All our relations: native struggles for land and life

W inona LaDuke (Anishanaabeg) is a high-profile environmental activist, director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, and most recently Ralph Nader’s Green Party vice presidential candidate. LaDuke’s 1999 nonfiction book All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life consists of overviews of eight distinct native land and environmental struggles taking place in North America and Hawai’i. This book conveys not only her philosophy about the colonial politics of tribal land struggle, but also her own contribution to the tribal identity, culture, and governance wars that currently rage in Indian Country. In keeping with LaDuke’s numerous articles, documented speeches, and interviews, All Our Relations presents a very narrow definition of authentic tribal or indigenous identity, relies on simplistic traditionalist rhetoric emerging from the identity wars, and then conditions legitimate tribal governance on the restrictive definition of authentic indigenity that she assumes her readers will innately accept to be true. All Our Relations has received praise from critics who evidence little complexity in their understanding of the history and politics of Indian Country. The overarching theme of this book seems to be to present LaDuke’s particular brand of native environmentalist as the true and noble native. These natives reject every last assimilationist trapping of modern life—their cultural practices undaunted by the white man’s laws and practices. However, beyond anecdotal references about rejection of brand-name and other nontraditional clothing choices, there is little substantive detail about how a traditionalist life is undaunted by outside influences. Traditionalism is nebulously defined and fits within a picture of a visually uncomplicated life: