Walkability in Indian Country

What is Walkability and why does it matter?


What is Indian Country?

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI): the term “Indian Country” is leveraged broadly as a general description of Native spaces and places within the United States, and it is inclusive of the hundreds of tribal nations that occupy these spaces... When used appropriately, Indian Country takes on a powerful meaning, legally and symbolically, for all tribal nations. Indian Country is wherever American Indian spirit, pride, and community are found. It resides not only in law books, legislation, and historical treatises, but also on ancestral homelands, within our homes, and in the hearts of American Indian and Alaska Native people everywhere.

Sources: BIA, U.S. Census Bureau


What is Walkability?

What is Walkability?

Scan with smartphone

Results of Survey

Walking In Indian Country

A virtual map tour

1

Jamestown S'Klallam

Olympic Discovery Trail

2

Jamestown S'Klallam

Olympic Discovery Trail, Sequim Bay

3

Jamestown S'Klallam

Olympic Discovery Trail, Sequim Bay

4

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe

Western Washington

5

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe

Bus Shelter

6

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe

Graveyard Corner at Tribal Complex

7

Nez Perce Tribe

Tribal Complex

8

Nez Perce Tribe

Lapwai High School

9

Shoshone-Pauite Tribes

Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee Combined School)

10

Shoshone-Pauite Tribes

Duck Valley Reservation

11

Albuquerque, New Mexico

BIA headquarters

12

Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Pond walking trail

13

Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Sidewalk safety project

14

Pawnee Nation

Walking Trail

15

Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

Prairie Peoples Park, artist: Hardy Eteeyan

16

Seneca Nation

Allegheny River

17

Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut

Thames River

18

Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut

Fort Shantok Park

Why Walking Matters

HEALTH: PHYSICAL ~ MENTAL ~ SPIRITUAL ~ SOCIAL

PHYSICAL HEALTH (source: CDC 2018)

Mental ~ Social ~ Spiritual

I walk because I want to keep walking.


Why Walking Matters in Indian Country

Why don't people walk?

  • Time constraints
  • Disability, chronic conditions, aging
  • Community design
  • Others?

Tribal Communities & Values

  • Design Communities and Streets that Support Walking
  • Promote Program and Policy Approaches that Support Walking

Land Use - Recreational Walking

MVTO Walking Trail (Eufaula, Oklahoma)

Land Use - Purposeful Walking

Okemah Pedestrian Bridge (Okemah, Oklahoma)

Land Use - Walkability Plan


How to Improve Walkability

Resources

Source: runningmedicine.org (used with permission)

Tribal Transportation Program

  • Established in 2012 (23 U.S.C. 202) - replaced Indian Reservation Roads program
  • § 202. Tribal transportation program (a) Use of Funds (1) In general (A)(v) provisions for pedestrians and bicycles

Complete Streets

Living somewhere involves a physical merging with its landscape, with every crevice of its environment.

~Gael Faye from Small Country

Pamela Jurney, AICP, GISP ~ Project Manager (NEPA, GIS, Planning) ~ Cross Timbers Consulting, LLC

pamela.jurney@crosstimbersconsulting.com

Photos

All photos either taken by CTC staff, used with permission, or publicly available.

Map layers & websites

All map layers and websites are available to the public.

Scan with smartphone

Source: runningmedicine.org (used with permission)