Reframing Intelligence in Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies

Abstract

Examining Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg), as a powerful intervention in dominant discourses on intelligence, Hatice Bay argues that the novel constructs and enacts an Anishinaabe model of intelligence grounded in the land, relationality, embodiment, and interdependence—concepts boldly challenging and transcending conventional Western frameworks that focus solely on individual cognition, logic, and academic achievement. Drawing on Indigenous thinkers such as Jim Dumont, Gregory Cajete, Leroy Little Bear, and Simpson herself, Bay contextualizes Noopiming within a broader intellectual tradition that emphasizes ethical values, spiritual insight, and community accountability. Through its characters, structure, and collaborative artistic projects, Noopiming presents intelligence as a generative and life-affirming force. This analysis also highlights how Simpson’s work reflects Anishinaabe scholar Lawrence W. Gross’s “accretive thinking,” a mode of knowledge creation that adds new layers of meaning through cyclical and networked pprocesses and explores how visual and musical collaborations inspired by the novel extend its epistemological impact beyond literature. Ultimately, Noopiming offers a compelling model for decolonizing intellectual practices. It fosters more inclusive, respectful approaches to knowledge, thus contributing to the ongoing resurgence of Indigenous—in particular, Anishinaabe—presence, self-determination, and cultural vitality.