Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge

This ambitious volume explores traditional knowledge and technology employed by indigenous peoples of Turtle Island in pre-contact times. In the introduction, the extent of the ancient designation Turtle Island is shown to include present day North America (Canada, the United States, and Mexico) and parts of Central America, specifically Guatemala, Belize, and portions of El Salvador and Honduras. It encompasses 11 cultural areas such as Arctic, Subarctic, Northeast Woodlands, and Mesoamerica including the Caribbean. These areas are shown on a map in the end material that includes lists of peoples referenced in the book broken out under each area. For example, under Northwest Coast, the authors identify 20 different peoples or nations. Words printed in italics are defined in the extensive glossary that extends to 11 pages. A brief list of contemporary indigenous science organizations, a select bibliography, source notes by chapter, and an index complete the end material.

Indigenous Ingenuity: A Celebration of Traditional North American Knowledge includes a detailed table of contents that can be very handy when using the book as a reference tool. The book contains 11 chapters, most used to introduce specific technologies or systems of knowledge. In the chapter on Health Sciences, one section on Dentistry covers seven subtopics such as “salt water: nature’s mouthwash” and an activity: “make your own antibacterial mouthwash the Mayan way.” Other chapters cover Transportation, Communications Technology, Agriculture and Food Technology, Textile Technology, Clothing, and Fashion, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Hunting and Combat Technology, Mathematics, Arts and Sports and Recreation, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Our Sustainable Future.

Havrelock is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in present day Alberta while Kay is a professional writer with experience writing science books for middle grade readers. They use examples from all regions of Turtle Island but tend to rely upon American measurements. There are exceptions, notably the use of hectares when describing the extent of land that the Yurok Tribe of Northern California once managed contrasted with the portion of land they were left with once colonizers exploited the natural resources of the region.

Indigenous Ingenuity is very much a text-based work. Photographs and illustrations are sparingly used and reproduced in grey-scale. In the chapter on Health Sciences, for example, there are only three photos: a yucca plant, a soap plant, and the bark of the black cherry tree that was the source of cough medicine. The scientific explanation behind this is the presence of hydrogen cyanide that, when used in careful doses, “increases respiration and relaxes the bronchial tubes, calming the nerves to reduce coughing.” When included, illustrations are clear and appropriate.

The authors introduce readers to contemporary creators and knowledge keepers, including an indigenous chef and a food writer from Minnesota, a crafter using traditional tanning methods to process deer hide in northwestern Ontario, a beader from the Yukon and a teacher of Plains Indian Sign Language from Saskatchewan. Activities that are numerous and fun often rely heavily upon illustrations or photographs. Some involve applying knowledge such as reading a pictogram story or counting and calculating the Maya way using the vigesimal system that used a base of 20 units rather than the 10 that is universal today. Other activities are more hands-on, such as paper-weaving craft or making Mexican hot chocolate. While modern chocolate drinkers tend to use milk, the authors explain that originally water would have been used by Mesoamericans since they did not have milk as a food staple.

As a whole, Indigenous Ingenuity is a trove of information spanning many peoples and time periods from ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations to early modern times. This book is a valuable contribution to efforts to decolonize learning and introduce readers to the breadth of indigenous knowledge as practiced in widely disparate geographic zones. When reading the book cover to cover, I found myself frequently using the cultural map and associated lists of peoples in the reference tools in the end matter to visualize the local extent of practices described. Modern efforts to re-introduce indigenous practices, like “cultural burning” and sustainable initiatives spearheaded by many indigenous peoples, illustrate the reclamation and implementation of some traditional knowledge.