We are the middle of forever : Indigenous voices from Turtle Island on the changing Earth

Title:

Author:

Jamail, Dahr, editor.

Added Author:

Jamail, Dahr,

Rushworth, Stan, 1945-

ISBN:

9781620976692

Physical Description:

xxi, 340 pages ; 24 cm

Contents:

Strength / sense of permanence / Living from the heart / wareness / Trust / Kinship / Sacred feminine and sacred masculine / Returning to fire / Change / Balance / Healing / Stewardship / courage to remember / Dispelling delusion with alchemy / Cultural competency / Restoration / Recognition / capacity of language / Paradigm shift / Medicine.

Abstract:

"A powerful, intimate collection of conversations with Indigenous Americans on the climate crisis and the Earth's future"-- Provided by publisher.

For the Indigenous people of the world, radical alteration of the planet, and of life itself, is a story that is many generations long. They have had to adapt, to persevere, and to be courageous and resourceful in the face of genocide and destruction. Their experience has given them a unique understanding of civilizational devastation. The essays in this book place Indigenous voices at the center of conversations about today's environmental crisis. People from different North American Indigenous cultures and communities, generations, and geographic regions share their knowledge and experience, their questions, their observations, and their dreams of maintaining the best relationship possible to all of life. -- adapted from jacket

Subject Term:

Indian philosophy.

Climatic changes -- Effect of human beings on.

Indians of North America -- Interviews.

Genre:

Interviews.

Summary:

"A powerful, intimate collection of conversations with Indigenous Americans on the climate crisis and the Earth's future"--

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Belmont	Book	970 W	Searching... Unknown
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Summary

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A welcome compilation of interviews with Indigenous Americans about climate change. Jamail is a Martha Gellhorn Award--winning journalist, and Rushworth is a California-based teacher of Native American literature. As the editors demonstrate, all of the contributors to this dynamic collection are rooted in ancient cultural philosophies that radically challenge non-Native ideas about climate change. "For the Indigenous people of the world," writes Rushworth in the preface, "radical alteration of the planet, and of life itself, is a story many generations long." Jamail goes on to point out that Native Americans have already witnessed massive destruction in the past few centuries, ranging from the annihilation of the buffalo from the Great Plains to the decimation of Native populations "as a result of sanctioned settler mayhem." Consequently, Indigenous Americans are uniquely equipped to philosophically and practically tackle climate change. At the heart of these interviews is a rejection of current practices. Before colonization, Native peoples like the Hopi spent centuries perfecting systems that successfully cared for the Earth. This balance was disturbed by European colonizers who created what Ilarion, a Yupik elder, describes as a "reverse society" or "inside out society." Ilarion argues that the only way to cope with climate change is to reject Eurocentric notions of "normal" and to adopt Indigenous ways of thinking and being. Interviewees suggest a variety of abstract and concrete avenues for doing so--e.g., Potawatomi scholar Kyle Powys Whyte's recommendation to alter our relationship with clock time or Quinault President Fawn Sharp's idea to use Native knowledge to preemptively shift her constituents' homes to flood-safe areas. Throughout, contributors remind us that the Earth has survived for billions of years and will survive for billions more; humans, however, may not. Readers will be impressed by both the depth and breadth of the interviews as well as the contributors' evocative, vivid storytelling and palpable emotion. A refreshingly unique and incredibly informative collection of vital Indigenous wisdom. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.