Embodied sensory research: Gitchi Kami and working accross time and space

Preparing the rabbit yarn

This is my experiential and creative response to Johann Kohl's book "Gitchi Kami" published in1860. Kohl was a German travel writer and ethnographer who was fascinated by maps and how cartography impacted movements, economics and trade. While he is a European of his time, his book is an excellent resource for a number of reasons. Firstly Kohl was well travelled and educated. When he compares the Anishinaabe ways his comparisons are often to peasants in other countries or to classical people, in that they are a people who exist before civilization. The result is that his analysis is not racist per se - often more classist i.e. he notes the similarity between the Norwegian peasants and Anishnabe folks around their lack of interest in a cash based exchange system. 

He was an excellent observer who provides meticulous details and drawings of what he learnt. As a result, even where he did not understand what things were or where his explanations are wrong or problematic they can be re-interpreted with Indigenous knowledges and contribute to our learning in the present. His personal motto was that there should be no models without observation. He wrote many travel guides and he interacts with a large number of related European intellectuals of the time. Germany was mad for information about First Nations Peoples and his trip was financed to benefit from this interest. 

Kohl lived with the Anishnabe peoples for four months. From the teachings I have been gifted on good protocol Kohl was

Winding the rabbit yarn

mostly culturally appropriate. He learned the good way and build trust which allowed him to gather better information, be gifted with many stories and be included in more intimate spaces, including ceremony. He paid local folk fairly for his care, gave gifts and offerings of tobacco. In my opinion, with knowledge of Indigenous teachings, there are many other possible layers of information to "read" in this text. His observations and interests are very wide from the economic system, the roles of women, the organization of society and policy, values, education, technology, oratory skills, musical notation, numeracy and political questions.

As I sat 175 years later, absorbing this tome and gifted with the teachings of an Elder, I see the strategy, hope and love of the Ancestors to pass on their knowledges. While many folks allowed Kohl to  record the stories and symbols he was shown, but this information was often coded so you could copy but not "read" the information. Isn't that a metaphor? For folks interested in learning more about ceremony, our stories, innovations, this is an excellent source. As an economist I appreciate his  discussion of the economy with real numbers and concrete examples.

Weaving on a picture frame loom

One example in the book speaks to the baby blankets that women would weave from strips of rabbit fur. I decided to try and make one. As I worked I tried to think about the lives of these women: their roles, agency and spirit/kinship economics. Like Wendy-bah's dollies, these baby blankets represent economies where "value" comes from the care, knowledge, stories and love that becomes part of the spirit of the item. 

I began to experiment with some fur scraps I had, garden twine and a picture frame for the loom. For practicality I planned to weave four squares that could be sewn together for the blanket. Using Kohl's description and the knowledge shared in a YouTube series by archaeologist Lynnette Etsitty,  Weaving a rabbit fur blanket - Cleaning yucca fiber (part 1 of 4) - YouTube, I gave it try. It was not always pretty and the squares were not totally successful, but this blanket became a thing of community. My cat Ginger was a faithful companion as I worked. I was accompanied by the many neighbors who stopped by, shared their lives and witnessed the creation. When I needed additional fur, folks in Bear Circle shared what was needed. One of those furs was there at the first Truth and Reconciliation day. I also worked on this project during ceremony to capture the love and intention of community.

Bear Circle Baby

To honor this, the blanket was made for the Bear Circle Doll who is the symbol of our commitment to the future generations. This doll comes to ceremony with me sometimes. To make their transportation easier I made them an urban tikkanogan (baby carrier) which is made out of garbage I found in the Byward Market area, duct tape, leather and sinew. The blanket was gifted to baby at the 2024 Winter Solstice Bear Circle.

This book really changed my ideas about the possibilities of engaging with these older texts written from a European perspective when we have learnt the teachings that allow us to "decode" or recontextualize what was described. This blanket and the technical knowledges to make it challenged me and it isn't the best blanket. I was honoured to work with Indigenous women, across time and space to care for the future of our communities. I can put forward no more eloquent summary of embodied sensory research and the value this approach could provide for our current thinking about economics and making.