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Blazer Lectures
Becoming Native to This Place
In six compelling essays, Wes Jackson lays the foundation for a new farming economy grounded in nature’s principles. Exploding the tenets of industrial agriculture, Jackson, a respected advocate for sustainable practices and the founder of The Land Institute, seeks to integrate food production with nature in a way that sustains both.
Foreword / Richard C. Edwards --
1. The problem --
2. Visions and assumptions --
3. Science and nature --
4. Nature as measure --
5. Becoming native to our places --
6. Developing the courage of our convictions
Foreword / Richard C. Edwards --
1. The problem --
2. Visions and assumptions --
3. Science and nature --
4. Nature as measure --
5. Becoming native to our places --
6. Developing the courage of our convictions
136 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 1992
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754 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 21, 2008
This book is so white privileged and ignorant. Wes Jackson acts as though agricultural technique can erase the impact of centuries of Western Civilization. He poses the idea that a white farmer was treated as badly as a native person by colonialism. I wish I could reclaim the five hours of my life that I spent reading this.
July 17, 2016
To a large extent, this book is a challenge to the universities to stop and think what they are doing with the young men and women they are supposed to be preparing for the future. The universities now offer only one serious major; upward mobility. Little attention is paid to educating the young to return home, or to go some other place, and dig in. There is no such thing as a "homecoming" major. [p.3]
March 30, 2022
Summary: Six essays advocating agricultural practices that reflect close attention to the character of a particular place.
Wes Jackson thinks universities ought to focus their work on preparing their students for “homecomings”–not to assume that success consists in leaving home but rather becoming native to these places–fully appreciating the character of the place and conforming one’s life in that place to its character. He elaborates this idea of becoming native to one’s place in the six essays that make up this book.
He begins by asking a probing question. Archaeological evidence indicates that at one time over 25,000 indigenous persons lived in the boundaries of Rice County, Kansas. By 1990, only 10,400 could sustain their livelihoods there. Why this population decline? Why did so many families fail where the native peoples once thrived? Why, in a place where buffalo roamed amid native grasses could an economy based on wheat farming fail?
Jackson argues that the assumption that nature must be subdued and ignored had a lot to do with it. Farm plots laid out in squares, disregarding the location of creeks and rivers, the fencing of prairie that offered common grazing ground along with hunting led to the decimation of the buffalo, a food source rich in calories, well-adapted to the prairies. Instead of studying what worked, farmers in tandem with agricultural scientists sought to bend nature to their will. Nature would not be bent.
He offers an interesting case of the conflict between Lysenko and Vavilov, two Soviet scientists. On the science, Lysenko was wrong on many counts and power hungry as well. But he was right to listen to peasant wisdom rather than the proponents of the collective, who wrecked agriculture. Rather than the objectification and control of nature, he urges what Wendell Berry calls a “conversation with nature.” One honors water, forest animals, savanna grazers and the prairie. One pays attention to the topography of land, allowing grasses to hold the soil on slopes. Out of this “conversation,” Jackson launched the Land Institute to develop practices appropriate to the place, an approach that seeks to “mimic” the nature of the place.
More than that, he dreams of what a community might be that did this, describing the community that once was in his location. Sustainability is not just about preserving wilderness, but loving the ordinary of prairie farmland, and even our cities. This loving of place is a task for all of us, and without it, even the most wild places cannot be hoped to survive. It means paying attention to the succession of a place, how in a healthy ecosystem, whether a marsh or a forest, nothing is wasted.
He describes his find forty years programs of New Century Club, a women’s group and their discussions of local wisdom, and the gradual decline even as modern agriculture advanced, but fewer could afford to live there. From beautiful program covers, the programs declined to mimeographs on construction paper. It was evidence that the people of that place had lived closer to the land in those early years than later, with all their technical advances.
Jackson concludes with a call to a kind of ecological patriotism–of love of one’s land, of our place that doesn’t turn the clock back but uses what we know to go forward, though not as conquerors, but those who have finally learned that the land is our teacher, and if we are to care for it well, we must learn from it.
