Acclaimed Nishnaabeg writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson takes a revolutionary look at that most elemental force, water, and suggests a powerful path for the future. For many years, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has found refuge in skiing--in all kinds of weather across different forms of terrain, often following the trail beside a beloved creek near her home. Recently, as she skimmed along this path and meditated on our world's uncertainty--including environmental devastation, the rise of authoritarianism, and the effects of ongoing social injustice--her mind turned to the ice beside her, and the snow beneath her feet. And she asked herself: What might it mean to truly listen to water? To know not only the land on which we live, but the water that surrounds and inhabits us? To coexist with and alongside water? So begins this renowned writer's quest to discover, understand, and trace the historical and cultural interactions of Indigenous peoples …
Acclaimed Nishnaabeg writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson takes a revolutionary look at that most elemental force, water, and suggests a powerful path for the future. For many years, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has found refuge in skiing--in all kinds of weather across different forms of terrain, often following the trail beside a beloved creek near her home. Recently, as she skimmed along this path and meditated on our world's uncertainty--including environmental devastation, the rise of authoritarianism, and the effects of ongoing social injustice--her mind turned to the ice beside her, and the snow beneath her feet. And she asked herself: What might it mean to truly listen to water? To know not only the land on which we live, but the water that surrounds and inhabits us? To coexist with and alongside water? So begins this renowned writer's quest to discover, understand, and trace the historical and cultural interactions of Indigenous peoples with water in all its forms. On her journey, she reflects on the teachings, traditions, stories, and creative work of others in her community--particularly those of her longtime friend Doug Williams, an Elder whose presence suffuses these pages; reads deeply the words of thinkers from other communities whose writing expands her own; and begins to shape a "Theory of Water" that reimagines relationships among all beings and life-forces. In this essential and inventive work, Simpson artfully weaves Nishnaabeg stories with her own thought and lived experience--and offers a vision of water as a catalyst for transformation, today and into our shared future.
I highly recommend this book! I learned so much, and felt guided through that learning. The author requires the reader to think for themself, but provides clear explanations and backgrounds for those unfamiliar with the concepts explored throughout. The entire text flowed and carried me through in a way that felt appropriate and natural for this subject. 💙
Some insights that stuck with me: “This is deep caretaking—a mutual aid that that extends beyond humans, and a restoration of everything flowing from the land.” “Nibi [water] as adaptation. Watching as listening. Listening as feeling. Feeling as acting. Morphing from ice to rain to water vapor. Shifting from glacier to ocean to ripples and pools and the glistening of dew.”
Subjects
Eau -- Philosophie
Ethnophilosophie
Water -- Philosophy
Ethnophilosophy
Ojibwe -- Social life and customs
Ojibwe -- Religion
Water -- Mythology
Water -- Symbolic aspects
Indigenous peoples -- Great Lakes Region (North America) -- Social life and customs
Indigenous peoples -- Canada -- Politics and government
