Power With : Indigenous Knowledges, Environmental Practice, and the Strength of Collaboration (Pre-Order for June 24/26)

Edited by Barbara Moktthewenkwe Wall and Mary-Claire Buell. Barbara Moktthewenkwe Wall is a mixed-ancestry Potawatomi woman of the Deer Clan, and an enrolled member of the federally recognized Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She is an associate professor within the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences program and the Indigenous Studies PhD program at Trent University. An Indigenous scholar with strong ancestral and spiritual ties to the Great Lakes Basin, Barbara lives and works in Treaty 20 and the Williams Treaty territory, the traditional lands of the Michi Saagiig Anishinaabe in Ontario, Canada. Her personal and professional journey has taken her across several regions, including northern New York State, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the San Francisco Bay Area. These diverse lands and waters continue to shape her scholarship, community engagement, and deep commitment to Indigenous language, culture, and land-based knowledge. Mary-Claire Buell is an assistant professor, cross-appointed with the School of Environment and Department of Forensic Science at Trent University. Dr. Buell’s research interests include investigating the source, fate, transport, and impacts of legacy and contemporary contaminants, examining the connections between contaminants and environmental justice, treaty rights, and food security. Her research is trans-disciplinary, bringing together environmental toxicology, chemistry, and community knowledges. Dr. Buell is a settler Canadian of Italian, German, and Irish ancestry, and was born and raised in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough, Ontario. Dr. Buell holds a PhD and MSc from Trent University and a BSc from the University of Guelph. Power With: Indigenous Knowledges, Environmental Practice, and the Strength of Collaboration calls for a paradigm shift in environmental science and education. This groundbreaking collection advocates for ethical and effective collaborations between Indigenous Peoples and communities and environmental practitioners working at the intersection of Indigenous ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing, and Eurocentric environmental sciences. Through case studies grounded in community-based research and dialogue from a gathering of contributing authors, this volume asks urgent questions: How does the status quo in environmental sciences support ongoing colonial impacts? How can we stand with Indigenous science? And how can collaborative work at the intersection of Indigenous and Eurocentric sciences help address “wicked problems,” such as conservation and sustainability in the context of the climate crisis? This 16-chapter volume brings together 43 Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors, academic instructors, emerging scholars, community members, government scientists, researchers, youth, and practitioners, along with three research collectives. It offers concrete examples of collaborative research projects and amplifies the voices of those most affected. The editors and authors provide tools, guidance, and advice for creating a lasting impact for healthier people and planet. Power With is designed to be accessible for 200- to 300-level students as well as environmental practitioners. It includes several dialogue-based chapters to enhance engagement and forward Indigenous epistemologies. This timely collection offers a clear and accessible resource for courses in environmental sciences and studies, Indigenous studies, sociology, anthropology, geography, forestry, gender studies, and health studies. Some reviews: “Moving beyond a single environmental studies class on Indigenous perspectives, Power With is an invitation to rethink and transform environmental science discourse and practice towards a shared decolonial future. By centring and amplifying Indigenous women, youth, and queer voices, Power With shifts teaching, learning, and studying in environmental fields and should be required reading in these disciplines.”—Leanne Betasmosake Simpson, author of Theory of Water “Rich in insights and potent examples, Power With is a valuable contribution to the literature of collaboration among knowledge systems for care of land and water. The text provides guidance both conceptual and pragmatic, adding to the toolkit of resources for educators and practitioners. This carefully curated compilation amplifies leading Indigenous and ally voices reminding us that we know so much more together than we do apart.” —Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Founder, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, and author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants “This is it—at last! A book telling stories of Indigenous solutions for caring for the environment, told in ways that are vibrant in their transparency, humility, and ingenuity. Striking how the book is the product of dialogue among the authors, modelling what we can achieve when we collaborate respectfully.”— Kyle Whyte, George Willis Pack Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability, and University Diversity and Social Transformation, University of Michigan