I reviewed Braiding Sweetgrass recently on the integrating of indigenous and ecological wisdom. It strikes me that Jackson is engaged in a similar project. Many argue that we cannot afford the less “efficient” approaches of Robin Wall Kimmerer, or the Land Institute, or places like Polyface Farm, or even Wendell Berry’s own farm. If Wes Jackson and these others are right, we cannot afford our current, unsustainable life, where the hidden costs of our supposed efficiency are becoming increasingly evident. The question is whether we will start learning the lessons of our place on earth while those places can still teach us?
Wes Jackson thinks universities ought to focus their work on preparing their students for “homecomings”–not to assume that success consists in leaving home but rather becoming native to these places–fully appreciating the character of the place and conforming one’s life in that place to its character. He elaborates this idea of becoming native to one’s place in the six essays that make up this book.
He begins by asking a probing question. Archaeological evidence indicates that at one time over 25,000 indigenous persons lived in the boundaries of Rice County, Kansas. By 1990, only 10,400 could sustain their livelihoods there. Why this population decline? Why did so many families fail where the native peoples once thrived? Why, in a place where buffalo roamed amid native grasses could an economy based on wheat farming fail?
Jackson argues that the assumption that nature must be subdued and ignored had a lot to do with it. Farm plots laid out in squares, disregarding the location of creeks and rivers, the fencing of prairie that offered common grazing ground along with hunting led to the decimation of the buffalo, a food source rich in calories, well-adapted to the prairies. Instead of studying what worked, farmers in tandem with agricultural scientists sought to bend nature to their will. Nature would not be bent.
He offers an interesting case of the conflict between Lysenko and Vavilov, two Soviet scientists. On the science, Lysenko was wrong on many counts and power hungry as well. But he was right to listen to peasant wisdom rather than the proponents of the collective, who wrecked agriculture. Rather than the objectification and control of nature, he urges what Wendell Berry calls a “conversation with nature.” One honors water, forest animals, savanna grazers and the prairie. One pays attention to the topography of land, allowing grasses to hold the soil on slopes. Out of this “conversation,” Jackson launched the Land Institute to develop practices appropriate to the place, an approach that seeks to “mimic” the nature of the place.
More than that, he dreams of what a community might be that did this, describing the community that once was in his location. Sustainability is not just about preserving wilderness, but loving the ordinary of prairie farmland, and even our cities. This loving of place is a task for all of us, and without it, even the most wild places cannot be hoped to survive. It means paying attention to the succession of a place, how in a healthy ecosystem, whether a marsh or a forest, nothing is wasted.
He describes his find forty years programs of New Century Club, a women’s group and their discussions of local wisdom, and the gradual decline even as modern agriculture advanced, but fewer could afford to live there. From beautiful program covers, the programs declined to mimeographs on construction paper. It was evidence that the people of that place had lived closer to the land in those early years than later, with all their technical advances.
Jackson concludes with a call to a kind of ecological patriotism–of love of one’s land, of our place that doesn’t turn the clock back but uses what we know to go forward, though not as conquerors, but those who have finally learned that the land is our teacher, and if we are to care for it well, we must learn from it.
I reviewed Braiding Sweetgrass recently on the integrating of indigenous and ecological wisdom. It strikes me that Jackson is engaged in a similar project. Many argue that we cannot afford the less “efficient” approaches of Robin Wall Kimmerer, or the Land Institute, or places like Polyface Farm, or even Wendell Berry’s own farm. If Wes Jackson and these others are right, we cannot afford our current, unsustainable life, where the hidden costs of our supposed efficiency are becoming increasingly evident. The question is whether we will start learning the lessons of our place on earth while those places can still teach us?
October 8, 2012
Mr. Jackson certainly makes some interesting arguments, ones with which I concur a great deal. However, the book itself is written at a high level and is, therefore, going to be unavailable to certain people. I know that sounds elitist, but a big part of the problem with environmental writing is that it's not written on a level that most people understand. And, when that happens, they're free to ignore it. We need writing that reaches the core of people.
To that end, Jackson advises us to foster community in the hopes of creating an ecological view of the world that enables us to survive our own bad choices from previous generations. He does, on occasion, make arguments that I don't necessarily buy into, but on the whole I find his premise to be a good one. Unfortunately, the educational level needed to read Jackson's book leaves it out of the grasp of many people...possibly the very people who could make his ideas reality.
