Ethnographic Assessment and Documentation of Rocky Mountain National Park

Brett, John

This report contains the results of an Ethnographic Overview and Assessment project which sought to identify and document the history of American Indians in the region in and around Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). It was completed under contract number ROMO-R96-0617 out of the National Park Service Intermountain Support Office, Denver, CO, under the supervision of Dr. David Ruppert, and in collaboration with Dr. William Butler, Rocky Mountain National Park Archaeologist, the Northern Arapaho of Wyoming and the Northern Ute of Utah. Broadly, studies of this nature are designed to identify points of intersection between particular national parks and American Indian groups which were at one time affiliated with those lands, and who may still view those lands as part of their cultural heritage. In some regions there may be conflicting needs and demands of park lands, some of which may arise from legally binding agreements and/or legislation that have accrued over time. In other cases, conflict may arise from American Indian accessing resources deemed inappropriate by park managers. The National Park Service has decided, in the face of these potentially conflicting factors, to engage affiliated tribes directly to facilitate resolution or avoidance of potential or actual problems. Ethnographic Overview and Assessment studies are a first step in this process and often establish the communication links that can be utilized in future discussions. The specific purposes of this project fall into several categories: To 1) Identify, collect, and document available data on the ethnographic history of the Rocky Mountain National Park region in a fashion useful to National Park Service personnel and affiliated tribes; 2) Establish which American Indian groups were in the Rocky Mountain National Park area through time; 3) Identify what resources (physical, cultural, spiritual) they might have made use of within the Park region; 4) Identify what resources are still known and to which access may be desired; 5) Identify what, if any, legal relationships exist between the Park and affiliated tribes that would affect Park management or access to desired resources by affiliated tribes, and; 6) Establish, though a consultative process, a relationship between affiliated tribes and Rocky Mountain National Park personnel for long-term management of Park resources and enhanced interpretation of American Indian presence in the Park.

Ethnographic Assessment and Documentation of Rocky Mountain National Park

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