Undrowned Padlet by Paige Vanhulle

Ch. 1 - Listen

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 19:18:25 UTC

In the first chapter, Gumbs invites us to “listen” like marine mammals, not only to sound, but to presence and survival itself. Dolphins use echolocation to sense their environment, communicate across great distances, and detect prey with astonishing precision. This form of listening is rooted in attention, vibration, and intuition, rather than just verbal speech. Dolphins remind us that listening is an embodied practice that can help us stay alive in hostile conditions. Gumbs uses echolocation as both literal and metaphorical guidance for how we might tune in to each other more deeply.

Citation:
“Bottlenose Dolphin.” National Geographic, 2023, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/bottlenose-dolphin.

Ch. 2 - Breathe

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 19:19:46 UTC

Gumbs honors the North Atlantic right whale as a relative of her Shinnecock ancestors and a living example of survival under systemic threat. These whales surface to breathe despite centuries of colonial hunting and modern dangers like ship strikes and entanglement. Their need to breathe, slow, visible, and constant, becomes a metaphor for resistance and resilience. In a world that often denies rest and breath to Black and Indigenous people, the right whale models deliberate survival. Breathing, Gumbs reminds us, is not passive, it is a political, ancestral, and sacred act.

Citation:
“North Atlantic Right Whale.” NOAA Fisheries, 2024, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale.

Ch. 3 - Remember

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 19:20:42 UTC

In “Remember,” Gumbs emphasizes the importance of honoring Indigenous knowledge and naming, citing the Tuxuci dolphin as a rare example of a marine mammal referred to by its original name. The Amazon River dolphin, also called boto or Tuxuci, lives in the flooded forests of South America and holds cultural significance in Indigenous Amazonian communities. Despite colonial attempts to rename and reframe the species, these names endure as acts of remembrance. Gumbs calls us to recognize and reclaim what’s been erased, both in our histories and ecosystems. The Tuxuci reminds us that names are part of memory, and memory is a form of survival.

Citation:
“Amazon River Dolphin.” World Wildlife Fund, https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/amazon-river-dolphin.

Ch. 4 - Practice

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:54:28 UTC

In this chapter, Gumbs reflects on the importance of collective, consistent practice through her involvement with UBUNTU, a women of color survivor-led organization. UBUNTU was founded on principles of transformative justice, mutual aid, and healing without relying on carceral systems. The group emphasized daily rituals of care, showing up, listening, and rebuilding relationships as key to liberation. UBUNTU’s work directly models the kind of intentional, sustained effort Gumbs associates with marine mammals. Practice isn’t just what we do, it’s who we become.

Citation:
“UBUNTU: A Women of Color Survivor-Led Organization.” Transform Harm, https://transformharm.org/ubuntu-a-women-of-color-survivor-led-organization/.

Ch. 5 - Collaborate

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:55:37 UTC

In “Collaborate,” Gumbs highlights the social behaviors of marine mammals like belugas, who are nicknamed “canaries of the sea” for their vast vocal range and sound-based teamwork. Belugas live in pods, cooperate to care for young, and rely on shared communication to survive in harsh environments. This deep interdependence is not a weakness but a strength, offering a model for human solidarity. Gumbs urges us to reconsider competition as a default and instead draw inspiration from animals that thrive together. Collaboration, as belugas show us, is a way of life.

Citation:
“Why Are Belugas Called the ‘Canaries of the Sea’?” Ocean Wise, https://ocean.org/blog/why-are-belugas-called-the-canaries-of-the-sea/.

Ch. 6 - Be Vulnerable

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:56:36 UTC

This article highlights the vulnerability of sea lions facing starvation due to environmental changes. Gumbs invites us to see vulnerability not as weakness, but as openness to truth, intimacy, and care. Sea lions, dependent on ecosystems disrupted by climate change, embody this lesson. Their suffering asks us to take responsibility and offer protection. Gumbs shows how shared vulnerability can lead to collective strength.

Citation: Walsh, Bryan. "Sea Lions Are Starving to Death — and We Don't Know Why." Time, 16 Apr. 2014, https://time.com/97041/sea-lions-are-dying/.

Ch. 7 - Be Present

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:57:15 UTC

The Marine Mammal Laboratory's real-time research reminds us of the importance of being present to observe, record, and respond. Gumbs suggests that presence is a radical act, an investment in the now, and an act of love. Marine mammals, who must always be in tune with their environment to survive, model this attentiveness. Presence allows for clarity, connection, and care. Like these scientists and whales, we must show up fully.

Citation: "Marine Mammal Laboratory." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/marine-mammal-laboratory.

Ch. 8 - Be Fierce

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:57:59 UTC

Orcas, or killer whales, are apex predators known for intelligence and cooperative strength. Gumbs uses their ferocity to encourage bold, loving defense of self and others. Being fierce isn’t about violence, it’s about unwavering protection of community. Like orcas hunting in synchrony, we can act with strategy and unity. Gumbs calls for fierceness rooted in love and vision.

Citation: "Orca (Killer Whale)." National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/orca.

Ch. 9 - Learn From Conflict

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:58:41 UTC

Sea lions often engage in territorial conflict, especially during mating season, but these disputes are ritualized and rarely violent. Gumbs uses this to suggest that conflict doesn’t always signal harm, it can offer opportunities for boundaries, communication, and transformation. Observing how sea lions manage tension shows that conflict can be part of healthy ecosystems. Instead of avoiding it, Gumbs teaches us to learn from it. In this way, conflict becomes a doorway, not a dead end.

