Duane BigEagle’s grandfather was really smart
Issues in American Indian Research
My Grandfather Was a Quantum Physicist
I can see him now
smiling
in full dance costume
in front of the roundhouse
on a sunny afternoon.
Scientists have finally discovered
that the intimate details
of our lives
are influenced by things
beyond the stars
and beyond time.
My grandfather knew this.
[…] In large part due to her unwavering commitment to this way of thinking, I wrote some amazing papers under her guidance and my learning opened up and expanded. Three major papers stand out: I wrote a paper on the dynamics of culture change in communities, I wrote one with my friend Gary Heuval on hunting as a negotiating strategy for the James Bay Cree in the 1970s and I wrote one looking at themes of connection and interdependence in Native American and First Nations poetry. That last one included a meditation on Duan BigEagle’s poem “My Grandfather was a Quantum Physicist“, interestingly enough. All of this led up to my developing a particular worldview that culminated in my honours thesis, a piece of original research under David Newhouse that developed a multi-disciplinary process for understanding organizational culture in Native organizations. That was what was possible at the undergraduate level at Trent in the 1980s – I think things have changed now. Marlene was an incredibly influential person on my life. […]