In the novel The Ecological Indian, the author Shepherd Krech critically engages with narratives about the relationships between indigenous peoples and “nature.” The author distills the relationship he has observed in history and media into the term, “noble indian/ecological indian” where Native Americans are placed on a pedestal with regards to ecological, conservation and environmental practices. Implied in this description is the contrast with Europeans who are not ecological rather, destructive and wasteful. Throughout the novel, the author provides evidence and arguments that challenge the “ecological Indian” narrative in an effort to unmask the cultural diversity hidden by the trope. This essay will examine the merits of Krech’s evidence
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The use of specific accounts, while individually could be disregarded as anomalies from the general “ecological Indian”, collectively, describe a variety of cultures each with their own pressures and resources. On the plains, communities revolved around the buffalo because of the abundance and relative ease in hunting it, however, fires, drought, preference for cows as opposed to bulls, competition from horses and the consumer market brought by the colonizers placed strain on the communities and their main resource until it was all but depleted (Krech 138-141). In the south, deer was an important resource similar in value to the plains buffalo alongside agriculture and gathering (Krech, 154). However, similar to the narrative in the plains, with the introduction of the consumer market, hunting outside of basic need became common, reducing population sizes faster than they could recover and forcing longer travel for successful hunts which resulted in increased interactions with other tribes leading to a higher reliance on guns for conflicts meaning the tribes had to collect more hides to purchase these weapons (Krech, 158-161). Even in the example of the Piegan tribe, who “paid little attention to the trade until just before the annual trip to the post” (Krech 142), which the author uses to contend that the consumer market colonizers brought to …show more content…
The contrast between indigenous people and those who voluntarily arrived by ship has been emphasized more than commonalities constructing the “ecological Indian” as a pinnacle or at the least something that “Man…” is not. The hunting practices employed by many indigenous tribes was ritualistic in nature with a right and wrong methodology to utilize (Krech 129), however, colonizers would question these practices with regards to buffalos in comparison to the European “proper” and “sporting” methods of hunting (Krech 130). Additionally, the prioritization of economic security over environmentalist concerns can be understood as very human, but increased pressure and scrutiny from outside of a reservation is placed on indigenous populations because they have been held up to the standard of an “ecological Indian” (Krech 226-227). This is another example of a socially constructed “fundamental truth” because these criticisms do not acknowledge the history that forced the tribal leaders to choose between two detrimental
The use of specific accounts, while individually could be disregarded as anomalies from the general “ecological Indian”, collectively, describe a variety of cultures each with their own pressures and resources. On the plains, communities revolved around the buffalo because of the abundance and relative ease in hunting it, however, fires, drought, preference for cows as opposed to bulls, competition from horses and the consumer market brought by the colonizers placed strain on the communities and their main resource until it was all but depleted (Krech 138-141). In the south, deer was an important resource similar in value to the plains buffalo alongside agriculture and gathering (Krech, 154). However, similar to the narrative in the plains, with the introduction of the consumer market, hunting outside of basic need became common, reducing population sizes faster than they could recover and forcing longer travel for successful hunts which resulted in increased interactions with other tribes leading to a higher reliance on guns for conflicts meaning the tribes had to collect more hides to purchase these weapons (Krech, 158-161). Even in the example of the Piegan tribe, who “paid little attention to the trade until just before the annual trip to the post” (Krech 142), which the author uses to contend that the consumer market colonizers brought to …show more content…
The contrast between indigenous people and those who voluntarily arrived by ship has been emphasized more than commonalities constructing the “ecological Indian” as a pinnacle or at the least something that “Man…” is not. The hunting practices employed by many indigenous tribes was ritualistic in nature with a right and wrong methodology to utilize (Krech 129), however, colonizers would question these practices with regards to buffalos in comparison to the European “proper” and “sporting” methods of hunting (Krech 130). Additionally, the prioritization of economic security over environmentalist concerns can be understood as very human, but increased pressure and scrutiny from outside of a reservation is placed on indigenous populations because they have been held up to the standard of an “ecological Indian” (Krech 226-227). This is another example of a socially constructed “fundamental truth” because these criticisms do not acknowledge the history that forced the tribal leaders to choose between two detrimental