Citation: "Sea Lion." National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/sea-lion.

Ch. 10 - Honor Your Boundaries

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 22:59:31 UTC

Harbor seals are naturally solitary animals that value space, often avoiding humans and hauling out on remote rocks to rest. Gumbs calls attention to this behavior as a lesson in boundary-setting and self-preservation. We’re reminded that it’s okay, even necessary, to withdraw, conserve energy, and protect peace. In a society that often encourages overexposure, the harbor seal models healthy separation. Gumbs invites us to honor our inner limits with the same respect.

Citation: "Harbor Seal." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/harbor-seal.

Ch. 11 - Respect Your Hair

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:06:32 UTC

The northern fur seal’s dense coat, once coveted by hunters, serves as both a literal and symbolic shield. Gumbs connects this marine mammal’s fur to the politics of Black hair, historically criminalized, commodified, and controlled. By examining the fur seal, we are reminded that natural features are worthy of care and pride, not control or shame. The seal’s coat isn’t just protection, it’s dignity. Gumbs encourages readers to treat their own hair with reverence and freedom.

Citation: "Northern Fur Seal." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/northern-fur-seal.

Ch. 12 - End Capitalism

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:07:15 UTC

This article explores how algal blooms caused by climate disruption are killing California sea lions, a crisis tied to capitalist pollution and industrial waste. Gumbs draws a direct line between environmental collapse and exploitative economic systems. Marine mammals suffer as oceans warm and food sources disappear, their lives collateral in extractive economies. To end capitalism, Gumbs argues, is to protect life, human and non-human. The chapter is both a warning and a demand.

Citation: Milman, Oliver. "Sea Lions Sickened as Toxic Algae Threatens California's Marine Mammals." The Guardian, 10 Mar. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/10/california-coast-sea-lions-algae.

Ch. 13 - Refuse

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:08:03 UTC

In Cape Cod, where mass dolphin strandings occur more than anywhere else, humans are finally refusing to treat these deaths as inevitable. Gumbs calls on us to refuse systems that normalize loss and destruction. The new dolphin hospital represents refusal in action, a choice to intervene with care. Like dolphins rejecting captivity, we can opt out of harm. Refusal, Gumbs writes, is the first step toward liberation.

Citation: "Cape Cod Strands More Dolphins Than Anywhere Else. Now They're Getting Their Own Hospital." AP News, 13 Mar. 2023, https://apnews.com/article/f86f556a5170497a7e375b780b5fac3d.

Ch. 14 - Surrender

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:08:42 UTC

Gumbs looks to the manatee, slow-moving and gentle, as an example of surrendering to rhythm and flow. These animals drift through warm coastal waters, yielding to currents rather than fighting them. In a world that rewards hustle and dominance, the manatee’s way is radical. Gumbs shows us how surrender can mean trust, softness, and rest, not defeat. To surrender, like the manatee, is to live aligned with the sea.

Citation: "Manatee." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/manatee.

Ch. 15 - Go Deep

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:40:52 UTC

Sperm whales are expert divers, plunging thousands of meters into the ocean’s dark zones to hunt and explore. Gumbs uses their capacity for depth to call us inward, into our fears, our truths, our ancestral knowing. These whales teach us to hold our breath, take risks, and search below the surface. “Go deep” becomes an invitation to radical self-inquiry and communal transformation. The deep is where wisdom lives.

Citation: "Sperm Whale." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/sperm-whale.

Ch. 16 - Stay Black

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:41:44 UTC

The melon-headed whale, sleek and often dark-skinned, is one of the lesser-known cetaceans and lives in tight-knit social groups. Gumbs celebrates this species as a metaphor for Black endurance, brilliance, and beauty, thriving even when unrecognized. “Stay Black” is not only a call to survive, but to revel in one’s Blackness unapologetically. These whales, like Black people, exist beyond visibility and demand reverence. Staying Black is sacred, collective, and joyful.

Citation: "Melon-Headed Whale." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/melon-headed-whale.

Ch. 17 - Slow Down

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:42:30 UTC

Dugongs are serene grazers, moving slowly through seagrass meadows in warm, shallow waters. Gumbs offers them as a reminder to resist urgency and speed, especially in systems that demand overwork. “Slow down” means rejecting capitalism’s tempo and choosing intention over efficiency. Dugongs survive not by rushing, but by adapting gently. Gumbs affirms that slowness is not laziness, it’s wisdom.
Citation: "Dugong." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/dugong.

Ch. 18 - Rest

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:43:22 UTC

Some marine mammals, like dolphins, sleep with only one hemisphere of their brain at a time, resting while staying alert. Gumbs meditates on this as both metaphor and reality: rest that resists complete disengagement, shaped by danger and adaptation. Rest, she insists, is not optional; it's liberation. In oppressive systems, choosing to rest is an act of rebellion. Like dolphins, we can rest while still swimming toward freedom.
Citation: “How Animals Sleep.” Sleep Foundation, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/animal-sleep.

Ch. 19 - Take Care of Your Blessings

paigev5 — 2025-06-02 23:44:05 UTC

Gumbs ends with the gray whale, known for its epic migrations and miraculous memory. These whales return to the same birthing lagoons year after year, guided by inherited maps. Taking care of your blessings, Gumbs suggests, means knowing where you came from, honoring what sustains you, and passing that care forward. Like gray whales protecting their calves, we must protect our dreams and our people. Blessings are not just gifts, they’re responsibilities.
Citation: "Gray Whale." NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/gray-whale.