Eavesdropping on the Atisokanak: a Hermeneutical Interpretation of Selected Anishinaabe (Ojibway) Oral Traditions

From missionaries to anthropologists to today's scholars, Western writers have propagated the view that Native American peoples had no philosophers, and that no such thing as Indigenous higher thought exists. Today, a slow movement within academia is growing to include First Nations' worldviews, but we have far to go before Indigenous philosophies are fully recognized as equally valid and valuable sources of knowledge. In a bold yet gentle first effort, this book engages Anishinaabe Oral Traditions as philosophical entities. With humour and humility, the author takes readers along on a personal journey of discovery and learning, in which each step of the meaning making process is shared. Utilizing Hermeneutics, the author discovers the rigorous logic in mythical thought, what is considered the enterprise of philosophy in the Anishinaabe worldview, and alternative explanations for the workings of the universe, and our being a part of it, that Anishinaabe philosophy offers. This unique work designed for researchers, educators, and anyone wishing to better understand Indigenous ways of knowing and seeing the world, makes for captivating, professional, yet easy to follow reading.