Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive: Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings

by Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Annmarie Geniusz (Illustrator)

Traditional Anishinaabe (Ojibwe or Chippewa) knowledge, like the knowledge systems of indigenous peoples around the world, has long been collected and presented by researchers who were not a part of the culture they observed. The result is a "colonized" version of the knowledge, one that is distorted and trivialized by an ill-suited Eurocentric paradigm of scientific investigation and classification. In Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive, Wendy Makoons Geniusz contrasts the way in which Anishinaabe botanical knowledge is presented in the academic record with how it is preserved in Anishinaabe culture. In doing so she seeks to open a dialogue between the two communities to discuss methods for decolonizing existing texts and to develop innovative approaches for conducting more culturally meaningful research in the future.

As an Anishinaabe who grew up in a household practicing traditional medicine and who went on to earn a doctorate and become a professional scholar, Geniusz possesses the authority of someone with a foot firmly planted in each world. Her unique ability to navigate both indigenous and scientific perspectives makes this book an invaluable contribution to the field and enriches our understanding of all native communities.

Genres: Indigenous, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Native American, Womens, Ecology

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2009

About the author

Wendy Makoons Geniusz is of Cree and Métis descent. She is assistant professor in the Department of Languages at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where she teaches Ojibwe language courses.

Reviews

[Lori Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing dissertation of Anishinabe life ways and plant medicines. I loved most the quotes and stories of Keewaydinoquay and how they sometimes relayed information in a humorous way. I enjoyed the use of Anishinabemowin words.

[Jason Burgess]

Geniusz provides a thought-provoking background on the colonization of anishinaabe botanical knowledge. She does not place deliberate blame on any of the early researchers into Indigenous knowledge. Well written and easy to apply the concepts of decolonization to adult education.

[Cynthia Mitchell-Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informational about ITK, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge...

[ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you wendy geniusz youve saved my life trying to write a respectful decolonized text about gikendaasowin in 9 weeks 😭🙏❤️ legit queen

[Arielle W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important and really helpful book. Great overview of colonization, with some actual suggestions on how to decolonize texts. The author explains the problems of these colonized texts and how they distort knowledge, but does this without blaming those who wrote them (because sometimes they were genuinely written to help preserve knowledge), and without completely disavowing what's in those texts. Instead, we can use them in a way to help revitalize the culture in a more meaningful way to our own benefit. The texts need to be examined and changed because they cannot be used as-is (e.g., degrading comments need to be removed and abbreviated instructions need to be expanded upon). And we need to recognize our own biases and they ways in which we've been colonized if we are working toward revitalization.