If I believed in fate or god, I would perhaps have thought that the presence of the book in the store was intentional. While searching for a Coke Zero, my one caffeinated beverage that I allow myself each day, to quench my thirst, I walked through a short isle of books that the little stand in the airport sold. A bread book mentioned on one of the blogs that I read stood out, and I picked it up in delighted fascination that I should trip over such a thing in such a random way. I flipped through it, but put it back down knowing that I wouldn't try even a tenth of the recipes. However as I placed the book in its place another book jumped out at me. It's called A People's Ecology by Gregory Cajete. A book on sustainable agriculture, my newfound interest! This was definitely one for the taking. I purchased my Coke and the book and began reading as soon as I had to cut my computer off to get on my plane.

Generally, as I flip through books I tend to dog ear pages that have words of wisdom, or points that I want to recall. By the hundredth page I must have almost a dozen such earmarks. Incredible similarities with the story of Taker culture as described in by Quinn in his novels jumped out in the story of how these Indigenous populations were put under plow and then later turned into wage slaves. Jumping out was my belief that an integrated life, food and nature process is the right way to achieve balance, not by trying to recreate physical exertion, proper diet and work/life balance through segmentation of ones life. In fact, to combat the degradation in health among these people who have adopted the western lifestyle of highly processed foods and cognitive dissonance, programs are created to encourage exercise, healthy eating but not address the cognitive dissonance directly. Ironically, in their original cultural state there was no need for such programs. Exercise and healthy eating weren't something that need to be ingrained artificially, it was completely integrated into their culture; a culture that was systemically destroyed and forgotten in the name of progress.

Some other points to highlight from the book (so far):

• The Spanish required that the Pueblo begin planting non-native crops that required them to work year round, rather than just half a year, to indoctrinate them on the more proper European work ethic.

• The original spirituality and social structure completely interleaved respect for food with respect for the environment with respect for all life, not just human life. Every kernel of corn, every animal caught, was sacrificing itself for human life, and one day, eventually all humans perform the same sacrifice.

• The Navajo had rules passed down by their spiritual advisers that when foraging they never take more than the need (not want). When taking things, take from many plants not just all from one, because these must be preserved for future generations.

• Until the 20th century these people had maintained a combination non-totalitarian agricultural and hunter/gather existence, but eventually they have been driven towards becoming wage slaves like the rest of us and buying rather than harvesting their own food. As these groups have done this, and have been assimilated into our culture, the rates of diseases like alcoholism, obesity, diabetes, heart disease et cetera is directly proportional to what level of integration they have achieved. Tribes in North West Mexico aren't as assimilated because of the lack of availability of grocery stores and fast food outlets, but they are also the least afflicted by these diseases.

It is clear from reading Quinn and now seeing this play out directly in the living history of these people, that we have to return to this way of life, a life that needed no programs to be healthy and sustainable, as soon as possible. This is not done by trying to turn the clock back, or to rewind the degeneration, but to learn from these people's way of life and adapt it to our new environment moving forward. What is clear is that the Indigenous people are succumbing to the same problems that the rest of us do. Previously healthy and full of vitality, they are now full of diseases and psychoses that were foreign to them but native to us. This isn't just a problem for the people in the Americas, can be seen in the Okinawan People, the Pacific Islanders and practically every other culture that has been touched and assimilated by Western culture--the now dominant Taker culture. For some reason, we fail to make the connection that it is our way of life that is a problem, not our genetics or our heritage, despite this evidence. The only common denominator is our way of life. Abandoning it will be impossible of course, because it is always seen as moving backwards rather than forwards, but what other answer is there than to move on from this toxic way of life?