Shepard Krech's The Ecological Indian

Modern day Native American are widely known as stewards of the environment who fight for conservation and environmental issues. The position of the many Native American as environmentalists and conservationists is justified based on the perception that before European colonists arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had little to no effect on their environment as they lived in harmony with nature. This idea is challenged by Shepard Krech III in his work, The Ecological Indian. In The Ecological Indian, Krech argues that this image of the noble savage was an invented tradition that began in the early 1970’s, and that attempts to humanize Native Americans by attempting to portray them as they really were. Krech’s arguments are criticized by Darren J Ranco who in his response, claims that Krech fails to analyze the current state of Native American affairs, falls into the ‘trap’ of invented tradition, and accuses Krech of diminishing the power and influence of Native Americans in politics. This essay examines both arguments, but ultimately finds Krech to be more convincing as Krech’s

Krech argues that, in order for this image to be true Native Americans had to be ecologists and thus had to think of their environment in systematic ways. He also argues that they that Native Americans had to be conservations, and therefore intentionally and wisely manage the future availability of resources. Krech argues that while Native Americans had extensive cultural knowledge of their environment, this does not necessarily translate to ecological knowledge. Krech notes that the further Native Americans have been removed from their environment, their knowledge about it dwindles. Krech argues that we will never know the true environmental impact of Native Americans as they too few and to thinly spread out to make a lasting difference on the land and its