Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People: Colonialism, Nature, and Social Action

Nature, Society, and Culture

by Kari Marie Norgaard

Finalist for the 2020 C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems

Since time before memory, large numbers of salmon have made their way up and down the Klamath River. Indigenous management enabled the ecological abundance that formed the basis of capitalist wealth across North America. These activities on the landscape continue today, although they are often the site of intense political struggle. Not only has the magnitude of Native American genocide been of remarkable little sociological focus, the fact that this genocide has been coupled with a reorganization of the natural world represents a substantial theoretical void. Whereas much attention has (rightfully) focused on the structuring of capitalism, racism and patriarchy, few sociologists have attended to the ongoing process of North American colonialism. Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People draws upon nearly two decades of examples and insight from Karuk experiences on the Klamath River to illustrate how the ecological dynamics of settler-colonialism are essential for theorizing gender, race and social power today. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, History, Theory, Race, Nature, Sociology

312 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2019

Reviews

[Nils Jepson · Rating 3 out of 5]

really fucking horribly written which sucks because i feel like it does a huge disservice to Norgaard's topic and subjects. some paragraphs are literally 2 pages long. a lot of the structure was erratic and non-sensical jumping from one topic to the next without any order or flow. and i don't think it's just the academic nature of the text either; there's a way to string together four or five academic articles in a book and still have it make thematic sense. here it just seems like no one ever taught Norgaard how people read and ingest text/knowledge. the whole book feels like passive voice. which is incredibly hard to do because there are very few topics as urgent as this one.

also, Sociology kind of feels like a flop discipline.

[Philip Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because it was assigned for a graduate-level Social Inequality class and it is among the best books I've read thus far in my PhD program.

This book is important because it discusses the ecological, social, and cultural knowledges of Indigenous Peoples, looking specifically at the Karuk people in Northern California. It talks about the deep trauma that has been inflicted on the Karuk people by settler colonialism, in how their environment has been destroyed by ecological devastation caused by extractive industries. The Karuk people’s sophisticated practices around agroecology have been eroded because of this process, as the societies have been unable to perform their traditional ceremonial practices in the production and preparation of food.

I’d had an introduction to Indigenous Studies throughout my PhD program, as I was a teaching assistant with indigenous studies scholars. It was really great to see an explication of Indigenous Peoples’ experiences that is rooted in their specific knowledges.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Indigenous Peoples, or more generally colonialism, anti-capitalism, food sovereignty, and climate change.

[Yasmeen Mughal]

research for work

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Torn because there is some really good information in here but it is such a slog. Dry, often repetitive, so every few pages I am thinking about something but also kind of nodding off.

I think some of the repetition is because different chapters were done independently, so another read-through to make it dynamic and coherent would have been great.

Taking health, colonialism, and the environment into account together makes so much sense, but probably part of what helps here is that some of the changes that came with the dams are recent enough that there is memory of it.

Capitalism also plays a role. Taking away food trees to put in more timber (mainly tan oak versus Douglas fir), not allowing burning, restricting access by regulation while disregarding Native rights -- easier because without ever being rejected they did not get ratified -- has taken a mental and physical toll on the Kuruk people, but also those around them. It was not as active genocide as bison slaughter, but then there are similar results.

[Luke A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing introduction and synopsis of the importance of traditional food systems and land management practices of Native Tribes, especially the Karuk tribe. At times the writing can be intensely dense with a lot of complicated vocabulary or topics all introduced in one opening paragraph. Be prepared to re-read some sections and for a somewhat repetitive read.

[Jon Wlasiuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sociological investigation of the Klamath River indigenous communities. While the author provides important insights, the River and its people vanish from large swathes of text so the author can split hairs on academic arguments about settler colonialism.

[Frank Karioris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review forthcoming.

[Stella Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading for module - will i ever finish satanic verses? probs not