First Advisor
Hannah Gosnell
Date of Award
Spring 6-15-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Geography and University Honors
Department
Geography
Language
English
Subjects
Indigenous Research, Experiential Education, Cultural Revitalization, Whitewater Rafting, Nez Perce, Participatory Research
DOI
10.15760/honors.1377
Abstract
In our rapidly unraveling world, the re-centering of Indigenous ways of being and knowing is more important than ever. This re-centering is based in cultural revitalization and transmission within Indigenous communities, and these processes are intimately tied to relationship with Land. This writing describes the "doing" of an Indigenous-led experiential educational program for Nez Perce and Cayuse descended youth -- the Saqáanma School -- which was conducted via whitewater raft on pik'uunin (the Snake River) through saqáanpa (Hells Canyon) in July 2021. The complex exchanges between people, culture, and Land embodied in this project are examined through Barker and Pickerill's (2020) approach to 'doing' geographic research as a continuous, action-based "commitment to a place and people". 'Doing' geography differently manifests in this work through a unique mechanism, whitewater rafting, as well as participatory methods, centering of Indigenous ontologies, and consideration of the 'before' and 'after' of this project as one contribution to a long chain of past, present, and future labor spanning generations. My positionality and shifts in perspective, methodology, and research objective over the course of the investigation are also detailed. This writing illustrates one approach to 'doing' collaborative, culturally informed, and Land-based experiential learning, explores the successes and failures of our particular 'doing'-based approach, and critiques the ways in which it promotes and sustains Indigenous value systems.
Rights
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40280
Recommended Citation
Shimeall, Clark, "Doings with Land: Process and Participation through Indigenous-Led, Experiential Education in saqáanpa (the Snake River in Hells Canyon)" (2023). University Honors Theses. Paper 1348.
https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.1377