Appendix C:
Helpful Hints for Totemic Research
One of the key components of bioregional totemism is physical nature itself. Your personal spiritual experiences are definitely important, particularly when it comes to understanding your relationship with the land you live on and the beings you share it with. There’s also great value in more collective knowledge about nature through the natural sciences, firsthand accounts, and other third-party information.
The sheer volume of information available about even a single bioregion can be overwhelming. You may wish to keep notes and other important information in a three-ring binder or a file on your computer. I personally find it useful to keep a collection of commercially published field guides about living beings, geological formations, and other natural phenomena in my own bioregion for quick reference.
Natural History
Natural history is the direct observation of living beings and other natural phenomena. All the natural sciences, from biology to astronomy to geology, rely heavily on natural history to understand the subjects being studied. While laboratory research and theories are certainly important, you don’t need to have a thorough understanding of, say, the chemical composition of a quartz crystal in order to know the basic forces that formed it.
There are plenty of ways to use natural history to enhance your spiritual path. Let’s say one of your local totems is Snail Darter, the totem of a little fish found in streams in certain parts of the American southeast. If you’re able, you could go and directly observe these fish in their native homes and perhaps even trace their migratory route to ancestral spawning grounds. If there’s a state or national park nearby, the ranger station or learning center may have information on snail darters; the same goes for natural history museums in the area.
Don’t forget your local library as a resource as well. In the example of Snail Darter above, you could visit the library and see what books they have on snail darters and their habitats. This fish is an endangered species and was at the center of a big environmental controversy in the 1970s and 1980s when a proposed dam threatened its habitat. The library might have microfilm or microfiche of the original newspaper articles, and some may be found online as well. This is a great opportunity to find out more about other people’s relationships to totems (in this case snail darters) and the ecosystems they’re part of, including why some wanted to make sure these species were saved from extinction. If any of the activists who helped protect the snail darter are still around, you could ask the librarian if they’ve given any recent interviews about their experiences.
There’s only so much to know about the snail darter itself — it eats snails and other small invertebrates, prefers to hang out at the bottom of clear streams, and makes relatively short migrations to spawn in quiet pools. But what makes a stream good snail darter habitat, and how was it formed in the first place? How common are the fish’s food sources, and what are the life cycles of the animals it feeds on? Does it become food in turn for larger predators, who are then preyed upon by still larger animals? How do the plants and fungi in and around the stream help maintain its quality? These are just a few of the questions you could ask once you start looking past the little fish itself.
To find the answers, you could delve more deeply into your reading both online and in books and magazines. Many natural history museums feature exhibits that explain how local ecosystems are formed and what lives there; these displays are often more accessible, especially for people of limited mobility or who may not have the time or resources to head out into wild places to watch snail darters in their homes. If you do well in a classroom setting, you may want to check the nearest community college for classes on local ecosystems or related topics. Additionally, environmental groups like the Audubon Society may offer workshops that are often free to the public or accessible for a small fee. Park rangers are generally pretty well-educated on the natural history of the places they watch over, so if you head to the ranger station or learning center, you’ll likely be able to get some answers to your questions or at least good leads on more information.
Mythology and Folklore
Humans have always enjoyed observing their world and telling stories about what they see. While there’s nothing wrong with a straightforward description of one’s experiences, many people consider it to be more fun when a tale is involved. Over time the body of stories grows into a cohesive mythos shared by a culture or community, passed down from generation to generation.
I am not native to the Portland area. However, the various communities of the Chinookan people have lived along the Columbia River for centuries. There are no snail darters here but we do have several species of salmon, and I’ve spoken with the totems of a couple of them. It would be short-sighted of me to ignore the historical relationships the Chinookan people have had with the salmon, as well as the myths they’ve created for them. This helps me understand the salmon more, their place in the Columbia and surrounding rivers, and their importance to all who live here, human and otherwise.
Salmon are fairly high-profile critters, and it’s relatively easy to find information about them and their myths. The snail darter seems to not have a single historical tale of its own, though it certainly made an impact in more recent years. If the totem you’re researching isn’t the subject of easily accessible myths, start reading up on the myths and folklore of the indigenous people of its land. Even if you don’t find a word about your totem, you’ll gain valuable lore about the place it lives and other beings it calls neighbors.
Do be aware that on occasion folklore can be fraught with tragic inaccuracies. All surviving rhinoceros species are very close to extinction because certain Chinese medicine traditions claim that rhino horn has medicinal powers. None of these qualities have been verified by science, yet their persistence has led to the widescale poaching of rhinos and the extinction of multiple subspecies thereof. In a similar vein, medieval European lore claims that salamanders can live in fire, all because Pliny the Elder said so in his writings. If you toss a real salamander into a fire, the poor thing will die horribly just as you or I would under the same circumstances. Remember: just because something has been claimed for a long time doesn’t mean it’s true.