To that end, Jackson advises us to foster community in the hopes of creating an ecological view of the world that enables us to survive our own bad choices from previous generations. He does, on occasion, make arguments that I don't necessarily buy into, but on the whole I find his premise to be a good one. Unfortunately, the educational level needed to read Jackson's book leaves it out of the grasp of many people...possibly the very people who could make his ideas reality.
January 1, 2019
Wes Jackson here provides a set of very important questions for modern society. What happened to our connection with the land and with each other? Why do we continue to follow our current economic and political models if we know they fail to make us happy? What does it mean for a way of life to be sustainable? He does not quite arrive at an answer, but does emerge with what seems to be a way towards an answer, which is the formation of communities based on shared sense of place. Since this was written, we have not made a great deal of progress, but there is still time.
September 3, 2023
As someone who practices a more green living arrangement with the environment around me, I can appreciate Wes Jackson's writing, "Becoming Native to This Place".
Jackson has skillfully combined history, environmentalism, philosophy, and ecology to show how we need to take better care of the environment, but he shows how we do not seem to be at a level (emotionally or generationally) to do what is needed to change the way we handle nature.
Many of the points that Jackson made were excellent. I agree with so many points about the cost of doing things to help nature instead of destroying it. I also agree with children getting more experience in the field so to speak. I hate to repeat what I heard growing up, but children really are our future. I do believe this book was well thought out, and completely researched to show the problems we have with what needs to be done and what happened from a historical perspective.
I will say this, it is short in pages, but long in details. There is a lot to unpack in this small book. It is harder to read because it doesn't flow as well as I liked, but it doesn't detract from wanting to continue reading. It would be a book even lovers of history would like. I would encourage others to read it.
Jackson has skillfully combined history, environmentalism, philosophy, and ecology to show how we need to take better care of the environment, but he shows how we do not seem to be at a level (emotionally or generationally) to do what is needed to change the way we handle nature.
Many of the points that Jackson made were excellent. I agree with so many points about the cost of doing things to help nature instead of destroying it. I also agree with children getting more experience in the field so to speak. I hate to repeat what I heard growing up, but children really are our future. I do believe this book was well thought out, and completely researched to show the problems we have with what needs to be done and what happened from a historical perspective.
I will say this, it is short in pages, but long in details. There is a lot to unpack in this small book. It is harder to read because it doesn't flow as well as I liked, but it doesn't detract from wanting to continue reading. It would be a book even lovers of history would like. I would encourage others to read it.
June 30, 2020
This is the first time I've sat down and absorbed some of Wes Jackson's works in a concentrated way. I really enjoyed his frank and collegial style and the way he wove large theoretical ideas with everyday reality. This slim book definitely got me thinking about what it can mean to become native to "this place," for me, meaning the United States as a descendant of settler colonialists and meaning my chosen (not born) home of what is now California.
In addition to my born identity as a descendant of settler colonialists, I am also a Western-trained ecologist. A training that I often find myself at odds with nowadays but lacked the words to figure out why even when I was going through graduate school. Coming from the Western science world, Jackson gets that discomfort and is able to pinpoint how so much of our current training puts us in almost direct conflict with becoming native to this place. Therein, I couldn't help but recall Robin Wall Kimmerer's invigorating prose about this topic (Braiding Sweetgrass among others). I strongly recommend pairing reading Jackson with Wall Kimmerer and vice versa, for all those Western scientist types.
In addition to my born identity as a descendant of settler colonialists, I am also a Western-trained ecologist. A training that I often find myself at odds with nowadays but lacked the words to figure out why even when I was going through graduate school. Coming from the Western science world, Jackson gets that discomfort and is able to pinpoint how so much of our current training puts us in almost direct conflict with becoming native to this place. Therein, I couldn't help but recall Robin Wall Kimmerer's invigorating prose about this topic (Braiding Sweetgrass among others). I strongly recommend pairing reading Jackson with Wall Kimmerer and vice versa, for all those Western scientist types.
December 12, 2009
Excellent manifesto by Wes Jackson. A friend of mine went to grad school at the Salina Institute... I think the most poignant argument was an analysis of how, in terms of sustainable agriculture and energy investment, the Kansas City area was able to support a higher population during Native American era than currently.
February 21, 2009
wait until you are ready
May 4, 2017
Slim but foundational.
