Despite centuries of colonialism, Indigenous peoples still occupy parts of their ancestral homelands in what is now Eastern North Carolina—a patchwork quilt of forested swamps, sandy plains, and blackwater streams that spreads across the Coastal Plain between the Fall Line and the Atlantic Ocean. In these backwaters, Lumbees and other American Indians have adapted to a radically transformed world while maintaining vibrant cultures and powerful connections to land and water. This reality is paralleled in Indigenous communities worldwide as Indigenous people continue to assert their rights to self-determination by resisting legacies of colonialism and the continued transformation of their homelands through pollution, unsustainable development, and climate change.
Environmental scientist Ryan Emanuel, a member of the Lumbee tribe, shares stories from North Carolina about Indigenous survival and resilience in the face of radical environmental changes. Addressing issues from the loss of wetlands to the arrival of gas pipelines, these stories connect the dots between historic patterns of Indigenous oppression and present-day efforts to promote environmental justice and Indigenous rights on the swamp. Emanuel's scientific insight and deeply personal connections to his home blend together in a book that is both a heartfelt and an analytical call to acknowledge and protect sacred places.
About the Author :
Ryan E. Emanuel (Lumbee) is associate professor of hydrology at Duke University.
Review :
"On the Swamp is a key text for readers interested in working with tribes, both federally recognized and non federally recognized, within environmental planning and cultural resource management. The book not only highlights Indigenous perspectives on the environment and land stewardship but also provides important recommendations for shifting tribal collaboration from consultation toward consent."--Journal of the American Planning Association
"An engaging, informative, and deeply personal book that offers significant insights regarding the intersectionality of environmental justice, Indigenous rights, the brutal legacy of colonialism and racism in the United States, and the importance of place."--Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture
"Emanuel richly describes the rivers, streams, and swamps of what is now eastern North Carolina."--Due South WUNC
"Emanuel, a member of the Lumbee Tribe and a hydrologist at Duke Univer-sity, is uniquely positioned to tell this story. . . . [On the Swamp illuminate[s] cyclical patterns of environmental injustice, rendered through deeply personal storytelling and vivid locality--down to the color of the water in seemingly every last rivulet in the county."--Sierra
"In On the Swamp, Emanuel uses his scientific training to gauge his homeland's inscrutability to white settlers. . . . Hope is a rare commodity, but if there is hope for the earth, generally it has to do with acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction."--New York Review of Books
"In writing that's both affectionate and candid, On the Swamp is a warning about, and a celebration of, eastern North Carolina."--Grist
"The story of the Lumbee and their fight for environmental justice is not complete without understanding their relations to lands and waters that Ryan Emanuel details in this powerful and erudite book."--Water Alternatives
