Volume 3 • No. 13 • New Moon • July 5, 2024

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore • National Park Service Digital Image Archives

a micro-review of

People of the Dune

There’s a peculiar thing about institutions, or the systems created to facilitate and formalize particular aims, that Ivan Illich points towards in his “Theory of Counter Productivity.” (See here, here, or here.)

As the name suggests, there comes a point when institutions begin to work against themselves. There’s a threshold beyond which hospitals are detrimental to human health. Where schools aren’t conducive to learning. Where churches are antithetical to faith.

The theory doesn’t say that those institutions are unhelpful—with certainty, there are elements of their original visions that they support and maintain. It also isn’t intended to downplay the service and efforts of healthcare workers, educators, and clergy. On the contrary, the intention is to uplift them. Recognizing how institutions can enmesh and disempower the humans that work within them, as well as those they work for, is key to identifying patterns and practices that are more responsive to localized environments, circumstances, and settings.

So long as institutions are squared to fit the logic of efficiency and modernity, cornerstones of the extractive economy, or “the great God Progress,” as People of the Dune refers, they tend to succumb to the natural results of dislocated systems. At some point, operating as humans within institutions but beyond institutionally codified values is an act of integrity.

It’s this upside-down path, applied to the world of legal matters, that People of the Dune ventures.

Does the world of law embody too much of the mind and not enough of the heart? Does it serve shareholders and those who wield power, and not society as a whole? Is it disproportionately responsive to figures, ledgers, and algorithms, rather than the teachings of cultures that have learned to live in place in harmony, the artful webs of ecological relationship, or the guardrails of limits or consideration of that which can’t be seen? Is the law set up to recognize all that it should recognize? And what does one do with the answers to these questions?

If you’re like me, and you glance around a book before reading it, you probably encountered People of the Dune’s bibliography. There’s breadth in it, and depth too. If it led you to believe that the book would be dense, through and through, you’d be forgiven. I say that while also acknowledging that viewing the writings that People of the Dune works from was my first clue that the book would be a good one.

And so I began to read. And I encountered something fun—elements of fantasy, myth, and fiction. It was approachable. And about halfway through the book, the form shifted, and footnotes began to appear. Placed within a fictional account about a coastal dune spanning 2,000 years, sizable questions, dilemmas, and legal-historical precedents arose. Considering the book’s theme, its exploration of the ins and outs, upsides and downsides, and arguments and counterarguments make sense.

I recently received an email that included a story from St. Augustine. Here’s a small quote from it:

“Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale? What are criminal gangs but petty kingdoms?”

Jim Olson’s book explores the potential for legal considerations that are more deeply responsive to justice and, in being so, more supportive of communities, cultures, and places that exemplify this justice. It’s worth personally considering what these settings might look like. That opportunity is just as much for the reader as it is for Jim.

I don’t think People of the Dune’s success, as measured by the author, will have much to do with sales figures. Based on what I know of Jim and what I’ve read, I’m making this guess with some confidence.

I’ll posit that success has more to do with “men and women… challeng[ing] the human order of things by abandoning to the true nature of the experience of the seen and unseen world.” (p. 145)

There’s encouragement there, amidst the dive into ownership and the commons, limits and existential quandary, the burden of proof and public trust doctrine, and this beautiful coastal region many of us call home, in Jim Olson’s People of the Dune.

*Illustrations included above are from People of the Dune—Credit: Tajín Robles and Mission Point Press

Find More on Jim and People of the Dune Here

The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration

|| 1 || Time spent with Jim’s book returned memories of discussions nearly a decade old from an environmental law and policy course at Mancelona’s Au Sable Institute. It was my first class at the field school and a great introduction to the themes and this region. Expansive conversations, just a handful of students, and a quick pace—I think it was a three-credit course in two weeks at the time. I recall some of those class conversations taking place at Grass River Natural Area, a beloved spot referenced in this Nature Change conversation with “two of the region’s leading experts on natural resources and stewardship”—none other than Jim Olson and aquatic biologist Dr. Dave Mahan (former associate director of the Au Sable Institute.)

Here are some quick takeaways from the video:

-It takes time in a place to pick up on how localized natural systems work. Perhaps thirty-one years, precisely speaking.

-Human activity shifts landscapes. “We’re part of the natural world, but we’re not very natural at times.”

-Many of the impacts we’re seeing today are cumulative and synergistic in ways that we haven’t seen before, and our legal tools haven’t been designed with that in mind.

