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Animating the Salmon River

By Kailie LeggettFor CSS 499 Dr. Tamara Laninga5 May 2015

Introduction: Making Myth to Satisfy Uncertainty Being alive is filled with uncertainty. Or, less succinctly but more thoroughly summarized by David Hume (1889) in The Natural History of Religion,:We are placed in this world as in a great theatre, where the springs and causes of every event are entirely concealed from us; nor have we either sufficient wisdom to foresee, or power to prevent those ills, with which we are continually threatened. We hang in perpetual suspense between life and death, health and sickness, plenty and want, which are distributed amongst the human species by secret and unknown causes, whose operation if often unexpected and always unaccountable.

This perpetual uncertainty results in the use of imagination to better understand the world in which we live (Gutherie, 1995). One phenomena that emerges from this imaginative engagement with uncertainty is the human predilection towards animism, the act of attributing living qualities and characteristics to the non-living or, taken a step farther, attributing human characteristics to non-human know as anthropomorphism (Gutherie, 1995).In less developed cultures both dependent on and vulnerable to their environment, this animism often characterizes the environment and emerges in the personification of nonhuman entities that populate both the real and imagined landscape (Gutherie, 1995). For instance, the Lemhi Shoshone people who inhabited the Salmon River area in present day central Idaho anthropomorphized animal deities such as the Coyote, and they attributed great significance to the Lemhi and Salmon River consistent with animism (Mann, 2004). However, Shoshone-Bannock people today are unfortunately separated from their homeland, summarized by one Lemhi Shoshone woman, It means a lot to me, but [pause] I really don't have no no say-so about that place because now it belongs to white people (Miller, 2015).However, Miller (2015) suggests that the current inhabitants of the Salmon River area continue to attribute great significance to The River to the point of anthropomorphizing her. Some residents go so far as to describe the Salmon River as the lifeblood of the region, which appears to be classic animism (Gutherie, 1995). This paper explores this finding further by directly addressing the main research question:Why do residents of the Salmon River Basin, Idaho anthropomorphize the Salmon River or appeal to animism in describing it and its processes?

Animism, Symbolic Interactionism, and Humanistic Theories of ReligionEdward Tylor first coined the term animism in 1887 and he theorized it was the first form of religion (Harvey, 2006). Animism, as a theory, proposes that people animate and anthropomorphize non-human entities in order to search for organization and significance by giving these non-living entities properties of life (Gutherie, 1995). From this idea a series of humanistic theories of religion emerged studying the motivations behind the creation of religions, beliefs and by extension: animism. The first of group of humanistic theorists, whom Hume adheres too, believe that religion is created to alleviate fears, distractions, and anxieties (Gutherie, 1995). The environment, according to Symbolic Ecology theory, has always been something that humans experience unease over due to the dualism that exists between society and nature (Thompson, 2001). This leads people to humanize what we they do not understand (Gutherie, 1995). Specifically, anxiety resulting from a lack of understanding about the nonhuman world and causes humans to rely on and apply known human attributes to the non-human world for familiarity and comfort (Gutherie, 1995). The theory of Symbolic Interactionism concerns how people create meaning of the world through dialogue found in social interactions (Stryker, 2008). This process requires a recognition that humans in communities create social patterns through interactions with others promotes familiarity and comfort (Stryker, 2008). This understanding is then applied to nonhuman interactions in order gain context and illuminates the more mysterious aspects of the world that remain shrouded in uncertainty. In this context humans use their experiences within the human world as a metaphor in understanding (Gutherie, 1995). Another branch of Humanistic theory posits animism and anthropomorphism occurs when people lack sufficient understanding so they rely on known patterns (Gutherie, 1995). If this theory holds true than people who understand the subject at hand will anthropomorphize and animate that object or process less frequently. However, another version of this particular theory suggests that people experience anxiety about both the uncertainty and powerlessness they feel when confronted with things they cannot control (as opposed to understand) and they will create rituals and beliefs to subvert that lack of control through mysticism (Gutherie, 1995). This suggests that even people who have an understanding of the object/process in question will still animate and anthropomorphize a process they remain impotent to control. This distinction presents important utility in distinguishing between the potential causes of anthropomorphism and animism applied to the Salmon River, especially in the context of increases hydrological understanding of it due to increased study. Taking these theories into account, I established my main hypothesis: Residents of the SRB anthropomorphize/animate the Salmon River due to the uncertainty, powerlessness and anxiety they feel about its power over their lives.Methods

