Description
Our Knowledge is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings is a remarkable book by Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Ojibwe language professor at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. The book examines the way Euro-western academics have studied and classified traditional Ojibwe botanical knowledge and compares this methodology to the way traditional Ojibwe knowledge keepers maintain these teachings. The colonized version of this traditional knowledge is grossly distorted when studied with the scientific lens and the author seeks to explore this aspect as well as begin the decolonization process of this knowledge. In the future she hopes that traditional Ojibwe botanical knowledge can be accessed and understood in a way that can benefit all students. The author skillfully presents the Ojibwe language knowledge for the protocols for gathering plants; recording the knowledge; maintaining the knowledge; and passing on this traditional knowledge from the Ojibwe perspective. One chapter provides cultural information about the cedar including stories, songs, techniques, and language terms. The author includes a glossary of Ojibwe terms and concepts as well as an appendix that describes uses for basswood and birchbark. This is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Ojibwe botanical knowledge from the Ojibwe perspective. Highly Recommended.