Critical Investigations of Resilience:

A Brief Introduction to Indigenous

Environmental Studies & Sciences

Kyle Whyte

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

Abstract: Indigenous peoples are among the most active environmentalists in the world, working through
advocacy, educational programs, and research. The emerging field of Indigenous Environmental Studies
and Sciences (IESS) is distinctive, investigating social resilience to environmental change through the re-
search lens of how moral relationships are organized in societies. Examples of IESS research across three
moral relationships are discussed here: responsibility, spirituality, and justice. IESS develops insights on resil-
ience that can support Indigenous peoples’ struggles with environmental justice and political reconciliation;
makes significant contributions to global discussions about the relationship between human behavior and
the environment; and speaks directly to Indigenous liberation as well as justice issues impacting everyone.

One telling of Anishinaabe/Neshnabé (Ojibwe,

Odawa, Potawatomi) history emphasizes how our
peoples have always found ways to adapt to the dy-
namics of ecosystems.1 Our ancient migration sto-
ry describes our ancestors moving from the Atlantic
kyle whyte is the Timnick Coastal region to the Great Lakes, learning how to
Chair in the Humanities, Associ- adjust to the diverse ecosystems along the route, me-
ate Professor of Philosophy, and morializing these places through stories, and keep-
Associate Professor of Communi-
ing lessons learned for future generations. Knowl-
ty Sustainability at Michigan State
University. His research addresses edge Keeper and Grandmother Sherry Copenace de-
moral and political issues concern- scribes one dimension of the concept of bimaadiziwin
ing climate policy and Indigenous (the good life) as a society’s or nation’s capacity to
peoples, the ethics of cooperative respond best to the challenges it faces.2 Academic
relationships between Indigenous environmental studies and sciences have recently
peoples and science organizations, developed the related idea of social resilience: a so-
and problems of Indigenous justice
ciety’s capacity to learn from and adapt to the dy-
in public and academic discussions
of food sovereignty, environmen- namics of ecosystems in ways that avoid prevent-
tal justice, and the anthropocene. able harms, promote the flourishing of all human
He is an enrolled member of the and nonhuman lives, and generate wisdom to sus-
Citizen Potawatomi Nation. tain future generations.

© 2018 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00497

136
 A well-known set of Anishinaabe sto- Settlement affects ecosystems, including Kyle Whyte
ries tells about one of the stopping points hydrological systems and wetlands that
of the migration: a land where food grows support wild rice, that are crucial to Anishi-
on water, and a place where the people en- naabe peoples for exercising moral relation-
countered wild rice for the first time (ma- ships. From nineteenth-century testimo-
noomin/mnomen, translated as the good nies, we know that some of our ancestors
berry). Waterfowl showed the people that were particularly concerned that settlement
wild rice is edible and guided them to hab- was inflicting rapid and harmful environ-
itats of low-lying waters where wild rice mental changes on our peoples, which off-

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

grows best and different plants, animals, set the flourishing moral relationships that
and insects flourish. The people studied supported Anishinaabe resilience. The his-
wild rice habitats as webs of interdepen- tory of Canadian and U.S. colonialism can
dent responsibilities. Ecologically, wild be read as the establishment of the con-
rice is responsible for feeding humans, ditions for their own resilience in North
birds, and animals; for providing protec- America at the expense of Indigenous peo-
tive cover for fish and birds; for supply- ples’ resilience.
ing material for muskrat lodges; and for Today, Anishinaabe peoples are leaders of
supporting clean water. Water is respon- environmental movements that advocate
sible for giving life to wild rice. The people for the continuance and renewal of moral
then developed their own responsibilities relationships of responsibility, spirituali-
to harvest in ways that leave enough wild ty, and justice. Anishinaabe grandmother
rice for nonhumans and to work out dip- Josephine Mandamin began the Mother
lomatic protocols for sharing or respecting Earth Water Walk to motivate people to
the wild rice beds needed by other human take responsibility for clean water in the
communities, thereby securing justice for Great Lakes, honoring water’s role as a sa-
all beings. They delegated special respon- cred life-giver. A coalition of Potawatomi,
sibilities to women and certain clans to de- Ojibwe, and Menominee peoples worked
velop expert knowledge of water quality for years to stop the water pollution risks
and wild rice habitats and to provide lead- of the proposed Crandon zinc and copper
ership to guide harvesting and habitat con- mine in Northeast Wisconsin, a mine seek-
servation.3 The people created ceremonies ing to boost the settler economy at the ex-
that honor wild rice as a spiritual being be- pense of Indigenous peoples’ health and
cause of its significance within ecological ways of life, including fishing and wild ric-
webs of interdependent responsibilities. ing. Five Odawa and Ojibwe tribes in Mich-
Anishinaabe storytelling on migration igan successfully resecured U.S. respect for
and wild rice tell us how the people adapted the rights that their ancestors stipulated in
to new environments by developing moral the 1836 Treaty of Washington to protect
relationships, including responsibility, spir- future generations’ capacity to exercise
ituality, and justice, which are at the heart of moral relationships with fish, plants, and
how we understand resilience. The massive animals living off-reservation. The Shoal
environmental changes imposed on Indig- Lake 40 Ojibwe Nation, through the leader-
enous peoples by U.S. and Canadian colo- ship of community members such as Daryl
nization and settlement include deforesta- Redsky, have worked to mitigate the im-
tion, draining wetlands, damming, rec- pacts of Canadian settlers sacrificing its wa-
reation, mining, commercial agriculture, ter quality and land base for the sake of ex-
shipping, petrochemical and industrial tracting clean water for the city of Winni-
manufacturing, and burning fossil fuels. peg. Anishinaabe nations, from the Citizen

