CRITICAL REMINDERS FOR INDIGENOUS RESEARCH

consider the following eight concepts when approaching this kind of research: sovereignty, land, Indigeneity, nation, blood, tradition, settler colonialism, and Indigenous knowledge

use nationhood and citizen of (insert Native Nation) when identifying Native people and places. (ex. Jenna Wolf is a citizen of Muscogee Nation, Oklahoma, bear clan; Jordan Clark is a member of the Wompanoag Tribe of Aquinnah)

use Native American and Indigenous in all places in lieu of American Indian; though primary sources will use identifiers like American Indian and Indian--do not use these in your own essays, papers, and presentations unless quoting the source directly; foundational terms within Native studies always have multiple and conflicting meanings--these terms often carry the colonial baggage that has accrued over centuries.

REMEMBER: Indigenous peoples live across the globe. It's important to be as specific as possible when doing this research. For example, looking at Indigenous peoples of the Americas will explore the peoples of North and South America, which includes South and Latin American countries, as well as Canada.

INDIGENOUS THINKERS IN OUR LIBRARY COLLECTION

(you do not need to read this entire book, but can select chapters or essays, or Google these authors to see what other interviews and essays are available)

BRAIDING THE SWEETGRASS: INDIGENOUS WISDOM, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND THE TEACHINGS OF PLANTS by ROBIN WALL KIMMERER

Robin Wall Kimmerer deftly weaves information about plants and botany as seen through the eyes of both Native American traditions and Western scientific traditions in this richly researched exploration. As a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, Wall Kimmerer leans on the teaching of her Nation and family, its view on the environment and world, and explains how those impact her training as a botanist. A gentle, eye opening read.

A MIND SPREAD OUT ON THE GROUND by ALICIA ELLIOT

Alicia Elliot, through the lens of her own experiences, remarkably explores the legacy of colonialism in the Native experience as she frankly discusses trauma, meditation, oppression, and racism in North America. The Haudenosaunee writer provides personal insights on topics including race, love, mental health, parenthood, poverty, writing and representation, gentrification, and is easily able to connect present day issues with the past and the continued treatment of Native peoples in a settler colony. This work is an embodiment of the personal is political. With deep consideration and searing prose, Elliott provides a candid look at our past, an illuminating portrait of our present and a powerful tool for a better future.

STANDING WITH STANDING ROCK: VOICES FROM THE #NODAPL MOVEMENT by NICK ESTES

A collection of essays, interviews, poetry and photography reflecting on Indigenous politics and the No Dakota Access Pipeline (“NoDAPL”) Movement. The Movement involved the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other Indigenous people who protested the building of the pipeline so close to the Standing Rock Reservation and along sites of religious and cultural significance, including burial sites. Through the voices of the many contributors to this book, we learn of the continued resistance to the abuse of native lands and threats to critical water sources.

THE HEARTBEAT OF WOUNDED KNEE: NATIVE AMERICAN FROM 1890 TO PRESENT by DAVID TREUER

Our American perception has long been that Native American history ended in 1890 at the Battle of Wounded Knee, which saw 150 Sioux die at the hands of the U.S. Calvary. Not only is it believed that Native history ended, but that Native Civilization did, too. David Treuer, an anthropologist and historian, as well as an Ojibwe writer, smashes those perceptions; deeply charting Native America from that deadly massacre at Wounded Knee to today. He brilliantly affirms #westillhere and does it skillfully. A dense, but critical read, for all Americans.

AS LONG AS THE GRASS GROWS: THE INDIGENOUS FIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, FROM COLONIZATION TO STANDING ROCK by GINA GILIO WHITAKER

Throughout 2016, The Standing Rock Sioux were featured again and again at Sacred Stone Camp, the site of a months-long resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Gina Gilio Whitaker, an Indigenous activist and environmentalist, discusses the role Indigenous environmental justice plays in the larger climate justice movement and how, even before #NoDAPL, Indigenous peoples have had ideas, thoughts, and activated solutions for climate justice. But, rarely is that work noticed, represented, and sought out. She explores the implications of ignoring Native communities who, as original inhabitants of the land, have deep history and understanding of land stewardship; she also brilliantly explores the history of land struggle, water rights, and how broken treaties have exacerbated and excelled climate change. A must read for any environmental steward or young activist.

APPLE: SKIN TO THE CORE by ERIC GANSWORTH

A young adult memoir told in verse in which Gansworth describes growing up in his Onondaga family living among Tuscaroras. He discusses the damaging legacy of government boarding schools where Indigenous children were forced to assimilate, stripped of their Native language and culture. The author grapples with “white” versus “red” identity, as reflected in the title, “Apple”, a slur in Native communities, referring to someone considered "red on the outside, white on the inside."

OUR HISTORY IS THE FUTURE by NICK ESTES

In this book, indigenous scholar and activist Nick Estes provides a vivid account of the movement to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline, the NoDAPL Movement. He explains the origins of the movement, and how it continues an unbroken history of Indigenous resistance against colonial settler genocide and against the ecological ravaging of Native lands by the settlers.

THE FOUR SACRED GIFTS: INDIGENOUS WISDOM FOR MODERN TIMES by ANITA SANCHEZ

The four sacred gifts are the Gift of Forgiving, the Gift of Unity, the Gift of Healing, and the Gift of Hope. In this book Sanchez, a Mexican-American of Aztec descent, discusses how these gifts along with words of wisdom from Indigenous elders across the globe can guide us to lead a more purposeful and inspiring life. The author tells of overcoming her own trauma and brings her own personal story to bear on how an indigenous worldview can transform us into becoming whole, joyful human beings in the modern world.