ABSTRACT
Soil cultural heritage (see previous chapter by E. Christian Wells and Marlena Antonucci) refers to the legacy of cultural artifacts embedded in the soil by a specific group or multiple groups of people, inherited from past generations, maintained in the present, and preserved for the future. The International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) includes “physical and cultural heritage” in its list of soil functions, but fails to offer guidance on how to protect them. Existing measures to safeguard these functions are vague at best, relying on a kind of “piggyback” protection. Where filter and buffering functions are protected in regulatory procedures and on-the-ground practice, so are archive and heritage functions. To fully understand the deeper meaning of soil heritage, as well as approaches to its protection, we must listen to the groups of people whose cultures produced such artifacts. Indigenous groups the world over offer practical wisdom for protecting soil heritage. To protect the soil is to hear their voices and respect their values and practices. In July 2017 I (Toland) spoke with the acclaimed ceramicist and multimedia artist Cannupa Hanska Luger about his views on soil heritage and soil memory, the challenges and joys of working with clay, dominant cultural influences, indigenous visual technologies, and connection to place. What started out as a list of questions about soil heritage developed into a much longer and richer conversation about the wider goals of re-indigenizing contemporary society. In reference to one of his more well-known works, The Weapon is Sharing, Luger ends the conversation by suggesting that the strongest defense we have in protecting soil heritage—and future generations of humans—is sharing.
