Southern Ute Project Southern Ute Ethnobotany Project: Submitted by Enrique Salmon Fort Lewis College Department of Anthropology Durango, Colorado 1998 Introduction Two elements of our Excellence Grant involve the promotion of student education and public outreach to the Four Comers.The Southern Ute Ethnobotany Project will address these elements. I request grant monies to initiate, run, and complete the project which will begin Spring of 1998 and continue into Fall 2002.The results of the project include the following: * Help the Southern Ute in their efforts to record, preserve, and practice their plant knowledge * To encourage Southern Ute students to consider anthropology as a major field of study o Produce students that are culturally sensitive researchers * Offer field study for Fort Lewis students wishing to pursue advanced ethnobotanical studies o Develop a Southern Ute based ethnobotany curriculum incorporating CD-ROM and video technology * Create internship and field research possibilities for anthropology majors as well as for Ute students on campus o Promote the anthropology department's regional outreach potential with local Indigenous groups. Request: The sum will be distributed over the course of the project. For the Spring of 1999 an intern will be required who will initiate the project. The sum will be applied to her stipend and travel allowance and to consultant fees. She will make contacts with potential Ute consultants arranging interviews and meetings to discuss plants. * From the Summer of 1999 through Spring 2,000 an estimated three interns will be required , an herbarium case, voucher and plant collecting materials, video cartridges, and consultant fees. Summer will be a period of activity in terms of plant collecting and working with consultants in the field. An herbarium case will be necessary to house the collected and vouchered plants. * From the Fall of the year 2,000 through the Summer of 2,001 additional monies will be required to continue the project. The sum will be applied to consultant fees, video cartridges, collecting and voucher materials, and intern stipends. * From 2,001 to the end of the project during the Fall of 2,002 an estimated sum will be required for a compatible computer system, CD-ROM productions, and trained intern. The computer system should be able to create CD-ROM curriculum modules. Actual costs of creating the CD-ROM's will be estimated. The intern should be versed in this technology as well as in creating curriculum modules and will be given a stipend of X. * Rationale Environmental degradation not only endangers flora and fauna but also traditional cultures. Loss of biodiversity through logging, mining, and urban encroachment increases the gradual decline of traditional land ethics which harmonize human use of the land with conservation of the natural world. When the practices of traditional land management stops, the ceremonies stop, as well as the native languages spoken at the ceremonies. Soon all the native language is gone along with the knowledge of land management which preserved this continent for so many centuries. * The Southern Ute Ethnobotany Project will help to stem the loss of Ute plant knowledge. Only a hand full of Utes on the reservation are knowledgeable of traditional plant uses. The Southern Ute Cultural Preservation Office contacted me to ask if I would be interested in conducting an ethnobotany project on the Southern Ute Reservation. That request lead to this proposal. Working in conjunction with the Southern Ute Cultural Preservation Office, the project will work with those people amenable to the projects goals and preserve their knowledge on video. Their comments will be transcribed. Both formats will be transferred to a CD-ROM format to be used in the schools by trained teachers. In this manner the Ute knowledge of plants will be preserved and passed to future generations. The Cultural Preservation Office is committed to the project and will assist with regards to contacting, identifying, and introducing consultants, gaining access to the Cultural Center, and providing permits to collect plants on the reservation. * The research will be conducted by interns comprised of Fort Lewis students. The interns will be selected from the anthropology department as well as from Ute students on campus. Interns will be selected on the basis of the extent of their ethnobotanical background. Students who have successfully completed the upcoming Ethnobotany of the Southwest class (Anth 391) will be among the primary candidates. Possible candidates will complete a questionnaire and will be selected on the basis of their willingness to work, familiarity with the project, experience, and aptitude. * Due to the goal of the Excellence Award Grant to provide outreach to Native American students on campus, at least two of the interns will be Native Americans, preferably Ute. This project will offer anthropology majors an introduction to field work, an opportunity usually difficult for undergrads to acquire. The project will also attract Ute students to anthropology; all anthropology departments should be aspiring to attract indigenous students. * In addition, the project win introduce the field of ethnobotany to our students, offering another avenue for future research and careers. A final factor is the project director, Enrique Salmon, is a Native American who will make an effort to continually apprise the student researchers of culturally sensitive methods of field research. Although the project will culminate in an ethnobotany curriculum module that will be given to the school system on the reservation, the module will not be effective unless the teachers are trained in its use and in the concepts of ethnobotany. Therefore, the project, in conjunction with the Baca Institute of Ethnobotany, will offer a workshop for those teachers from the reservation interested in the project. A description of the workshop follows. * Indigenous Botany in the Classroom: The focus of this workshop will be to use indigenous botanical knowledge as a vehicle to explore science and celebrate cultural traditions. The course is designed for Native American educators teaching in Native American communities at the elementary and secondary levels. The course will cover the fundamentals of ethnobotanical exploration, including how to gather traditional plant knowledge, identify plants, and how to integrate this knowledge into the classroom. From the course the teachers will learn how to: 1) identify plants by both traditional and common scientific names 2) gather and preserve plant specimens and germ plasm and be able to transfer that knowledge to the students o interview traditional plant elders 3) construct thematic units based on plant knowledge 4) apply and tailor a thematic unit to their school community *Outcomes of the Southern Ute Ethnobotany Project * A CD-ROM curriculum module focused on the traditional plant knowledge of the Southern Ute * A working relationship between the Department of Anthropology and the Southern Ute Cultural Preservation Office * Demonstrate to the Southern Ute people that anthropology can be used to benefit their culture * The development of anthropology majors with field research experience * The development of Ute students from Fort Lewis College exposed to ethnobotany, anthropology, and their traditional plant knowledge Members ~ Ethnobotany ~ Ethical Wildcrafting Staff ~ Links ~ Home ~ News ~ Contact