Synopses & Reviews
The story of Native
peoples' resistance to environmental injustice and land incursions, and a
call for environmentalists to learn from the Indigenous community's
rich history of activism
Through the unique lens of "Indigenized environmental justice,"
Indigenous researcher and activist Dina Gilio-Whitaker explores the
fraught history of treaty violations, struggles for food and water
security, and protection of sacred sites, while highlighting the
important leadership of Indigenous women in this centuries-long
struggle.
As Long As Grass Grows gives readers an accessible history of
Indigenous resistance to government and corporate incursions on their
lands and offers new approaches to environmental justice activism and
policy.
Throughout 2016, the Standing Rock protest put a national
spotlight on Indigenous activists, but it also underscored how little
Americans know about the longtime historical tensions between Native
peoples and the mainstream environmental movement. Ultimately, she
argues, modern environmentalists must look to the history of Indigenous
resistance for wisdom and inspiration in our common fight for a just and
sustainable future.
Review
"
As Long as Grass Grows honors Indigenous voices powerfully and
centers Indigenous histories, values, and experiences. It tells crucial
stories, both inspiring and heartrending, that will transform how
readers understand environmental justice. I know many readers will come
away with new ideas and actions for how they can protect our planet from
forces that seek to destroy some of our most sacred relationships
connecting human and nonhuman worlds--relationships that offer some of
the greatest possibilities for achieving sustainability." Kyle Powys White, associate professor, Michigan State University
Review
"A masterpiece and a vital
road map for the ongoing fight for Indigenous sovereignty. With every
heartbreaking example of sacred sites decimated and traditional
knowledge suppressed, the power and resilience of Indigenous people,
preserving not only their culture but their very lives, shines through.
Powerful, urgent, and necessary reading." Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
Review
"Highly recommended for American Indian studies and environmental justice students and scholars." Library Journal
About the Author
Dina Gilio-Whitaker
(Colville Confederated Tribes) is the policy director and a senior
research associate at the Center for World Indigenous Studies and
teaches American Indian Studies at California State University San
Marcos. She is the coauthor, with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, of
"All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans. She lives in San Clemente, California.