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Settler Cannabis: From Gold Rush to Green Rush in Indigenous Northern California
Connects California cannabis production to the violence and dispossession of Indigenous land and people
Young countercultural back-to-the-land settlers flocked to northwestern California beginning in the 1960s, and by the 1970s, unregulated cannabis production proliferated on Indigenous lands. As of 2021, the California cannabis economy was valued at $3.5 billion. In Settler Cannabis, Kaitlin Reed demonstrates how this "green rush" is only the most recent example of settler colonial resource extraction and wealth accumulation. Situating the cannabis industry within this broader legacy, the author traces patterns of resource rushing—first gold, then timber, then fish, and now cannabis—to reveal the ongoing impacts on Indigenous cultures, lands, waters, and bodies.
Reed shares this history to inform the path toward an alternative future, one that starts with the return of land to Indigenous stewardship and rejects the commodification and control of nature for profit. Combining archival research with testimonies and interviews with tribal members, tribal employees, and settler state employees, Settler Cannabis offers a groundbreaking analysis of the environmental consequences of cannabis cultivation that foregrounds Indigenous voices, experiences, and histories.
Young countercultural back-to-the-land settlers flocked to northwestern California beginning in the 1960s, and by the 1970s, unregulated cannabis production proliferated on Indigenous lands. As of 2021, the California cannabis economy was valued at $3.5 billion. In Settler Cannabis, Kaitlin Reed demonstrates how this "green rush" is only the most recent example of settler colonial resource extraction and wealth accumulation. Situating the cannabis industry within this broader legacy, the author traces patterns of resource rushing—first gold, then timber, then fish, and now cannabis—to reveal the ongoing impacts on Indigenous cultures, lands, waters, and bodies.
Reed shares this history to inform the path toward an alternative future, one that starts with the return of land to Indigenous stewardship and rejects the commodification and control of nature for profit. Combining archival research with testimonies and interviews with tribal members, tribal employees, and settler state employees, Settler Cannabis offers a groundbreaking analysis of the environmental consequences of cannabis cultivation that foregrounds Indigenous voices, experiences, and histories.
- GenresNonfiction
298 pages, ebook
Published May 23, 2023
4 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 31, 2024
So cool, as of recently we are being taught that cannabis is so good and its legalization is a large symbol of social justice (which it is in some respects) but a big part of its legacy is its continuation of settler colonialism, indigenous dispossession, environmental destruction. Anyone who smokes weed should read this I feel
December 16, 2025
“If our fish are dying, it’s irrelevant whether that water is being used for wine, tomatoes, or cannabis” (207).
This book is amazing. Reed analyzes the many “Rushes” in California – Gold, Fish, Timber, Cannabis – and shows how they are underscored by settler colonial logics (commodification and consumerism within capitalism, especially). Each Rush is shown to have a clear pattern not only of the impact on the “resources” the Rush is isolating and targeting, but also how Native people are consistently and predictably treated during it. These Rushes all interconnect, too – to each other and to the present. In addition to the environmental impact the Rushes have had, Reed uplifts what Tribes have always done and are doing to intervene today. She also details the many ways ecocide and genocide are one in the same for Indigenous peoples.
A strength of the book that I want to highlight is how Reed problematizes the Manifest Destiny of it all—i.e., the ideologies that have been so normalized they are treated as natural or inevitable. Reed gives the reader what the dominant narrative is, as well as the evidence that exists for it. However, she then guides the reader to question the very roots of the research agenda itself, including the assumptions embedded even in how research questions are framed, which reveal how they are informed by a settler colonial logic. Just to give two of the many, many reframings she offers: Reed shows how pollution is seen as inevitable, where “the question is not whether to pollute but rather how much the state is allowed to pollute” (229), and she also problematizes the units of analysis researchers often assume are common sense. For example, the use of statewide data in drawing conclusions when that data is largely irrelevant to understanding localized, especially tribal, impacts (159).
