I was lucky to be invited for the weekend out to the Quileute Indian Reservation in order to do my first observation. Native American history is one of my favorites to learn about, so I was hoping my 3 1/2 hour drive up would go by quickly because I was anxious to get started.

A few months ago, I meet Anna, a teacher at the Quileute tribal school, through a mutual friend while we were up for a overnight camping trip on Quileute beach. After I told her about my observation assignment, she was more then happy to get together in order for me to get an inside scoop of what life is and was like on the reservation.

Anna was born and raised on the reservation. As were her parents, grandparents and great-grand parents. She started with the legend of her tribe. The first thing she told me was that her people are believed to have been changed from wolves by a wandering Transformer. “Yes, Twilight did get some facts right in the book,” which made her laugh. Anna proceed to tell me about her ancestors impressive canoe designs and how they were regarded to be the best whalers/ fishers/ sealers of the coast. “Though we do not partake in those drastic fishing practices now, I remember as a girl, every spring I would go with my family to catch our first salmon of the year. Traditionally removing the meat but then return the head and bones to the river so the fish can come back plentiful each year. This is a tradition that I still do with my husband and daughter, but perhaps it’s not working as well since there is a salmon shortage happening at the moment.” As we walked through the reservation, Anna was point out different areas which each had a back story/ memory that she could recount. I decided that now might be a good time to ask a few questions that I had thought of from my last blog post.

“Anna, regards to the traditions that you grew up with, and are passing to your children, such as the first spring salmon and the shortage happening, how has the land changed since you were younger? or your parents?” We were sitting on the beach and her eyes never left the ocean when she answered. “Well, we didn’t get so much debris washing up on shore when I was younger, especially my parents like we do now which is pretty disappointing. A lot more tourist now but hey, any money coming into the reservation is always a good thing.” Which made us both laugh. She continued, ” we as a tribe make sure to instill our legends and stories with those who want to learn and our children. The earth is different now and not as abundant as it once was, but we still try to honor and keep her protected when we can.” I continue with asking about living on the reservation and how life here can be misconstrued to others? “Great question! We do not get handouts, contrary to popular belief. And I think that is why many people look down on reservations and our people. Did you notice our school? Our market, or majority of our housing? I figured we would have better structures or some type of maintenance if we got extra money from the government. We are a tribe the govern ourselves. Though, we did get a huge victory for our tribe thanks to Obama. After 50 years, we are finally getting 772 acres of our land back. I know that will not go over well with some who continue to think that we get hand outs because if we did, I don’t think it would have taken 50 years for it to be done. Do you?” No Anna, not at all.

Anthropology ethics of fieldwork is as followed: Do no harm, be open and honest about your work, obtained informed consent and necessary permission, weigh competing ethical obligations, make your results accessible and protect and preserve your records. For my field research, I will be interviewing and interacting with a female who belongs to a Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. I will be open to the experiences and do no harm while doing so. Consent and permission to partake in certain experiences in that culture is very important, and I will make sure to go through the proper avenues to obtain that permission, if I am lucky enough to do so. If there are any ethical obligations that arise, I will step back and look at it from a anthropologists point of view. Finally, any results that I get will be provided on my anthropology blog for anyone to see.

I chose to read part 1, chapter 3 “The Rememberers”. The chapter starts with Hochschild sitting with a Cajun pipefitter named Harold Areno. As Areno is showing her family pictures of him as a child, he beings to go into detail about the land on the bayou that his family grew up on. Areno talks about how him and his family lived off the land and only went to the store once a month to get extra ingredients that his family would need to make fresh ice cream from the milk that got from their cow. As the interview goes on, Areno’s wife and son show up to have lunch with him and Hochschild, continuing the reminiscing about how great and vibrant the Bayou was. As the memories continue, Areno tells Hochschild that the industry ruined the water and cypress trees around the bayou. Their son, Derwin remember the cypress’s as dead and the awful smell the water produces since he was born. He never experienced such a time as his father description. Areno continues by saying that his whole family, even himself and his wife, developed cancer because of the industry and water contamination. Areno and his wife are the only cancer survivors. As time moved forward once the contamination became known, Areno and his family rallied behind any political figure who put God and family first, like they do. With this mind set, they were hoping that cleaning would commence of the bayou but it still has yet to happen. Areno and fifty three families are tied up in a lawsuit with twenty-two of the companies that have attributed to the pollution of the bayou and deaths of their family members because of it. Areno, a god loving man and a believer in the rapture, tell Hochschild before she leaves, “we’re on this earth for a limited amount of time. But if we get out souls saved, we go to Heaven for eternity. We’ll never have to worry about the environment from then on. That’s the most important thing. I’m thinking long-term”.

Three points for this chapter that I would phrase into questions for my own field study would be as follows:

1. How is the land different now then how you grew up? Or your parents or grandparents?
2. What kind of elections do you have on the Reservation? What are some of the main issues voters tend to bring up?
3. Has industry helped life on the Reservation? Why or why not?

Hello, my name is Kindell. I am originally from Huntington Beach, CA and moved to Washington state my sophomore year of high school. I returned to California for 6 years during my time with the U.S. Coast Guard, but decided to return back to upstate Washington to complete my degree in environmental science. During the course of my blog (anthropology assignment), I will be sharing the perspectives, political and/or ideological views that differ from my own. I am really looking forward to this assignment because I enjoy learning and seeing views from others perspectives. I was a registered vote when I lived in California, but since moving back, I have yet to register in Washington again. I can see both sides of registering to help make the change and how others seem to think there is “no point”.

The first part of this assignment is to set out and complete the same type perspective research just like Arlie Russell Hochschild, active Scientologist and author of Strangers In Their Own Land. Like myself, she is originally from California but decides to travel deep into The South to see others perspectives and views on political and social issues. During her journey, she is hopefully to bridge the seeming divide on both sides with many issues that plague America today.

During the first chapter, Hochschild interviews a man by the name of Mike Schaff, who is a member of the of the Tea Party and a manual labor worker. Schaff is a environmentalist who recently experienced a devastating environmental disaster, make Louisiana with high poverty rates and corporate climate pollution. Being a member of the Tea Party, which is a political movement within the republican party, requests lower taxes and general reduction of national debt due to less government spending. Schaff being attributed to this party, he is not for any type of government help, even with the environmental crises that is taking place in his home state. Though it is the first chapter so it is still a little early to see how this part of Hochschild study will play out.

As well in the first chapter, Hochschild talks about how different political views have been up until this point. A survey conducted in the 1960s asked if a family would be bothered if their child chose to marry someone that associated with a different political party. In 1960, on 5% said yes. Another study in 2010 was asked again and the number jumped to 40%. With how political every issue can be, that is not too surprising, I honestly thought it would be more.

I am excited to continue the reading and journey, shares common or non common views with all of you and seeing where you all stand moving forward!

Source: “Traveling to the Heart” Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American right, Ariel Russel Hochschild, The News Press, 2018.

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