” (Dalland 1997). (Briggs,

p 151) “Despite being a small village of only 400 inhabitants, Masi was 100% Sami speaking and the area

around the Alta River and Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino was one of the last remaining areas of reindeer

pastoralism in Norway (Minde 2003).” (Briggs, p 151) “The sole purpose for the Alta dam was for

hydroelectric production, as the area around the Alta River valley itself was non-agricultural, and the dam

would be inappropriate for irrigation. Water was also to be diverted from the Tana River to the Alta. The

area proposed to be flooded when building the dam was approximately 40 km along the river and several

mountain plateaus, totaling an area of 75 km. The Sami villages of Masi and Mieron (Mierojavri) would be

completely flooded. The Norwegian government considered it a deserted landscape, at the same time,

ignoring the necessity of the grazing land for reindeer herding and migration. The Norwegian

government’s plans to reduce the size of reindeer herds and promote more “sustainable” agriculture

(Bjorklund 1990), were also known.” (Briggs, p. 151-152). No value was placed on the Sami way of life

or sustainability thereof by the Norwegian government. Once again, the Sami were being marginalized;

although, the village of Masi did manage to escape the proposed flooding. “The Masi River was designated

a protected river under the national plan for protected water courses in 1973, forcing the NVE to drop its

plans to flood the village.” (Briggs, p 154)

Having just written about the Elwha dam, it is interesting to me to note that fishing stocks plummeted in

and around the Alta, just as they did in the Elwha River. The Alta began operating in May of 1987. “The

River Alta, northern Norway (70°N), was regulated for hydropower in 1987. Densities of juveniles and

catches of adult Atlantic salmon have been studied since 1980–1981 to examine the effects of regulation.

The need to control environmental variables during electrofishing was emphasized, as flow variables

explained up to 42% of the variation in estimated juvenile densities. The number of spawning redds was

counted along the river from 1996 to 2005. The annual number of spawning redds was correlated with the

catch of multi-sea-winter salmon (predominantly females). In the upper 7 km section, just downstream of

the power station outlet, juvenile densities were reduced by 80% from pre-regulation levels to minimum

levels in 1992–1996. This was followed by partial recovery during 1997–2005, although not entirely back

to pre-regulation levels. In contrast, the general trend in the middle part of the river was a linear increase in

juvenile densities during 1981–2005. Decreased juvenile densities in the upper section was subsequently

followed by reduced catches of adult salmon in this part of the river. The relative catches of smolt year

classes migrating to sea in the upper section was reduced by up to 75% from 1991 onwards. Spawning and

recruitment in the upper section have increased in recent years, probably back to the introduction of catch-

and-release angling and an increase in salmon runs. However, present day smolt production in the upper

section is still reduced compared to the middle part of the river, 18 years after regulation. The decreased

densities of juvenile salmon in the upper section were probably caused by several factors, of which

stranding mortality due to sudden drops in the water level and increased winter mortality due to changed

environmental conditions, especially reduced ice-cover, may be the most important. In conclusion, the

regulation caused a considerable reduction of the salmon production in the upper 16% of salmon reaches,

but did not affect the salmon population negatively further downstream. This study illustrates that

apparently small environmental disturbances can cause large changes in Atlantic salmon abundance in high

latitude populations.” (Hydrobiologia Abstract) “some of the environmental effects of the construction

activity,such as changes in water quality, exist from this period. This phase of the hydropower development

merits more attention than often given in studies of the effects on fish populations.” (Hydrobiologia, p 19).

Also, please note, that despite my repeated attempts via email or research, I still am unaware as to whether

the Alta Dam has a fish passage in place; both the Elwha and Glines Dams do not.

“According to the Sámi Parliament, the entry of the Sámi people in the Norwegian constitution also

“means that the historical rights of the Sámi, their ancient use of lands and the Sámi perceptions of rights –

and everything else in a culture that forms the basis for contemporary law, for legal protection and resource

management, shall constitute the basis for future legal development and governance – in the same way as

the historical rights of the Norwegians, their ancient use of lands and the Norwegian perceptions of rights

has been through the last centuries” (Sámi Parliament Plenary 3/99, Case # 32/99). Thus, through these

lengthy constitutional processes, international conventions have been incorporated into Norwegian Law –

in much the same way as modern EU-law is also becoming national law in the EU and EEA member states.

