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Longleaf Pine Beam from Dendroarchaeology Fieldwork
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Conceptual Framework for Critical Dendrochronology

'Cracking Open Critical Dendrochronology'

A Collective Anti-Colonial & Anti-Racist Resource Packet for Dendrochronologists & Beyond

 

As fires singe landscapes and stream levels fluctuate, trees dutifully inscribe these phenomena in their rings year after year, passing down stories of the past environment. As dendrochronologists, we are deeply interested in listening and interpreting these storied worlds trees narrate. However, in the co-creation of our research, we must stay attuned to justice-oriented practices and scholarship so we can ensure our research & teaching do not perpetuate the colonial, racist, & exclusionary pasts & presents of the scientific community. The work and service that needs to be done must be in conversation with a wide variety of thinkers and scholars while being in community both locally and with other dendrochronologists: collaborative thinking is paramount.

 

Presented and organized here is the result of an ongoing and deep mediation of scholarship and resources that can serve as a jumping-off point for those interested and committed to generating just futures. This guide has been co-produced and put together through workshops, & conversations with folks around North America and am continually inspired by the following collaborations I am grateful to be apart of: Spring 2024 ED 592: Decolonizing, Indigenous, & Action-Based Research, 2023 Decolonizing Botany Workshop at Botany 2023 (Tabitha Faber, Louisa Bartkovich, Amy Wrobleski, & Dr. Az Klymiuk), Mentoring Indigenous Student Workshop Series (Jessica Matsaw & Shanny Spang Gion), & the Anti-Colonial Literature Directed Studies mentored by Dr. Grant Harley. All efforts were made to cite and share work from BIPOC & queer activists, scholars, and thinkers. There are inevitably missing resources from this guide, as it reflects my position (Nick Koenig) as a queer white settler at the University of Idaho, and I am eager to welcome contributions from the dendro community & beyond. Please do not hesitate to email or message me on Twitter (koen2388 [@] vandals.uidaho.edu & @NickAndPlants). I will work as promptly as possible to make the needed edits! Additionally, you can submit anonymous feedback, comments, and/or additional resources here. Lastly, to work towards breaking down barriers in access to research, all articles can be found in the following Google Drive folder here (if any author does not wish to be included, I will remove the resource from the folder).

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I hope you enjoy exploring this guide & encourage you to engage deeply with some of the materials rather than reading/listening to all them extractively as we are trained to do as scientists (Pollution is Colonialism Liboiron, 2021).

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"At the human scale, in order to create a world that works for more people, for more life, we have to collaborate on the process of dreaming and visioning and implementing that world."

-adrienne marie brown in Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (2017)

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"Humanity is responsible, and humanity must be willing to face itself and to acknowledge its role in these horrors. We must do so in order to ensure we never tread the path of such destruction again."

-Zygmunt Bauman from

Zoe Todd's "An Indigenous Feminist’s Take On The Ontological Turn: ‘Ontology’ Is Just Another Word For Colonialism" (2016)

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Definitions

Positionality: "how a person’s identity (not simply demographic categories) within a particular space situated temporally and socially giving rise to their access in society including their power and how they're perceived by others" (Jessica Matsaw & Shanny Spang Gion, per comms.)

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Self-Location: "on the other hand, is sharing of positions and background – an Indigenous research pedagogy – rooted in building relationality with groups to foster community" (Jessica Matsaw & Shanny Spang Gion, per comms.)
 

Colonialism: "is a way to describe relationships characterized by conquest and genocide … Colonialism is more than the intent, identities, heritages, and values of settlers and their ancestors. It’s about genocide and access.” (Max Liboiron, 2021)​

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Anticolonialism: is being aware of colonial structures and speaking out against it (Az Klymiuk, per comms.)

 

Decolonization: "Decolonization is work that belongs to all of us, everywhere. It asks us to think about our relationship with Indigenous lands that colonizers have unjustly claimed, re-defined and repurposed all over the world. It asks us to embrace responsibility as opposed to accepting fault. Lastly, decolonization is a path forward to creating systems which are just and equitable, addressing inequality through education, dialogue, communication, and action." (Belfi & Sandiford 2021)

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Indigenous Knowledge: "a cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment" (Fikret Berkes 2017)

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Going Beyond the Land Acknowledgement

  • Website: Learn what traditional homelands you reside on:

  • Website: Learn more about 'Land Grab' universities and how these institutions still profit off of indigenous land:

  • Workshop: During the creation of the Decolonizing Botany Workshop, we had everyone come together and share some of the values from the traditional homelands they currently resided on and/or have previously occupied. This was prompted by Dr. Az Klymiuk for some of the following goals: learn more about the indigenous groups in which we currently occupied, learn more about other indigenous groups' value systems throughout the world, and reframe the ways in which we carry out research and organizing work. This has served as one way we can go beyond the land acknowledgment (Klymiuk, per comms).​

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Critical Dendrochronology Readings

The idea and framework of critical dendrochronology can be visualized in one way at the top of this page; however, given the novelty of critical dendro, other frameworks can and should be explored. I am excited to start the process of contributing to the dendrochronology community (and critical physical geography) through thinking, writing, and visioning ways we can move our practices towards just futures.

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  • Article: Ecological memory in the biophysical afterlife of slavery

    • Bruno, Tianna. "Ecological memory in the biophysical afterlife of slavery." Annals of the American Association of Geographers (2022): 1-11.

  • Article: Putting the Anthropocene into practice: Methodological implications

    • ​Biermann, Christine, Lisa C. Kelley, and Rebecca Lave. "Putting the Anthropocene into practice: Methodological implications." Annals of the American Association of Geographers 111.3 (2020): 808-818.

  • Article: Practicing critical physical geography: New trading zones and interactional expertise in an expanding field

    • Rader, Alana M., et al. "Practicing critical physical geography: New trading zones and interactional expertise in an expanding field." The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien 67.1 (2023): 10-16.

  • Article: Understanding the historic legacies of empire from the timbers left behind: Towards critical dendroprovenancing in the British North Atlantic

    • ​Greer, Kirsten, et al. "Understanding the historic legacies of empire from the timbers left behind: Towards critical dendroprovenancing in the British North Atlantic." The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien (2023).

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Anti-Colonial Resources

  • Book: Pollution is colonialism

    • ​Liboiron, Max. Pollution is colonialism. Duke University Press, 2021.

  • Article: Botanical decolonization: rethinking native plants

    • ​Mastnak, Tomaz, Julia Elyachar, and Tom Boellstorff. "Botanical decolonization: rethinking native plants." Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 32.2 (2014): 363-380.

  • Article: Decolonization is not a metaphor

    • Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. "Decolonization is not a metaphor." Tabula Rasa 38 (2021): 61-111.

  • Book: Decolonizing Methodologies: research and indigeneous peoples

    • Smith, ​Linda Tuhiwai. "Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples" Otago University Press, 2012.

  • Book: A decolonial feminism

    • ​Vergès, Françoise. A decolonial feminism. London: Pluto Press, 2021.

  • Book: A Third University is Possible

    • la paperson, ​K. Wayne Yang. A Third University is Possible. University of Minnesota Press, 2017.

  • Video: Decolonization Is for Everyone by Nikki Sanchez (TEDxSFU)

  • Article: Notes on fake decolonization by Bhakti Shringarpure​

  • Book: Fresh banana leaves: healing Indigenous landscapes through Indigenous science

    • Hernandez, Jessica. Fresh banana leaves: healing Indigenous landscapes through Indigenous science. North Atlantic Books, 2022.​​​

  • Book: Sacred ecology

    • Berkes, Fikret. Sacred ecology. Routledge, 2017.​

  • Website: What is decolonization, why is it important, and how can we practice it?

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Anti-Racist Resources

  • Article: The rise of citational justice

    • Kwon, Diana. "The rise of citational justice: how scholars are making references fairer." Nature 603.7902 (2022): 568-571.

  • Article: More reflections on a white discipline

    • ​Bruno, Tianna, and Cristina Faiver-Serna. "More reflections on a white discipline." The Professional Geographer 74.1 (2022): 156-161.

  • Article: A phenomenology of whiteness

    • Ahmed, Sara. "A phenomenology of whiteness." Feminist theory 8.2 (2007): 149-168.​

  • Article: Reflections on operationalizing an anti-racism pedagogy

    • Alderman, Derek, et al. "Reflections on operationalizing an anti-racism pedagogy: Teaching as regional storytelling." Journal of Geography in Higher Education 45.2 (2021): 186-200.

  • Website: White Supremacy Culture Characteristics

  • Book: A billion black Anthropocenes or none

  • ​Book: On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life

    • Ahmed, Sara. On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Duke University Press, 2020.​

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Inclusive Education & Geography Lab Spaces

  • Video: Decolonised Education Explained in Simple Terms

  • Website: Ideas and Insights: A Discussion on Decolonizing and Indigenizing Classrooms, Schools and Systems
    Posted by Jasmine Wong​

  • Website: Decolonizing the Classroom​

  • Article: The Stories We Tell: Challenging Exclusionary Histories of Geography in US Graduate Curriculum

    • Kinkaid, Eden, and Lauren Fritzsche. "The Stories We Tell: Challenging Exclusionary Histories of Geography in US Graduate Curriculum." Annals of the American Association of Geographers 112.8 (2022): 2469-2485.

  • Website: Resources for instructors to decolonize and indigenize teaching and learning​

  • Article: “Where do I even start?” Recommendations for faculty diversifying syllabi in ecology, evolution, and the life sciences

    • Perrin‐Stowe, Tolulope IN, et al. "“Where do I even start?” Recommendations for faculty diversifying syllabi in ecology, evolution, and the life sciences." Ecology and Evolution 13.1 (2023): e9719.​

  • Article: In reciprocity: Responses to critiques of Indigenous methodologies​

    • Windchief, Sweeney, et al. "In reciprocity: Responses to critiques of Indigenous methodologies." Qualitative Inquiry 24.8 (2018): 532-542.​

  • Article: Tribal nation building and the role of faculty: Paying the debt on Indigenous well-being in higher education​

    • Stevens, Philip J., et al. "Tribal nation building and the role of faculty: Paying the debt on Indigenous well-being in higher education." Journal of American Indian Education 60.3 (2021): 13-43.​

  • Article: Cultivating alliances: Reflections on the role of non-Indigenous collaborators in Indigenous educational sovereignty​​​

    • Anthony-Stevens, Vanessa. "Cultivating alliances: Reflections on the role of non-Indigenous collaborators in Indigenous educational sovereignty." Journal of American Indian Education 56.1 (2017): 81-104.​

  • Article: “What do you need a course like that for?” Conceptualizing diverse ruralities in rural teacher education​

    • Anthony-Stevens, Vanessa, and Stephanie Langford. "“What do you need a course like that for?” Conceptualizing diverse ruralities in rural teacher education." Journal of Teacher Education 71.3 (2020): 332-344.​

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Vegetal & Fieldwork Ethics​​

  • Article: An Introduction to Settler Science and the Ethics of Contact 

    • Shorter, David Delgado, and Kim TallBear. "An Introduction to Settler Science and the Ethics of Contact." American Indian Culture and Research Journal 45.1 (2021): 1-8.​

  • Article: On an ethic of not going there

    • ​​Guasco, Anna. "On an ethic of not going there." The Geographical Journal 188.3 (2022): 468-475.​

      • ​​​​Problematizes the exclusionary & ableist basis of fieldwork. Are there ways we, as dendrochronologists, radically reimagine ideas around fieldwork and an expanded set of ways to conduct tree ring research.​

  • Website: Unethical Research​

  • Article: Listening to plants: Conversations between critical plant studies and vegetal geography

    • Lawrence, Anna M. "Listening to plants: Conversations between critical plant studies and vegetal geography." Progress in Human Geography 46.2 (2022): 629-651.

  • Article: Ten simple rules for Global North researchers to stop perpetuating helicopter research in the Global South

    • Haelewaters, Danny, Tina A. Hofmann, and Adriana L. Romero-Olivares. "Ten simple rules for Global North researchers to stop perpetuating helicopter research in the Global South." PLoS Computational Biology 17.8 (2021): e1009277.​

  • Article: Framing co‐productive conservation in partnership with Arctic Indigenous peoples

    • Buschman, Victoria Qutuuq. "Framing co‐productive conservation in partnership with Arctic Indigenous peoples." Conservation Biology (2022): e13972.

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Additional Resources That Are Sensational

  • Article: Black geographic possibilities: On a queer Black South

    • Eaves, Latoya E. "Black geographic possibilities: On a queer Black South." Southeastern Geographer 57.1 (2017): 80-95.

  • Twitter Thread: Who are some Indigenous-Black-Indigenous intellectuals (activists & poets) from Latin America & the Caribbean that more people should read?

  • Book: Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

    • maree brown, adrienne. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds​. AK Press, 2017.

  • Article: An indigenous feminist's take on the ontological turn:‘Ontology’is just another word for colonialism

    • Todd, Zoe. "An indigenous feminist's take on the ontological turn:‘Ontology’is just another word for colonialism." Journal of historical sociology 29.1 (2016): 4-22.​

  • Article: Intervention: Critical physical geography​

    • Lave, Rebecca, et al. "I ntervention: Critical physical geography." The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien 58.1 (2014): 1-10.​

  • Article: Being a scientist means taking sides​

    • O'Brien, Mary H. "Being a scientist means taking sides." BioScience 43.10 (1993): 706-708.​

  • Article: A woodcutter's story: Perceptions and uses of mathematics on the San Carlos Apache Reservation​

    • Stevens, Philip J. "A woodcutter’s story: Perceptions and uses of mathematics on the San Carlos Apache Reservation." Anthropology & Education Quarterly 52.4 (2021): 430-450.​

  • Article: Indigenous climate change studies: Indigenizing futures, decolonizing the Anthropocene​

    • Whyte, Kyle. "Indigenous climate change studies: Indigenizing futures, decolonizing the Anthropocene." English Language Notes 55.1 (2017): 153-162.​

  • Article: Queer Theory for Lichens​

    • Griffiths, David. "Queer theory for lichens." UnderCurrents 19.1 (2015): 36-45.​

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