Category Archives: Research

Residential Boarding School System

Research

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system

In research for my novel, Long Reach, I discovered to my horror moving testimony about the Residential Boarding School system for First Nation children in Canada, where children were removed from their communities and tortured if they spoke their native languages or maintained native customs. Kill the Indian in the Child was a slogan of that effort. Thus Long Reach featured Sedna, a First Nation healer who was hidden in the wilderness with her grandparents to prevent her being dragged off into a Residential School.

Since then, we have learned that here too in the United States, programs, funded in part by our government from 1819 to 1960, children were separated from families to reside in Boarding Schools where they were denied the use of their tribal names, customs, dress and languages while being treated with hardship and cruelty, ending at times in death. It is gratifying to read that the United States Secretary Deb Haaland, Department of the Interior, initiated the “Road to Healing,” a program of storytelling, shared songs and discussions to alleviate the enduring suffering of Native American survivors of the Boarding School separations.

Thank you Secretary Haaland. 

The Need to Know

Book Report, Research

The need to know for my novel writing has aroused deeper curiosity about that broad topic ‘the natural world.’ Had I read the following books earlier in my life, I might have pursued college courses in environmental science and ecology. But these books weren’t written then and perhaps I, like many of my generation, wasn’t ready. However, numerous readable studies are now available to spur curiosity, imagination and dreams.

I list a few of these publications that are treasures from my research or the interests of our children. As these have been delightful “discoveries” for me, I urge you to suggest similar revelatory books that have given you engagement in our natural world. I will be pleased and proud to share your suggestions with others.

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard;

Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery;

A World on the Wing: the Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul;

Lentil Underground Project Report: Renegade farmers and the Future of Food in America by Liz Carlisle;

Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why they Matter by Ben Goldfarb;

What the Owl Knows: the New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Bird by Jennifer Ackerman.

Stinging Nettles

Research

The Chicago Tribune had an article, 10/11/2023, about drinking infusions of stinging nettles to calm allergic reactions. The article does not suggest how the nettles are harvested without incurring the discomforts of harvesting the plants. Warning: Don’t rush out to start cutting nettles without further information about usage.

The article caught my eye because of research for my novel Long Reach. In Indian Fishing: Early Methods on the Northwest Coast, Hilary Stewart describes First Nation tribes harvesting stinging nettles to make strong fishing lines and other necessary utensils. Ms. Stewart explains that the women cut the nettles late in the summer, split and dried them before spinning the fibers into twine.

I began collecting Hilary Stewart’s many books with explicit text and drawings of First Nation customs when our family spent years visiting the Inside Passage of the Georgia Strait, British Columbia, Canada. The urge to share her wisdom was an incentive for writing Long Reach.