147 (2) Spring 2018 137

 A Brief Potawatomi Nation to the Sault Ste. Marie ter is life) philosophy as the ground of their
Introduction Tribe of Chippewa Indians, are frontrun- resistance. Indigenous scholars and activ-
to Indigenous
Environmental ners in experimenting with renewable en- ists, like lawyer and professor Sarah Deer,
Studies & ergy, such as geothermal power, and green are calling attention to the continued abus-
Sciences
building standards. Diverse scholars, in- es Indigenous peoples face, such as the ex-
cluding Megan Bang, Leanne Simpson, Pat- ploitation of women and children through
ty Loew, Melissa Nelson, and Deborah Mc- sex trafficking at oil and gas industry work-
Gregor, have increased the awareness and er camps in the Bakken region of the Unit-
practice of Anishinaabe pedagogical philos- ed States at the hands of the extractive in-

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

ophies, environmental values, histories, and dustries that also contribute to pollution
knowledge systems in the spheres of sci- and climate change. And the leaders of In-
ence, education, public policy, and media. digenous environmental movements have
Globally, nearly four hundred million In- sometimes paid the ultimate sacrifice. In
digenous peoples live on 22 percent of the 2016, Berta Cáceres, a leader in the Lenca
world’s land surface, interacting with 80 people’s movement to protect themselves
percent of the planet’s biodiversity.4 And from the risks of the Agua Zarca Dam, was
they lead some of the most significant en- murdered in Honduras.
vironmental movements, educational pro- Today, resilience is on everyone’s mind.
grams, and research that seek to protect hu- Vulnerability to climate change, extreme
mans’ abilities to live respectfully within weather events, biodiversity loss, and food
these diverse ecosystems. The Whanganui insecurity raise pressing concerns about the
Iwi (Aotearoa), for example, succeeded in well-being of human and nonhuman lives.
getting the New Zealand government to The World Health Organization estimates
confer legal personhood on the Whanganui that between 2030 and 2050, an addition-
River, which is ancestrally, spiritually, nu- al 250,000 annual human deaths will be
tritionally, and economically significant to caused by climate change.6 Thousands of
the Iwi members. The College of Menom- species are either extinct or are in danger of
inee Nation founded its own Sustainable extinction from habitat destruction.7 The
Development Institute in 1994, based on Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network es-
the idea that sustainability has always timates that 19 percent of the world’s cor-
been part of Menominee life, including al reefs are already lost.8 These are press-
values such as “respect for the land, water, ing challenges, but many human societies
and air; partnership with other creatures –like the Anishinaabe peoples–have long-
of earth; and a way of living and working standing sciences, collective practices (such
that achieves a balance between use and as agriculture and ceremonies), arts, and
replenishment of all resources.”5 Quech- philosophies that seek to maintain moral
ua peoples of the Andes region, specifical- relationships with ever-changing environ-
ly the Paru Paru, Chawaytiri, Sacaca, Pam- ments that lessen harms and risks to hu-
pallacta, Amaru, and Kuyo Grande com- mans and nonhumans alike.
munities, have created the Potato Park, a Indigenous Environmental Studies and
biodiversity conservation zone protecting Sciences (iess) is an emerging field that
over nine hundred varieties of native po- centers Indigenous historical heritages,
tato. The North American Standing Rock living intellectual traditions, research ap-
Sioux Tribe recently energized one of the proaches, education practices, and politi-
largest Indigenous mass movements to cal advocacy to investigate how humans
stop the oil-transporting Dakota Access can live respectfully within dynamic eco-
Pipeline, publicizing their Mni Wiconi (wa- systems.9 While environmental studies

138 Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
and sciences involve diverse scholarly ed with salmon’s reincarnation motivates Kyle Whyte
communities studying every imaginable humans to take care of salmon, or else the
topic, iess, in particular, investigates how fish may not return to take care of humans.
moral relationships–including responsi- Human/salmon responsibilities perme-
bility, spirituality, and justice–within a so- ate the fabric of society, operating at many
ciety yield empirical and humanistic in- levels. In Trosper’s historical studies, title-
sights about resilience. holders, or leaders of houses (the polities
governing particular watersheds), were re-
Iess research centers on Indigenous peo- sponsible for ensuring adequate abundance

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

ples’ historical heritages and living intel- of salmon in their territories. To become
lectual traditions as starting points for in- accepted as a titleholder, one had to orga-
vestigating the topic of resilience. Yet iess nize a feast, often called a potlatch ceremo-
investigations do not seek to mine Indig- ny. At the feast, titleholders not only paid
enous histories for lessons about the suc- respect ceremonially to salmon’s value to
cess of certain harvesting techniques or humans, but they also gave away abundant
technologies, like fish traps. Nor are many wealth in the form of gifts, including boun-
iess scholars concerned about establishing tiful salmon harvests, to the guests. While
whether it is, in fact, true that Indigenous hereditary lineage was often one criteri-
peoples lived sustainably. Rather, iess cen- on for titleholder candidates, their candi-
ters on Indigenous heritages and traditions dacy was also judged publically and criti-
for the sake of understanding how the mor- cally through the potlatch ceremonies. Ti-
al fabric of a society is related (or not) to its tleholders’ ability to give salmon as gifts
capacity to adjust to various ecosystems. proved their knowledge and skills at stew-
In diverse studies of Nuu-chah-nulth arding salmon habitats. During times of
and related Northwest Coast peoples, In- salmon shortage in particular areas, mutu-
digenous studies scholars Ronald Trosper, al responsibility meant houses with plen-
Marlene Atleo, and Richard Atleo focus on ty helped suffering houses; houses receiv-
moral relationships of responsibility that ing aid were responsible to reciprocate aid
connect humans to salmon, whales, and when needed. If a person trespassed in an-
many other animals, plants, and habitats. other house’s territory and was killed, the
Speaking on responsibility, Richard Atleo punishing house was responsible for orga-
has described how, for the Nuu-chah-nulth, nizing a feast to stop trespassing and killing
“The salmon does not give its life, but rath- for the sake of future generations.
er, in an act of transformation, is prepared Nuu-chah-nulth peoples have long-
to give and share its ‘cloak’ in endless cy- standing traditions of making places sa-
cles, provided the necessary protocols are cred by endowing them with moral sig-
observed, which indicate mutual recogni- nificance. Marlene Atleo has written that
tion, mutual respect, mutual responsibil- “Sacred sites are ‘natural’ places in which
ity, and mutual accountability.”10 For At- the spiritual work of hahuulhi (social fab-
leo, the relationship between humans and ric) roles intersect with the environment
salmon, which can be critical to human nu- of the territory and have been carried out
trition, is a moral relationship of mutual re- there for millennia, a place where the past,
sponsibility. Salmon will carry out their re- present and future crystallizes for a partic-
sponsibilities through reincarnation if hu- ular position and role.”11 She has described
mans carry out their responsibilities to the places where young women learn to cut
salmon, especially tending salmon habi- salmon for the winter. In addition to ac-
tats. The spiritual responsibility associat- quiring the skills and scientific knowledge,

147 (2) Spring 2018 139

 A Brief they tell stories at these places about salm- ly when faced with environmental chang-
Introduction on and the sacred responsibilities between es. Food and water shortages, for example,
to Indigenous
Environmental salmon and humans across many gener- can spark conflicts within and across so-
Studies & ations. Learners come to see themselves cieties, especially as people challenge the
Sciences
as endowed with sacred responsibilities trustworthiness and legitimacy of lead-
connecting them to past and future gen- ers, scientists, and those vested with au-
erations and the continued flourishing of thority. Spiritual relationships with non-
their peoples. Making places sacred serves humans, the cultivation of places as sacred
as a powerful motivator for people to con- (or not), and social rules that commit peo-

