U.S. Geological Survey Activities Related to
American Indians and Alaska Natives

Fiscal Year 1998

Technical Assistance

American Indian Aquaculture. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves certain drugs that are used in Tribal aquaculture projects. The USGS' Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (formerly the Upper Mississippi Science Center) conducts nationwide research on the registration of new drugs, chemicals, and therapeutics used in aquaculture production. The Science Center established a partnership to assist FDA by conducting research on the environmental effects of these drugs in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and 37 State fish and wildlife departments. Because Tribal aquaculture operations are a significant percentage of nationwide facilities, Tribes will benefit directly from this research at no expense. Contact: Director, Environmental Sciences Center, 608-783-6451, leslie_holland-bartles@usgs.gov

Onondaga Nation Hydrogeologic Sessions. In May 1998, a USGS hydrologist made a presentation to Tribal officials of the Onondaga Nation on the hydrogeology of Tully Valley. The presentation was followed by a field trip though the Tully Valley during the next day. The presentation and field trip were made at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and were attended by EPA and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation representatives, as well as tribal officials. Contact: Robert Rogers, 518-285-5661, rrogers@usgs.gov

Coordinating Environmental Priorities. USGS staff met with representatives of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Tribal liaison to discuss Tribal environmental priorities in Michigan. Contact: Tom Weaver, 517-887-8912, tlweaver@usgs.gov

Techincal Demonstration for Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan. USGS hydrologists ran borehole-geophysical logs at Bay Mill Indian Community as a demonstration for Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (ITCM). Contact: Tom Weaver, 517-887-8912, tlweaver@usgs.gov

Training for Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Personnel. The USGS provided technical training in the use of ARC/INFO and ARCVIEW software to a tribal geographic information systems (GIS) specialist from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. These commercial software programs are the Contact: Tom Weaver, 517-887-8912, tlweaver@usgs.gov

Technology Aids in Finding Sacred Sites. Scientists from the USGS' Environmental Management Technical Center (now the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center) in Onalaska, Wisconsin, provided assistance to the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. The USGS GIS experts scanned base maps of tribal lands and identified sites of ancestral burial mounds. Contact: Contact: Director, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, 608-783-6451, leslie_holland-bartels@usgs.gov

Geographic Information Systems Training for the Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition. The USGS is working with the Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition, Inc. to provide GIS data and to teach several 1-week GIS seminars for Tribes within the Missouri River Basin. Contact: Tom Trombley, 785-832-3551, trombley@usgs.gov

Geographic Information Systems Support for the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation. The purpose for this project is to provide GIS support to the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation. Students at Haskell Indian Nations University will create and document geographic data layers for the Tribe under the supervision of a USGS hydrologist. Data will be provided to the Tribe on compact disk or other media. The Tribe also will be provided training in GIS concepts and in the use of GIS software, enabling them to analyze data provided to them. Contact: Tom Trombley, 785-832-3551, trombley@usgs.gov

Surface-water Quality on Lands of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation. This project will assist Potawatomi personnel in learning water-quality sampling and quality assurance/quality control procedures. It will also provide a periodic water-quality assessment at selected sites on the Reservation to identify and monitor potential sources of contamination that could affect human-health. As part of the training program, several Tribal employees attended the water-quality sampling course at the USGS National Training Center in Denver. In addition, Tribal staff accompany USGS personnel during water-quality sampling on the Reservation. Tribal personnel help collect and process samples for analysis. As the Tribal staff become more experienced with sample collection and processing and as they procure more equipment, their role in sample collection and processing will increase. Contact: Tom Trombley, 785-832-3551, trombley@usgs.gov

Mapping Biological Features. The USGS' South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is assisting the Standing Rock Sioux and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribes in mapping the biological features on both Tribes' Reservations. Contact: South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 605-688-6121, berryc@sdstate.edu

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Cooperative Project. The USGS conducted a field exercise with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to check the accuracy of field techniques and equipment for measuring streamflow. Contact: Charles Parrett, 406-441-1319, cparrett@usgs.gov

Water-Quality Techniques for the Pueblos of San Ildefonso and Jemez. An integral part of the separate hydrogeologic studies of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso and the Pueblo of Jemez is training provided by USGS staff to the staff of each Pueblo. The training will develop the Pueblos' employees' technical abilities to collect water data. At the conclusion of the study, the Pueblos will have increased independence in conducting the activities themselves on a regular basis. (See the Environmental Activities section of this report for additional information about the hydrologic issues addressed by these studies.) Contact: Cynthia Abeyta, 505-262-5358, cgabeyta@usgs.gov

Getting Remotely Sensed Data to Indian Planners. A USGS scientist has applied for funding, in conjunction with the Remote Sensing Institute at the University of New Mexico, for a project that would help local decision-makers use and integrate existing remotely sensed imagery into their land and resource planning processes. A goal of the proposal is to provide information to southwestern American Indian groups and the managers of Indian lands. Contact: Todd Hinkley, 303-236-5850, thinkley@usgs.gov

Truckee-Carson Program. This project is in support of Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus in execution of various provisions of Public Law 101-618, the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Settlement Act. Funding is provided by USGS. The project has developed a complex river operations model for the Truckee and Carson Rivers and the Truckee Canal in support of the DOI's negotiations on reservoir and river operations to protect Indian trust resources for the Pyramid Lake Paiute and Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribes. In addition to model development and support, the USGS acts as technical advisor on hydrologic issues to the DOI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the water-settlement negotiations and related litigation and water-rights transfers. Contact: Larry Bohman, 775-887-7679, lrbohman@usgs.gov

Technical Training for Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Employees. In July 1998, the USGS conducted training for 10 members and employees of the Yakama Nation at the Tribal headquarters. The training included classes and field exercises on how to make discharge measurements and how to collect surface water data. Contact: Greg Ruppert, 509-547-2571, gruppert@usgs.gov

Pacific Lamprey Study. The Pacific lamprey is a prized cultural commodity to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and is a species at risk of extinction in the Columbia River. The USGS' Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Oregon State University advised the Confederated Tribes on their study of the Pacific lamprey. USGS scientists assisted in the defining the study's sampling design. Contact: Director, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 541-737-1938, hiram.li@orst.edu

Exotic Species in the Columbia River. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission expressed concern over the potential adverse impacts of exotic marine species on the Columbia River fishery. USGS scientists assisted the Commission in the development of a computerized system that will gather and make publicly available pertinent information on exotic and alien species. Contact: Director, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 541-737-1938, hiram.li@orst.edu

Surface-Water Monitoring Stations. The USGS operates the following surface-water monitoring stations, usually with cooperative funding from the Tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), or a third party.

Water-Quality Monitoring Stations. The USGS collects water quality at the following sites:

Ground-Water Monitoring Stations. The USGS operates the following ground-water monitoring stations: The USGS operates the following ground-water monitoring stations:

Sediment Monitoring Stations. The USGS operates the following sediment monitoring stations: The USGS operates the following sediment monitoring stations: