Edited by Dahr Jamail and Stan Rushworth

A powerful, intimate collection of conversations with Indigenous Americans on the climate crisis and the Earth’s future

“Mankind has a chance to change the direction of this movement, do a roundabout turn, and move in the direction of peace, harmony, and respect for land and life. The time is right now. Later will be too late.” —Hopi elder Thomas Banyacya, from the introduction

Although for a great many people, the human impact on the Earth—countless species becoming extinct, pandemics claiming millions of lives, and climate crisis causing worldwide social and environmental upheaval—was not apparent until recently, this is not the case for all people or cultures. For the Indigenous people of the world, radical alteration of the planet, and of life itself, is a story that is many generations long. They have had to adapt, to persevere, and to be courageous and resourceful in the face of genocide and destruction—and their experience has given them a unique understanding of civilizational devastation.

An innovative work of research and reportage, We Are the Middle of Forever places Indigenous voices at the center of conversations about today’s environmental crisis. The book draws on interviews with people from different North American Indigenous cultures and communities, generations, and geographic regions, who share their knowledge and experience, their questions, their observations, and their dreams of maintaining the best relationship possible to all of life. A welcome antidote to the despair arising from the climate crisis, We Are the Middle of Forever brings to the forefront the perspectives of those who have long been attuned to climate change and will be an indispensable aid to those looking for new and different ideas and responses to the challenges we face.

The beautiful landscapes of central California’s Coastside state parks were once home to forgotten pioneers and unique industries. The tumultuous personal life of Robert Mills didn’t hinder his commitment to his dairy business in Half Moon Bay, now the Burleigh H. Murray Ranch State Park. And the Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, named after a shipwreck, remains a beacon of architectural beauty more than a century later.

From hideaways for freedom fighters rebelling against the Spanish to the site of several booming lumber operations, Coastside parks have long been an integral part of California’s history. Join author JoAnn Semones as she explores the trailblazers and innovators behind these stunning parks.

A very specific guide to the fungi found in one of Santa Cruz’s most unique landmarks: the UCSC Arboretum.

Mushrooms shape forest dynamics through their diverse ecological roles: mycorrhizal fungi support the health of plants, saprobic fungi cycle the forest’s nutrients and carbon, and parasitic fungi alter populations. What happens to mushroom diversity in an Arboretum where non-native plants from across the world are transplanted into native soils? This checklist is the product of a year-long investigation into that question. It includes visual and written annotations along with 24 DNA sequences taken from specimens collected during the project.

This imagined fable is a great introduction to the California Mission era, and was written in consultation with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. It tells the story of the Council of the Animals, including a mountain lion, a hummingbird, a bear, and a sparrow, and their struggle against the Mission bells that have disrupted their habitat and way of life.

Dr. Judith Scott is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. She is a retired Professor from the Education Department of the University of California, Santa Cruz where she taught literacy courses and multicultural children’s literature for over twenty years.

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Dr. Daisy Martin, Director of the University of California History and Civics Project:

Teachers, parents and students will want to read this book again and again. The story is engaging and dramatic and embeds powerful concepts such as community, agency, and resistance. It is an allegory of sorts–providing a developmentally appropriate way to learn and investigate the history of the Missions from a long-silenced indigenous perspective. And background knowledge! And Mutsun words! The possibilities for using this book in elementary classrooms abound.

Hannah Moreno, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Member and 2nd grade teacher:

As Amah Mutsun, it is our moral duty to take care of Mother Earth and to honor all living things. When the Mission Bells Rang demonstrates our relationship with all living things through a story of teamwork and resilience. I really appreciate how this book incorporates our language and shares the history of the missions from an indigenous perspective.

Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chair, Valentin Lopez:

When the Mission Bells Rang is a beautiful book written from the voice of our Mutsun animal relatives. It shows that, when the Catholic missions came to California, it was horribly disruptive to the indigenous peoples and our animal relatives. The book also shows the resilience that allows us to survive to this day.

Martin Rizzo-Martinez, author of We Are Not Animals:

Got my copy of this beautiful new children’s book, When the Mission Bells Rang, written in consultation w/ the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Includes the Mutsun names of local animals & their reactions to the mission bells. (Twitter)

This classic, locally-beloved field guide is an excellent resource for the Santa Cruz area. Bring it along on your next hike in the Forest of Nisene Marks, Butano, or Henry Cowell, and see how many plants you can identify!

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This book is a field guide to plants commonly found in the coast redwood forests. Full color photographs of each plant are accompanied by descriptive and informative text. Wildflowers are grouped by color, which helps to simplify identification of the plants. Interesting information regarding edible plants, and the many uses Native Americans made of the plants is also included.

Did you know that California is home to 14 species of owls? If you’ve ever been curious about the mysterious nocturnal raptors in your neighborhood, this book is for you!

This accessible guide, full of intriguing anecdotes, covers all 19 species of owls occurring in North America. More than an identification guide, Field Guide to Owls of California and the West describes the biology and behavior of owls to make finding and identifying them easier and watching them more enjoyable. The guide also explores the conservation challenges that owls face and tells how owls provide insights to scientists working in fields from technology to health.

A must-read for all Californians! An up-to-date, essential guide to California’s long relationship with fire, for the climate-change generation.

What is fire? How are wildfires ignited? How do California’s weather and topography influence fire? How did Indigenous people use fire on the land we now call California? David Carle’s clearly written, dramatically illustrated first edition of Introduction to Fire in California helped Californians, including the millions who live near naturally flammable wildlands, better understand their own place in the state’s landscape. In this revised edition, Carle covers the basics of fire ecology; looks at the effects of fire on people, wildlife, soil, water, and air; discusses fire-fighting organizations and land-management agencies; and explains how to prepare for an emergency and what to do when one occurs.

This second edition brings the wildfire story up to the year 2020, with information about recent extreme and deadly fire events and the evidence that climate change is swiftly changing the wildfire story in California. This update reflects current debates about California’s future as a climate-crisis leader facing massive, annual natural disasters; the future of California development and housing; and the critically necessary alternatives to traditional energy options.

This book is also available at the Seacliff, Natural Bridges, and Santa Cruz Mission ParkStores! Proceeds from this book will benefit the Big Basin recovery efforts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emerita Professor Traci Bliss began her career in public policy. She went on to become an award-winning education professor and state policy advisor to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She holds BA, MA and PhD degrees from Stanford University and an MPA degree from the LBJ School, University of Texas, Austin. With this multidisciplinary lens, she captures the true story of Big Basin. She is a member of the Santa Cruz Historic Preservation Commission and a state park docent.

Saints and Citizens is a bold new excavation of the history of Indigenous people in California in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, showing how the missions became sites of their authority, memory, and identity. Shining a forensic eye on colonial encounters in Chumash, Luiseño, and Yokuts territories, Lisbeth Haas depicts how native painters incorporated their cultural iconography in mission painting and how leaders harnessed new knowledge for control in other ways. Through her portrayal of highly varied societies, she explores the politics of Indigenous citizenship in the independent Mexican nation through events such as the Chumash War of 1824, native emancipation after 1826, and the political pursuit of Indigenous rights and land through 1848.

Seabright, located atop towering sandstone cliffs and bordered by the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor and San Lorenzo Point, overlooks the famous Santa Cruz Boardwalk and a state beach where locals and lifeguards have performed many valiant acts of ocean rescue. Originally a Victorian-era campground, the neighborhood features special amenities, including a natural history museum, thanks to a long tradition of community activism. The creation of the Santa Cruz Harbor in the 1960s completed Seabright’s transition from a summer resort to a year-round neighborhood. The beach doubled in size due to the littoral drift of sand blocked by the harbor seawall, protecting the vulnerable cliffs from the assault of winter waves.

Randall Brown, a historian with an extensive background in water resources and land use, authored the compelling The San Lorenzo Valley Water District—A History. Traci Bliss, an award-winning emerita professor of education, is the fifth generation of the Bliss family to live in Santa Cruz. At age eight, she began bodysurfing at Seabright’s Pinnacle Rock. Brown and Bliss have compiled photographs from local and state libraries; museums; family collections; clubs; businesses; the University of California, Santa Cruz; the Santa Cruz Port District; and the Seabright Neighborhood Association.