Planting a Seed: Ute Ethnobotany, A Collaborative Approach in Applied Anthropology

Betsy Chapoose, Sally McBeth, Sally Crum, and Aline LaForge

This article provides a collaborative model for participatory research, here defined as seeking new ways to “explore methodologies that more accurately legitimize the expertise of the cultures being investigated. This effort to share-out authority and to acknowledge who the authorities and sources of our data really are, is part of the broader questioning of the motives and objectivity of the anthropological endeavor” (McBeth 1998: xi). We examine how anthropologists (including archaeologists) and tribal members can collaborate on issues regarding traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and cultural property rights; participation by indigenous peoples in advancing the directions and goals of a variety of projects is critical to this inquiry. Centrally, this article explores tribal cultural self-determination through an exploration of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray (known as the Northern Ute) ethnobotanical experiences and research.

The Applied Anthropologist, No. 1, Vol. 32, 2012, pp 2 - 11

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