Raccoon

Animal Series

by Daniel Heath Justice

Masked bandits of the night, raiders of farm crops and rubbish bins, raccoons are notorious for their indifference to human property and propriety, yet they are also admired for their intelligence, dexterity and determination. Raccoons have also thoroughly adapted to human-dominated environments; they are thriving in numbers greater than at any point of their evolutionary history... including in new habitats.

Raccoon surveys the natural and cultural history of this opportunistic omnivore, tracing its biological evolution, social significance, and image in a range of media and political contexts. From intergalactic misanthropes and despoilers of ancient temples to coveted hunting quarry, unpredictable pet, and symbols of wilderness and racial stereotype alike, Raccoon offers a lively consideration of this misunderstood outlaw species.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Nature, Ecology, Indigenous, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2021

About the author

Daniel Heath Justice (b. 1975) is a Colorado-born citizen of the Cherokee Nation/ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, raised the third generation of his mother's family in the Rocky Mountain mining town of Victor, Colorado. After a decade living and teaching in the Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee territories of southern Ontario, where he worked at the University of Toronto, he now lives with his husband in shíshálh territory on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. He works on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam people, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Literature and Expressive Culture and Professor of First Nations and Indigenous Studies and English at the University of British Columbia.

Daniel's research focuses on Indigenous literary expression, with particular emphasis on issues of literary nationalism, kinship, sexuality, and intellectual production. His scholarship and creative work also extend into speculative fiction, animal studies (including badgers and raccoons), and cultural history. He is also a fantasy/wonderworks writer who explores the otherwise possibilities of Indigenous restoration and sovereignty. His newest book is *Raccoon*, volume 100 in the celebrated Animal Series from Reaktion Books.

A few more facts about Daniel:
-he's an amateur ventriloquist with a badger puppet named Digdug;
-he's a lifelong tabletop RPG player whose favoured alignment is Neutral Good and favoured classes are Druid and Ranger;
-his favourite Indigenous writers working right now include Leanne Simpson, LeAnne Howe, Lee Maracle, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Cherie Dimaline, Billy-Ray Belcourt, and Joshua Whitehead.
-the speculative fiction writers who had the greatest influence on his imagination growing up include Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and his early pop-culture loves include Masters of the Universe, Ewoks, and Thundercats;
-he's a fierce mustelid partisan with a particular love of badgers--in fact, his favourite tattoo is of the badger symbol used by his character Tobhi from *The Way of Thorn and Thunder*;
-he's a devoted Dolly Parton fan and has seen her in concert three times (but has not, alas, yet been to Dollywood); and
-he is the proud and dedicated human attendant to three very weird and awesome dogs.

In summary, he's a queer Cherokee hobbit who lives and writes in the West Coast temperate rainforest and occasionally emerges to teach and do readings. And he's good with that.

Go to his website, www.danielheathjustice.com, for more information about his published and forthcoming work as well as his irregularly-updated blog.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Heath Justice (a Colorado-born citizen of the Cherokee Nation/ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰ and professor at the University of British Columbia) for his 2021 book Raccoon presents the biological, taxonomical, historical and cultural significance of Procyon lotor. And Raccoon is indeed more than just a thorough introduction regarding a nocturnal mammal whose roots can be traced back in the fossil record for more than thirty million years, as Raccoon is also a detailed analysis of the many behaviours, habitats, and characteristics raccoons in fact share with us.

Now in German, the raccoon is known der Waschbär (which means washing bear in English) because of its proclivity for dunking its food in water. And while some claim this behaviour is a sign and indication of sophisticated cleanliness, Justice very much convincingly points out how raccoons often wet and digitally manipulate diverse objects (food articles, rocks, plants, plastics etc.) not for cleaning purposes, but for figuring out what these objects are, what they represent with the sensitive palms of their hands. Therefore Raccoon has David Heath Justice descriptively and enlighteningly demonstrating how the raccoon's penchant for curious exploration via touch and that they often actively seek out objects to experience and to explore via manipulation actually represents a mentality very much like our own, so that say cats and dog might approach unusually shaped garbage cans and similar structures warily and apprehensively, raccoons with their innate curiosity usually and immediately see challenge and opportunity, but with Daniel Heath Justice also warning in Raccoon against our human tendency to make raccoons too much into supposedly clever problem solvers. For while raccoons sure are curious, their success regarding getting into trash cans and the like is according to Justice's presented text mostly due to luck and repetition, that raccoons are always on the look-out for food and will thus constantly be seizing any opportunities to get more and more and to stubbornly and with single-mindedness keep trying and trying until successful.

But yes (and perhaps for some readers kind of a trifle uncomfortably, although for me, rather the opposite in fact), Raccoon also and gloriously points out how precisely those characteristics and traits that have allowed us humans to succeed as a species (flexibility, creativity, curiosity, stubbornness and the capacity for both being social and also violently territorial) are equally shared by raccoons (and that indeed and because raccoons are so flexible, human caused habitat destruction and the like, while being the doom for oh so many animal species is in fact proving favourable for raccoons and that global warming is actually making more and more parts of the world into suitable raccoon habitats). Thus and as an example, even though much of Northern Europe used to be too cold for raccoons and that this prevented their proliferation (as an invasive species), this is now kind of no longer the case, and that according to Daniel Heath Justice, most European countries now have sizeable raccoon populations, flourishing in Germany, Spain, Russia and much of Scandinavia (with their global expansion coming less than a century after raccoons experienced catastrophic population declines, having been hunted to almost near extinction for their fur, as agricultural pests and killed by habitat loss due to deforestation). And just to also say that while I personally do not at all mind that when Justice in Raccoon unpacks and examines the cultural significances of the animal, racial slurs drawn from the raccoon's name are also meticulously presented and explored (both currently and in the past), some readers might well find this potentially offensive (although I for one do think this to be necessary and as such I also textually speaking really value how all-encompassing Raccoon is and that Daniel Heath Justice does not try to sugar coat anything away, that especially his cultural explorations in Raccoon appear with the proverbial warts and all and are supposed to at least in my humble opinion be both educational entertainment but also something to make readers think critically and with humility).

Finally, but significantly, importantly, Justice really leaves little textual doubt that we often do seem to see ourselves reflected in raccoons, and that Raccoon as a book therefore shows how we, how humans both love raccoons and at the same time despise them for their resilience, their ingenuity, their pluck, their "humanity" so to speak (and that no matter how much we might complain and moan about raccoons, we mourn their demises, we find especially young raccoons irresistibly cute and that for many of us, a world without raccoons would be truly sad). And just to quickly point out (and kind of in passing) that (and as expected for me seeing that Daniel Heath Justice is an academic and a university professor), the endnotes and the bibliography for Raccoon are also really first rate (and that I in particular appreciate that there is a list of books as well as a separate list of online resources and organisations). Five stars is my rating for Raccoon, highly recommended and in my opinion suitable for readers aged fourteen or so onwards.

[Nick Koenig · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a wonderfully written and beautifully told cultural history, would highly recommend the text here! Dr. Justice so eloquently threads together an engaging and hyper-informative deep-dive into not only the Raccoon but racial pasts, multispecies worlds, science fiction, artwork, writing, and pop culture...this is just to name a few!

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this cultural history of the raccoon by one of my favourite authors. It is beautifully produced, with quality paper and many images that enhance the reading experience. I took the book camping (apropos in southern Ontario, where we lock up all food on our campsites overnight) and spent the weekend reading tidbits to my companions, fostering lively conversation about the challenges posed by urban raccoons and their representations in pop culture. Justice also addresses the roots of anti-Black racist stereotypes of the raccoon image in American advertising and propaganda. This book is part of the publisher's Animal series.

[Tasha Swingendonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most thorough, and delightful book about everything (from biology to culture, and history) to do with raccoons. One chapter title even uses the words "trash panda" so I was not disappointed.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Civilization is a facade; the world belongs to the raccoons.”

A detailed account of the cultural impact of raccoons over their history ranging from their significance in pre-colonisation America to their use in political campaigns and, more recently, media in general. The discussion of the creature’s interaction with racial stereotypes and Minstrel shows was unapologetic, and made for an interesting read. Living somewhere currently absent of these charming and hated animals, I enjoyed reading the prospect of 61% of the world potentially filled with raccoons.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you need to know about raccoons!
From evolution through politics and pop culture this book covers it all. I would love to have more of this series on my shelf- although I’ll admit this one I purchased because of the author specifically :)

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting.

While there is some biological information, the book is more about human perceptions and lore of the raccoon, as well as our impact on them, environmentally and sometimes individually.

It is not exactly an environmental book, but there are environmental implications.

[I_nm_sby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[parth shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

well researched and beautifully written. it covered all aspects. an amazing guidebook.

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biological and cultural history of this animal, author clearly delighted in the animal

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a more science-focused book, going into the genetics and lineage of the raccoon. There is a bit of that, but this is almost more of a social history. What the raccoon has meant to humans over the ages, how their image in our society has changed, lore they feature in. It was still interesting history to learn, and the text is accessible rather than dense/academic in tone, and there are many illustrations throughout. There was just a little too much focus on specific people (mainly politicians, and mainly American) for me, with the raccoon imagery in relation to them being relevant enough but not inherently about the raccoon itself.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful and fascinating book from Daniel Heath Justice. I hope he writes more animal books.