Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtice

In her recent publication, Kaitlin B. Curtice explores how showing up as our authentic selves and questioning larger cultural norms is a lifelong path of resistance. Her work deeply resonated with me, as I am in a season of re-evaluating how I show up in the world. How has fear been my motivator instead of love and belonging? In what ways can I resist by letting go of the “shoulds” and prioritizing the natural rhythms and cycles of my body? These are some of the questions that I am exploring, which Living Resistance expands upon.

According to Curtice, resistance is “the way we use our everyday lives to exert energy against the dangerous status quo of our time” (p. 23). The front cover of the book depicts overlapping circles, the four realms that we oscillate between: Personal, Communal, Ancestral, and Integral. The book then goes on to examine each of the four realms in detail, with the Integral realm signifying a safe place of total acceptance of self. 

Curtice was raised in a Southern Baptist faith community, where she participated in leadership roles. As a young adult, she began to question core assumptions and traditions in Evangelical Christianity, in particular the question of who was NOT invited to the table. Her curiosity and deep probing led to a new path, embracing teachings of her Potawatomi origins, as well as acknowledging the deeper intricacies of the Christian faith. Curtice argues that as complex beings, we are invited to question the binaries and cultural constraints found in religion and society. She views herself as someone who lives on the “periphery of Christianity,” where there is so much to learn and unlearn.

As a faith leader, Curtice uses storytelling and poetry to remind the reader that, “You are a human being. You are always arriving” (p. 11). Staying present in the moment and being honest about where we are on our journey is the beginning of the resistance as a way of living. Curtice’s vision for wholeness recognizes that life is cyclical and there are many twists and turns to each person’s story. Her work requires not only deep contemplation, but also a reckoning of how we actively engage in the world. By embracing curiosity and deconstructing many of the securities we cling to, an honesty emerges that grounds “living resistance” in a raw truth. 

                                            By, Jennifer Metten Pantoja