Full Description
Indigenous relations are often described in anthropological terms, or as expressions of timeless, unchanging kinship ties. In Speculative Relations, Joseph M. Pierce challenges this view, considering the potential of these relations as a means of repairing the damages of history. Pierce approaches Indigenous art and culture not as objects of study, but through relations committed to reciprocity and care for human and more-than-human beings. Drawing on Cherokee thinking, Indigenous queer theory, literary and cultural studies, and art criticism, he illuminates pathways for understanding and resisting the ongoing damages of colonialism while pointing to future worlds and imaginaries that breathe life into Indigenous thought and practice. Analyzing a range of materials - from photography, literature, and sculpture to film and ethnography - Pierce reveals how speculation, as a form of situated knowledge production, can repair and reimagine the worlds that colonialism sought to destroy. In doing so, Pierce highlights how gestures, poetics, and embodiment can uphold tradition and harness the imaginative power of speculation to create pathways for living in good relations.
Contents
Preface: A Story of Relation ix
Introduction: Speculation, Relations, Worlding, and Repair 1
1.Relate 25
Interlude 1. Remember 41
2. Gesture 48
Interlude 2. Speculate 85
3. Become 87
Interlude 3. Star 123
4. Body 126
Interlude 4. Rock 181
5. Love 185
Conclusion 212
Epilogue: If/Then Statements 218
Acknowledgments 221
Notes 225
Bibliography 249
Index 263
