<p>This article investigates the role of culture in conditions of protracted crisis, using the Palestinian experience, particularly in Gaza, as a point of reference. It focuses on <i>sumud</i>, the uniquely Palestinian notion of steadfastness, which exemplifies adaptive resilience by reinforcing communal strength and enabling social survival. Conceptually, culture is approached through a practice-based framework, drawing primarily on Pierre Bourdieu and supplemented by insight from Frantz Fanon. The analysis develops four possible crisis/sumud scenarios to show that sumud not only preserves the present but can also be redirected toward shaping post-crisis futures through the transformative and future-oriented capacities of culture. Rather than treating culture as an aesthetic by-product or a tool of soft power, the argument situates it as a structuring element of Palestinian endurance and a potential medium for transformation. In doing so, the article makes a conceptual contribution to crisis theory by foregrounding culture as a constitutive, rather than peripheral, element of crisis navigation and resilience. It challenges narrow readings of crisis management by highlighting the epistemic and affective functions of culture in navigating and potentially overcoming collective trauma in the absence of political sovereignty.</p>