Sky Wolf’s Call: The Gift of Indigenous Knowledge

Sky Wolf's Call is a rich resource full of traditional stories and contemporary features about different aspects of Indigenous knowledge. The title comes from a traditional Blackfoot story of the Sky Wolves and the lessons they imparted of cooperation, parenting, and hospitality.
The book starts with a brief introduction to the concept of Indigenous knowledge:

Everything is connected.

The world is a gift.

The sacred is a vital part of knowing.

We are always learning.

The book then proceeds to cover different topics of Indigenous knowledge, including Water, Fire and Smoke, Food Security, Healing, and Sky knowledge, along with how to maintain and disseminate this knowledge.

Each chapter provides information from a variety of fascinating sources. The chapters are not long narratives but a collection of stories, articles, features, and profiles. There are traditional stories that reflect embedded knowledge. There are examples of present-day Indigenous peoples continuing traditional practices that exemplify their knowledge. There are short features on specific tools, practices, or artifacts used in remembering and/or applying that knowledge, either historically or currently (or both). There are stories about the damage caused when Indigenous knowledge has been ignored or rejected. There are profiles of individuals and groups trying to repair damage done to their community using this knowledge. And there are vignettes that feature instances where Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing are brought together in productive and positive ways. All combined, these collections provide a rich, diverse, and informative picture of each facet of Indigenous knowledge.

Accompanying all these different types of stories and features is a very robust and varied art program of mostly photographs depicting the people and practices, along with some illustrations, mainly to support the traditional stories. The only issue with this is that the size of the trim limits how fully and detailed the art can be displayed. Another minor criticism is the font used for the captions to the art is hard to read.

Sky Wolf’s Call is highly informative and, at times, humbling as one learns of the diverse and magnificently intricate, complex, and rich instances of Indigenous knowledge that are chronicled here. One striking example is the varied and compelling knowledge around fires, specifically controlled and cultural burns—when and why they’re needed, how they’re started, and how that is all managed.

Sky Wolf’s Call, with its variety of information types and sources, will make an excellent school resource for any student interested in Indigenous knowledge and practices themselves, but it’s also an important resource on any project or interest related to environmental issues, sustainability, environmental rehabilitation, and reconciliation, itself. The book also acts as an excellent model for the idea of conveying important cultural, historical, and practical information through "non-scientific" narrative (i.e., stories).

Sky Wolf’s Call: The Gift of Indigenous Knowledge has a number of useful features, including a glossary, selected readings, index, and a list of sources and contacts for readers wanting to pursue these topics more deeply. In an “Author's Note” at the start of the book, there is a useful discussion on what and who Indigenous peoples are and the language used to talk about them. However, there is some confusion around the authorial voice in this book. There are instances in the book when the authors talk about "us" and "we" and other times when the author speaks of "I" and "my". Because there are two named authors on the cover, this inconsistency is confusing. Given the importance of identity and provenance of these stories, some clarity in that regard would be preferable.

The authors, Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger, are also the authors of What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal and Turtle Island: The Story of North America's First People.