Questions for Further Exploration

This page was written by Erin Klauk as part of the DLESE Community Services Project: Integrating Research in Education.

Open-ended questions allow students to explore scientifically significant questions while focusing on their own interests. Here are a few questions that are important to understanding the story of gold mining on the Fort Belknap Reservation.

Questions Include:

  • How has gold mining affected the culture of the Gros Ventre and the Assiniboine peoples?


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This is a self-guided exercise for high school or undergraduate students, and could be applied in any environmental class or in Native American studies. This question can be further explored using the resources found on the Cultural Heritage webpage.

  • Why did gold mining begin, and why did it take place on the Fort Belknap Reservation?


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This is a self-guided exercise for high school or undergraduate students, and could be applied in any environmental class or in Native American studies. This question can be further explored using the resources found on the Gold Deposits webpage and the Exploration and Development History webpage.

  • What impacts could occur as a result of gold mining?


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This is a self-guided exercise for undergraduate students, and could be applied in any environmental class. This question can be further explored using the resources found on the Environmental Impacts webpage and the Human Health webpage.

  • What policies have been put into effect to aid the people of the Fort Belknap Reservation, and what policies could aid in the future?


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This is a self-guided exercise for undergraduate students, and could be applied in any environmental class or in Native American studies. This question can be further explored using the resources found on the Policy webpage.

Image 1 - Assiniboine Woman. Photo courtesy of Fort Belknap Nation. Image 2 - Assiniboine Chief. Photo courtesy of Fort Belknap Nation. Image 3 - Kill Spotted Horse, Assiniboine Tribe. Photo courtesy of Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library. Image 4 - The Boy and Short Man-Gros Ventre, 1900. Photo by Edward S. Curtis.