Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future

by Patty Krawec

It is never a matter of whether the land is being used. It is how and who that matter—that prioritize one set of uses over all others and give one group the right to push aside another.

It is normal to see ourselves in these histories recorded in the Bible, but it is important to think about how we see ourselves and in whom. Too often the descendants of European Christians see themselves as persecuted Israelites rather than as members of the invading state of Babylon: an empire that imposes systems of oppressive leadership over the people of the land for the purpose of control and prosperity.

Our ancestors’ communities are not always our communities, but we can build relationship with each other and honor our ancestors in that way.

You can’t just read books about us. There are things that won’t be there. In order to make sense of Indigenous knowledge, you need to invest the time and effort in relationships with people and communities.