On the Swamp
Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice
By Ryan Emanuel
312 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 7 halftones, 4 maps, 1 graph, 1 table
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-7832-0
Published: April 2024 -
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-7831-3
Published: April 2024 -
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-7833-7
Published: March 2024
Buy this Book
- Paperback $19.95
- Hardcover $99.00
- E-Book $12.99
For Professors:
Free E-Exam Copies
Awards & distinctions
Finalist, 2025 Reed Environmental Writing Award, Southern Environmental Law Center
Environmental scientist Ryan E. Emanuel, a member of the Lumbee tribe, shares stories from North Carolina about Indigenous survival and resilience in the face of radical environmental changes. Addressing issues from the loss of wetlands to the arrival of gas pipelines, these stories connect the dots between historic patterns of Indigenous oppression and present-day efforts to promote environmental justice and Indigenous rights on the swamp. Emanuel’s scientific insight and deeply personal connections to his home blend together in a book that is both a heartfelt and an analytical call to acknowledge and protect sacred places.
About the Author
Ryan E. Emanuel (Lumbee) is associate professor of hydrology at Duke University.
For more information about Ryan Emanuel, visit
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Reviews
"Emanuel, a member of the Lumbee Tribe and a hydrologist at Duke University, is uniquely positioned to tell this story. . . . [On the Swamp illuminate[s] cyclical patterns of environmental injustice, rendered through deeply personal storytelling and vivid locality—down to the color of the water in seemingly every last rivulet in the county."—Sierra
"In writing that’s both affectionate and candid, On the Swamp is a warning about, and a celebration of, eastern North Carolina."—Grist
"On the Swamp is a key text for readers interested in working with tribes, both federally recognized and non federally recognized, within environmental planning and cultural resource management. The book not only highlights Indigenous perspectives on the environment and land stewardship but also provides important recommendations for shifting tribal collaboration from consultation toward consent."—Journal of the American Planning Association
"Emanuel richly describes the rivers, streams, and swamps of what is now eastern North Carolina."—Due South WUNC
"The story of the Lumbee and their fight for environmental justice is not complete without understanding their relations to lands and waters that Ryan Emanuel details in this powerful and erudite book."—Water Alternatives
"An engaging, informative, and deeply personal book that offers significant insights regarding the intersectionality of environmental justice, Indigenous rights, the brutal legacy of colonialism and racism in the United States, and the importance of place."—Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture