Daniel R. Wildcat

"We cannot successfully address the physical global climate change facing us until we have a cultural climate change."

Thanks to @fulcrumpublishing for the gifted copy. This is perfect for Indigenous Heritage Month.

In 'On Indigenuity: Learning the Lessons of Mother Earth' Daniel R. Wildcat provides a framework with which to start the work of restoring our relationship to the Earth through environmental activism. He posits that viewing humanity as separate from the Earth and viewing the Earth as a transactional space where humans get to extract resources without ever replenishing is essentially the root of the problem. Wildcat throughout the book reminds us that Indigenous ways have always honored the sanctity of all living beings on the planet, not just humans. Because of this interconnected personal relationship with the Earth, Indigenous peoples have always been protectors of the planet and makes their unique perspectives essential for reversing the damage done by settler colonialism, empire and capitalism.

Wildcat believes that in order to save the planet, their needs to be a cultural shift where humans once again begin to view the natural world as their relative and will therefore consider that relationship most important when living life. To care for the Earth is to be one with it and not think oneself superior to non-human organisms and destroy resources and habitats for profit without considering the consequences for the future generations. Wildcat also identifies that it is the settler colonialist that has created the climate emergency we are living everyday, which he calls the era of Anthropocene aka global burning.

The book is brief and concise and is a great overview of Indigenous knowledge and some cultural lenses, which have always informed their life ways. He references other relevant works and offers different tribal perpsectives. It does become repetitive after a while but it does provide a good foundation with which to begin to understand the work of climate change and to understand the immense cultural shift that has to take place.

As I was reading, I couldn't help but think about how the plight of Palest*ne directly relates to this work. I think about the pictures of olive trees being bulldozed and non-native plants being planted. I think about what the effects of all the bomb*ing will have on the environment and on people's health. I think about the cactuses that refuse to die no matter how much they build settler colonies on the land. I think about how the extraction of natural resources will devastate the area. I think about the wildlife that lives in water and how all this chemical waste will cause decline in populations of people and animals. I can't help but keep reflecting on the question of what will happen to the Earth if the genoc*de of Indigenous people, who are the protectors of the land, continues to occur. These are the some of the questions that Wildcat wants us to think about while also reminding us that Indigenuity must be at the forefront of the work.… (altro)