Today is October 11, Indigenous People's Day
As today's post coincides with the season of college essay writing, I am thinking of one of my essays in which I wrote about my experience in northern Canada meeting some of the indigenous Cree who live there. I had so many thoughts, I wanted to share more about this topic (way more than 300 words!) so I decided to expand my thoughts in my essay into a blog post.
As a group who has been in America longer than any other, Indigenous people have traditionally had a culture that highlights a sense of respect for the land where they reside. Having a culture that appreciates the land allows one to better understand it and utilize it sustainably. In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer highlights that "to be native to a place we must learn to speak its language." Being native to a place is caring about it, and learning about it, even if you or your ancestors came from somewhere else. We can all adopt a mindset of being responsible for the land we are on, because we all need to take care of the land we live on today. Because the land doesn't belong to us. In reality, it doesn't belong to anyone - it is a gift that is passed from person to person, as long as it is cared for and respected, and not manipulated and exploited for profit. Simply having a feeling of belonging and responsibility will keep us motivated to keep it healthy. Just as we wouldn’t leave our house dirty and uncared for, why would we do the same with our communal home?
From my travels, the things I have read, and the people I have listened to, i think it is clear that our current global issues are not an accident. Climate change, the global pandemic, and social and racial injustice are all interconnected. The way we treat our home, the planet, is the way we will eventually be treated. Adopting Indigenous practices towards the earth would be a powerful first step for all of us as we seek to make things right. This year I started reading an amazing book called Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. (Just as I had started it, I got lucky enough to find out that Michael Jarvis started weekly instagram storytime and read us Northwaters/Langskib folks one chapter every week.) Then I read it again for a literature class in high school! One of the ideas in this book is important for us all. It says that
regardless of whether you are actually of Indigenous descent, living as someone connected to the land is a vital step in bringing our current society closer to one that is both sustainable and equitable. This may not be as hard as you think. All it requires is living while being cognizant of treating the land and natural resources around us as a privilege, not a given. Treat the land as if it were a gift. A gift that will take care of you as you take care of it, and will be used by many future generations.
Kimmerer says that, “Being naturalized to a place means to live as if this is the land that feeds you, as if these are the streams from which you drink, that build your body and fill your spirit. To become naturalized is to know that your ancestors lie in this ground. Here you will give your gifts and meet your responsibilities. To become naturalized is to live like your children's future matters, to take care of the land as if our lives and the lives of all our relatives depend on it. Because they do. ”
One reason people don't always take care of the land and life around them is because they spend too much time indoors. When you never leave your house/school/neighborhood/mall it is easy to forget that there is a whole world out there. To care about something you have to become acquainted with it. That is one of the reasons I started my club at Skyline High School, and why I started this blog. As someone who is concerned with climate change as well as Indigenous rights, I want to help bring awareness to these issues. Racism and environmental destruction go hand-in-hand but to care about the land and the people, you have to get to know them. You have to venture outdoors!
Nemonte Nenquimo, an indigenous activist from the Ecuadorean Amazon, points out that you can't fight for the survival of something you don't even know about. She says, "For Indigenous peoples it is clear: the less you know about something, the less value it has to you, and the easier it is to destroy....this is exactly what [you] are doing to us as Indigenous peoples .... and ultimately to our planet's climate."
Cristina Mittermeier, who is a wildlife photographer and co-founder of the non-profit group SeaLegacy, points out that in order to face our current climate and health crisis we need to "change our lens."
"Caring for people and the planet demands a new spirit of collaboration, centered on justice and equity. When we work together we have the power to rewrite the future. Let this be the decade when everything changes."
