“The natural world is full of relatives, not resources,” according to Chief Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation. The science of ecology and ecological interactions of the living and non-living world inclusive of humans connecting all in a web of life—especially so-called “deep ecology” that includes spiritual context and social behaviors affirming nature—are similar concepts, yet perhaps not as elegantly articulated as Oren Lyons’ description of the natural world.
Chief Lyons explains that the responsibility of the current generation is to think and act in concern for the seventh generation yet to come. Similarly, the Brundtland Report’s often-quoted definition of sustainability in Our Common Future published in 1987 as the “capacity of the present generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” reflects the Native American concept of concern for the seventh generation.
In the 21st century, what I call the “Environmental Century,” the time has come for melding of traditional wisdom and modern ecology to re-direct human behavior and affairs towards nature’s path. A move one step closer to this healthy transition from the frenetic, extractive, toxic, unsustainable Industrial Revolution of the past two centuries to a permaculture, post-peak oil, place-based, local solutions lifestyle may be possible in Denmark in December 2009. Hopefully, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which is touted as the World Climate Summit to build on the soon-to-expire 1997 Kyoto Protocol, will chart a future of commitment to mitigate global climate change. The goal is to enter into a binding global climate agreement that will apply to the period after 2012.
With the Obama policy of acknowledging global climate change as a real challenge for our generation and those yet to come and embracing constructive actions that America as a nation and that each individual American can take, the Copenhagen summit offers great opportunity to meet the global climate change challenge with America’s help. Yes, we can (with the help of others working together with us, too). President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in part for his new policy on global climate change.
Prof. Daniel Wildcat, Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma and a protégé of the widely respected late Native American philosopher, political activist, and professor Vine Deloria, Jr., calls for “homeland maturity” as the best way to secure a sustainable future. Two books written by Wildcat that I commend to your attention are Destroying Dogma: Vine Deloria, Jr., and His Influence on American Society (Fulcrum, 2006) and Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge (Fulcrum, 2009). He is active within the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group, whose mission is described as follows: “Because of our recognition that the life-ways of indigenous people hold tremendous lessons for all of humankind to consider as we collectively think about our future, we have formed the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group to take immediate steps to ensure tribal Peoples will have the expertise within their own communities to make good decisions.”
In the “Environmental Century,” we are at the crossroads of which path to take. Let’s choose nature’s path in our daily lives in our local communities. This is no trick; it’s a real treat.
Happy pumpkins!
Best regards,
GEM Education Center Blog 