Native American and Indigenous Philosophy
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NEWSLETTER | The American Philosophical Association Native American and Indigenous Philosophy FALL 2020 VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 1 FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR Emmanuel Onyemachi Agnes B. Curry Indigenous Philosophy on Nature COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REMARKS Katherine E. Richard Indigenous Critiques of Western STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY Conceptions of Nature: Exploring the Value of Indigenous Knowledge in SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND Relation to Climate Change INFORMATION Shay Welch ARTICLES Preliminary Remarks on the Pedro Lebrón Ortiz Undergraduate Submissions and Course Reconstructing Locality through Syllabus Marronage Spencer Nabors Andrea Sullivan-Clarke Procedural Knowing to Facilitate Healing Relations and How Allies Acknowledge after Collective Trauma Land Dargenae Somerville Andrea Sullivan-Clarke How Reconnecting with the Land May Preliminary Remarks on the Graduate Help Heal Trauma in Native American Submissions Communities Éamon Brennan The Role of Indigenous Peoples in the Environmentalist Movement: McKibben’s View Analyzed VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 1 FALL 2020 © 2020 BY THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION ISSN 2155-9708 APA NEWSLETTER ON Native American and Indigenous Philosophy AGNES B. CURRY, EDITOR VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 1 | FALL 2020 memory and monuments, and education about the daily FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR strains of living in a racist culture. Despite also-predictable moments of backlash, perhaps we’re finally approaching Agnes B. Curry a fuller scale de-legitimation of white supremacy as the UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH, CONNECTICUT default social order. The APA Committee on Native American and Indigenous Philosophers joins a growing tide of I have the happy task of introducing the fall 2020 edition of groups and organizations declaring formally their solidarity the newsletter, writing in mid-summer 2020, a time fraught with Black Lives Matter; our statement is published in this and tragic, yet with some grounds for hope. newsletter. In the US, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit Native The US courts are an arena for some other positive American reservations and communities of color particularly developments. One is the decision by the US District Court hard, while strains on protective equipment supplies and for the District of Columbia in favor of the tribes fighting hospital systems nationwide have stripped away even the Dakota Access Pipeline, vacating the US Army Corps the pretense of adequacy in healthcare. Likewise with of Engineers’ Lake Oahe easement and requiring that all food security: due to the pandemic, the percentage of all oil flowing through the pipeline by removed by August 5, US households reporting food insecurity has more than 2020.10 A second is the US Supreme Court ruling upholding doubled, to nearly 23 percent, compared to 11 percent two the treaty rights of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and years ago, surpassing levels during the recession of 2008.1 reaffirming that most of eastern Oklahoma continues to The US government has had to admit that undocumented be part of the Muscogee reservation. While the decision workers are “essential” to the food system2 while shoppers has no effect on private land ownership within reservation are seeing grocery stockers and delivery drivers as heroes boundaries, it has important implications for prosecution along with healthcare workers. Meanwhile, safety protocols of some criminal and civil cases.11 Both these decisions are in meatpacking plants—staffed largely by people of color— steps in the direction of justice and substantive respect for remain inadequate. The Midwest Center for Investigative sovereignty. Reporting claims that “As of July 2, there have been at least 26,500 reported positive cases tied to meatpacking Although the articles featured in this edition of the facilities in at least 254 plants in 33 states, and at least newsletter were generated before these recent events, 95 reported worker deaths at 39 plants in 24 states,” there are important topical resonances. First, with respect while noting that these numbers are almost certainly an to the relationship between Native American and Black undercount.3 At the same time, the pressures to keep plants issues and philosophies, it is fitting that the newsletter open—and to export meat—lay bare the implications of starts with work by Pedro Lebrón Ortiz (17, Instituto the global consolidation of the meat industry. Worldwide, de Estudios Críticos). Lebrón Ortiz critiques Cherokee pandemic-related increases in poverty and unemployment philosopher Brian Burkhart’s reading of Frantz Fanon in have accelerated deforestation4—increasing the chances service of