The Serviceberry and Braiding Sweetgrass

 In the book Indigenous Earth: Praxis and Transformation, Jeanette Armstrong has a chapter called "Constructing Indigeneity: Syilx Okanagan Oraliterature and Tmixw Centrism. In that chapter, she says that Indigeneity is "an attainment of knowledge, wisdom, and sustainable practice in the scheme of perfect self-perpetuation that nature is." (p.43). Additionally, she proposes "re-indigenization as a path to full sustainability. The thesis proposes that there is a necessity for a common text in the form of literature that demonstrates, embeds, and advocates a regenerative land ethic as a re-indigenization of place in human behavior... the re-indigenization of places can be supported through literature and academia opening a viable path toward a future willingness to engage in a human practice of sustainability for all lifeforms on the planet." (p.45). 

This is the spirit in which I read Robin Wall Kimmerer's work. 

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants combines Kimmerer's Indigenous knowledge with her profession/scholarly expertise of biology. I listened to this years ago as an audiobook, so I have no notes on it, and honestly, I remember the emotive texture of it more than anything. It's a very soothing book. The Sacred and the Superfund, about a lake which has been heavily polluted, is the essay that stands out to me the most. Coming from BC it is difficult for me to comprehend the environmental state of areas like New York. It's difficult for me to comprehend what it would mean to be Indigenous to a highly industrialized region. Braiding Sweetgrass is a collection of essays, and it's about 400 pages long. 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World is a much smaller book, and it is one long essay with illustrations. It's a nice book. Wendell Berry fans would likely love this book. It's agrarian idealism. It's a very pretty book. If someone were new to the concept of reciprocity, this book would be an excellent introduction to the concept of reciprocity as well as the larger potential social implications of striving towards reciprocity. 

When I reflect on Armstrong's words, I know that it is important to cultivate within mainstream society an appreciation for Indigenous perspectives on the environment. For some people, that is what entices them into larger conversations around land justice. So even though these books are not as overtly political as some other books in the realm of Indigenous non-fiction, I conceptualize these books as a form of soft power, like KPop is to Korean geopolitics. I also appreciate that instead of pitting Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews against each other, she harmoniously integrates both into her work and life. In that way, she models peace and peacefulness. 

Read, Listen, Tell & Learn, Teach, Challenge

 Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island is an anthology of Indigenous stories as well as accompanying critical essays to go with the stories. It's published by Wilfred Laurier Press. It's a great exploration of Indigenous literature across time. I read selections of it, with a focus on the section on Indigenous fantasy and science fiction. I found that it contained a lot of authors who were familiar to me as well as many new-to-me authors. I'll probably return to it at another time. 

Learn, Teach, Challenge: Approaching Indigenous Literatures is it's non-fiction counterpart, also published by Wilfred Laurier. Also published, Deanna Reder and Linda M. Morra. The book is huge, almost 600 pages, and contains essays from Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars. It's an excellent curation of ongoing conversations in Indigenous literary studies. For example there is an essay by Sam McKegney on ethical engagement, and then there is a response to the essay by Robert Appleford. 

Several of the essays look at the question of how to engage with Indigenous literature, including how to do ethical engagement and ethical criticism. There is also an entire section on classroom considerations, presenting various viewpoints on how to responsibly teach Indigenous literature and pedagogy specific to Indigenous literature. 

I think that in the future, when I blog creative works, I am going to try some of these approaches to ethical criticism and ethical engagement. 

I wish that I had both of these books prior to teaching English First Peoples 12 because the essays provide a lot of food for thought. 

The books are part of an Indigenous Studies Series, and Jo-ann Archibald is one of the series editors.