Oil and Native American Decision-Making Navajo, Inuit, and Gwich'in Approaches to Economic Development
Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Johnson, Robert
Keywords
Oil, Indigenous Economic Development, Navajo, Inuit, Gwich'in
Area of Concentration
History
Abstract
This thesis explores indigenous attitudes toward oil development and their increasingly vocal roles in setting the terms of agreements beginning in the 1970s through an examination of two cases, the Navajo and two groups of Arctic Slope Alaskan natives, the Inuit and the Gwich'in. Though oil drilling on native American land began in the early decades of the twentieth century, it was not until the 1970s that indigenous people began asserting a more powerful position in their dealings with the oil industry, the federal government, and their own tribal governments. The argument set forth is that indigenous economic decision-making is based not only upon environmental factors, as is often assumed, but also financial and social concerns. After taking these issues into account, many natives supported and even actively pursued development of oil resources, while grassroots opposition also emerged, with its own set of concerns.
Recommended Citation
Schiff, Tamara, "Oil and Native American Decision-Making Navajo, Inuit, and Gwich'in Approaches to Economic Development" (2008). Theses & ETDs. 4034.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4034
Rights
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