Following this, the Sámi Parliament also interpret the transformation of e.g. the ILO-convention 169 into

Norwegian Law in a way which implies that any changes in the property rights system of the ground in the

Northern Province of Finnmark now need the consent of the Sámi Parliament. Or else it would be a breach

of the Conventions that Norway has joined (Sámi Parliament Plenary 3/99, Case # 32/99).” (Sandberg,

Audun) So, then, where do the Sami fit into the grand scheme of things within the fishery and Alta Dam

scenario, along with resource management of salmon and reindeer pastures?

In the case of the Elwha Dam, the Native American fisheries are involved in a very instrumental way.

The Elwha River dam removal is the largest dam removal project in US History. In removing the two

dams, the Elwha Dam and the Glines Canyon Dam, the opening of the waterways for the salmon to migrate

is what forms the basis for the restoration of the indigenous ecosystem seen as the way to repopulate the

salmon and other anadromous fish in the Elwha River. The building of a new hatchery for The Lower

Elwha-Klallam Tribe to run, will replace the one currently in place. The brood stocks for the salmon

during the dams’ deconstruction will be raised. Another safeguard is the choice of a second stream, the

Morse Creek, east of Port Angeles, which will focus on the Elwha Chinook stock. This is to ascertain the

breed does not die out in the event of a catastrophic occurrence with the dam removal.

As mentioned earlier in this paper, silt and sediment will be allowed to flow downstream from the dams

once removed. Silt can at times have a negative effect on the salmon eggs by smothering them, while they

incubate in the river bed. This is where the hatcheries will play a major role in the outcome of the salmon

population. They will be sheltering the brood stock so as to keep the species alive, and in the worst case

scenario that the river is too murky during the three years of dam deconstruction, the brood stock reserves

will be on hand to restock the depleted salmon run.

The water treatment is also being addressed by the dam removal along the Elwha River. Two water

treatment plants have been required. One in the city of Port Angeles, and another called the Elwha Water

Facilities provides a water intake and diversion facility along with a separate treatment plant to serve the

tribal fish hatchery, the state’s rearing channel and the Nippon Paper Industries mill in Port Angeles. These

were necessary due to the fact that the water quality is likely to violate state and federal drinking water

quality standards due to the temporary sediment concentration during dam deconstruction. (Dunagan article

09/2010)

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has controlled the dams along the Columbia River for

many years now, and have seen many changes in the salmon populations over the years. Recently, the

spike in the Columbia River population has been attributed to efforts resulting in “protected young Snake

River steelhead migrated safely through federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers to the ocean last

year at the second-highest rate on record, according to newly released research. About 21 percent more

steelhead passed safely through the dams in 2010 compared to the average since the late 1990s.

Young Chinook and sockeye salmon also made it safely through the eight federal dams at higher-than-

average rates, NOAA’s Norwest Fisheries Science Center found.

Researchers said the higher survival rates likely reflected two factors: the spill of water to help carry

young fish past dams and recently installed surface passage systems that let fish slide through spillways

near the water’s surface, where they naturally migrate.

Spill and surface passage are both central components of the federal biological opinion that outlines

measures to protect Columbia and Snake river fish listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The

biological opinion calls for spill at all eight federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers through the end

of the active juvenile salmon migration in August.” (NOAA Dec. 2010) The Bonneville Power

Administration is required to put more measures into place for salmon preservation due to the passage of

the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (aka The Northwest Power Act)

which was passed December 5, 1980. “ Overview. The Act addresses the impact on fish and wildlife of

hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. The Act establishes the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and

Conservation Planning Council and directs the Council to adopt a regional energy conservation and electric

power plan and a program to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife on the Columbia River and its

tributaries. The Act also sets forth provisions the Administrator must follow in selling power, acquiring

resources, implementing energy conservation measures, and setting rates for the sale and disposition of

electric energy. This summary focuses on the provisions relating to the duties of the Council.”

(nwcouncil.org)

While the Northwest Power Act affects the Columbia River and its tributaries, it also shows how the

indigenous people that have fishing rights and interests in the Columbia River and its tributaries are

involved with co-management of resources and indigenous ecosystems that may have been further

compromised had they not been given voice with legislation supporting their claims to indigenous rights,

and served as a stepping stone to enact conservation of the indigenous ecosystem and survival of their

traditional food sources, in this case, the anadromous fish, such as steelhead and salmon. The Native

American voice has become stronger in the passing years, just as I feel the Sami have, and will continue to

increase in strength along with political and social influence.

