from field to skin is focused on fibreshed activities happening on indigenous lands within the borders of what is known as canada. ash, the curator of this project, is a descendent of white settlers, and resides on treaty one territory in the central prairies. as you may have noticed already from the interviews, sometimes the lands visited are identified by treaty name, which often encompass numerous indigenous nations, and sometimes the land continues to be unceded territory. but what does this knowledge have to do with a fibreshed project?
everything, depending on the way we choose to look at it. the fibreshed movement is rooted heavily in combatting climate change and in supporting the health of the bioregions they encompass. fibresheds are often identified less by artificial borders and more by relevant growing conditions like watersheds. on turtle island, it is irresponsible to claim to have this forward view of sustainability without acknowledging the history of the lands we now live and work on, and the knowledge of the indigenous communities that have tended and defended the land and water for centuries and millennia. in the same way that it is irresponsible for natural dyers to forage without identifying the plants they harvest and their role in the local ecosystem at the time of harvesting, fibreshed players must truly understand the lands they inhabit, regardless of whether that’s urban or rural. as we battle climate change and the industries and government policies that endanger the health of our planet, we should be listening to the land and water defenders on the front lines of the fight.
for some of you, this may be very familiar territory. for others, it may be something new and an area where you’re not sure how to start educating yourself further. that’s where the following list comes to play. in the same fashion as the resources page, this is a starting place of reliable and trusted sources of knowledge that you can use to deepen your own knowledge. you’ll notice there is no simple definition of decolonization at the top of this page. that’s because there is no single simple definition that actively responds to the nuances and complexities of this topic. it’s up to you to do the research to come to understand it yourself and move forward with that knowledge.
decolonizing thinking
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph
Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Resurgence and Reconciliation: Indigenous-Settler Relations and Earth Teachings by Michael Asch, John Borrows, and James Tully (editors)
The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy by Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson and Arthur Manual
Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call by Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson and Arthur Manual
land reparations
A Land Not Forgotten: Indigenous Food Security and Land-Based Practices in Northern Ontario by Michael A. Robidoux and Courtney W. Mason (editors)
As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance (Indigenous Americas) by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover (editors)
Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance by Nick Estes
plant relations
A Cree Healer and His Medicine Bundle: Revelations of Indigenous Wisdom--Healing Plants, Practices, and Stories by Russell Willier, David Young, and Robert Rogers
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings by Wendy Makoons Geniusz
Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teaching by Mary Siisup Geniusz