Kaitlin B. Curtice

Kaitlin Curtice provides an indigenous perspective on the why and how of everyday resistance against the oppressive systems perpetrated by Western capitalism and White Christianity. She writes with fierce gentleness and determined caring, and she calls for creating a world where people care for each other, the planet, and all creation. The book is organized into four parts. Each section describes four realms of resistance—personal, communal, ancestral, and integral. The chapters within show more each section delve into practices that can fuel and support our resistance to injustice. Each chapter ends with a resistance commitment exercise. This is a healing book in support of those who dare to dream of a better world and have the courage to embody that dream. show less

Books about spirituality are tricky for me. I was raised in an ultra conservative faith, and have spent the better part of the past 25 years deconstructing those teachings to come to a place of freedom with the beliefs I currently hold. There aren't many teachers whose words I feel like I can trust. The list is pretty short. It's exciting for me when I can add an author to that list.

Much of the deconstruction I did in my faith was in the area of the patriarchal structures I had been fed for show more years. I hadn't, honestly, given much room or thought to the issue of race. And then along comes Kaitlin B. Curtice, and her magnificent new book, and I feel like once again I am starting on a journey.

Native is beautifully written - I think Curtice is truly a poet - and is also one of the most uncomfortable reading experiences I've faced in a long while. Curtice is a member of the Potawatomi tribe, and as she shares her own faith journey, she challenges so much of the existing religious structure in ways I hadn't even thought about. Her voice is gentle but insistent - she asserts her right to be heard, and allows her readers to make space for their own stories, no matter where in the telling we find ourselves.

I am so thrilled this book found its way into my hands. I plan to start reading it again almost immediately, because there is so much to learn from its pages. I cannot recommend highly enough that you get this book into your hands. show less

Curtice gives us a how-to book that’s both formal and informal.

There are four connected, overlapping parts. Each part has five chapters, and each chapter is about one form of what she calls Living Resistance. Together they describe her Vision. The language of the book is about the personal, the political, the social, the spiritual, and all the things that can make up a whole system. That’s the formal part.

The book, though, is meant to be read and re-read in whatever order makes sense show more for us at our time and place in life. That’s the informal part.

And, it’s useful for all of us, those with indigenous roots, and the rest of us, who have so much to learn.

Curtice doesn’t make it easy on us. There are suggested exercises that ask us to think things over. Words are not always defined the first time they are used, like 'deconstruction' and 'decolonization'. They eventually become clear through examples and context. She wants us to question what we have been told, who and what we think we are. She wants us to learn ways to resist the injustices we see being done against ourselves, against other people, against Mother Earth.

There’s much about ebb and flow, about paths that turn and twist, about growth that comes in spurts and starts, and the ways that we are always becoming, always already almost arriving at some place in our life.

Maybe the most important phrase in the book is in the introduction.
Repeat those words, she says, as a kind of medicine.

"I am a human being, I am always arriving." show less

Radically different from any other "self-help" guide I've ever read and all the better for it. Kaitlin writes about connecting to ourselves, our earth, each other, our ancestors, and to spirituality. Each section has personal experiences as well as a few tips and a few prompts. You can enact as little or as much as you want and compared to other guides - there is no pressure. I wish I would have savored this book a little longer rather than rushing through reading it. I'll definitely turn show more back to the text for refreshers and inspiration. No matter your ethnicity or spirituality this book is an important and empowering read. show less