July 6, 2019
A philosophical ballast for the scientific work the Land Institute conducts. Wes continuously (and rightfully) pays homage to Wendell Berry. Read him first. Or, seek out Land Institute research.
September 7, 2023
Brilliant work of essays for anyone interested in environmental studies.
It saddens me that, in most places around the world, his ideas are still revolutionary. Mind you, the book has almost 30 years of existence.
Communities are the answer. Jackson knows that very well, and even if he falls short (its an "old" book) to how to do it, or the comparisons are not suitable, they still point towards the right direction.
It saddens me that, in most places around the world, his ideas are still revolutionary. Mind you, the book has almost 30 years of existence.
Communities are the answer. Jackson knows that very well, and even if he falls short (its an "old" book) to how to do it, or the comparisons are not suitable, they still point towards the right direction.
March 5, 2023
• good thoughts on regenerative ag
• feels a bit unoriginal now, which is funny because I’m sure it was very original when it was published
• makes me want to read more Wendell Berry
• interesting how Jackson seems both repulsed by traditional religion and very interested in its meaning for humans
• feels a bit unoriginal now, which is funny because I’m sure it was very original when it was published
• makes me want to read more Wendell Berry
• interesting how Jackson seems both repulsed by traditional religion and very interested in its meaning for humans
September 27, 2023
Idk, too academic at times. Some of his points were either beyond me or oddly supported. The thesis is somewhat clear although not very feasible. There are better books understanding other cultures’ perspectives like from my man Wade Davis.
January 15, 2023
Fantastic set of essays; my only complaint is the very academic nature of his language. I found myself rereading the same paragraph several times to parse out core ideas.
Read
March 9, 2024He's not as eloquent as Wendell Berry but he is a needed piece to the literature of purpose in placefinding.
Read
October 8, 2014Becoming Native to This Place 05312014 by Wes Jackson
Interesting: Community!!!
Alternative perspective on human interaction with the earth
By Gregory J Guenther on June 19, 2000
Format: Paperback
Very easy reading, short book.
Wes Jackson describes a growing perspective that we need to interact symbiotically with the earth rather than considering the earth a "resource" at our disposal. He mixes philosophy with actual personal experiences to further illustrate the story.
The fact that he began the Land Use Institute in Kansas and is still and active participant lends credibility to his dialog.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Doesn't live up to the title.
By Settler on August 10, 2009
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Wes Jackson is writing with the huge disadvantage of a great title, and I have to say I value all the thought and meditation the title provokes more than the content of the book, which starts with some promise but then wanders off into the woods. He tells you early on that he's going to get lost in the woods when he says that we need to have our "evolutionary/ecological worldview inform our decisions."
Part of the problem is that the title is hopeful, but the book reads like more of a wandering lament or critique of our situation for which the author ultimately has no compelling answers.
That said, the first chapters do provide some useful information on the history of agriculture in the US and the Soviet Union. Particularly interesting is his view that the failure of Soviet agriculture (because much of it was based upon Communist ideology, including ideas about plant heredity) produced in the West the contrary view that philosophy should have no bearing whatsoever on agriculture. Jackson does want philosophy and moral reflection to influence our thinking about agriculture, but he still leaves us ungrounded in any worldview that can provide moral compulsion for care of the earth.
Skip this book in favor of any of the following:
Living at Nature's Pace, Farming and the American Dream, by Gene Logsdon
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, by Wendell Berry
The Omnivore's Dilemma, A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan
1 Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Good book!
By Victoria Kantargis on August 21, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
it's very interesting. thought provoking...most books are but this one is really good. theres history, genetics, culture, etc. very good.
Interesting: Community!!!
Alternative perspective on human interaction with the earth
By Gregory J Guenther on June 19, 2000
Format: Paperback
Very easy reading, short book.
Wes Jackson describes a growing perspective that we need to interact symbiotically with the earth rather than considering the earth a "resource" at our disposal. He mixes philosophy with actual personal experiences to further illustrate the story.
The fact that he began the Land Use Institute in Kansas and is still and active participant lends credibility to his dialog.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Doesn't live up to the title.
