UPDATE ... The Winona LaDuke Chronicles is now released as of January 2016.
Pre Order Now: The Winona LaDuke Chronicles
Out: January 2016, Pre-Order Yours
“I have lived much of my life on the road. Like my mother and father before me, I travel. For me it is from one tribal nation to another, from University to College, regulatory hearing, court room, to the United Nations; and then home. It is by car, airplane, sometimes by horse or canoe. This is the book of those travels, a privileged life indeed. In this space, people share their stories, or, sometimes, if I am lucky, a story unfolds as I watch; pen in hand.” Winona LaDuke
“Winona LaDuke standing in front of ExxonMobil Heavy Haul truck, near Lolo Hot Springs, Oregon. Truck is stranded on the historic highway 12, Nez Perce territory.”
A two time vice presidential candidate in l996 and 2000, author of five books of non fiction, one children’s’ book and a novel, Chronicles is a major work of current , pressing, and inspirational stories of Indigenous communities- from the Canadian subarctic, to the heart of Dine Bii Kaya, Navajo Nation. Stories range from visits with Desmond Tutu, front line Indigenous leaders, to restored Indigenous farming, and the ability of this society to move from a Tipi to a Tesla. This book tells of the need and the ability to make an elegant transition to a post fossil fuels economy. Long awaited, the book is a labor of love, a tribute to those who have passed on and those yet to arrive.
Quotes from the Book
Winona LaDuke’s, LaDuke Chronicles, comes out this solstice. Long awaited, the book is at once, a travel journal, as she moves from one tribal community, village or gathering to another; and also features well-researched, in depth stories, analysis and tributes. Published by her new Spotted Horse Press publishing company, LaDuke shares much of her life, and the stories which compel her.
From the back cover, “I have lived much of my life on the roadLike my mother and father before me, I travel- from one tribal nation to another, from University to College, regulatory hearing, court room, to the United Nations; and then home. This is the book of those travels, a privileged life indeed. In this space people share their stories, or, just at that moment, a story unfolds as I watch; pen in hand.”
Excerpts:
From Spirit Bear and the Pipeline
“Peter Okimaw walked up to the microphone. He is a middle-aged man from the village of Driftpile, a Cree reserve around 250 miles north of Edmonton. “When I was a kid, I used to drink from those creeks and rivers,” he said. “Now I have to go to Walmart and buy water when I go into the bush by those creeks….”
During this portion of the testimony, the Enbridge representatives made few notes and wrote very slowly.
Okimaw continued: “I had seen the beaver there going crazy. I said to my brother that we wouldn’t go crazy... Sure we’d like to take our children to swim, but where? We have to go to Edmonton to swim in a pool. It’s our traditional land and we should keep it that way. We should save the rest. Once you’ve taken the heart of Mother Nature, then where do we stand? The world will be looking at us in Alberta. They will say, ‘Boy, it was good while it lasted.’”
On Legalization of Marijuana:
“…I am told that 40% of my community smokes the herb. The fact is we’re spending millions of dollars a year importing marijuana from largely unsavory characters onto the reservation, creating a great loss to our tribal economy. This is undeniable in every reservation. I haven’t done complete studies, but in order to buy marijuana from dealers elsewhere, conservative estimates indicate that $60,000 a week is draining from my own reservation, White Earth. With a little math, it looks like around $3 million annually heads to the drug lords, or maybe just the Nancy Botwin of theWeeds series.
From Tipi to a Tesla- Me and Emma:
“…I would like to drive a couple of cars in the next few years. I would like to drive a Jaguar—not own one, just drive one—across the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe navy blue, or slate grey. And maybe a real old school car, too, like an old Chevy. A rounded-edges one. No sharp fins.
Why would I like to do this? Because—in their own way—they are works of art to me, perhaps to all of us, beautiful works of art created in a fossil fuel era. And that era will be over soon, because it is time…. I just want to see an elegant transition, not a crashing-my-way-out-of-the-fossil-fuel-era transition of climate change and poison.
The reason why I know that the fossil fuel era in cars will end is a simple energy inefficiency problem. Of the six gallons of gas you put into the car, only about one gallon actually moves the car forward….
Emma Lockridge is holding a sign that says: “Marathon Buy my House”. She is wearing a shirt that says “Blood Oil “on it, with a picture of the Marathon Refinery. Then she says, “We have a tar sands refinery in our community and it is just horrific... We are (a) sick community. We have tried to get them to buy us out. They keep poisoning us. And we cannot get them to buy our houses.”
On the Violence Against Women Act ( Jancita Eagle Deer) “We cannot vote for an amendment…that basically strips the rights of Native American women and treats them like second-class citizens. Nor can we just go silent on what is an epidemic problem in our country.” – Senator Maria Cantwell
On Idle No More and Canadian Colonialism:
“ There is some money flowing in, that’s sure. A 2010 report from DeBeers states that payments to eight communities associated with its two mines in Canada totaled $5,231,000 that year. Forbes Magazine reports record diamond sales by the world’s largest diamond company “…increased 33 percent, year-over-year, to $3.5 billion…”
As the Canadian Mining Watch group notes: “Whatever Attawapiskat’s share of that $5-million is, given the chronic under-funding of the community, the need for expensive responses to deal with recurring crises, including one that DeBeers themselves may have precipitated by overloading the community’s sewage system, it’s not surprising that the community hasn’t been able to translate its…income into improvements in physical infrastructure.”
Last year, Attawapiskat drew international attention when many families in the Cree community were living in tents in the dead of winter. The neighboring Kashachewan Village is in similar disarray. They have been boiling and importing water. The village almost had a complete evacuation due to health conditions, including a scabies and impetigo epidemic…”
“...In the North American first world, tribal communities and first nations struggle just to survive. In our resilience and beauty, these stories are inspired,” LaDuke explains.
A two time vice presidential candidate in l996 an 2000, author of five books of non fiction, one children’s’ book and a novel, Chronicles is a major work of current, pressing and inspirational stories of Indigenous communities- from the Canadian subarctic, to the heart of Dine Bii Kaya, Navajo Nation. Stories range from visits with Desmond Tutu, front line Indige A two time vice presidential candidate in l996 and 2000, author of five books of non fiction, one children’s’ book and a novel, Chronicles is a major work of current, pressing and inspirational stories of Indigenous communities- from the Canadian subarctic, to the heart of Dine Bii Kaya, Navajo Nation. Stories range from visits with Desmond Tutu, front line Indigenous leaders, torestored Indigenous farming, and the ability of this society to move from a Tipi to a Tesla. This book tells of the need and the ability to make an elegant transition to a post fossil fuels economy. Long awaited, the book is a labor of love, a tribute to those who have passed on and those yet to arrive.
"Chronicles is a book literally risen from the ashes—beginning in 2008 after her home burned to the ground—and collectively is an accounting of Winona LaDuke's personal path of recovery, finding strength and resilience in the writing itself as well as in her work." Sean Cruz
Pre-order today! $23.00 post paid (US).
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