ABSTRACT
This creative essay characterizes Anishinaabeg ecological, mythological, and spiritual understandings about water as a complex “cosmology of nibi” and demonstrates how Indigenous cultural grounding in place also forms an artistic aesthetic. The “ecolegacy” of Native peoples evolves from concepts of kinship and reciprocity and involves the moment-to-moment and intergenerational “reading” of land languages. It thus insures sustainable practices and flourishing in place. This Indigenous ontology also informs creative practices; creative practices can likewise serve survivance. 1
