Human ecology

Examine the impact of the Monongah mine disaster on labor relations and laws in West Virginia.

The year was 1974. The US was in the thick of the Cold War, and President Richard Nixon welcomed the world to Spokane. KSPS’s Reflections by the River: Expo 74 looks at the vision, the people, and the monumental effort that turned a dream into a world-class reality. 

With these video segments and accompanying learning guide, students will use primary sources to study the development of the environmental movement in the 1970s and how Expo '74 achieved its environmental theme of "Celebrating Tomorrow’s Fresh New Environment."

Archaeology is the scientific study of the lives and activities of people of the past through the objects they left behind. Often these objects are in pieces and through the process of time have become buried in dirt. Archaeologists meticulously gather these objects and attempt to piece together how people of the past lived. In this video graduate student Mallory K. Messersmith talks about her masters project which was based on her work during the 2009 and 2010 Fiji expeditions. She is studying Fijian earth ovens and hearths as they have been utilized both in the past and present. She is also studying the way they are constructed in order to determine the difference between the lovo (earth oven) and hearth structures.

This video, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, shows a whale hunt with Native Iñupiaq hunters. The Iñupiaq people have been hunting whales for thousands of years, and many of their hunting methods and traditions continue to be passed down from generation to generation. On this expedition, the crew successfully kills a bowhead whale. The entire community joins together to bring in the whale, butcher and distribute it, and then celebrate the hunt.