Lecture 9: Rethinking Land and Water

Wild Rice (Manoomin)

An aquatic grass cultivated by Indigenous peoples, representing both food sovereignty and a cultural connection to the land.

Reclamation of Traditional Practices

Efforts by Indigenous peoples to restore and maintain cultural customs related to land and food.  food practices are celebrated by some, including Indigenous grandmothers and environmental scientists, but they have also sparked resistance from local cottage owners who argue that the wild rice obstructs recreational activities and lowers property values.

Land and Water as Cultural Identities

Land and water are central to indigenous indentity. James’ cultivation of wild rice is not just about food is it about reclaiming traditional cultural practices and connections to the land. It demonstrates how indigenous communties maintain relationships with ecosystems and nature.

Land and Water as Commodities

For the cottagers, the waterway represents property value, recreational use, and aesthetic appeal. Their resistance to Whetung's wild rice cultivation reflects a more commodified view of land and water as resources to be controlled for economic or personal gain. This invites viewers to question how settler colonial values have reshaped perceptions of natural spaces. While for the Indigenous communties it represents a site of culivating food and community.

What are the different perspectives on land/water offered?

 Indigenous Perspective:
For James Whetung land and water are not commodities to be owned but living entities to which humans have a relationship and responsibility. Wild rice (manoomin) represents this reciprocal relationship—it nourishes the people while also restoring the ecosystem, as well as builds community. The Indigenous perspective emphasizes sustainability  and the spiritual connection to the land and water. Whetung's cultivation of wild rice is both a cultural reclamation and a practice of food sovereignty.

Cottagers' Perspective:The cottage owners view the land and water through the lens of property and recreational use. The growth of wild rice is seen as an intrusion that disrupts their enjoyment of the lake and devalues their investments. This perspective reflects a settler colonial mindset where land and water are resources to be controlled and shaped for economic and personal benefit.

Property Rights

Legal rights to own, control, and exclude others from the use of land or resources. For Indigenous peoples, land and water are not objects to be owned but are interconnected with community, culture, and identity.

Cottage Country

Rural areas in Canada where wealthier families own seasonal properties, often portrayed as recreational spaces and private ownership. Cottage country often embodies settler colonial ideals, where land is commodified, privatized, and shaped for the enjoyment of a privileged few.

Food Sovereignty

The right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods.

What is the relationship of ‘property’ and Indigenous understandings of land/water? 

• Property as Ownership: Settler frameworks treat land and water as commodities with legal boundaries and ownership rights. Property owners assert their right to control and exclude others, prioritizing economic value and private interests.

• Land/Water as Relational: Indigenous understandings reject the notion of land and water as "owned." Instead, they emphasize relationships of care, responsibility, and reciprocity. Land and water are shared, living entities that provide sustenance and require protection for future generations.

Making Land “Strange”

•  Tania Li explains that "making land strange" means questioning the familiar ways we think about land. Instead of treating land as a natural or universal concept, she asks us to examine the social and cultural meanings we attach to it.

Tania Li’s Question Assumptions

Question Assumptions :

• Land is not universal

• We assume land is "natural" or fixed, but Li shows that land’s meaning changes over time.

• Power and inequality:

  • Access to land often reflects power dynamics like wealth, race, and class. Who gets to control and benefit from land? Making land strange means looking closely at these inequalities.

  • Materiality matters:

    • Land isn’t just an idea—it has physical qualities. It "stays in place," is limited, and can be used in different ways (farming, development, etc.), which influences conflicts over its control.

Inscription Devices

Tools and techniques that shape the meaning and ownership of land, like maps, land titles, and satellite images.

Terra Nullius

A legal doctrine that treated Indigenous lands as 'empty' and justified colonial appropriation. Once claimed, these lands were transformed into private property under colonial laws, excluding Indigenous peoples from accessing or stewarding their territories.

The Layered Uses and Meanings of Land

• Land represents different things to different people, for example a farmer its a source of livelihood, and a tax collector as a commodity and source of revenue. 

• Land's meaning is not static but can change over time,

• There are layers (and they are often at odds with one another) of meaning, attachment, practices and regulations specific to areas of land water.

Materiality of Land

The physical characteristics of land that influence its significance and societal interactions.

• Land stays in once place, its fixed location makes it a key focus for who gets to control or use it

• Even though land can’t be moved, people can still divide it and exclude others from using it.

• Land has many possible uses, different people see land differently.

• Land is essential for life, like water, so treating it purely as a market commodity is controversial.

Settler Mindset

A perspective that views land as property and resources to be exploited rather than as culturally significant spaces.

Land Back Movement

Advocates for Indigenous rights to reclaim control over traditional lands and resources. The concept is about reclaiming not just physical land, but also jurisdiction, or the authority to make decisions about how the land is used and governed.

Land as Inscrption

Inscriptions are tied to power and social relations. Inscriptions often legitimize certain land uses while excluding others (e.g., colonial powers dismissing indigenous claims to land). Li shows land is not neutral or natural it is actively shaped through tools, technology, and power.