Cartographic Poetry

Cartographic Poetry asks readers to rethink how we understand mapping and cartography. Written by historian Ted Binnema, anthropologist François Lanoë and archaeologist Heinz W. Pyszczyk, the book approaches early 19th-century Indigenous maps not as flawed precursors to European cartography but as valuable works shaped by their own cultural contexts, purposes and knowledge systems, distinct from western conventions.

The authors examine five maps created by the Blackfoot and Gros Ventre nations of the North American prairies and foothills. These maps — originally collected and transcribed by Hudson’s Bay Company surveyor Peter Fidler, and preserved in the HBC archives — are among the few surviving written documents produced by those communities for HBC. Through archaeological, linguistic and historical analysis, Cartographic Poetry demonstrates how each map reflects a specific moment, intention and relationship, showing that cartography was a long-standing tradition in these territories.

The authors frame their interpretations by likening the maps to poetry. The maps are typically described as sparse or minimalist, but we learn that they’re, in fact, highly intentional and distill the northern plains landscape into essential lines, icons and patterns that function as mnemonic devices, intended to be explained orally. Attempts by western scholars to “correct” or reorient the maps, the authors argue, are unsatisfying because their makers didn’t share such conventions. Although Fidler took Indigenous cartography seriously, he still filtered it through European systems of cataloguing and preservation, creating an invaluable archive that also reveals a layer of colonial mediation. Well researched and thoughtfully produced, Cartographic Poetry is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Indigenous history, environmental history and the politics of knowledge-making. It ultimately invites readers to challenge European frameworks and reconsider how cartography itself can be understood.