Abstract
There is a continuing controversy over Native American fishing and hunting rights. We show that Native American (Menominee) and European American fish experts have a common knowledge base and share values and attitudes associated with fishing practices (though organized around different ethical principles). Nonetheless, perceived group differences are dramatic (especially European American perceptions of Native Americans). Cultural differences in models of nature and associated inference processes appear to mediate these stereotypes and may hold the key to reducing intergroup conflict over resources.
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Notes
Setting specific limits is not necessarily compatible with the tradition of taking only what one needs. According to one member of the tribal conservation commission, “We have limits on the number of trout and other fish you can take each day. About 20% of the people accept and follow them. The other 80% say it’s the white man’s way and that one should take what one needs and not waste. They say, ‘In the old days if you needed four trout for a nice meal you caught four. Now with the limit at ten people may take ten when they only need four.’”
A small sample may also be sufficient to establish the absence of a consensus, which typically would take the form of one or more participants having a zero or negative loading on the first factor. Larger sample sizes are needed for cases where one is attempting to estimate population parameters or for estimating the relative frequency of different subgroups where there are within-group differences.
One index of rapport is that our experts did not hesitate to admit that they had engaged in practices that are illegal.
We thank an anonymous reviewer for emphasizing this point.
One might think that the situation is more symmetrical when both European American and Menominee fishermen are fishing off the reservation, but since state regulations apply to both groups in this context this still leaves room for speculation about how Menominees fish when they are on the reservation.
For 2003 walleye limits for lakes where Native Americans have off-reservation spearfishing rights, see http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/fish/ceded/walleye.htm
There has been some controversy over tribes allowing hunters to shine deer, though the Menominee tribe has banned the practice.
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Medin, D., Ross, N., Cox, D. et al. Why Folkbiology Matters: Resource Conflict Despite Shared Goals and Knowledge. Hum Ecol 35, 315–329 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9054-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9054-9