What the Locals Know

Over the past year, our international neighborhood has been a topic of conversation. I explored the library’s collection to learn more about our international neighbors, their perspectives, and their regions. Discover what I learned and the excellent reading materials I found.

Greenlanders live along the ice-free coast and reestablished the use of their language in the late 1980s after hundreds of years of attempted assimilation by colonizers. Greenland is a remote island, five times the size of California, but with a population similar to that of Terre Haute, IN. The lowest temperature ever documented in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded on the summit of Greenland’s ice sheet at a balmy -93.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jon Gertner’s “The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey into Greenland’s Buried Past and Our Perilous Future” (559.82 Ger) chronicles the hardships, discoveries, and scientific achievements of explorers and researchers over the past 150 years. Gretel Ehrlich shares adventurous stories from her travels in the 1990s in her book, “This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland” (998.2 Her). She focuses on Greenland’s rich history and discusses its cultural uniqueness.

We share the longest international land border with Canada, which spans over 5,000 miles, and 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the United States. In northern Canada, the boreal forest is considered the largest unbroken natural system in the world. This forest stores up to 25% of the world’s carbon emissions and acts as a climate regulator.

Cliff Seruntine’s book “Seasons of the Sacred Earth: Following the Old Ways on an Enchanted Homestead” (631.584 Seruntine) explains the skills needed to pursue a sustainable life. After living in Alaska, the family relocates to a secluded Nova Scotia homestead to pursue a more mindful life by growing and raising their own food while living in balance with the surrounding forest. The book includes maps created by his daughter.

The Caribbean islands are one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world. The name Caribe derives from the original indigenous peoples, the Kalinago or Island Caribs. All of these islands were once under colonial rule by multiple countries, including Spain, England, France, and Denmark. Today, the U.S. is one of four countries that maintain colonies in this region.

“Tell My Horse” (299.675 Hur) is based on Zora Neale Hurston’s personal experience in Haiti and Jamaica in the 1930s. She explains details about their religious practices, ceremonies, and customs.

Central America is the southernmost region of North America, and comprises seven nations. It has over 70 active volcanoes, and the Santa Maria in Guatemala has been erupting since 2013. It is often assumed to be part of South America due to being mostly a Spanish-speaking region. South America lies mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and is the fourth-largest continent by area. The largest country is Brazil. It has a diverse environment, including the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall and the largest river by volume, the Amazon River.

“Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Amazon Rain Forest” (581.634 Plo) by Mark J. Plotkin details his investigation of Amazonian medicinal plants that have been used by indigenous shamans for more than a millennium. Read “Through Gates of Splendor” (986.6 Ell), a true story of five young missionaries who were killed while trying to establish communication with the Auca Indians of Ecuador. This story is told from the perspective of one of their widows, Elizabeth Elliot.

The Western Hemisphere is home to fascinating, diverse people, enchanting natural landscapes, and strong, tech-driven, and specialized industries. Finding friendly ways to collaborate with our international neighbors is crucial to our future, and you can learn more at the library.

Find these books and more currently on display on the second floor of the library. Check out our website at crawfordsvillelibrary.in.gov to learn how to acquire a library card or for more information about our upcoming programs and events.