Stone Circle Press
  • Ancient Spirit Rising ►
  • ASR ► Contents
  • ASR ► Order
  • ASR ► Testimonials & Reviews
  • Pegi Eyers ► Published!
  • ASR ► Events
  • ASR ► Press
  • ASR ► Radio/Podcast
  • ASR ► Video
  • ASR ► For Book Clubs
  • ASR ► Join
  • ASR ► Quotes
  • Supplemental to the Book
  • Celtic Reconstruction
  • BLOG ► Ancient Spirit Rising
  • BLOG ► Rejecting Empire
  • Pegi Eyers ► Book Reviews
  • Pegi Eyers ► New Fiction
  • Pegi Eyers ► Ecopoetics
  • Stone Circle Press ► Services
  • About Author Pegi Eyers
  • Serenity Wetland Alliance

"Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence and Protection of Indigenous Nations" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

10/28/2014

0 Comments

 

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS


Picture

Edited by Activist-Educator Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Nishnaabekwe), Lighting the Eighth Fire is a radical collection of new writing by First Nations scholars that focuses on reclaiming the "physical, political and psychic spaces of freedom." These brilliant essays cover a wide range of issues touching on the current resurgence of Indigenist principles, culture and tradition; the protection of the land and earth-based knowledge; and the decolonization of Indigenous Nations from the Canadian state.

As Simpson says in her introduction, "It is about following our own intellectual traditions that are strongly rooted in ancestral values, knowledge and philosophies, and to work with traditional governments and Knowledge Holders." The authors explore ways to honor cultural and political values, and to uphold Indigenous integrity in daily life with the practice of language, ceremony and teachings. The community-based style of writing found here is not often recognized by academia, but the voices in the collection will resonate with Canadians who have an interest in justice and learning about Indigenous solutions to the problems caused by Settler-Colonialism, which is ongoing.

We have all been deeply affected by colonization, which seeks to commodify resources and annihilate the land, to separate us from our spiritual connection to the natural world, and to lose the love and trust of each other in the process. In his moving "Opening Words" Taiaiake Alfred (Kahnawake Mohawk) prefaces the anthology by saying, "In offering us strong words about ways to reconnect to our lands, cultures and communities, these good minds are teaching us more than how to recover; they are teaching us how to survive and be Indigenous. It is immensely gratifying to witness the regeneration of ancestral wisdom and the rebirth of the warrior spirit that the words in this book represent." 



"Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence and
Protection of Indigenous Nations"
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Arbeiter Ring Publishing, 2008

​

Picture
Pegi Eyers is the author of  "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon. ​ ​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Book Reviews
    by Pegi Eyers




    ARCHIVES

    ​​"Being Pagan: A Guide to Re-Enchant Your Life" by Rhyd Wildermuth
    ​

    "Rites and Responsibilities: A Guide to Growing Up" by Darcy Ottey
    ​

    ​​"Grandma's Spirit: Calling Us Home to Tyendinaga" by Fred Leonard Jr. and Yontheraha:wi

    "Dancing & Digging: Proverbs on Freedom & Nature" by Shaun Day-Woods
    ​

    "Wyrd Against the Modern World' by Ramon Elani

    "Voluntary Peasants: Inside the Ultimate American Commune" by Melvyn Stiriss

    ​"The Book of Leaves"
    by Morgan Caraway


    HAYTI by Kurtis Sunday

    "The Cull of Personality: Ayahuasca, Colonialism and the Death of a Healer" by Kevin Tucker

    British Home Children

    "Circle of Eight: Creating Magic for Your Place on Earth" by Jane Meredith

    "A Child of the System" Volume 1 & 2 by Lynn D. McLaughlin

    "Radical Wholeness: The Embodied Present and the Ordinary Grace of Being" by Philip Shepherd

    "Ecological Awakening" by Morgan Caraway

    "Witches and Pagans" by Max Dashu

    "Farming the Woods:
    An Integrated Permaculture Approach to Growing Food and Medicinals in Temperate Forests" by Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel

    "Dreaming the Future: Reimagining Civilization in the Age of Nature" by Kenny Ausubel

    "The Village of Hiawatha: A History" by Heather Y. Shpuniarsky and the Village of Hiawatha Book Committee

    "Magical Gardens" by Patricia Monaghan

    "Wild Things for the Soul" by Maia Heissler

    "Following Nimishoomis" by Helen Agger

    "Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-creation, Resurgence and a New Emergence" by Leanne Simpson

    "Cultural Appropriation Queen" On Lynn Andrews

    ​
    "Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence and Protection of Indigenous Nations" by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

    "Occupation Nation" by Chet Singh

    "The Hopi Survival Kit" by Thomas E. Mails

    "Lioslaith" by George C. Myles

    "The Cleft" by Doris Lessing

    "Children of the Creator" by Cliff Standingready

    "Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future" edited by Melissa K. Nelson

    Picture

      Join our e-mail list
      for updates and newsletters from
      "Ancient Spirit Rising"
       

    Submit