Title:

Ignorance Borne of Necessity: The Bonneville Power Administration and the tribes of the Columbia River Basin

Author: Raina Phillips

Abstract: A long and complicated history of corruption and cultural domination, not unlike many histories, forms the backdrop for contemporary struggles between conflicting water interests in the Columbia River Basin today. The general plight of tribal water rights in the Columbia River Basin will be addressed below. Questions such as who reaps the benefits of the massive water resource projects housed on tribal lands and who bears the brunt of the social and economic cost will be pursued in the following commentary. It has been said that ‘power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ This seems to be the case with the power of harnessing water, as well. As the necessity of controlling the water led to a power struggle between development of the west and subsistence of its indigenous peoples, the power of water certainly seemed to corrupt those who were able to harness it.

Key References:

 Bibliography

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www.critc.org

www.hookele.com/netwarriors/

Return to Water Resources Papers page.

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Date: May 2002
Student: rphillips@willamette.edu
ENVR 327: Water Resources
Instructor: Dr. Karen Arabas
http://www.willamette.edu/~karabas/courses/envr327w