What does it mean to you to be “indigenous to the land?” Is it possible for the descendants of European white settlers to be indigenous to the land of people occupied by displacement of native people? Why or why not?
To be “indigenous to the land” is to have a history of living on and tending to a piece of land that spans generations. I believe that it is possible for the descendants of white settlers to be indigenous to America. Even though this land was taken away from the Native Americans, that does not take away from the fact that most modern Americans have had many generations of their family born on this land. White Americans who descend from early colonizers and settlers in the
1600s have over 4 generations in their family before them that were born on this land. While 400 years may seem like nothing compared to the thousands of years that the Native Americans spent in the Americas, it is still important to recognize the time and effort that was put into the land by those who came after them.
In what ways do you feel yourself connected to the divine through relationship with the land?
I feel like whenever you recognize the fact that the world was given to us by God, you grow an appreciation for the land that you have. Many people take for granted the land that they live on every day of their lives. We like to complain about the country that we live in or the type of landscape we live in, yet we make no effort to change our environment. Most people just choose to settle for a space that they despise and never learn to appreciate what they have. But noticing how the land you have is a gift from God can allow you to recognize the importance of what you have.
An implicit part of all the stories Kimmerer shares is that she has somehow developed intimate familiarity with each of the natural settings with which she interacts. What are the features that invite lots of the kind of interaction Kimmerer seems to think is valuable?
I believe that features that represent common experiences between a group of people, or ones that show the history of a people, can allow for more intimate familiarity. Humans are very social creatures, because of that, we like to identify with people who we have things in common with, like similar physical features, similar interests, or even similar life experiences. Even if we do not have the same experiences in life, as long as we identify with that group of people, it is as if those experiences are shared for us as well. These features could be trees with intricate designs, hills from hometown areas, or even parks that we used to visit as children. While these features could be ties to a greater shared history, they could also be connected to events that we experienced by ourselves or with friends and family. Anything natural that connects us with our old selves, or people we used to know, has the potential to also connect us to the natural world itself.