Digging Deeper: Ruminations on a Complicated Relation with the Land

Lately, I've been thinking about the complicated nature of relationships between humans and the land, and how when you deep dive into most any subject it takes on a bittersweet multidimensional aspect.  We recently went on a quick four day trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Northern Michigan, where the name of the park itself got me thinking about American Indian culture, history, and lore.  It occurred to me that our time among the largest dunes in the world could be an opportunity and catalyst for learning, so when we got back I picked out several books from the library, some for Everett and Laurel and some for me.  In order to learn from the voices of the people themselves (instead of some white washed version), I chose only books written by Native American authors. One book I chose for myself is called Last Standing Woman by Winona LaDuke (who I learned is an activist and was the Green Party vice presidential candidate for Ralph Nader in '96 and '00), which is a historical fiction, chronicling seven generations of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Indians and is frankly a pretty depressing read, though fascinating and extremely informative.  In my uninformed peripheral vision way of thinking, I used to think that the American Indian "problem" was a sad one, but one that was over and done...peoples that we had wholly eradicated. Now that I dive deeper into the issue, I am learning that there are "Approximately 56.2 million acres are held in trust by the United States for various Indian tribes and individuals. There are approximately 326 Indian land areas in the U.S. administered as federal Indian reservations." (U.S. Dept of Interior: Indian Affairs)

Our family loves to explore National Parks and wild areas of our nation, but every time we look further past the initial beauty and grandeur of the land and animals, we are met with so many uncomfortable and thought-provoking ideas...I often walk away feeling overwhelmed and confused.  As we sat in the visitor center watching a short film at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the narrator explained the lore of the sleeping bear, but barely mentioned the very people from whom the lore originated, and the focus on the grandeur of the land without any explanation of the area's history made me squirm in my seat.  In visiting Yellowstone National Park, we learned about the reintroduction of the wolves and considered their impact on not only the natural landscape, but also the farmers and ranchers outside park areas who are raising our nation's beef, and how for them the wolf is a much more complicated issue, tied up in profit and loss margins and the success or failure of business.  As fires rage on in the American west, we consider the last hundred years of U.S. fire policy and how shortsighted, human profit centered management can result in massive policy problems a hundred years down the road, that will take a hundred years to dig back out of.  In order to do this post any justice, I'd have to have more time and band width than I current do (three children buzz around my feet now, soon to be begging for attention), but I wanted to jot down some of my thoughts and ideas before they melt away.  I want to remember the books, podcasts and resources for future use, and to flesh out these ideas more wholly.  I feel that I'm at a cross roads right now, not quite satisfied with the depth of my service to my fellow humans or the earth, but trying to decide what path or direction would be both the most effective and personally fulfilling.

Current Media and Resources:
Last Standing Woman by Winona LaDuke
Let It Rot! The Gardener's Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell
Under Ohio: The Story of Ohio's Rocks and Fossils by Charles Ferguson
Outside Podcast series on Wildfires

• The Sky is Burning
• Fighting Fire with Fire
• The Future of Fire
• Burnout

Children's Books:

• Coyote Tales by Thomas King
• The Legend of Lightening and Thunder by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt
• The Raven and the Loon by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley