Overview

As we face an ever-more-fragmented world, What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? demands a return to the force of lineage—to spiritual, social, and ecological connections across time. It sparks a myriad of ageless-yet-urgent questions: How will I be remembered? What traditions do I want to continue? What cycles do I want to break? What new systems do I want to initiate for those yet-to-be-born? How do we endure? Published in association with the Center for Humans and Nature and interweaving essays, interviews, and poetry, this book brings together a thoughtful community of Indigenous and other voices—including Linda Hogan, Wendell Berry, Winona LaDuke, Vandana Shiva, Robin Kimmerer, and Wes Jackson—to explore what we want to give to our descendants. It is an offering to teachers who have come before and to those who will follow, a tool for healing our relationships with ourselves, with each other, and with our most powerful ancestors—the lands and waters that give and sustain all life.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Hausdoerffer ,  Brooke Parry Hecht ,  Melissa K. Nelson ,  Katherine Kassouf Cummings
Publisher:   The University of Chicago Press
Imprint:   University of Chicago Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.399kg
ISBN:  

9780226777436

ISBN 10:   022677743
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   28 May 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

Introduction Poem: Unsigned Letter to a Human in the 21st Century Jamaal May I. Embedded: Our ancestral responsibility is deeply rooted in a multigenerational relationship to place. a. Poem: Great Granddaddy Taiyon Coleman b. Essays:    i. Ancestor of Fire Aaron A. Abeyta ii. Grounded Aubrey Streit Krug iii. My Home / It’s Called the Darkest Wild Sean Prentiss c. Interview: Wendell Berry Leah Bayens d. Poem: To the Children of the 21st Century Frances H. Kakugawa II. Reckoning: Reckoning with ancestors causing and ancestors enduring historical trauma. a. Poem: Forgiveness? Shannon Gibney b. Essays:    i. Sister’s Stories Eryn Wise ii. Of Land and Legacy Lindsay Lunsford iii. Cheddar Man Brooke Williams iv. Formidable Kathleen Dean Moore c. Interview: Caleen Sisk Brooke Parry Hecht and Toby McLeod d. Poem: Promises, Promises Frances H. Kakugawa III. Healing: Enhancing some ancestral cycles while breaking others. a. Poem: To Future Kin Brian Calvert b. Essays:   i. Moving with the Rhythm of Life Katherine Kassouf Cummings ii. (A Korowai) For When You Are Lost Manea Sweeney iii. To Hope of Becoming Ancestors Princess Daazhraii Johnson and Julianne Warren c. Interview: Camille T. Dungy and Crystal Williams d. Poem: Yes I Will Frances H. Kakugawa IV. Interwoven: Our descendants will know the kind of ancestor we are by reading the lands and waters where we lived. a. Poem: Alive in This Century Leora Gansworth b. Essays:   i. What Is Your Rice? John Hausdoerffer ii. Restoring Indigenous Mindfulness within the Commons of Human Consciousness Jack Loeffler iii. Reading Records with Estella Leopold Curt Meine iv. How to Be Better Ancestors Winona LaDuke c. Interview: Wes Jackson John Hausdoerffer and Julianne Lutz Warren d. Poem: Omoiyare Frances H. Kakugawa V. Earthly: Other-than-human beings are our ancestors, too. a. Poem: LEAF Elizabeth Herron b. Essays:   i. The City Bleeds Out (Reflections on Lake Michigan) Gavin Van Horn ii. I Want the Earth to Know Me as a Friend Enrique Salmón iii. The Apple Tree Peter Forbes iv. Humus Catroina Sandilands v. Building Good Soil Robin Kimmerer c. Interview: Vandana Shiva John Hausdoerffer d. Poem: Your Inheritance Frances H. Kakugawa VI. Seventh Fire a. Poem: Time Traveler Lyla June Johnston b. Essays:    i. Seeds  Native Youth Guardians of the Waters 2017 Participants and Nicola Wagenberg ii. Onëö’ (Word for Corn in Seneca) Kaylena Bray iii. Landing Oscar Guttierez  iv. Regenerative Melissa K. Nelson v. Nourishing Rowen White vi. Light Rachel Wolfgramm and Chellie Spiller c. Interview: Ilarion Merculieff Brooke Parry Hecht d. Poem: Lost in the Milky Way Linda Hogan Acknowledgments Notes About the Contributors Index  

Reviews

The questions this book raises are of such staggering importance and relevance today. I cried. I laughed. I smiled. Many reading moments, beautiful or tragic or just deeply human, are difficult to forget. --Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? captures the deep dialogue, continuity, and resonance Indigenous peoples feel and espouse for ancestors, ourselves, our children--with a view for the now and for our very uncertain future. And yet, its audience is at once Indigenous and Universal. Weaving poetry, narrative, interview, essay, and spirit, it is a unique, landmark tapestry. Utterly timely and profoundly urgent. --Gregory Cajete, author of Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence

Consisting of a stunning array of essays, poems, and interviews, this collection makes the case that the actions and perspectives of a single person can have a ripple effect across generations of people and nature. . . . Recommended for readers interested in environmentalism, anthropology, sociology, history, philosophy, and Indigenous peoples in the United States. -- Library Journal The questions this book raises are of such staggering importance and relevance today. I cried. I laughed. I smiled. Many reading moments, beautiful or tragic or just deeply human, are difficult to forget. --Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge A wonderfully unclassifiable book, What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? challenges us to live not just for tomorrow, or for our children, but for many generations in the future. Featuring interviews with and essays by thinkers from across social disciplines--anthropologists, environmental activists, Indigenous leaders, sociologists, and more. -- Book Culture Blog What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? captures the deep dialogue, continuity, and resonance Indigenous peoples feel and espouse for ancestors, ourselves, our children--with a view for the now and for our very uncertain future. And yet, its audience is at once Indigenous and Universal. Weaving poetry, narrative, interview, essay, and spirit, it is a unique, landmark tapestry. Utterly timely and profoundly urgent. --Gregory Cajete, author of Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence

Author Information

John Hausdoerffer is dean of the School of Environment & Sustainability at Western Colorado University. Most recently, he is coeditor of Wildness: Relations of People and Place. For more information, visit www.jhausdoerffer.com. He lives in living in Gunnison, CO. Brooke Parry Hecht is president of the Center for Humans and Nature at www.humansandnature.org. Melissa K. Nelson (Anishinaabe/Métis [Turtle Mountain Chippewa]) is professor of Indigenous sustainability at Arizona State University and president of the Cultural Conservancy, a Native-led Indigenous rights organization. Most recently, she is coeditor of Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability. Katherine Kassouf Cummings serves as managing editor at the Center for Humans and Nature and leads Questions for a Resilient Future.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions