Liuzhou Fantastic Stones Museum

The natural beauty of its landscapes and rivers underpin China’s culture. For thousands of years the rivers along with other geological forces have fashioned natural artifacts that capture this cultural history. The Hongshuihe is a magical river that flows across northern Guangxi Province into the Liujiang River just south of Liuzhou City. The unique physics of this River produce natural art in the form of ornamental stones. Because these stones served traditionally as tribute, they became part of the context of Chinese history and cultural development. Interest in these natural treasures rekindled in Liuzhou in the wake of the “Cultural Revolution” and since then the city has been dedicated to finding, preserving and making these natural cultural treasures available to its people, and the people of China and the world. The poster looks briefly at the overall classification of ornamental stones then explores the cultural aspects of appreciation and play by introducing some of Liuzhou’s finest water stones

The Indian “Problem” in Washington and Oregon: Exploring Connections Between Natural Resources and Indian Policy

Relationships between indigenous Americans and non-indigenous settlers of the western United States were determined in great part by the presence or absence of natural resources for which the groups competed. This paper is a study of the shifting patterns of inter-ethnic relations and governmental policies towards Indians and resources in Washington and Oregon from the 1850s to the present. We explore the connections between natural resource endowments on aboriginal lands, beliefs about indigenous peoples, and changing governmental policies affecting indigenous American communities in the two states. As philosophies guiding natural resource management have evolved over the course of the 20th century from notions of conquest and progress to approximations of ecological sustainability, how have the original inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest been involved? How do indigenous peoples’ beliefs, traditional knowledges, and management practices impact environmental policy today and how might they shape future management of natural resources? Are we witnessing a paradigm shift in thinking that guides both inter-ethnic relations and human-nature relationships at the dawn of a new millennium

Indigenous Rights, Water, and Development in Washington State: The Skokomish and the Yakamas

This book chapter investigates the water rights of the Skokomish and Yakama indigenous peoples in Washington State