a broader argument for deeper conversation of transmission of emerging diseases.5 Both domestically between Indigenous philosophy and Afro-diasporic and globally, the pandemic has exacerbated both social thought. Lebrón Ortiz articulates that conceptually, as well inequities and governmental moves to authoritarianism.6 as socio-politically and existentially, “Black liberation and In the US, a combination of posturing, pandering, and Indigenous liberation are forever intertwined.” Next, Andrea indecision has contributed to a new surge of infections Sullivan-Clarke of the University of Windsor interrogates while the worldwide death toll as of this writing was over the growing practice of land acknowledgment statements; 558,000.7 analyzed as performative utterances, they often exhibit patterns of failure about which those wanting to practice Yet also a glimpse of cause for hope: in a charged US context, genuine allyship should be cognizant and wary. One could with inequalities laid so bare, the latest round of all-too- extend some of these worries to statements about anti- predictable instances of police brutality and extrajudicial Black racism as well. execution of unarmed Black people sparked mass protests that spread to over 1,700 places across the US8 and over The newsletter also features two sets of articles that connect 120 countries on every continent except Antarctica.9 What to the committee’s ongoing aim to provide resources for seems different this time is the extent of white participation. teaching Native American and Indigenous philosophy A broader swath of the US population is engaging in deeper in light of the inevitable institutional constraints. The critique of law enforcement, interrogation of historical first set is of three essays composed by students in the APA NEWSLETTER | NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS PHILOSOPHY Master of Arts in Philosophy program at the University of 8. Janie Haseman, Karina Zaiets, Mitchell Thorson, Carlie Procell, George Petras, and Shawn J. Sullivan, “Tracking Protests Windsor. These are responses to a single lecture on Native Across the USA in the Wake of George Floyd’s Death,” USA American philosophy that was part of a course on nature. Today, June 18, 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/ I daresay that in many colleges and universities, students’ graphics/2020/06/03/map-protests-wake-george-floyds- main exposure to Native American philosophy will come death/5310149002/. in the context of a relatively brief discussion about how 9. Mohammed Haddad, “Mapping Anti-Racism Solidarity Protests Native philosophy “applies” to other topics such as nature Around the World,” Al Jazeera, Jun 7, 2020, https://www. aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2020/06/mapping-anti- or the environment: given that constraint, how does one racism-solidarity-protests-world-200603092149904.html. make clear the differences animating Native American 10. The legal brief is available at http://www.ncai.org/attachments/ perspectives? LegalBriefing_tDdfoZuEfuiwVYfJlZyRJECYLXctpJdvbTgUrFjJHYPkGbLjukO_ Doc.%20524-1%20Proposed%20GPTCA%20Amicus%20Brief%20 The second set includes two essays by undergraduate (00211430x9D7F5).pdf. students from Spelman College, along with the syllabus 11. “Syllabus: McGirt v. Oklahoma,” Supreme Court of the United for the course in Native American philosophy in which they States, No. 18–9526, argued May 11, 2020—decided July 9, 2020, available at https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18- generated their work. As instructor Shay Welch notes, much 9526_9okb.pdf. of the students’ work through the semester was oral—in keeping with time-honored Native American philosophical practice. In the context of teaching Native American philosophy, how does one present and practice Indigenous COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REMARKS methodologies while also supporting students’ practicing the skills they’ll need for graduate study? To neglect either From the Outgoing Chair would do the students a disservice. Lori Underwood We invite other instructors to share their syllabi and thoughts CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY on appropriate assignment design; if you have students whose work you believe exemplifies something promising We have had an exciting year of activities. I would like to or interesting about doing Native American philosophy, reflect back on our activities and accomplishments and please invite them to submit their work for consideration enthusiastically welcome our incoming chair, Andrea for publication. Work should be thoroughly proofread with Sullivan-Clarke. During the spring, I met with the APA references adhering to Chicago Manual of Style endnote- board for the review of our committee, which happens bibliography style. Further submission guidelines appear every few years. I introduced our committee’s desire to below. develop a mentoring program for Native American and Indigenous graduate students in the profession. The board NOTES was supportive