Grounded Constellations: Networks of Nourishment and Support Amongst Indigenous Resurgent Movements

Abstract

Weaving together the Anishinaabeodziiwin gathered through the stories of my ancestors, the teachings of the night sky, my own journey in each of the four directions, lessons learned from my diasporic and Native Californian relatives, and theorizing via dreaming, I explore grounded constellations and the Indigenous ethos of land as a means of resurging from a state of ethical loneliness to Native survivance. Through my writing I hope to map my own steps to share with those similarly tasked with walking the path of the Seventh Fire. This essay examines ways my kinship with other Indigenous peoples and lands has helped me refuse colonial isolation and has nourished my own Potawatomi identity. I carry the resurgent lessons of survivance learned from my relations back to my community. I write in the memory of my ancestors and dream in anticipation of my descendants. Together we can light the flame of the eighth fire. Our map home lies in the constellations of stars in the night sky–our ancestors watching us from the sky world above.