The near extinction of the North American bison in the late 1800s caused a devastating, lasting economic shock to Indigenous peoples whose lives depended on the animals, an economic study finds.
The mass slaughter of North American bison by settlers of European descent is a well-known ecological disaster. An estimated eight million bison roamed the United States in 1870, but just 20 years later fewer than 500 of the iconic animals remained.
Bison-reliant Indigenous men stood around six feet tall on average, or about an inch taller than Indigenous men who were not bison-reliant. And income per capita remained 25% lower, on average, for bison-reliant nations compared to other nations through the latter half of the 20th century to today. The persistent gap could not be explained by differences in factors such as agricultural productivity, self-governance or application of the Dawes Act of 1887, which authorized the breakup of reservation land into small allotments parceled out for individual ownership.
For more than 10,000 years, bison served as the primary source of the livelihood for many Native Americans in regions of the Great Plains, the Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. Along with nutrition, the animals provided hides for clothing, lodging and blankets as well as bones for tools and implements. Nearly every part of the animal was used, including the brains to obtain grease for tanning hides and the stomach for creating bags and water containers.
"Centuries of human capital were built around the use of the bison, and within 10 to 20 years this economic underpinning disappeared," Jones says."And many channels of economic adjustment were cut off for Indigenous populations." In their quantitative analysis of bison-reliant nations with Indigenous nations that were not bison-reliant, they controlled for factors such as differences in self-governance status of communities, differences in forms of agricultural productivity and the suitability of the land for agricultural production, the effects of the Dust Bowl and differential application of the Dawes Act.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Buffalo slaughter left lasting impact on Indigenous peoples, economics study findsThe mass slaughter of North American bison by settlers of European descent is a well-known ecological disaster. An estimated eight million bison roamed the United States in 1870, but just 20 years later fewer than 500 of the iconic animals remained.
Lire la suite »
Indigenous group’s sacred birthing tree vandalized in vicious attack as road development dispute escalatesA tree sacred to Indigenous Australians in Victoria has been vandalised in a “disgusting attack”, amid a long-running dispute over a major road upgrade.
Lire la suite »
PAGC wildfire fighting program tailored to needs of Indigenous communitiesThe two\u002Dyear PAGC Indigenous wildfire stewards pilot program looks to combine traditional and modern techniques for combating wildfire.
Lire la suite »
Australia to unveil Indigenous referendum voting date next weekThe Australian government said it would announce the voting date for a landmark referendum to constitutionally recognise the country's Indigenous people next Wednesday as it battles a dip in support for the proposal in recent months.
Lire la suite »
Malaysian rock art found to depict elite–Indigenous conflictA team of researchers led by the Griffith Center for Social and Cultural Research in collaboration with The Sarawak Museum Department have become the first to date drawings of Gua Sireh Cave in Sarawak, uncovering a sad story of conflict in the process.
Lire la suite »