AdventuresNW
Positively Uncivilized
By Rena Priest, Raven Chronicle Press, 2025
Studying the epigraph to 2021-2023 Washington poet laureate Rena Priest’s new essay collection, “Positively Uncivilized,” is a worthy endeavor. 19th-century journalist Ambrose Bierce expands the definition of “positive” to mean “mistaken at the top of one’s voice.” Priest’s writing explores the historical and ecological harm done to the Coast Salish people and the environment in which we all live, and makes it clear that the hubris of the colonizing Europeans is responsible.
The Lhaq’temish or Lummi culture focuses on the concept of reciprocity with the world around them; a partnership rather than a relationship of domination over the environment. This idea contrasts with the non-Indigenous perspective that early white pioneers exhibited “bravery” and “self-reliance” in “settling a hostile and unknown landscape” (i.e., an uncivilized one) rather than relying on the “bounty and abundance of the earth.” It is through this lens that Priest explores the web connecting Lummi history and the conflict with the arrogant European colonizers, including the tragedy of the orca Tokitae and the depletion of the orca population, the critical importance of salmon to the Lummi people and the local ecology, the dilemma of cross cultural romance, and how to manage a desire for a return to a healthy environment and to achieve peace and flourish in our times. As a poet, she believes that poetry, along with stories and songs, can be our “secret medicine.”
Cathy Grinstead, born and raised in Northern California, spent her summers backpacking in the Sierra. In 2018, she retired from veterinary practice and moved to Bellingham to explore a different part of the world. She enjoys hiking, outrigger paddling, and snow sports, and loves all that Bellingham has to offer!
