“Untitled”
Original Watercolor • 24” by 18” • Viestarts Aistars
In This Issue: The Food Sovereignty Symposium, Peace Pipeline, Cold Houses and Reading Books.
What I Needed To Learn (at the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Symposium and Festival)
by Taylor Reed || 1,807 words (8 minute read)
In late May, I traveled north to represent Crosshatch at the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Symposium and Festival, held in Marquette, Michigan.
Here’s the anatomy:
Indigenous — referring to the original inhabitants of this land. Largely Anishinabeg, but representatives from all over the country were present. I’d venture to guess around ninety percent of participants were Native American.
Food Sovereignty — referring to involvement and ownership in the systems of food and nutrition foundational to health and well-being. Think seed-saving, hunting, foraging, processing, preserving, regenerative agriculture and cooking.
Symposium — academic talks were held at Northern Michigan University. A couple examples: “Land Tenure Equity and Security as a Prerequisite to Resilient Indigenous Food Systems’’ and “Overview of the Great Lakes Indigenous Materials Poop Study (GLIMPS).”
Festival — fireside chats, workshops and meals were all shared out of doors at a campground down the road from the university. A few examples: “Cooking with Clay Pots,” “Making and Using Bootaagan” and “Black Ash Basket-making.”
An Anishinaabe iskigamiziganaatig (sugaring/kettle frame) built for the weekend’s workshops.
The three-day gathering left my head spinning. I actually left around lunch on the final day, because I could feel myself edging towards the line separating being provoked to thought, and being plain overwhelmed.
I packed my things into the car, and took Highway 28 east towards the bridge, mile markers passing, thoughts methodically being filed into place.
Then it hit me. About an hour north of home, I drove past a man bumping along his lawn on a riding mower. The late-May vision was absolutely unremarkable. Nothing to it. Yet… everything to it. Totally novel. I felt as if I was setting eyes upon a different country. Apparently, the weekend had affected my senses, and upon returning, I was jarred by a most ordinary sight.
Why? I wish I could tell you. It might have had something to do with the fact that I had been sleeping in a tent at night, and had been keeping tabs on how much drinking water I had, and had been privy to conversations centering upon story, land, dependance, respect and trauma, and had been concentrating quite a bit on which words I used when I felt I had something worth saying. For some reason, that felt like a far cry from a world of riding mowers, domestic beers and evening television. Why? I wish I could tell you.
Soon after, though, it faded. I lost track of notes that I had taken, and memory started to dissipate. Keeping in touch with the contacts I had made felt less urgent, and I realize now, six months later, I never reached out to some. Two spoons sit on my desk. They were whittled from the trunk of an apple tree here that had been upended by a tornado as I was away. They’re still waiting to be sent to friends met that weekend. What I thought had shaped me for a quick minute was no longer front of mind, and the whole thing started to disappear…
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || Another reason to make it to Marquette? The Fresh Coast Film Festival (Oct. 13th-16th.) We haven't made it, but have enjoyed watching a few of the past selections here at home. One of our favorites has been the short film, Peace Pipeline, a “documentary” on the Indigenous Pipeline Council’s plan to route the final length of Line 3 through Duluth, Minnesota. The humorous flick probes at a much more serious topic—can we truly empathize with the plight of communities that have experienced pipeline construction in their own backyards? (Bonus—a third reason to head towards Marquette? Ishpeming’s Cognition Brewing. Home of Graven-Tosk Gravöl.)
|| 2 || We’ve been working hard to properly air-seal and insulate our old and drafty home. I have reason to believe that, by next week, we’ll have made a considerable leap towards success.
I’ve believed that to be the case a handful of times over the past six or so months though, yet we still continue to work and wait. In case this latest development doesn’t bring the warmth we’re looking for, I’m going to reread this—The Joy of Cold Houses. It’s a tongue-and-cheek account from Britain that waxes romantic on the virtues and memories of a cold home.
|| 3 || In his latest Convivial Society newsletter, LM Sacasas writes about reading books. In some regard, they might represent an unnecessary inconvenience, but he presents the case that “deep reading” is worth our time. I haven’t made much time for it lately, but I do find that when I keep up with the practice, it’s of considerable benefit. Here are some of Sacasas’ words:
”There are many reasons to read and many ways to read. Each may have its place. Sometimes we will read merely to absorb some bit of information. But we should occasionally resist the imperative to optimize all experiences for efficiency, which as a goal has a way of distorting every practice and vanishing all that cannot be quantified.
It’s worth acknowledging at this juncture that the skimming sort of reading that has become our default can be understood as a coping mechanism. Flooded with text, we are compelled to adopt modes of reading that keep us from drowning. I find it useful in this context to occasionally remind myself that I cannot read everything and that it would not be good for me to try. Better, perhaps, to read fewer things well. As is often the case, acknowledging and embracing our limitations can be freeing.”
The Weft — News and Events
|| 1 || Your year-end contribution supports all of the work of Crosshatch, including this newsletter. Help us keep delivering these essays, videos and audio features with your donation today.
|| 2 ||The 2023 Food and Farm Microloan Application window is now open. Applications are due February 7th. More information is available here.
|| 3 || Savanna Institute’s Perennial Farm Gathering begins today! The three-day virtual conference has sessions ranging from practical techniques for home-scale woody plant propagation, small-business start-up lessons, and long-term agroforestry-based philosophical visioning. Don’t forget yoga in the morning and coffee chats to add some motion and warmth if you’re burnt out on the virtual world. Find more information and sign-up here.
|| 4 || The MIFFS Michigan Family Farms Conference is coming up in late February. If you have interest in sponsoring or exhibiting, find more information here. And if you’re interested in attending, save the date—Saturday, February 25th—and stay tuned for more details.
|| 5 || You might have heard already that an incredible Bellaire family lost their home to a fire last month. Yvonne was Crosshatch’s first employee, and she and her family have all been such great friends and supporters of us, as well as the organization. If you would like to help during this difficult time, here’s a link to assist.
Many thanks to the Michigan Arts & Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts for their support of this work.
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