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

tinue to observe and take seriously their ple to help one another and repair fraught
responsibilities to salmon and other hu- relationships motivate us to see ourselves
mans and to maintain and pass on lessons. as bound to a “covenant of reciprocity.”13
The moral relationships of responsibili- Environmental scientist Robin Kimmerer
ty are not trivial. They facilitated peoples’ defines this covenant as the complex mu-
capacity to adjust to the dynamics of eco- tual responsibility–connecting human
systems to avoid preventable harms. Ron- and nonhuman beings–to be conscien-
ald Trosper argues that responsibilities tious gift givers and gracious gift receivers.
were organized to “buffer, self-organize, The environmental dimensions of re-
and learn in response to environmental is- silience are just as much issues of genu-
sues.”12 Critically, this research teaches us ine moral responsibility–trust, consent,
more than just the idea that there are some reciprocity, and more–as they are issues
responsibility-based practices that sup- of biology and ecology. Morality and re-
port resilience that occur now or occurred silience are key topics in environmen-
at some time in history. We learn to see the tal studies and science fields, including
fabric of society as including responsible adaptive management, religion and ecol-
practices and the necessary moral quali- ogy, and environmental ethics. iess fur-
ties for carrying them out: trust, consent, nishes curricula, research, and programs
and reciprocity. For example, leaders and that arise from and center the historical
knowledge keepers must pass vetting pro- heritages and living intellectual traditions
cesses and ceremonies that vouch for their of numerous Indigenous peoples. These
trustworthiness as stewards of salmon hab- heritages and traditions, which continue
itats. Ceremonies serve as public occasions to be tied to Indigenous peoples’ current
to secure consent. Reciprocity, the moral practices and identities, treat moral rela-
quality of being accountable for returning tionships as complex systems working to
what one has been given, is expected to help promote adaptive capacity, not stagnancy.
cope with shortages, restore social relation-
ships damaged by trespass, and ensure, in a The term spirituality is often reserved for
spiritual sense, the salmon’s reincarnation. beliefs that are not grounded in evidence.
Salmon is just one species within a web of Many scientists are suspicious of the role
responsibilities knit together by trust, con- of spirituality or religion in a “rigorous”
sent, and reciprocity. Salmon is not consid- empirical study of an environmental top-
ered a “species,” but as a people or nation ic such as resilience. Some iess scientists,
who honor their responsibilities to humans. however, explicitly assert that scientific re-
Moral qualities of responsibility facil- search must always be spiritual. For many
itate resilience. High levels of trust, con- Indigenous peoples, spirituality refers to
sent, and reciprocity allow us to rely on moral relationships, especially account-
each other transparently and productive- ability, that are tied to the pursuit of sci-

140 Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
entific knowledge. In iess, the connection Great Lakes, where research about stur- Kyle Whyte
between spirituality and science reveals geon biology and habitat is designed to
how empirical inquiry provides informa- recover abundant sturgeon populations.
tion about resilience; and how spiritual- For the Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and
ly oriented processes of empirical inqui- Menominee, sturgeon populations pro-
ry promote accountability within societies vided nourishment as people emerged
and respect for our interdependence with from winter with nearly exhausted food
nonhumans and the environment. supplies. The sturgeon habitat was so im-
Yupiaq scientist Oscar Kawagley discuss- portant that some peoples had sturgeon

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

es how the field of ecology is “closest to Yu- clans, which were responsible for protect-
piaq science,” however, ecology often ig- ing the environmental conditions neces-
nores “spirit” and hence “ignores the inter- sary to support the fish’s life cycle. Some of
action and needs of societies and cultures these clans continue to honor their respon-
within ecosystems.” Kawagley has written sibilities today, and the sturgeon is still re-
that, “[Indigenous] scientific knowledge is ferred to as a “grandparent” by some An-
not segregated from other aspects of daily ishinaabe because sturgeon can outlive
life and it is not subdivided into different humans and possess incredible wisdom.
fields of science.” He has claimed that, “to These fish remember the exact streams in
design a fish trap . . . one must know how which they were born, returning to them
the river behaves, how the salmon behave, for spawning. Tragically, sturgeon popula-
and how the split-willow of which the trap tions have plummeted due to the U.S. colo-
is made behaves (i.e. one must understand nial impacts of overfishing, dam construc-
physics, biology, and engineering).” Spiri- tion, industrial pollution, and recreation
tuality fosters accountability between hu- activities such as sportfishing. In Michi-
mans and the environment, what Kawagley gan, for example, by the early 2000s, well
has described as the “incorporation of spir- under one hundred fish per year came to
it in the Yupiaq worldview [which] result- spawn in the Manistee rivershed.15
ed in an awareness of the interdependence Historic studies show that Indigenous
of humanity with the environment, a rev- peoples across the U.S. and Canadian sides
erence for and a sense of responsibility for of the Great Lakes sustained abundant stur-
protecting the environment.”14 This way of geon yields. Seasonal knowledge of stur-
thinking about science privileges empirical geon fisheries includes watching for “pink
inquiry that is designed to achieve goals be- [wild] rose buds to come out or the [wild]
yond the production of information. Sci- plum trees bloom,” which signaled the on-
ence must be part of moral relationships, set of spawning, a prime time for fishing.16
increasing human accountability to non- Ancient place names, such as Sturgeon
humans and the environment. Science Lake, Sturgeon River, and Sturgeon Falls,
must also be interdisciplinary and include indicate historic or still current sturgeon
diverse sources of knowledge. And inves- abundance. Indigenous peoples who seek
tigating systems of interdependence must to rekindle sturgeon populations, however,
be rooted in and applicable to the practi- have goals that exceed the recovery of his-
cal activities of everyday environmental toric knowledge of sturgeon. They are dedi-
stewardship and subsistence, like design- cated to returning the fish to abundance and
ing a fish trap! using the process to renew humans’ own
A powerful example of Indigenous sci- sense of accountability for the relationships
ence as a process of coupled spiritual and of ecological interdependence they are part
empirical inquiry can be found in the of but often ignore.

