On Spatial Thinking
“I was born where there were no enclosures and where everything drew a free breath.” —Ten Bears (Yamparika Comanche)
Dear relatives,
It’s not uncharacteristic for the Midwest to experience fluctuating weather, especially around the Spring and Fall. Even though I’ve lived here most of my life, the inconsistency can feel tangled. When this happens, I get curious about the climatic patterns at play—cold and warm fronts, directional changes in the wind, frost levels each morning, and the density of fog.
Noticing the weather means turning my attention toward what is happening in nature. It offers a place to begin each day, and to return each evening. Paying attention in this way also playfully troubles the idea of home, and lends an opportunity to reconsider both its location and its meaning.
The brilliant Vine Deloria Jr., a Standing Rock Sioux author, theologian, historian, and activist, was well ahead of his time. In “Indigenizing the Future: Why We Must Think Spatially in the Twenty-first Century”, Daniel R. Wildcat provides a retrospective view of Deloria’s life and work, focusing on three key texts that spanned his decades-long career: Custer Died for Your Sins, God Is Red, and The Metaphysics of Modern Existence.
It is a great misfortune that Deloria’s work was not taken more seriously, outside of Indigenous communities in North America. His scholarship and leadership have, however, shaped generations of Indigenous thinkers and activists, and he is credited for coining the term “Red Power,” which would become the central call to action for the Red Power Movement led by Indigenous youth.
Of the four core organizations involved in the Red Power Movement, the International Indian Treaty Council has impacted my life in significant ways. In the fall of 2003, I had an opportunity to travel to Oklahoma to attend the annual IITC conference. Twenty years ago, I learned to cut bison meat for the first time alongside elders, while learning about Indigenous-led community organizing. And in reverence for Vine Deloria Jr., nearly 20 years since his passing, I can’t think of a better way to honor his work and the legacy of Indigenous wisdom this month.
In his work, Deoloria speaks to the essentialness of understanding history in a spatial context; a relationship rooted in the body of the Earth that springs forth within humans. This “spatial thinking”, Wildcat suggests, inspires deeper questions, nourishes innovative solutions, and encourages a relational worldview. He also addresses this in his essay on Deloria’s life and work, pointing to the importance of acknowledging Indigenous metaphysics, or worldviews, as integral to movements for justice. Deloria’s work, which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, occurred alongside the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and anti-war protests, Women’s liberation, the Occupation of Alcatraz, and Environmentalism.
Al-Jezzera featured a piece in November 2019 as a tribute to the organizing efforts to reclaim Alcatraz Island. The piece, “Occupying Alcatraz: The spark that lit the US Red Power movement,” is an essential read and the accompanying video is moving.
The media is saturated with opinions related to violence and conflict, whether that be between Israel and Palestine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or other parts of the world that are not receiving as much amplification. In the wake of this, I am reminded of the words of Toni Morrison:
“Perhaps that's what all human relationships boil down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it? (Song of Solomon)
I am not without opinion, or critical analysis regarding the gravity of the situation. There is still so much I do not know, and may never be able to turn my attention towards—not for a lack of desire, but for the fact that life is short and I won’t know everything there is to know in my lifetime. Yet, I can do my best to turn my attention toward an understanding of history and time as spatial and connected to place.
Herein lives the question for this week:
In light of your current worldview (where and with whom it was shaped and continues to take form), what practices, rituals, ceremonies, or teachings might help you to move towards an understanding of history as spatial? How would your thinking or actions change with this perspective?
My worldview, and the metaphysics that shape my understanding of time, began (as almost all things do) in my Grandmother’s garden. Assisting her work, much of which took place in the home, influenced my thinking about where wisdom is developed and practiced. This particular beginning is the greatest gift, though there have many many times that I’ve had to remember my way back, to reclaim its place in my life. In the process, I always recover something I hadn’t noticed, or misinterpreted before; stretching myself to witness more than I think is possible.
Thank you for being here, and sharing your experience. I look forward to reading your responses!
Updates
The Inner Ecology Winter Solstice Session is open for registration! We will gather on December 9th at noon EST to explore the wisdom of the Winter season and learn how to align our inner rhythms with the cycles of nature through guided breathwork, acupressure, and reflective journaling.
Paid subscribers have access to all quarterly events. If you want to join us for the workshop, you can upgrade your subscription or register online. This sliding scale offering is open to any level of experience.
Reading
In preparing for next week’s letter, I’m delving into “Decoloniality and anti-oppressive practices for a more ethical ecology”, by Christopher Trisos, et. al. Alongside this, I recently started reading The Cooking Gene, by award-winning culinary historian, Micheal W. Twitty.
Creating
In an attempt to get ahead each week, I’ve been trying to get more creative in the kitchen with meal prepping. This could be anything from cutting up sweet potatoes, dicing onions and storing them in the freezer, preparing protein sources, combining leftover ingredients to make a macro salad, or batch-making instant oats with cinnamon and brown sugar. Having a few items ready to go means that I have a clearer idea of what I’m working with, and making a meal transforms from theory to praxis.
Meal planning, from a place of preparedness, feels better and more feasible. I used to do it in the reverse order, planning and then prepping. And before becoming a mother, there was much more spontaneity. I think that all of it has a place at the table. However a meal happens, it’s something that is practiced.