Another citation follows to example that the government works in conjunction with the tribes as an

entity with rights and a voice:

“ Dec. 23, 2010: The Justice Department, on behalf of NOAA's Fisheries Service, today filed briefs with

the federal district court in Portland, Ore., in the FCRPS BiOp litigation. The agency said there have been

strong and in some cases record returns to the Columbia Basin in recent years. It added that the past decade

has brought substantial improvement to management of the river and to the dams themselves, along with

habitat accomplishments and better control of salmon predators. These have helped ensure that many more

young fish make it to the Pacific to take advantage of recent good ocean conditions.

The agency added that it would continue its collaboration with the region's states and tribes and, as

always, would rely on the best available science to guide its decisions.” (www.salmonrecovery.gov)

The Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam deconstruction, illustrates what can be done if indigenous and

non-indigenous people and authorities work together in concert. The outcome is yet to be seen, however. I

feel that in Norway, the Sami need to have an equal voice in their resource management and access to

traditional pastures for reindeer, and fishery rights in salt and fresh water. The Alta Dam has, however,

served as an impetus to the Sami voice that has emerged since the Alta Protests.

Norway and the United States have both practiced the role of colonizer in the expansion of the lands for

the general citizenry to obtain, occupy, and use, at the expense of the indigenous people inhabiting the land

prior to colonization. ILO Convention Number 169 addresses indigenous people and their rights as the

disenfranchised parties still attempting to maintain their identity as a people, with usage and ownership of

traditional lands, rivers, and lakes, along with the natural resources that originate there.

The indigenous are now minorities within their own lands. Prejudice that has arisen towards their

accorded “special rights” has been very vocal at times. Let me be clear that the reason ILO Convention

Number 169 is specific to the minority of the indigenous, is because they were indeed First Nations People.

They were not here as a result of immigration, slavery, or indentured servitude. Their lands were

confiscated by developing statehoods that claimed the indigenous lands as their own; giving indigenous

people citizenry in some countries, not all, and establishing new laws and a societal values and norms that

the indigenous population did not agree to, understand, or wish to live by. ILO Convention Number 169

seeks to redress this and hopefully balance out some of the inequity visited upon the indigenous peoples as

a result of colonization.

In addressing this, Norway ratified the ILO Convention Number 169 in 1990. Articles 14 and 15 of the

ILO Convention Number 169 are particularly quoted in relevance to the Sami and their indigenous rights,

along with fishery as well. On pages 29-30 of his Master’s Thesis, Aslau Kleppe Lyngra quotes and writes:

“Article 14 paragraph 1 of the ILO 169 States that:

‘The rights of ownership and possession of the peoples concerned over the lands which they traditionally

occupy shall be recognized. In addition, measures shall be taken in appropriate cases to safeguard the

rights of the peoples concerned, to use lands not exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have

traditionally had access for their subsistence and traditional activities. Particular attention shall be paid to

the situation of nomadic peoples and shifting cultivators in this respect’ (59)

Article 14 paragraph 1 distinguishes between lands indigenous peoples “traditionally occupy” and lands

not exclusively occupied by them, but to which they traditionally have had access for their subsistence and

traditional activities. (60) In the ILO Convention Number 169 Manual it is stated that “lands which they

traditionally occupied” means that these are lands where indigenous peoples have lived over a time, and

which they have used and managed according to their traditional practices. (61).

Article 15 goes further than to just talk about lands. Article 15 deals with natural resources pertaining to

land which indigenous peoples have rights under Article 14. Article 15 establishes that these rights,

including the right to participate in use, management, and conservation of the resources in question, shall

be especially safeguarded. (62)”

Based on the ILO Convention Number 169 alone, since it was ratified by Norway, it only stands to

reason, that the Sami are due the right to manage their resources, land and traditional living spaces that they

have held these many thousands of years as indigenous people. This, would definitely, in my estimation,

also include the right to manage grazing lands for their reindeer herding. The Alta Dam not only had a

great effect on the traditional grazing lands, but also the habitat for the fish.

The Alta Dam spurred what came to be known as the “Alta Conflict”. It was the turning point in the

political battle over the hydroelectric dam, “that affected a large part of the Sami core areas in Finnmark.

The Parliament had decided to go ahead with the construction after adjusting the project somewhat in order

to accommodate part of the Saami protest.” (Hersoug, p. 195). “It started with a non- violent hunger strike

in front of the Norwegian Parliament in 1979, continued with frequent sit-ins in the actual area during

1979, 1980, and a final showdown in 1981 when the government decided to move all demonstrators in one

of the largest police actions ever. The project still went ahead, despite opposition and the Alta dam was

constructed.” (Hersoug, p. 195). The end result was the Sami issues had made it to the national agenda

and “the government set up a Sami legal commission to look into their rights to land and (inland water,

previously held to be 100% State owned.” (Hersoug, p. 195).