A final note: since the industrial age gained traction in the nineteenth century, a new sort of mythos has risen to counter its destructive tendencies. Nature writing is a form of nonfiction that reflects on the natural world most often through prose (though observations and experiences may also be conveyed as poetry). Some of the best-known classic American nature writers include Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, and John Muir. More recent contributors to the field are Terry Tempest Williams, Jane Goodall, and Thomas Berry. The stories these writers tell are largely based in observation and the physical world; some writers such as Goodall have extensive scientific training and expertise. Like older myths, their writings capture a certain spirit about their subjects which speaks to both the beings they write about and those species’ totems. An idea does not need to be expressly spiritual in order to be inspiring.
Personal Observations
Journaling has been a popular tool with naturalists and spiritual people alike for a very long time—there are a lot of things to record!
Returning to those snail darters, suppose you were able to visit their stream at least once a week for an hour. It may seem a bit tedious to sit and watch little fish, and it might be hard to concentrate at first. But the more you watch them, the more you’re likely to notice what makes them unique. You may get to see them feeding on prey and make note of what they commonly eat. Or you could follow their migratory progress to their spawning pools, and keep an eye out for newly hatched fish in the days and weeks to come. As you observe other species in the water, you’ll get a clearer idea of the place the snail darters have in their community.
Even if you can’t visit the stream every day, you can keep track of more general observations. A few good starters are noting when the sun and moon rise and set; daily rainfall, temperatures, and other weather patterns; any animals you may notice outside your home; what the plants and fungi are doing during this time of the year; your body’s responses to seasonal changes like light, allergens, temperatures, and so on; and human activity in your neighborhood. Over time you may notice patterns and will likely find yourself more attuned to your environment in general. Then when you are able to go see the snail darters (or whatever other beings you’re observing) you’ll be more prepared to catch little details you may have missed before, details that can tell you more about them.
These journal entries are also useful in working with totems. We often consider the big, impressive mammalian and avian predators like wolves and eagles to be the best teachers of hunting skills, courage, and cunning. However, the snail darter is no weakling in its own home. What strategies do snail darters have in catching their prey, and what could the totem Snail Darter teach you as a result? Perhaps you’d learn about how to carefully seek out opportunities that may be hidden, just as snail darters can find snails camouflaged among the gravel in the stream bed. Or maybe Snail Darter will remind you that sometimes we have to leave the comfort of familiar territory to achieve greater success, just as snail darters move from their usual haunts to bring forth the next generation.
As with everything presented here, don’t worry about creating a professional-level journal. You don’t need to have scientifically accurate sketches in your entries; you don’t even have to write in complete sentences, so long as you can go back and read what you wrote and still be able to understand it. So get creative! Write or draw whatever strikes you as important in the moment, and go back and add to it later after you’ve had some time to reflect. Paste in pictures of relevant animals, plants, and other beings from magazines, Wikipedia, and other sources. If you’re using a binder, cut or print out articles that add to your observations, or have fellow naturalists write their own thoughts on a blank page. These are just a few of the ways you can use your journal—and they’re hardly the limit.
Don’t forget the bioregional map from chapter 2. If that particular tool really works for you, use it in conjunction with (or even instead of) a journal. You might use the journal to record your thoughts about the map, or to further explain why you highlighted certain portions. You could also number each journal entry, and then put the same number on the place(s) you wrote about in that entry.
Online Resources
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s site at www.allaboutbirds.org, features field marks (appearance, song, etc.) for hundreds of species of North American birds. The database at avibase.bsc-eoc.org/avibase.jsp doesn’t have nearly as many features as Cornell’s, but it does include birds from around the world. If you’re looking for a great community to help you in those times when you can’t find any information on a particular bird of which you have a photograph, check out www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbird.
Need help identifying a tree? trees.luidp.net/en/index.php doesn’t have every single species, but it’s a great start, particularly in teaching you what characteristics to look for (bark, leaf shape and size, etc.) www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisplant is also good for “I have this picture, what is it?”-type identification of plants.
Want to study the stars? Try neave.com/planetarium/ and www.skymaponline.net/ to find out which constellations are overhead at any given time.
www.peakfinder.org/ is one of my very favorite sites. Put in GPS coordinates and it’ll tell you the names of all peaks and hills you can see in a 360 degree panorama, assuming they have names.
Want to figure out what your watershed is when all you have is a topographic map? www.wvca.us/envirothon/pdf/Watershed_Delineation_2.pdf has great directions.