Learning from Indigenous Peoples about Reconciling Culture and Nature.
Nature and culture have artificially been separated for too long. Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being are increasingly recognized as integral in our responses to global pandemics, climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation. As we attempt to reimagine our place in Nature in the face of escalating and converging crises, it behooves us to learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters how to heal the culture-Nature divide.
In an article published by Cultural Survival, Dr. Gleb Raygorodetsky – a biocultural diversity expert with over two decades of experience working for, collaborating with, and writing about the world’s Indigenous Peoples -shares a range of exemplary stories that bring biocultural diversity to life.
From the Quechua people of Peru, and the Kainai First Nation in Canada, to the Aboriginal Traditional Owners in Australia, and the Moriori people of New Zealand, these stories demonstrate ways in which we might reconcile our relationships with plants, animals, the elements, and each other.
“Only by recognizing the timeless values of these lived experiences and applying these lessons to our own ways of knowing, doing, and being, can we ever hope to reimagine ‘normal’ in the post-COVID world, and ‘build back better.’ ”
You can read the full article here.
Amazon defender Gloria Ushiga has been leading struggles in defense of Sápara territory against fossil fuels, defense of language, and women’s rights. Photo © Gleb Raygorodetsky
