Slide Presention
Mapping 1951 Paiute Testimony Using
GIS
Mapping Northern Paiute Witness Testimony:
Using GIS and the 1951 Indian Claims Commission Court Documents.
by
Michael S. Jenks and Patricia A. Dean.
Department of Anthropology, Idaho State University.
Pocatello, Idaho
(A Paper Presented at the Twenty-sixth Great Basin Anthropological Conference. October 8-10, 1998. Bend, Oregon.)
INTRODUCTION:
[SLIDE #1] The Indian Claims Commission Act of 1946 allowed tribes to sue the federal government for past injustices. Prior to this Act, Indians were generally barred from suing the federal government (Crum 1994:123). As part of this Act, the Commission attempted to adjudicate Indian claims for monetary compensation of seized lands, resources and unkept treaties. To ascertain these lands and resources,the Commission held proceedings which, in part, involved actual testimony from tribal elders. On January 23, 24, and 25, 1951, 13 members of the Northern Paiute Nation gave testimony at Reno, Nevada [docket no. 87(A)]. The testimony is rich in traditional knowledge. However, it suffers from the format dictated by the Euroamerican judicial system. Questions often appear terse and directive, making answers less informative than might otherwise have been obtained.