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Recovering the Sacred | Press Release
“Recovering the Sacred tells a profound story. To survive, we need to listen.”—Louise Erdrich
RECOVERING THE SACRED: THE POWER OF NAMING AND CLAIMING
Winona LaDuke
Despite what the government wants us to believe, the fi ght for Native spiritual autonomy was not won with the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. In Recovering the Sacred, veteran activist Winona LaDuke cuts through the “white tape” to reveal how mounting ecological struggles continue to threaten Native cultural and spiritual health. As LaDuke explains, “Native people must now request permission to use their own sacred sites and more often than not, find that those sites are in danger of being desecrated or obliterated” (p. 14).
A defender of Indigenous rights for nearly twenty years, LaDuke establishes that the power inherent in defining what is sacred is quite literally a matter of life and death. As Native lands and resources remain targets of exploitation, Native identity continues to be jeopardized.
Case in point, the dam- and pollution-caused decimation of salmon in Northwest rivers has deeply affected the self-sufficiency of the Native peoples who rely on these resources for physical and cultural sustenance. As one human rights activist puts it, “We have lived there since time began and so have the fish. Our dependence is reciprocal” (p. 63).
Yet the devastation is neither complete nor unopposed. Deeply engaged with a wide range of Native organizing, LaDuke illuminates the determination and creativity of activists across the continent, such as the Tohono O’ohdam beating back diabetes through reintroduction of traditional foods in the Southwest (see pp. 198-202) and the Mohawk regaining traditional lands, sharing age-old seeds, and teaching children traditional agricultural methods that preserve both land and culture in the Northeast (see pp. 160-163).
By capturing the enormous stakes facing Indigenous people today and the tremendous strides they are taking for their own survival, Recovering the Sacred does more than assert the inviolate bonds between the spiritual and ecological dimensions of Native life—it also maps a path toward human dignity and self-determination.
Winona LaDuke, Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. She is the author of several books, including All Our Relations. In 1997, Ms. named her Woman of the Year for her work with the Honor the Earth Fund. Also a founding member of Women of All Red Nations, LaDuke serves as co-chair of the Indigenous Women’s Network. She is also Founding Director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project.
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