Darcey Evans

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Dean, Erin

Keywords

Klamath River, Native Americans, Dams, Culture, Ecology

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

The Klamath River, stretching between California and Oregon, has been used as an artery of life support by Native American peoples in the region for thousands of years. The river provides the tribal peoples with a connection to their creators, ancestors, and environment, and continuing into the 21st century, the subsistence, ceremonies, identities, and worldviews of the tribal peoples are deeply connected to the Klamath River and its surrounding landscape. During the 20th century, six dams were constructed on the Klamath River, causing unprecedented levels of ecological and cultural disruption. The four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River are potentially poised for removal in 2020, in what would be the largest dam removal project in world history. My thesis, based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted during the summer of 2014, examines the ecological and cultural impacts of the dams in the Klamath Basin on the region’s tribes and the differing perspectives on dam removal. Spearheaded by tribal activism, I argue that the Klamath dam removal creates threats to historic political and scientific hegemonies, alignments between the tribal nations and a currently emerging approach to science and development, and a restructuring of indigenous leadership within national decision-making processes.

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