To answer my main research question and support this hypothesis I employed a thematic qualitative analysis of interviews. Thematic qualitative analysis is a six-step approach to the analysis of qualitative data. This exploratory approach allows the researcher to carefully read narratives for themes, code those themes accordingly, and analysis those themes to find patterns (Guest, MacQueen, Narney, 2012).In the summer of 2014, a total of 120 interviews were conducted in Stanley, Salmon, and Riggins Idaho, resulting in 70 hours of recorded interview, which was then transcribed and coded for analysis (Miller, 2015). During the process of coding the interview transcriptions, which I assisted in, I read through the interviews looking for emergent themes. I then coded responses to interview questions. However, along with predetermined codes, emergent phenomena received separate codes for analysis, for instance, many respondents used lifeblood language to describe the river (Miller, 2015). The use of this unprompted terminology was recorded with either a 1 (representing use of lifeblood) or a 0 (no use of lifeblood language) in describing the river, which is attributing a property of life, blood, to a nonliving feature. For this analysis I re-explored the qualitative instances of lifeblood language in interviews to ascertain any subthemes regarding this observed phenomena consistent with a thematic qualitative analysis (Guest et al., 2012). After identifying both themes and stories surrounding the use of this lifeblood language I went deeper into my analysis by searching within subcategory themes for quotes where the river was obviously animated or anthropomorphized. Then, I explored other instances of anthropomorphism applied to the River for further evidence of the themes connected with lifeblood language. Analysis: The River as LifebloodIn total, 23% of residents in the SRB referred to the Salmon River in terms of the lifeblood of the region. Lifeblood adheres to the definition of Animism for it is associating a living quality blood to a non-living natural feature. Across municipalities this was not consistent with only 5% of residents in Salmon, 39% in Riggins, and 36% in Stanley (Miller, 2015) using this language. This unprompted terminology was used most often in response to the question How does the river affect life here?, How important is the river to you personally? or How would a change in stream flow affect your life? Also, respondents used this lifeblood language in describing important places in the maps they drew during the interview process (Miller, 2015). Figure 1. Use of lifeblood language by municipality

This lifeblood language often accompanied description of The Rivers economic importance, especially the in tourist sectors. For example one respondent in Salmon responded, Um, I think its the lifeblood of the area. If we didnt have the river, um, there wouldnt, um, be a lot of recreational resources around here (SLM_3, 2014). Another interviewee expanded saying, It's the lifeblood of the county. I mean, it's the primary reason for the bulk of the tourist activities, it's river rafting and fishing, although hunting is the 3rd of the triad, you know (SLM_19, 2014). Respondents in Riggins and Stanley also share this language. For example in Riggins, The river is, the river is the lifeblood of this community, um, you know, because the businesses depend on the river, and what the river brings to the community and what the river represents (RI_14, 2014). And Stanley, Uh, a huge amount of, uh, life here revolves around the rivers because the local economy is so tied to the river rafting business. I mean, thats, thats the single biggest, uh, recreational tourism element in our economy So I would say rivers, and the river, if youre talking about the Salmon River, uh, in many ways, its the lifeblood of this place (ST_25, 2014). However, ecology is also often mentioned in lifeblood responses to the question, How does the river affect life here? For instance a rancher in Stanley acknowledges the perceived importance of the river to both the economy and ecology, Oh, the rivers everything. You know thats, thats where everybodys recreating, thats um, the lifeblood of these ranches, the, the cricks and, and the river. Uh, it amazes me to see the way that the people that came here put those ditches in to irrigate these fields. I mean its, you know when, when the river is full you see so many more people and the fishing, you know, the, weve got an amazing different species of fish. And uh, you know it supports everything. Deer, elk, everything. Its got to make it to that river. And uh, besides that I mean just to look at it, just like I said when I grew up here. Just, I, it heals everything I think (ST_24, 2014).

Again we see a response including both economy and ecology from a fisheries biologist, Uhmm, I think the river is the huge part of, uhmm, up here. I'm assuming thousands of people. I'm not quite sure of the actual statistic Uhmm, you know, so it means a lot economically, I mean as a fisheries biologist, uhmm, having salmon here is, you know, used to be I guess the lifeblood of this place and tentative people, uhmm ecologically they are very, very important and they are not here anymore, so or not in the numbers of days to be, so-- yes, so rivers I think are for sure the lifeblood on this place.

In fact, as shown in the graph below, there is a statically significant correlation between of residents who use the term lifeblood and also mention ecology: Figure 2. Use of lifeblood language grouped by those who do vs. dont mentioned ecology

15 out of the 27 respondents who used the phrase lifeblood when discussing the river also mention ecology (Table 1). This is statistically significant according to a Chi-Square test of the correlation resulting in a P < .05 (Table 2). This suggests that the use of lifeblood is at least correlated with an understanding of the rivers ecology by residents.Table 1: lifeblood cross tabulation by ecology responseLifebloodTotal

0 didn't use lifeblood language1 used the phrase lifeblood to describe The River

ecology.00 Didn't mention661278

1.00 Mentioned211536

Total8727114

Chi-Square Tests

Table 2: Chi-square test of lifeblood correlation with ecology responseValueDegrees of freedomAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square9.413a1.002

Continuity Correctionb8.0151.005

Likelihood Ratio8.9341.003

N of Valid Cases114

Although there is not an similar correlation between lifeblood responses and economy focused responses observable in the data that reflects the consistency that people talk about the economy regarding the river 85% of the time (Miller, 2015). The economic association also emerges in response to the question: How would a change in stream flow affect your life? A resident in Riggins answered, Well, not only would it affect me personally but the fact this community is uphold, you know, as I said, you know, the river is the lifeblood of the residents so without, you know, without the river flow, this community would be [inaudible 31:06] (RI_14, 2014). We further see the influence and importance the River and stream flow has on residents of the community, It is the lifeblood of the community, is the river rafting, basically. Obviously, the hikes and the lakes are big too but the river is just as big as anything here (ST_9, 2014). The tie between recreation and stream flow is exemplified in a rafter quote from Stanley, Well, its as if we have low water years, you know, that definitely. . . cut short the . . . the kayaking season and- You know, the Middle Fork and the Salmon is kind of the lifeblood of this place . . . sort of affects tourism. In response to How important is the river to you personally? one respondent in Stanley responded, Uh, the river is one of the most important things to me. I, I think the rivers are the lifeblood of America. And, and this, as I said, this river is the lifeblood of Stanley. And so, I, its extremely important (ST_25). This personal connection is also seen by a retired raft guide in Salmon, Well, because it's the lifeblood of the county and the whole region, uh, and a lot of my recreation is tied to the river and the activities on the river, I like to kayak and river raft, in spite of my age. [laughs] (SL_19, 2014). Similarly a seasoned Riggins raft guide of 25 years responded, Completely, the river is my mistress and I will never leave her (RI_10, 2014). A current raft guide in Riggins expresses, Its I think waters life. Um, its my income. Uh, its my family. Um, if, you know, if not like my blood, its like people that yeah, water. Its water. Waters life (RI_19, 2014). However, the river not only brings life to the region, it also can take it as seen in this quote by a The river is life here. [Laughs]. Um, um, its life and death though, too, you know. Its like people die in the river every year, um but thats you know, as far as the tourism base, thatsthats the biggest one right there (SL_12, 2014). Here, the resident points out how the river can give and take physical life, as well as give life to the tourist and economic base of the town. This begins to imply the importance of the river to the residents of the region, bringing both the prosperity and hardships. Therefore, this could begin to explain the projection of human attributes on the environment. Anthropomorphism of the river in relation to death appears in two other narratives: One interviewee in Stanley first shared the story of her boyfriend dying on the river two years ago, later in response to How important is the river to you personally? she states, Right now I dont get along with her (ST_26, 2014). And of course, as explained by the mother of an interviewee who interjected with, Its a beautiful river that eats people (SL_14, 2014). In this same vein, residents talk about the river as something that needs to be respected. Well, when we first moved here, the river was to be revered and we did not have people that floated on the river or, for heavens sakes, nobody rafted on the river. Um, then a man came from California. And, uh, he started this raft company and people here thought he was way out of line because this isnt a Disneyland river, you know. We've been to Disneyland so we know that the waters are just, you know, four feet deep or two inches deep, however they are. This was a real river and people could get hurt here (RI_22, 2014).

This quote, although lacking explicit animism or anthropomorphism, still brings about religious connotations, with the use of the word revered. This residents seems to be suggesting that because the river is a real river that can cause bodily harm to people it deserves to be respected and admired, much like a religious deity. One member of the search and rescue explained, I think its something that needs to be respected and uh, I pulled too many dead bodies out of it, unfortunately with my job (RI_23, 2014). A resident in Salmon commented, So that people who have grown up here, they fear the river and dont like to go near it (SL_36, 2014).Although, the river is something that many residents fear due, several speak of the river having a perceived ability to heal. This healing property is often mentioned along with lifeblood language, such as the Stanley rancher quoted earlier, who finished saying, Just, I, it heals everything I think (ST_41, 2014). This is heard again in Stanley, Its our lifeblood. Its, like I say, its a healing for all of us, if you know what to do or where to look and what, what youre seeing (ST_42, 2014). Similarly a raft guide said, So it is the most important thing in my life right now because it keeps me a stable personthe riverthe river literally saved me" (ST_14, 2014). The act of saving is a verb, implying action and intent, therefore anthropomorphism since this is associating human actions with the nonhuman world. However, this raft guides experience with the river is extremely personal, and his individual narrative would have likely existed without the social construction of the river as a significant symbol.

Discussion: Theoretical Animism in the Salmon River BasinIn analyzing these data there seems to be evidence to suggest that people animate and anthropomorphize The River due to a perceived lack of control and vulnerability as opposed to a lack of understanding of The River. For instance, if animating the river was directly related to a lack of understanding the river then it seems unlikely that we would discover such a strong correlation between lifeblood and ecology (figure 2) and we would reasonably expect stakeholders such as federal government employees, ranchers, as well as raft guides use this language less, which does not hold true in this research. This observation requires a further discussion regarding a potential perceived lack of control and magical properties such as healing that promotes animism and anthropomorphism of the river. As far as talking about how people perceive control and the river, they often use lifeblood language when talking about the economy of the town suggesting that the whole town would not exist if the river were not there. Considering these respondents have lives in a resource dependent community where the river is a significant symbol, they most likely see any change in the river as detrimental to their livelihood (Stryker, 2008). They cannot control the one thing they see keeping their town afloat. The cultures that are created on the banks of the river establish through their interactions with one another the importance of the river to their livelihood Therefore, the interactions they have with each other may shape the way they look at the river (Stryker, 2008). This would suggest that animating and anthropomorphizing comes from a culturally constructed view of what is significant. On the other hand, applying the theory employed by Gutherie; we can see how animism may come from an individual level. Instead of animism, in a religious context, being based upon Symbolic Interactions within a community to produce an animated explanation of the power surrounding the river, he argues that people inherently practice forms of animism, as a natural form of projection (Harvey, 2006). This could explain the responses we see in which the animating is done so in a very personal manner, such as for residents whom have experienced loss of life in the river or opposing found salvation in it. It is an individual experience when someone looses someone or has a healing experience with the river not one of social construction (Gutherie, 2995). The river is to many individuals not only the hand the feeds but takes as well, creating vulnerability at the hands of river or nature. Interestingly, two quotes, the river is my mistress (RI_10, 2014) and Right now, I am not getting along with her (ST_26, 2014) portray the river as being female. Both of these could potentially play into a narrative that the river is animated due to a feeling of a lack of control. For example, a mistress is a woman who is not usually controlled, unlike a wife, (Ribianszky, 2003) and the woman who lost her boyfriend to the river most likely felt a lack of control in that situation of loss. Furthermore, it is not surprising considering how the environment is often socially constructing as a feminine nature, for example Mother Earth. In the book Second Nature: A Gardeners Education, Michael Pollan writes, nature herself doesnt know whats going to happen here. Virginia Scharff (2003) criticizes Pollen for appealing to a metaphorical thinking that often reduces everything human to a he and everything nonhuman to she. This plays into a dualism of nature being something separate from society, which might play back into this idea of Symbolic Interactions creating a socially constructed nature replicating a female other (Eichler, 2002).This could potentially play further into the idea that it has something to do with the river being seen as something that is wild and lacks control. Since the Salmon River is an undammed river that has not been manipulated by technologically, or man. It would be interesting to see how perceptions of control and therefore likelihood of animating and anthropomorphism.

LimitationsThe main limitation in this study emerged from the unavoidable fact that the study where the data was gathered was not specifically designed to cater to this research question. Although, I was able to examine animism as an emergent phenomenon in the interview testimony appropriately with a thematic qualitative analysis method, more directed questions aimed towards animism would likely have provided a clearer understanding. By increasing the amount and types of questions aimed at soliciting anthropomorphism a larger sample size of related testimony would have emerged for more thorough analysis. As it stands, these findings are not generalizable, but consistent with exploratory research these findings provide guidance for further study: This would require first better versing myself in theory and methods before returning to the Salmon River Basin, conducting interviews, and analysis within the methods previously determined. ConclusionIn conclusion, the results seem to suggest that people animate and anthropomorphize in order to create a safe way to talk about the river because it has so much control and power over their life. However there remains more work to be done on this subject and this area specifically. If I were to conduct a study with this research question in mind, I would employ the questioning system of asking people vague enough questions to allow for unprompted responses, but would perhaps focus more on their perceived control and vulnerability experienced with the river. I think the sample size for this research of 114 interviews would be enough to return statistically significant results, if the questions were better geared towards the overall research questions. I would also like to do further research on how the lack of control over the river applies directly to the feminization of the river. In working on this research project I have realized just how careful and detailed social scientist must be when conducting research. Even though I became involved in this project after the majority of the research had been designed, I now feel more confident in my ability to set up a similar study, adhering to social science research methods and theory.

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