Firewood to Wind Turbines: some thoughts from Indigenous Mapping Network 2009

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 June 2009 02:50 Written by Cassandra Garcia

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A recent email put me into contact with Rosemarie McKeon of the Indigenous Mapping Network and led to my being able to attend this year’s Indigenous Mapping Network Conference, if only for a day. Even though I arrived late, I was greeted very warmly and made to feel welcome by all.

The first full session I was able to attend was the Planning Session. The Planning Session started with introductions by individuals who had either chosen or been thrust into planning roles. One speaker made an especially strong impression on me. Celene Elm, GIS/Indigenous Planning Director for Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, told a story of a time when she was sent to inform an older gentleman that he was being given a new house with all
the modern luxuries most of us are accustomed to. The gentleman was currently living in a house without heat or modern plumbing. Instead of the happy reaction Ms. Elm was expecting, the gentleman was hesitant. Why wasn’t he elated at the prospect of no longer having to carry pails of water and stacks of firewood every day? The gentleman shook his head and said that he would die in the new house she was describing. He explained to Ms. Elm that he gets up every morning because he knows he needs to go and get water for the day. What reason would he have for getting up in this new house? What reason would he have to go out of the house if he didn’t need to bring in firewood? What started as a seemingly simple task became an eye-opening experience, and a lesson for us all.

I especially appreciated this story because it gave a concrete example of something an excellent teacher recently told me. She spoke about the ‘Golden Rule’ that is so commonly taught to children in Western societies: Treat others the way you want to be treated. On the surface it sounds wonderful but thinking back to Ms. Elm’s story the inherent flaw in the rule becomes quite clear. The way we want to be treated might have absolutely nothing to do with the way someone else wants to be treated. So some have come up with a revised rule: Treat others the way they want to be treated(1). Of course, this revised rule requires us to listen and try to understand others in place of simply making assumptions.

Ms. Elm’s story together with the revised rule is a good reminder for those of us who work to support public participation opportunities. Authentic public participation provides an opportunity to listen and truly find out how to meet the needs of the people we seek to work with.

After the panel had spoken, we were divided into three groups to discuss various aspects of planning. Each group discussed a topic and the groups reported back their discussions at the end. I am not sure of the intended outcome, but I hope that the conversations are continued, and expanded to include more community members, perhaps even the older gentleman from Ms. Elm’s story. Hopefully the input can be used to create healthy communities and future planning that is inclusive of the wide range of interests and needs present in the many communities represented.

Following the planning session was a presentation, by David Bartecchi, executive director of Village Earth. His presentation was a concrete example of the spirit of Ms. Elm’s story. Mr. Bartecchi and Village Earth were asked by the Pine Ridge Housing Authority to facilitate a community visioning process. What began as dissatisfaction with a housing development, grew to a much larger process that led back in time through the legal history of Pine Ridge and resulted in buffalo ranches and wind turbines far removed from the cluster housing in which it began. The successful empowerment of participants in this project is likely due to the truly participatory nature of Mr. Bartecchi’s work. The residents of Pine Ridge knew what they needed as much as the gentleman from Ms. Elm’s story.

This example of a truly participatory process, and the others presented throughout the day were refreshing and something I aspire to in my work. I am grateful for having been able to share the day with all who attended the conference. Thank you.

(1) Bennett, M.J. “Overcoming the Golden Rule: Sympathy and Empathy.” Communication Yearbook 3. Ed. D. Nimmo. New Brunswick, NJ Transaction Books, 1979. Reprinted in Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication. Ed. M.J. Bennett. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1998.

Cassandra Garcia is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her dissertation work focuses on the intersection of water, public participation and geographic information systems (GIS). Her master’s degree work in Environmental Monitoring included the development of a GIS-based tool for stormwater management on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. She is currently working with other students, staff and professors from the UW Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility (LICGF) and UW-Extension on developing a website and data portal for spatial analyses related to bio-energy production in Wisconsin.