Tracy Basile
Tracy Basile received a grant in 2020 to research and write a book about the impact of colonization on North America’s animals. Beaver, bison, wolves, coyotes, salmon, bear and multitudes of other species were victims of conquest and exploitation as were the Indigenous peoples by European settlers claiming rights to their land and resources. She writes: “Unraveling these stories and seeing how colonization brought disaster to the indigenous animals of Turtle Island (North America) and finding a way towards repatriation and restoration is the beginning of seeing the world differently, seeing it as all connected. These connections are rarely taught in schools but widely understood in Native cultures.” The text for this book draws from historic and present-day works by Native and non-Native scientists, historians, authors, and artists.
For 2024, Tracy is focussing on producing for publication on e-zines and web-zines a series of three powerful stand-alone articles that will be compiled into the finished book. The first of these was published Winter 2023 on the website of a nonprofit devoted to educating the public about the Doctrine of Discovery. You can find it here: Animal Nations and the Doctrine of Discovery. Check here for updates on other published excerpts, as well as forthcoming contributors.