TOPICS Module 10: Restoration and Remediation

We do not have thousands upon thousands of dollars. We do not have great mansions of beauty. We do not have priceless objects of art. We do not lead a life of ease, nor do we live in luxury. We do not own the land upon which we live. We do not have the basic things of life which we are told are necessary to better ourselves.But I want to tell you now that that we do not need these things. What we need, however, is what we already have. What we need has been provided to us by the Great Spirit.We need to realize who we are and what we stand for.We are the keepers of that which the Great Spirit has given to us, that is our language, our culture, our drum societies, our religion, and most of all our traditional way of life....We need to be Anishinaabeg again (126)1 -George Aubid Sr. East Lake Minnesota Restoring Anishinaabeg Agriculture and Permaculture Practices It is unclear how successful indigenous ontologies may be in penetrating the institutional frameworks of the dominant science-based management paradigm based as they are on the divide between culture and nature2 -Andrew Martin Miller, Ian Davidson Hunt in Human Ecology Interesting concept in the broad sense. We have the opportunity, however, in our communities and territories, to restore the most sustainable economic and food system in history. We should take it. Case studies and Practices:

1 2

LaDuke, Winona. All Our Relations. Cambridge: South End Press, 1999. Andrew Martin Miller, Ian Davidson Hunt. Human Ecology: April 2010, 38: 401-414.

Figure 1 White Earth Midewin.

A part of who we are as Anishinaabeg today is in the restoration of our knowledge systems and the adaptation of this knowledge and lifeway to the food systems and farming of this millennium. Our ecosystems and traditional land management practices hold great wisdom, which, when adapted and merged with organic agricultural strategies, we find that we are able to produce more good food with a strong cultural understanding. In recent discussions, we have found that Anishinaabeg people are interested in our agriculture, our plants, and restoring our relationship. Discussing Anishinaabe architecture with communities in the region, there was a great resonance, and interest. Red Cliffs gardening project, adapted the wigwam and lodge to a greenhouse system can be seen below.

Figure 2 Chicago Indian Center Restoring our Traditional Medicines.

The Chicago Indian Center has been an essential part of the urban community for many generations. Tribal members of many Anishinaabe reservation have come to live there, and in the past decade, the community was able to purchase a former Masonic Temple to serve the community. The most amazing medicines will grow from a former concrete parking lot, if you care for them. That is what I learned on travel there: the tribal community has restored foods, but, also a wetland, and medicinal plants -- all through careful work with soils, careful intercropping of plants, Indigenous knowledge systems and prayer. Video: A Peculiar Wilderness -- The American Indian Centers Native Medicine Garden, by Lisa Matuska.

Readings
Session 10: Restoration and Remediation Module Topics Readings

From the text: Hassel, Craig. Good Nutrition at Harvest Time. St. Paul, MN: Dream of Wild Health Newsletter. Vol. 3., 2003. Hudson, Matt. Mercury and Composting Fish Waste A Pilot Project. Great lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commision: Odanah, WI: 2008. LaDuke Winona. Keepers of the Seeds: How Native farmers and gardeners are working to preserve their agricultural heritage. Yes! Magazine, May 12, 2011. LaDuke, Winona. All Our Relations. Cambridge: South End Press, 1999. (Pages 191-212). Micales, Jessie (Dr.), Thomas Richard, John Dean. Wood N Fish Composting: Small Industry Waster management in Alaska. Workshop pamphlet, April 11, 2001. Wilson, Ken. Heres a Better Way to Feed the World. Providence, RI: The providence Journal, 2012.

Assignments
TOPICS Module 10: Restoration and Remediation ?

DAY 1: 1 2 3 4 DAY 2: 5 6 7 8 9 DAY 3: 10 11

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Bibliography Andrew Martin Miller, Ian Davidson Hunt. Human Ecology: April 2010, 38: 401-414. LaDuke, Winona. All Our Relations. Cambridge: South End Press, 1999