This book is amazing. Reed analyzes the many “Rushes” in California – Gold, Fish, Timber, Cannabis – and shows how they are underscored by settler colonial logics (commodification and consumerism within capitalism, especially). Each Rush is shown to have a clear pattern not only of the impact on the “resources” the Rush is isolating and targeting, but also how Native people are consistently and predictably treated during it. These Rushes all interconnect, too – to each other and to the present. In addition to the environmental impact the Rushes have had, Reed uplifts what Tribes have always done and are doing to intervene today. She also details the many ways ecocide and genocide are one in the same for Indigenous peoples.
A strength of the book that I want to highlight is how Reed problematizes the Manifest Destiny of it all—i.e., the ideologies that have been so normalized they are treated as natural or inevitable. Reed gives the reader what the dominant narrative is, as well as the evidence that exists for it. However, she then guides the reader to question the very roots of the research agenda itself, including the assumptions embedded even in how research questions are framed, which reveal how they are informed by a settler colonial logic. Just to give two of the many, many reframings she offers: Reed shows how pollution is seen as inevitable, where “the question is not whether to pollute but rather how much the state is allowed to pollute” (229), and she also problematizes the units of analysis researchers often assume are common sense. For example, the use of statewide data in drawing conclusions when that data is largely irrelevant to understanding localized, especially tribal, impacts (159).
December 18, 2024
Immediate thoughts upon finishing: Wow, an intricate look at resource rushing, ecological justice, settler colonialism, and genocide in the place I call home. A detailed history of the land where I was raised that I never really understood until now.
I really enjoyed this book. Written by an Indigenous professor of Native American studies about the history of resource extraction in California, beginning with the Gold Rush. I grew up in a community enmeshed within the Timber industry and saw something thrive until it died. It was very illuminating to read about the long-term environmental and ecological impacts of this destructive industry. There has been so much damage done to the land and our waterways. Today, the Cannabis Industry is leading the way in polluting Northern California's forests, mountains, and waterways.
Intertwined with this history of resource rushing is another history: of settler colonialism and genocide. Indigenous communities have repeated fallen victim to the mighty fist of Manifest Destiny and Western ideas of profiteering. The Indigenous people of California have suffered grave injustices in the name of industry. Despite all this history of loss, degradation, and destruction, Indigenous communities are at the forefront of fighting for ecological reform to save the land. While I was reading this book, the Yurok people successfully led a fight to remove major river dams that were destroying salmon life cycles. They also have much to teach California about fire ecology, land restoration, and conservation, if we'd only listen.
If you are from California, and/or you love living in California, I highly recommend you read this book to learn more about the land you sit on, what makes it beautiful, and why it's worth saving.
I really enjoyed this book. Written by an Indigenous professor of Native American studies about the history of resource extraction in California, beginning with the Gold Rush. I grew up in a community enmeshed within the Timber industry and saw something thrive until it died. It was very illuminating to read about the long-term environmental and ecological impacts of this destructive industry. There has been so much damage done to the land and our waterways. Today, the Cannabis Industry is leading the way in polluting Northern California's forests, mountains, and waterways.
Intertwined with this history of resource rushing is another history: of settler colonialism and genocide. Indigenous communities have repeated fallen victim to the mighty fist of Manifest Destiny and Western ideas of profiteering. The Indigenous people of California have suffered grave injustices in the name of industry. Despite all this history of loss, degradation, and destruction, Indigenous communities are at the forefront of fighting for ecological reform to save the land. While I was reading this book, the Yurok people successfully led a fight to remove major river dams that were destroying salmon life cycles. They also have much to teach California about fire ecology, land restoration, and conservation, if we'd only listen.
If you are from California, and/or you love living in California, I highly recommend you read this book to learn more about the land you sit on, what makes it beautiful, and why it's worth saving.
May 6, 2025
A must read for anyone who consumes cannabis. THANK YOU DR. REED FOR WRITING THIS AWESOME BOOK!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews