Tsawalk: A Nuu-chah-nulth Worldview

by Umeek / E. Richard Atleo

Western philosophy has long held scientific rationalism in a place of honour. Reason, that particularly exalted human quality, has become steadily distanced from the metaphysical aspects of existence, such as spirit, faith, and intuition. In Tsawalk, hereditary chief Umeek introduces us to an alternative indigenous worldview--an ontology drawn from the Nuu-chah-nulth origin stories.

A valuable contribution to Native studies, anthropology, philosophy, and the study of science, Tsawalk offers a revitalizing and thoughtful complement to Western scientific worldviews.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, Philosophy, Anthropology

168 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2004

Reviews

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and intimate examination. Scholarly in places

[Mattia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the Nuu-chah-nulth stories and personal histories and photos from the author's family, but the introduction and final chapter about western philosophy and metaphysics were boring and hard to understand. I thought that explaining the Nuu-chah-nulth worldview through stories about the author's ancestor, a great chief, worked a lot better.

[Geneva Ensign · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Legends are not "just legends," but the basis of the Indigenous world view which all of us who live in this world should pay attention to. A blend of scholasticism and interpretation of storytelling. Should be read by all!

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most important book I have read.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umweek, a hereditary chief of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth, sets himself two tasks in this book: to provide a thick picture of his culture, emphasizing the importance of the title precept, which translates as "everything is one"; and to argue for Tsawalk as a methodology for scholarly research. He does a much better job with the first than the second. Basing his presentation on the linguistic, cultural and political traditions of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth, he retells several stories to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the various levels of life. Son of Raven and Son of Mucus come alive as culture heroes and Umeek clearly establishes the vitality and wisdom of his people's traditions. The emphasis on one-ness parallels similar approaches in other native traditions, but Tsawalk is well worth heeding both for what it says about the Nuu-Chah-Nulth traditions and for what it offers readers from outside the cultural circle.

The final chapter, however, falls into a trap that's not unusual in a certain current of Native writing. Like Vine Deloria in Red Earth, White Lies, Umeek seems intent on presenting Tsawalk as a methodology equivalent to western science (and in Umeek's case, social science). It's an odd rhetorical move and it pretty much falls flat. To argue that the spiritual and the physical deserve equal attention and to assert, accurately, that environmental science and (though I'd want to add some footnotes) quantum physics emphasize connection is valuable. But to argue that Tsawalk provides a methodology which answers to the same sorts of standards as science is simply wrong. The rhetoric and examples in the final chapter don't come close to making Umeek's case and, as a result he to some extend undercuts the power of his book. I'd have very much preferred it if he'd simply presented the world view and let its power speak for itself.

[Mark Hazell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly readable and brilliant introduction to a worldview that differs dramatically from the European -- Atleo uses traditional stories to draw a picture of a world that many of us have lost sight of.