147 (2) Spring 2018 141

 A Brief The Little River Band of Odawa Indians Ojibwe, Rainy River First Nation, and oth-
Introduction in Michigan has engaged in extensive stur- er Tribes working to restore sturgeon in the
to Indigenous
Environmental geon recovery. Jimmie Mitchell, a program Great Lakes have designed public ceremo-
Studies & founder, has described sturgeon recovery nies and community feasts to commemo-
Sciences
as providing a “connection between spirit- rate the ways sturgeon plays a key role in
world and our own. . . . The spirit that is con- highly interdependent, local ecosystems.
nected to our belief system guides the An- Little River’s sturgeon-release ceremony
ishinaabek to our respective responsibili- invites the public to attend when juvenile
ties [to the environment].”17 Tribal biol- sturgeon are released into the river each fall,

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

ogist Marty Holtgren describes how the exposing many non-Natives to Indigenous
scientific research was designed by a com- histories, culture, and traditional knowl-
munity-based committee of elders, scien- edge of sturgeon, as well as sturgeon biolo-
tists, and tribal members. For Holtgren, the gy and life cycles and environmental chal-
Cultural Context Committee facilitated a lenges. The Menominee sturgeon feast each
voice that “was an amalgamation of cultur- spring is also public, bringing Menominee
al, biological, political, and social elements, and non-Menominee together for educa­
all being important and often indistinguish- tional and cultural immersion in sturgeon-­
able.” Their meetings were punctuated by related history, values, and practices, in-
ceremonies and feasts. Holtgren has dis- cluding dance. Some Odawa and Menomi-
cussed how the tribe worked to develop a nee attendees see the ceremony and feasts,
process to “restore the harmony and con- which attract hundreds of people, as a
nectivity between [Lake Sturgeon] and the chance to commemorate accountability
Anishinaabek and bring them both back to to the fish, to create intercultural conver-
the river.”18 Here, the goal of scientifical- sations about sturgeon science, to heal re-
ly investigating sturgeon biology and hab- lationships with settlers through a pub-
itat for the sake of population recovery in- lic discussion of environmental degrada-
cludes restoring human accountability to tion, and to engender responsibilities in
sturgeon and rekindling the philosophies future generations. At the Odawa ceremo-
of ancient moral relationships that link ny, many children of all heritages personal-
humans and sturgeon in an interdepen- ly release a juvenile sturgeon into the river.
dent ecosystem. The involvement of non- Of course, these events are significant parts
scientists on the committee exemplifies ac- of Indigenous sturgeon recovery projects
countable science: the idea that empirical that frame provocative empirical inquiry
inquiry should be designed so that commu- into sturgeon; Little River’s and Menom-
nities can trust and consent to the research inee’s research on sturgeon add to knowl-
design, the implementation of its methods, edge about sturgeon biology, genetics, life
and its outcomes. cycles, and habitats.19
Bringing people back to the river built Both Little River and Menominee stur-
awareness of and human accountability for geon programs seek to rekindle moral re-
the major environmental factors degrading lationships between humans and sturgeon,
sturgeon habitats, especially dams and pol- and thus couple science and spirituality.
lution. Important components of the sci- The programs are interdisciplinary, aimed
ence of sturgeon recovery included learning at understanding complex human interde-
about historic relationships of accountabil- pendence with sturgeon, and committed to
ity between humans and sturgeon and re- bringing sturgeon back to sustenance lev-
newing that accountability today. The Lit- els. The ceremonies and feasts bring people
tle River Band, Menominee, White Earth together to strengthen moral qualities, in

142 Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
this case accountability, but also trust, con- for cleaning up immediately after some of Kyle Whyte
sent, and reciprocity. They seek not only to these facilities closed. Some areas within
rebuild the social fabric of Indigenous peo- the Saint Lawrence River watershed near
ples, but also to repair the fraught relation- Mohawk communities have been among
ships with settler and other non-Indigenous the most polluted in North America. The
populations in the region. iess activist and pollution is no accident. Winona LaDuke
scholar Winona LaDuke, writing on the res- has argued that the United States and
toration of sturgeon at White Earth, has Canada set the Mohawks up for these cir-
expressed hope that “Maybe the fish will cumstances by coercing them into ced-

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

help a diverse set of people work together ing much of their lands.22 In addition to
to make something right. . . . The fish help land dispossession, Canada and the United
us remember all of those relations, and in States forced many Mohawks into board-
their own way, help us recover ourselves.”20 ing schools that attempted to divest them
of their cultures, languages, and potential
Iess’ focus on responsibility and spiri- to pass on skill sets.
tuality yields lessons about another mor- The pollution of fish is a particular con-
al relationship relevant to resilience: jus- cern. Indigenous studies scholar Elizabeth
tice. Scholarship on environmental justice Hoover has written that, in Akwesasne, “the
shows that groups such as Indigenous peo- relationship between fish–whose duty it is
ples around the world and U.S. people of to cleanse the water and offer themselves as
color bear high burdens of environmen- food–and humans–whose role it is to re-
tally related harms, such as lower health spectfully harvest these fish–has been in-
outcomes and losses of cultural integrity. terrupted by environmental contamina-
iess research often takes an additional step tion.”23 Those most at risk from pollutants
to demonstrate that environmental injus- include women of childbearing age, preg-
tice can be understood as threatening the nant and nursing women, and children un-
moral relationships that empower all soci- der fifteen, especially given the bioaccumu-
eties’ resilience. Consider how Haudenos- lation of some toxicants in breast milk. In-
aunee peoples and their allies have devel- digenous environmental scientists Alice
oped a portfolio of iess research studying Tarbell and Mary Arquette estimate that 50
the relationship among pollution, health, percent of the economy used to be based
self-determination, and cultural vitality in on fishing before the pollution started. Be-
the Saint Lawrence River watershed. They yond fish, they tell how the contamination
designed this research to respond to wide- of medicinal plants leaves traditional health
spread industrial pollution burdening Mo- care providers unable to recommend natu-
hawk communities on both the U.S. and Ca- ral remedies that some elders in Mohawk
nadian sides, including toxicants like poly- communities rely on.24
chlorinated biphenyls. For the Haudenosaunee, the harms of
Mohawk scholars, activists, and scien- pollution strike at the heart of the moral
tists have documented the history of pol- relationships that make up the fabric of
lution in the region.21 The United States their societies. Indigenous environmental
and Canada permitted giant industrial fa- scientist Henry Lickers has said that when
cilities of General Motors, the Aluminum pollution makes it hard to continue fish-
Company of America, Domtar, and Reyn- ing, “people forget, in their own culture,
olds Metals to operate in close proximity what you call the knot that you tie in a net.
to the Mohawk communities. The nations And so, a whole section of your language
and industries neglected to be responsible and culture is lost because no one is tying

147 (2) Spring 2018 143

 A Brief those nets anymore. . . . That whole social consumed that are often high in fat and cal-
Introduction infrastructure that was around the fabrica- ories and low in vitamins and nutrients,”
to Indigenous
Environmental tion of that net disappeared.”25 For Lick- which produces additional negative health
Studies & ers, the “whole social infrastructure” and outcomes that affect Mohawks acutely, in-
Sciences
“language and culture” refer to the conver- cluding diabetes.28 The study of environ-
gence of responsibilities and spiritual rela- mental health is not only about degrees of
tionships connecting people to each oth- exposure, but also about peoples’ moral re-
er, to fish, to biota, and to the ecosystem. lationships.
These relationships sustained trust, con- Mohawk advocate Katsi Cook, through