By Settler on August 10, 2009
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Wes Jackson is writing with the huge disadvantage of a great title, and I have to say I value all the thought and meditation the title provokes more than the content of the book, which starts with some promise but then wanders off into the woods. He tells you early on that he's going to get lost in the woods when he says that we need to have our "evolutionary/ecological worldview inform our decisions."
Part of the problem is that the title is hopeful, but the book reads like more of a wandering lament or critique of our situation for which the author ultimately has no compelling answers.
That said, the first chapters do provide some useful information on the history of agriculture in the US and the Soviet Union. Particularly interesting is his view that the failure of Soviet agriculture (because much of it was based upon Communist ideology, including ideas about plant heredity) produced in the West the contrary view that philosophy should have no bearing whatsoever on agriculture. Jackson does want philosophy and moral reflection to influence our thinking about agriculture, but he still leaves us ungrounded in any worldview that can provide moral compulsion for care of the earth.
Skip this book in favor of any of the following:
Living at Nature's Pace, Farming and the American Dream, by Gene Logsdon
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, by Wendell Berry
The Omnivore's Dilemma, A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan
1 Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Good book!
By Victoria Kantargis on August 21, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
it's very interesting. thought provoking...most books are but this one is really good. theres history, genetics, culture, etc. very good.
December 26, 2024
This collection of essays conveys a sense of possibility to the reader, encouraging people to reevaluate their relationship with one another and in turn, the land. Wes Jackson argues throughout his essays that the most environmentally-minded thing to do is to develop and maintain relationships with your hometown, its history, and the people in it. By doing so, he believes people will value their land greater and have the necessary cultural knowledge to take care of it properly. In our society, we often encourage children to surpass their family's path, but Jackson argues that we should return to a web of succession. This is how land value is maintained and people can create a culture of safety and understanding between one another.
I appreciated that this book gave the average person something to do to act on modern climate issues. When reading other agricultural books, it often feels like, unless you are a farmer, there's nothing to be done. However, Jackson argues that people have the power to give back to their land by recognizing and respecting the local history. Additionally, the connections he drew between philosophy and biology were entirely new to me and thought-provoking. It did make for a more difficult read, I would recommend familiarizing oneself with the basics of agricultural issues before reading this, but it is a quick read. The entire book is only 100 pages, but every page is filled with deep reflections and ideas. Like Monbiot and many other environmental agriculturalists, Jackson also discusses the loss of biodiversity due to the standardization of food in industrial agriculture. If this is something you would like to learn more about, the documentary "Seed" is incredible, as well as almost any text by Vandana Shiva.
I appreciated that this book gave the average person something to do to act on modern climate issues. When reading other agricultural books, it often feels like, unless you are a farmer, there's nothing to be done. However, Jackson argues that people have the power to give back to their land by recognizing and respecting the local history. Additionally, the connections he drew between philosophy and biology were entirely new to me and thought-provoking. It did make for a more difficult read, I would recommend familiarizing oneself with the basics of agricultural issues before reading this, but it is a quick read. The entire book is only 100 pages, but every page is filled with deep reflections and ideas. Like Monbiot and many other environmental agriculturalists, Jackson also discusses the loss of biodiversity due to the standardization of food in industrial agriculture. If this is something you would like to learn more about, the documentary "Seed" is incredible, as well as almost any text by Vandana Shiva.
May 7, 2009
There was a lot to reflect on in this book, though I think I would need to read it at least once more before seeing how all of the pieces fit together. It's difficult to see exactly what Jackson means by 'becoming native to this place' and how we are to carry it out. That's worth talking about, though.
The writing itself is at times slow-going and at times riveting.
The writing itself is at times slow-going and at times riveting.
August 24, 2014
Coronado murdered a native slave in 1542. He had led Coronado's men on a wild goose chase for gold in hopes that they would return him to his homeland.
And so there is a conflict between our greed, our trust in technology and our entering into place. This is a challenging and thought-provoking essay.
And so there is a conflict between our greed, our trust in technology and our entering into place. This is a challenging and thought-provoking essay.
September 6, 2007
interested in the environment and living sustainably? pick this one up.
September 20, 2008
Manifesto about how North Americans should reconnect to the places that they are from.
October 30, 2013
Good read about paying attention to the place we are now.
December 19, 2022
a prophet for our times. for our land yes but also for the survival of our soul.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews