Speculative Relations: Indigenous Worlding and Repair

by Joseph M. Pierce

Indigenous relations are often described in anthropological terms, or as expressions of timeless, unchanging kinship ties. In Speculative Relations, Joseph M. Pierce challenges this view, considering the potential of these relations as a means of repairing the damages of history. Pierce approaches Indigenous art and culture not as objects of study, but through relations committed to reciprocity and care for human and more-than-human beings. Drawing on Cherokee thinking, Indigenous queer theory, literary and cultural studies, and art criticism, he illuminates pathways for understanding and resisting the ongoing damages of colonialism while pointing to future worlds and imaginaries that breathe life into Indigenous thought and practice. Analyzing a range of materials—from photography, literature, and sculpture to film and ethnography—Pierce reveals how speculation, as a form of situated knowledge production, can repair and reimagine the worlds that colonialism sought to destroy. In doing so, Pierce highlights how gestures, poetics, and embodiment can uphold tradition and harness the imaginative power of speculation to create pathways for living in good relations.

296 pages, Hardcover

Published August 26, 2025

Reviews

[nashaly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If it is a dream of speculative relations, then perhaps the future is unwritten, and its writing, in its becoming, we will find that our futures are suturing with every breath, every glance, every gesture, of resistance found and discovered, uncovered from colonial archives, unearthed from white clay painted on a freckled cheek, shaped through dripping paint, twisted and spun in webs of kinetic body-memory."

what a beautiful and haunting narrative Pierce gives us. he is simultaneously opening our eyes but holding our hand, creating a kinship. he plants a seed in the reader, as the seeds have been taken care of by past generations, a seed of love and memory. we must speculate. we must love. we must never forget the horrors and beauty of the past. we must reclaim. we must build.

I will probably add more once I have digested and discussed this with my peers in my seminar tomorrow but I applaud this book for bringing forth so much care and history.