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

sent, reciprocity, and accountability with- the Mother’s Milk Project, has worked to
in the community and made it possible for make environmental health science acces-
people to live respectfully within dynamic sible to affected communities so that peo-
ecosystems. Tarbell and Arquette describe ple can respond to pollution by observing
Mohawk people as in mourning due to the moral relationships with fish, medicinal
loss of their capacity to exercise their mor- plants, and other beings. Cook sees the
al relationships.26 Mohawk responses to pollution through
The Haudenosaunee have developed a the lens of moral relationships. She said
comprehensive strategy for responding “the beauty of the response of the mothers
to pollution through the environmental . . . is that they saw everything in a bigger
divisions of the Mohawk Council of Ak- picture. Many of us bless the seeds, pray
wesasne and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, to corn, and continue a one-on-one rela-
the Akwesasne Task Force on the Envi- tionship with the earth.”29 Regarding in-
ronment, the Mother’s Milk Project, the novative solutions, Tarbell and Arquette
Traditional Mohawk Nation Council of have discussed aquaculture, for example,
Chiefs, and the leadership of Mohawk sci- not as a permanent solution, but “one that
entists in the Saint Lawrence River Insti- allows the skills associated with fishing to
tute. Their iess portfolio is diverse. At one continue” and provides a “healthy pro-
level, they have produced peer-reviewed tein.”30 The same concern for moral rela-
research on the environmental and human tionships has also inspired Mohawk lead-
impacts of pollution, often collaborating ership in the fight against climate change.
with universities, such as the University at The publically available climate change
Albany, in ways that ensure scientific ex- plan of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, orga-
pertise and education stay in the Mohawk nized according to the Mohawk Thanks-
communities after particular projects end. giving Address, uniquely focuses on mor-
They also work at the level of ethics, hu- al relationships, including sections on the
man rights, and justice.27 “Three Sisters,” “The Four Winds,” and
In terms of the scientific research, Ar- “Grand Mother Moon.”
quette and her collaborators at Akwesasne Injustice is a form of domination that
have emphasized how studying moral re- works to undermine Indigenous peoples’
lationships is crucial for understanding capacity to have moral relationships with
the impacts of pollution. Challenging the nonhumans and the environment, which
notion–common in some environmen- are crucial to their resilience. The pollu-
tal science circles–that if there is no expo- tion in the Saint Lawrence River water-
sure, then there are no adverse health ef- shed exemplifies U.S. and Canadian in-
fects, they have shown how, when moral justice against the Haudenosaunee peo-
relationships between humans, fish, and ples. And the Akwesasne Task Force has
plants break down, “alternative diets are argued that fighting pollution is about

144 Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Mohawk self-determination, whether by the decline of fishing at Akwesasne and dia- Kyle Whyte
supporting environmental health or cre- betes). On the flipside, iess frames efforts
ating new economic options that are safe to empower people to form moral relation-
and sustainable. Injustice occurs when one ships as a type of resilience. iess supports
society seeks to upend the moral relation- Indigenous peoples’ capacity to achieve sus-
ships that constitute another society’s re- tainability and environmental justice and
silience, in this case, Canada and the Unit- provides global insights into key challeng-
ed States establishing the conditions for es pertaining to resilience, including low-
their own resilience at the expense of the ering carbon footprints, achieving gender

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

Mohawk peoples. Establishing justice, justice, conserving biodiversity, strength-
however, as the Mohawk leaders and in- ening peoples’ senses of responsibility, and
stitutions demonstrate, involves the con- remediating polluted places.
tinuance and renewal of moral relation- Perhaps most important for the well-be-
ships that support their capacity to live re- ing of Indigenous peoples everywhere, iess
spectfully with a changing environment. makes strong statements about what Indig-
enous reconciliation with settler and colo-
Iess centers on Indigenous historical heri- nial nations will require. While apologies
tages, living intellectual traditions, research and forgiveness have symbolic value, In-
approaches, education practices, and polit- digenous peoples are demanding reclama-
ical advocacy to investigate how humans tion of Indigenous lands and waters, and
can live respectfully within diverse ecosys- recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and
tems. iess makes critical contributions to self-determination on those lands and wa-
environmental research by showing the val- ters. iess sheds light on how reclamation
ue of moral relationships as lenses through and sovereignty entail the capacity of Indig-
which to learn about sustainable social enous peoples to rebuild and continue com-
norms (such as the potlatch ceremony), plex moral relationships that can promote
scientific research on fish habitats (such as economic, cultural, and social resilience for
sturgeon recovery science), or the social di- the sake of future generations’ well-being.
mensions of environmental health (such as

endnotes
1 Anishinaabe will be used as shorthand for the diversity of spellings, including but not limited to
Neshnabé. Future references to words in this language will include a secondary spelling option.
2 Author conversation with Sherry Copenace, July 7, 2017.
3 While many Anishinaabe persons identify in the English language as women and discuss wom-
en’s responsibilities, it is also the case that Anishinaabe language and culture do not admit of
nor aspire to a binary gender system. Readers should mind the complexity framing Anishi-
naabe utterances of the English language words “women” and “girls.”
4 Claudia Sobrevila, The Role of Indigenous Peoples in Biodiversity Conservation: The Natural but Often For-
gotten Partners (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2008), xii.
5 Diana Morris, “Letter from the President,” College of Menominee Nation, http://www.menom
inee.edu/About_CMN.aspx?id=1233 (accessed December 24, 2017).
6 World Health Organization, Climate Change and Health Fact Sheet, July 2017, http://www
.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/.
7 Ronald Sandler, The Ethics of Species: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2012).

