Ishkode: A Story of Fire
When an invitation arrives from the forest, what will you hear? What will you learn? How will you respond?
Ishkode: A Story of Fire invites readers into a beautiful stand of ancient red pines where Aanikoobijigan, a grandmother red pine who has witnessed centuries of connection between people, fire, and the land, guides a young woman, Animikiimiikanikwe, toward healing and renewal.
Season:
About the Authors and Honored Guests, and Illustrator
Author and honored guest
Evan Larson
Evan Larson is a father, husband, professor, and enthusiast of trees, fires, and wild places. Growing up in central Minnesota with sawdust and twigs in his hair set the stage, and since first looking through a microscope at tree rings and fire scars in the summer of 2001, the science of dendrochronology and the wisdom of trees have profoundly shaped Evan’s life in ways that he is still coming to understand. Evan lives in Platteville, Wisconsin, with his wife Danica, their two daughters, an assortment of furry creatures, and a wild lawn that on occasion burns, much to the celebration of the plants who live there.
AUTHOR and honored guest
Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano
Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano is a mother, grandmother, and enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. She is also a Grad Student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the Forestry Department. Throughout her life, her employment and education have focused on learning about and caring for the environment through Indigenous and Western scientific lenses. Most recently, she turned to fire as one of her teachers and, therefore, is committed to learning all she can to help return fire to landscapes. Lastly and most importantly, she is a lifelong student of her cultural ways.
Illustrator
Moira (Miri) Villiard
Through public art collaborations across Minnesota, Moira (Miri) Villiard is a multidisciplinary artist who uses art to uplift underrepresented narratives, explore the nuance of society’s historical community intersections, and promote community healing spaces. Her areas of focus include responsive/protest art, community space curation, illustration, activism-rooted exhibitions, animated projection art, and participatory murals. Moira descends from a long family history rooted deeply in the Great Lakes region; she grew up on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Cloquet, Minnesota, and is a Fond du Lac Ojibwe direct descendant. Her overall work seeks to bridge gaps in community memory and recognition.
Discussion Questions
- Ishkode has many stories layered within it. Which story was your favorite? Which one do you think was the seed for this book?
- This book is part of a research project combining Indigenous oral history with Western scientific methods. The research team demonstrates that Indigenous people have been caring for and managing land that was ‘wild’ to a Western perspective. Think about a ‘wild’ space that you know. How do humans take care of it now, or how did they take care of it in the past?
- Fire is an important part of all of the stories in Ishkode. What stories do you know about fire? How does fire shape your life?
Learning Activities
- Find a tree stump and look at the rings. Can you see wider rings and narrower rings? What else do you notice about the story that the tree rings tell? You can use this guide to tree rings or dendrochronology from the Hoyt Arboretum to read the rings. Or use this lesson plan on tree rings from the National Park Service.
- Make a Tree Ring Timeline for yourself, following these instructions from the New York Restoration Project. Make sure to mark major events in your life in the way your tree rings look!
Explore More
- Explore the Ishkode website and learn more about the book, the short film, and the scientific paper that are all part of the Ishkode project.
- Learn more about present-day controlled burns and fire management from the Lake States Fire Science Consortium and the Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils.
- Learn about cultural burning and Indigenous fire practices, both past and present, from the National Parks Service.
- Read an interview with University of British Columbia researcher Lori Daniels about a similar tree study in Canada.