Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People: Colonialism, Nature, and Social Action (Nature, Society, and Culture)

"How does environmental degradation inscribe racialized power relations, advance assimilation and genocide or do the work of colonial violence? Salmon Feeds Our People tells a story that is set in the cultural and political experiences of the Karuk Tribe, while expanding theoretical conversations on health, identity, food, race, and gender that are at the center of conversations in multiple disciplines both inside and outside the academy today"-- Provided by publisher Finalist for the 2020 C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems Since time before memory, large numbers of salmon have made their way up and down the Klamath River. Indigenous management enabled the ecological abundance that formed the basis of capitalist wealth across North America. These activities on the landscape continue today, although they are often the site of intense political struggle. Not only has the magnitude of Native American genocide been of remarkable little sociological focus, the fact that this genocide has been coupled with a reorganization of the natural world represents a substantial theoretical void. Whereas much attention has (rightfully) focused on the structuring of capitalism, racism and patriarchy, few sociologists have attended to the ongoing process of North American colonialism. Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People draws upon nearly two decades of examples and insight from Karuk experiences on the Klamath River to illustrate how the ecological dynamics of settler-colonialism are essential for theorizing gender, race and social power today. "Once the third largest salmon-producing stream in the Western United States, the Klamath River has, as of 2014, fallen to only 4% of its previous productivity. This gives the once wealthy Karuk Tribe the dubious honor of having one of the most dramatic and recent diet shifts in North America. Unable to fulfill their traditional fishermen roles, Karuk people are now among the most impoverished in the state. In Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People, noted environmental sociologist Kari Norgaard investigates how their inability to fish affected the sense of identity and self-esteem of Karuk men. How does environmental degradation inscribe racialized power relations or do the work of colonial violence? Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People tells a story set in the cultural and political experiences of the Karuk Tribe, while expanding theoretical conversations on health, identity, food, race, and gender that preoccupy many disciplines today."-- Provided by publisher