Kathleen Van Vlack PhD Candidate American Indian Studies GIDP Annual Meeting for the Society for Applied Anthropology Memphis, Tennessee March 25-29, 2008 “Environmental Multiplicity, Resilience, and the Southern Paiute Nation”

Southern Paiutes of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau have a deep connection with their environment. Since Creation, Southern Paiutes maintain that it is their duty to manage their environment to promote growth and sustainability within their ecosystem. They have developed numerous strategies and activities that have been integrated into their cultural system that increases biodiversity and biocomplexity throughout their homeland. The Southern Paiutes had a traditional leadership system that was responsible for the maintenance of social and ecological order throughout the Southern Paiute nation. This essay examines the roles the High Chiefs had traditionally in maintaining a sustainable environment.