147 (2) Spring 2018 145

 A Brief 8 Clive Wilkinson, ed., Status of Coral Reefs Around the World: 2008 (Townsville, Australia: Global
Introduction Coral Reef Monitoring Network, 2008), 5.
to Indigenous 9
Environmental For an introduction to this topic, see Brigitte Evering and Dan Longboat, “An Introduction to
Studies & Indigenous Environmental Studies,” in Contemporary Studies in Environmental and Indigenous Ped-
Sciences agogies (New York: Springer, 2013); Eve Tuck, Marcia McKenzie, and Kate McCoy, “Land
Education: Indigenous, Post-colonial, and Decolonizing Perspectives on Place and Environ-
mental Education Research,” Environmental Education Research 20 (1) (2014): 1–23; and War-
ren Cariou and Isabelle St-Amand, “Introduction to Environmental Ethics through Chang-
ing Landscapes: Indigenous Activism and Literary Arts,” Canadian Review of Comparative Liter-
ature 44 (1) (2017): 7–24.

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

10 Richard E. Atleo, “Discourses in and About the Clayoquot Sound: A First Nations Perspective,”
in A Political Space: Reading the Global through Clayoquot Sound, ed. Warren Magnusson and Karena
Shaw (Kingston, Canada: McGill University Press, 2002).
11 Marlene Renate Atleo, “The Ancient Nuu-Chah-Nulth Strategy of Hahuulthi: Education for
Indigenous Cultural Survivance,” International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and So-
cial Sustainability 2 (1) (2006).
12 Atleo, “Discourses in and About the Clayoquot Sound”; Atleo, “The Ancient Nuu-Chah-Nulth
Strategy of Hahuulthi”; and Ronald L. Trosper, Resilience, Reciprocity and Ecological Economics:
Northwest Coast Sustainability (New York: Routledge, 2009).
13 Oscar Kawagley, Delena Norris-Tull, and Roger Norris-Tull, “The Indigenous Worldview of
Yupiaq Culture: Its Scientific Nature and Relevance to the Practice and Teaching of Science,”
Journal of Research in Science Teaching 35 (2) (1998): 133–144, esp. 138–139.
14 Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, A Yupiaq Worldview: A Pathway to Ecology and Spirit (Long Grove, Ill.:
Waveland Press, 2006).
15 Marty Holtgren, “Bringing Us Back to the River,” in The Great Lake Sturgeon, ed. Nancy Auer and
Dave Dempsey (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2013), 133–147.
16 Christopher James Hannibal-Paci, “His Knowledge and My Knowledge”: Cree and Ojibwe Traditional
Environmental Knowledge and Sturgeon Co-Management in Manitoba (Ph.D. diss., University of Man-
itoba, 2000).
17 Jimmie Mitchell, “N’me,” in The Great Lake Sturgeon, ed. Nancy Auer and Dave Dempsey (East
Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2013), 22. Anishinaabek is the plural of Anishinaabe.
18 Holtgren, “Bringing Us Back to the River.”
19 See, for example, Jonathan D. Pyatskowit, Charles C. Krueger, Harold L. Kincaid, and Bernie May,
“Inheritance of Microsatellite Loci in the Polyploid Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens),”
Genome 4 (2) (2001); and Holtgren, “Bringing Us Back to the River.”
20 Winona LaDuke, “Return of the Sturgeon: Namewag Bi-Azhegiiwewaad,” News from Indian
Country, August 31, 1999.
21 Alice Tarbell and Mary Arquette, “Akwesasne: A Native American Community’s Resistance
to Cultural and Environmental Damage,” in Reclaiming the Environmental Debate: The Politics of
Health in a Toxic Culture, ed. Richard Hofrichter (Cambridge, Mass.: The mit Press, 2000).
22 Winona LaDuke, “Akwesasne: Mohawk Mothers’ Milk and pcbs,” All Our Relations: Native
Struggles for Land and Life (Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 1999), 11–26, esp. 13.
23 Elizabeth Hoover, “Cultural and Health Implications of Fish Advisories in a Native American
Community,” Ecological Processes 2 (1) (2013): 1–12.
24 Tarbelle and Arquette, “Akwesasne.”
25 Henry Lickers quoted in ibid, 5.
26 Tarbell and Arquette, “Akwesasne.”

146 Dædalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
27 See, for example, Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, Words that Come Before All Else: Kyle Whyte
Environmental Philosophies of the Haudenosaunee (Ontario, Canada: North American Travelling
College, 1992) on human moral relationships with the environment; and Haudenosaunee
Environmental Task Force, Haudenosaunee Environmental Restoration: An Indigenous Strategy for Hu-
man Sustainability (Cambridge: Indigenous Development International, 1995).
28 Mary Arquette, Maxine Cole, Katsi Cook, et al., “Holistic Risk-Based Environmental Decision-
Making: A Native Perspective,” Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (2) (2002): 261.
29 LaDuke, All Our Relations, 20.
30 Tarbell and Arquette, “Akwesasne.”

Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/147/2/136/2189926/daed_a_00497.pdf by Penn State University user on 21 October 2024

147 (2) Spring 2018 147