Richard M. Hutchings. Maritime Heritage in Crisis: Indigenous Landscapes
and Global Ecological Breakdown. Routledge, 2016. 144 pp. ISBN:
978-1-62958-348-8.
Richard Hutchings' Maritime Heritage in Crisis speaks out
against the destruction of Indigenous heritage landscapes, tracking the ways in
which rising sea levels and population growth have wreaked havoc to the coastal
lands of the shíshálh First Nation people located in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the
shortcomings—even harms—of external cultural resource management
(CRM). The author posits that as society expands, heritage control becomes sought
after and subsequently commodified as part of the neoliberal state's broader capitalist
project. In addition, Hutchings takes into consideration the relationship
between archaeologists and native peoples, acknowledging that the relationship
has been and remains to be one fraught with the trappings of settler
colonialism (112). The work's critique of both CRM and the field of archaeology
alongside the emphasis on Indigenous rights to collective land management all set
this book apart from others on the subject of climate change and coastal
landscapes.
The first chapter outlines
the problem of the global crisis along the coasts beginning with the post-1950s
Great Acceleration of late modernity
into the present (6-7). Hutchings lays out his argument that, in addition to
global capitalism, archaeology and CRM are complicit in the ongoing attack to
maritime heritage landscapes (1, 7). Chapter Two shifts to looking at the
primary mechanisms of the crisis: coastal population sprawl and rises in sea
level (19). The author shows the changes these two ongoing problems have caused
to the Salish Sea and their impacts on the Indigenous peoples of the region
(35-36). Chapter Three explores the external responses to climate change and
coastal erosion, namely CRM (42). The author connects both archaeology and CRM
to the neoliberal mission of the state to maximize capitalist
production—which necessitates the privatization of land for development
(51). Chapter Four focuses specifically on the shíshálh people and the changes to
their lands, specifically Sechelt, Halfmoon Bay, and Pender Harbour
(59, 76). He tracks the tribe's responses to the ecological crisis, as well as
effects of continued development—often occurring without the consent of
the tribe (86-87). Finally, Chapter
Five looks more closely at the relationship between the settler state and CRM, while Chapter Six concludes
the work in retrospective (93, 106).
Situated along what is
currently known as the Sunshine Coast, the work excels when offering a critique
to the broader field. Hutchings is at his best when linking archeology and CRM
to attempts at disconnecting Indigenous people from their land (103). At their
core, the dual truths that the land is intrinsically Indigenous and conversely,
that Indigenous people are impossible to decouple from their land heritage,
undermine settler development. This is true in ways both big and small:
Hutchings notes how the new name "Sunshine Coast" was an attempt to increase
home purchases in the region—for even the renaming of Indigenous places aim
at driving development (1, 11; O'Brien 2010: 202). As for bigger ways, he notes
that responses to climate change significantly differ, dependent upon who is
most at risk, acknowledging the environmental injustice faced by vulnerable Indigenous
peoples and people of color (43, 23).
This slow violence
against at-risk communities is not limited to the Pacific Northwest but endemic
to Indigenous peoples worldwide; during the 2016 protests against the Dakota
Access Pipeline, in an effort to halt production, sacred burial sites were
outlined by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in court documents, only for the
sites to be destroyed during a holiday weekend by the construction company,
Energy Transfer Partners (95; Colwell 2016). The effort at protecting the sites
in the mainstream manner required led to their untimely destruction. Hutchings
argues that the management component of CRM and private archaeology dovetail into
"resourcism" and the conversion of heritage spaces
into resources to be developed rather than strictly conservation (92). His case
is not subtle. He goes as far as to link the number of archaeologists directly
to decreases in "intact Indigenous heritage landscapes" in what he coins the
"Heritage Landscape Destruction Paradox" (112). The author is compelling in his
calls for "radical engagement" with Indigenous groups as the only means to
prevent the crisis from progressing further (115).
One of the most
striking moments comes from an anecdote shared early in the book. Indigenous
participants on a panel alongside the author left prior to the end of the panel
(and the author's presentation), significantly shifting the conference space to
one comprised primarily of non-Indigenous researchers (xii). They had come to
be heard, rather than defend a position they well-knew
to be true: that the destruction of their heritage spaces is ongoing (even, at
times, beneath the guise of conservation). The author reflects on the dismissive
attitude of the audience to the Indigenous presenters' position, but the
incident speaks to another issue: the expectation that Indigenous peoples and
people of color must defend their position on behalf of not only their own best
interest but on behalf of the broader public's needs. For example, coverage of
controversial pipelines, including Keystone XL Pipeline and Dakota Access
Pipeline, frequently depicts Indigenous participants as serving the greater
good against impending climate change, when they are not beholden to do more
than protect themselves and their lands.
Rather than relying
strictly on Indigenous efforts, Maritime
Heritage in Crisis is the author's own call to arms. The work is part
philosophical outcry, part academic plea, and while the author is deft in his
use of history and philosophy to make his case, he is just as comfortable
explaining the technicalities of climate change and population statistics in a
way that makes the work accessible to non-specialists. Hutchings' Chapter Two
data offers proof for those who would still deny what's increasingly undeniable
(25, 33-34). The manner in which he offers the facts prior to any other
argument reflects the premise of Chris Andersen and Maggie Walter's Indigenous Statistics, in that data when
used judiciously can be to the benefit of Indigenous peoples (2013). In this
way, he is speaking to the scientific community in their language, making his
case in all forms. However, in the end, the work comes down to the moral
argument of the necessity for change in the face of dire circumstances: "Globally, Indigenous peoples are fighting to maintain these
connections and are insisting upon control over their resources and places that
matter" (108). Ultimately, the book's case study and argument
speak to the current situation faced by many Indigenous peoples around the
world, from the Kiribati in the South Pacific to the Inupiat of Shishmaref, Alaska—the type of situation only radical
engagement could hope to stem (Caramel 2014; Kennedy 2016).
Sierra Watt, University of Kansas
Works Cited
Caramel, Laurence, "Besiged by the rising tides of climate change, Kiribati
buys land in
Fiji." The Guardian, 20, June 2014.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/01/kiribati-climate-change-fiji-vanua-levu
Colwell, Chip. "Why Sacred
Sites Were Destroyed for the Dakota Access Pipeline." EcoWatch,
26 Nov. 2016. Retrieved from: www.ecowatch.com/sacred-sites-standing-rock-2103468697.html
Kennedy, Merrit,
"Threatened By Rising Seas, Alaska Village Decides to Relocate." NPR, 18 Aug. 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/18/490519540/threatened-by-rising-seas-an-alaskan-village-decides-to-relocate
O'Brien, Jean M. Firsting and lasting: Writing Indians out of existence
in New England.
University of Minnesota Press, 2010.
Walter,
Maggie, and Chris Andersen. Indigenous statistics: A quantitative research
methodology. Left Coast Press, 2013.