Similarly, in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s, various Native American tribes in the United States

conducted “fish ins”. In 1964, actor Marlon Brando and Puyallup Tribal Member Robert Satiacum were

arrested for conducting a “fish-in”. The celebrity appearance of Marlon Brando made it a very newsworthy

event that otherwise may have gone virtually unnoticed. To quote Gabriel Chrisman in his article The

Fish-In Protests at Franks Landing, “In the 1960s Native Americans successfully defended these rights,

which had been reserved for the tribes in a series of treaties with the United States between 1854 and

1855. Many well-known activist groups and concerned individuals joined the struggle, which featured the

confrontational drama of the Native American "fish-in" protests. But the fish-ins are only part of the

story. A unified and adept courtroom strategy provided by NAACP lawyers, the ACLU, and eventually the

U.S. Department of Justice; the presence and assistance of members of numerous other organizations at the

fish-ins and on associated protest marches; and, ultimately, the decisions of non-native judges and the

influence of public opinion all proved crucial in upholding the rights of the tribes in Washington and

bringing the issue of Native American treaty rights to the forefront of the civil rights movement.” Again,

we show that without support of non-indigenous people, the indigenous of Norway and the United States

may not have gained the support necessary to bring their voice to the forefront of the national stage, and

hold accountable agreements and rights accorded to them in legal treaties and laws, both national and

international.

In summary, the Sami and the Native American indigenous population have asserted themselves in the

last decades as a collective voice; with rights, knowledge, and determination to conserve their heritage,

culture, and indigenous ecology. With the advocacy of ILO, UN, the Sami and Native American political

groups, as well as the judicial laws in support of their treaties, and indigenous rights, we are witnessing the

continued evolution of the new face of globalization; where the indigenous people are included. No longer

is it acceptable to marginalize a people based on the assumption that their knowledge or culture is inferior

to that of the colonizer. Every voice has a valid place on the world stage, and needs to be listened to in

order to preserve the balance of the ecosystems and societal structure as a whole.

Terms and Definitions:

Indigenous: First/Native to the the land, ancestral for plant, people, or species of life.

Indigenous Peoples: population groups with ancestral connections to place prior to formally recorded (i.e.

written) history”

Indigenous Knowledge: (also called Traditional knowledge or Local knowledge) being knowledge from

particular indigenous peoples”

Indigenous Ecology: about original ecosystems

Norwegianization: The process of educating Sami people in Norwegian schools without their Sami

language, and forbidding them to practice their culture, religion, language. Assimilating them to

Norwegian society through re-education of what is acceptable in society. Many Sami lost their language

and cultural knowledge this way.

Salmonid: steelhead, salmon, whitefish

Anadromous: The moving upstream of fish from salt water to fresh water spawning grounds.

ILO: The ILO is the international organization responsible for drawing up and overseeing international

labour standards. It is the only 'tripartite' United Nations agency that brings together representatives of

governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programmes promoting Decent Work for

all. This unique arrangement gives the ILO an edge in incorporating 'real world' knowledge about

employment and work. (from ILO web site)

Fish-in: Demonstration conducted by fishing when told to stop by authorities as an act of protest against

the perceived civil rights not being upheld for Native Americans or “White” Americans. Conducted by

both parties and led to the Boldt Decision.

Sit-in: Protestors demonstrating by sitting in an area or place, refusing to leave until listened to.

Sami: Indigenous people of the Arctic that live in Norway, Finland, Russia, and Sweden.

First Nations People: Term used to describe indigenous people in a broad sense and can apply to

indigenous people of any nation.

Native American: Term for indigenous people of North America and Canada.

Colonization: Establishing a colony settlement in a land that is not currently under jurisdiction of the

colonizing government.

ACLU: Legal action group called American Civil Liberties Union.

NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

NVE: Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration

Works Cited

"2010 Court Documents." Home. Www.salmonrecovery.com, 23 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 May 2011.

<http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/BiologicalOpinions/FCRPS/2010SupplementalFCRPSBiOp/20

10CourtDocuments.aspx>.

Angelo, Mark. "Dam Removals Open Way for Cultural and Habitat Restoration – National Geographic

News Watch." National Geographic News Watch. National Geographic, 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 23

May 2011. <http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/10/22/dam-removal-provides-

restoration-opportunities/>.

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