-It’s worth finding a skill, something you enjoy, and getting good at it. It’s worth finding a way to promote the common good.

|| 2 || More recently, I took part in Dougald Hine’s Regrowing a Living Culture course (which I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone drawn to these themes). Over the five week series, there were consistent clues about what some of the ideas we’ve been revolving around might look like when lived out.

Here are a few tangents that came to mind, just from the most recent conversation:

a.) There are patterns of being today that resemble how we tend to operate if/when we’re in “tourist mode”. There’s a temptation to operate the same way in the communities that we live in—as if we’re on some sort of “permanent vacation.”

b.) If you’re wondering what kind of skills are needed, there’s a litmus test that might not be universal yet might be helpful: would this skill, work, or practice make sense to my ancestors?

Some of the reasoning behind this question comes up in one of the Illich links towards the top regarding counter-productivity in healthcare:

(Referring to Robert Mendelsohn): “Separately, in his own practice he was famous for asking questions of mothers in relation to their children's maladies, like: “What would your grandmother have done?”. His preoccupation in asking such questions was two-fold: 1) how could he ensure he did not displace a local elders’ wisdom; and 2) how could he avoid medicalizing that which could be effectively addressed through community assets.”

c.) A helpful question articulated by Sam Ewell (who showed up here, along with Dougald, months ago): “If we share the same postcode, we are neighbours by accident, but...what would it look like to be neighbours on purpose?”

The Weft — News and Events

We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!

|| 1 || The Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference, now in its 25th year, will be coming to Benzie County August 11th-12th. Keep an eye out for more on the farm tour-centric, Grow Benzie-hubbed happenings. More information, tickets, and additional ways of getting involved are available here.

|| 2 || Call for Artists. The Antrim Writers Series is seeking a visual artist to work with four writers, by illustrating their written impressions from Grass River Natural Area. The application deadline is August 1st. Find more information, and apply, here.

|| 3 || Engage in a guided process to create a vision and plan for a farm landscape that will satisfy your goals and values by registering for our July short course in Holistic Management land planning methods. Holistic Management Certified Educator Larry Dyer will facilitate two virtual and one in-person sessions Tuesdays in July beginning on July 16th at 6pm via Zoom. For questions please contact Larry (ldyer3913@gmail.com).

|| 4 || Troubled Water is screening at Frankfort’s Garden Theater, Friday, July 19, at 7:30pm. The movie “…is an exhilarating adventure, conservation film that beckons viewers to follow along on a transformative journey down the stunning coast of Lake Michigan.” The evening also includes a Q&A session with the actor-filmmakers and hosts from presenting organizations. Watch the trailer and purchase tickets here.

|| 5 || Soil Health Field Day in Boyne City. Join Gary Zimmer, 2-time keynote speaker at the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference, at Lakeside Farm, Thursday, July 18th. Expect field walks of cover crops, hay, corn & pasture, breakout sessions on livestock, biological cropping, hay, hoop houses, market garden fertility and tillage equipment, and lunch served by Ebel's. Find more details on the event and RSVP by July 16th here.

|| 6 || “Nominations are now open for farmers and ranchers to serve on local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. Serving on a Farm Service Agency county committee is your chance to ensure that other producers who share your interests, your production practices, and your perspective are represented.” Find more information on eligibility and the process here.

|| 7 || Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology, Up North Pride, and MiGen Present: The Long Memory Project. Work created through the project will be on display at Commongrounds from June 8th-July 15th.

|| 8 || The Lively NeighborFood Market in Empire is opening soon—Find details on the launch of the neighborhood-based food hub here, and check out the schedule for the Summer Sun Sets at Livelylands here.

|| 9 || NDN's 2024-2026 Community Self-Determination grant is now open. The program awards up to $250K over two years for Tribal Nations, Tribal Communities, Indigenous-led Organizations, and Grassroots Movements working to Defend, Develop, and Decolonize across Turtle Island and related Island Nations. Registration to apply closes July 15th. Find more information here.

|| 10||FACT Grants for Farmers—A bundle of resources, including grants, conference scholarships, and opportunities for networking and mentorships, all geared towards pasture-based livestock and poultry farming is available at the Food Animal Concerns Trust website.

|| 11 || The Water is Life Festival will be held on Saturday, August 31st, from 12-9pm. Find out more and register for the family friendly, free celebration of water and connection on the Petoskey waterfront here.

|| 12 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: Funky Uncle, The Pocket, HeyMan, Big Fun, Tilt Think Comedy, Djangophonique, Cabaret Boreale, Dawn Campbell & The Bohemians, DJ Clark After Dark, and Super Nuclear.

Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.