“During [the 1970’s], a constricting international energy supply and federal environmental legislation created high demand for Indian energy resources,” Jaimie Allison said. “At the same time, the federal government expanded tribal sovereignty over these resources by abandoning its decades-long policy of ‘termination’ in favor of a new policy of ‘Indian self-determination.’
A doctoral student at the University of Virginia, Allison is studying the intersections of environmental, technological, Native American and legal history.
“What I call ‘re-articulation of tribal sovereignty’ especially influenced energy development in Montana and in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin,” Allison said. “Here, the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations sat atop vast deposits of highly desirable, low-sulfur coal that the federal government had leased to several of the world’s largest energy companies. In this contested landscape, Native Americans struggled against energy companies to assert control over resource development. In addition, they debated amongst themselves how best to exert their newfound authority over natural resources.”
Allison has been working at the historical center’s McCracken Research Library as one of 10 research fellows for the 2008–2009 term of the Cody Institute for Western American Studies. The research fellowships provide funding, office space, and other resources for research at the center. A public presentation based on that research is a requirement of the fellowship.
On the Web: www.bbhc.org/ciwas/homepage.cfm
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