Book Review: Learning Native Wisdom: What Traditional Cultures Teach Us about Subsistence, Sustainability, and Spirituality (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 2009
Spirituality, Gary Holthaus argues, is at the heart of the complex and related social and ecological crises that face humans. It is the key to creating a sustainable culture, and yet Holthaus observes that ''I have yet to attend a meeting, lecture or workshop on sustainability that addresses it [spirituality]'' (2008: 6). Holthaus sets out to convince his readers that this spiritual dimension is crucial for the dramatic culture changes necessary to move toward a sustainable society. As the poem from Gary Snyder that opens the book states, ''In making the handle/Of an axe/By cutting wood with an axe/The model is indeed near at hand'' (x). The ''axe handles'' that our culture has on hand as existing models of sustainability are the indigenous societies of the world. This book is one installment in a series published by the University Press of Kentucky titled Culture of the land: A series in the new Agrarianism (Norman Wirzba, ed). The series is dedicated to an interdisciplinary articulation of new agrarianism, which the editorial board suggests consists of a comprehensive worldview that foregrounds human interaction with the land. Interestingly, Holthaus approaches this new agrarianism with old tools. Most of the data in this book is nothing new: Holthaus draws from ancient indigenous wisdom, weaves it together with lessons from Confucius and Lao Tzu, peppers his stories with frequent references to his favorite poets (Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver, Robinson Jeffers, and others) and notes the resonance of these ideas with deeper, spiritual understandings of sustainability. But Holthuas's narrative ties these old stories together insightfully, with a nice rhythm, and integrates both ancient and contemporary ideas into a welcome contribution to sustainability discourse. Most importantly, the book highlights the under-appreciated centrality of spirituality to the idea of sustainability.
Chosen by the Spirits: Visionary Ecology and Indigenous Wisdom.
Teaching Mysticism, edited by Dr. William Parsons, Rice University. Oxford University Press, 2011: 121-137.
visionary ecology and indigenous wisdom L ee I rwin Teaching Native American religion and spirituality is a diffi cult and demanding task; one that requires constant attention to formative issues within Religious Studies and within the interdisciplinary context of Native Studies. Th ese diffi culties stem from shallow or artifi cial representations that mask a long history of brutal political and religious oppression, false characterizations, the denial or underevaluation of native epistemologies and spiritual values, and the constant tendency to rewrite, reinscribe, and reassimilate native beliefs into alien, nonnative constructs of meaning. Th e need to avoid essentializing attitudes and falsifying "trickster hermeneutics" ( Vizenor 1999 , 15-18) in native interpretations of religious practices creates a context of tension, uneasy resistance, and oft en anger and suspicion on the part of native persons toward any (false) claims to represent native religious thinking. As a scholar of native religious history, I am keenly aware of the ambiguity that informs a fi eld of study whose history is overshadowed by 400 years of oppression, denial, and marginalization through aggressive colonialism and government control, followed by an unexpected late-twentieth-century turn toward romanticization, commodifi cation, and a naive fi xation on native spirituality unmoored from its usual grounding in place, language, tradition, and required social relationships. An authentic context for teaching native religions requires conscious commitment to bring fully into view, for discussion and debate, the long and painful history of religious denial and constant mis/reinterpretation that has dominated most discussions of native religions .
How Can We Achieve Sustainable Living Using Indigenous Knowledge.pdf
Humanity is not separate from the earth's ecosystem, as one might think. In fact, the quality of the earth's ecosystem and its services have a significant effect on the health of humans. Cultural ecosystem services are the most important services of the ecosystems, which are vital for a sustainable living of humans on the earth. These services include the non-material benefits of the earth's ecosystem in the form of recreation, aesthetic experiences, educational benefits, spiritual improvement and cultural heritage. Overall, these services help us to enrich our social and economic conditions, manage the earth's resources in a better way, and to provide us with a good physical and mental health. However, due to a lack of information and interest for these services in our economic, social and environmental aspects of life, and in the governmental policies on the land-use changes and land management practices, these ecosystem services are in danger of being either diminished, altered or destroyed entirely. This study reviews the experiences and knowledge of indigenous peoples that are deep-rooted in nature to highlight the cultural ecosystem services and their potential role in living in harmony with nature today.
Paths to sustainability : creating connections through place-based Indigenous knowledge
2017
For most of humanity's existence, a robust human-nature relationship was paramount. Any inherent benefits were clearly understood and respected. However, in the last 500 years of western history, religious dependence diminished in favour of a more rational and humanist approach and market economics rose in prominence. This evolution encouraged notions of cultural separation from nature that led to an emphasis on the individual, the expansion of private land ownership and the commodification of natural resources. These misguided beliefs then spread throughout the world during colonization. The result has been a mass degradation of the earth's ecological health, alongside a strong decrease in the positive qualities of tradition and community life. Repair of the human-nature connection is urgent. This research demonstrates that Indigenous people living among us today who embody Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) can offer insights to heal this serious rift. They teach us that without honest human-nature relationships and a grounded existence in place, long-term prosperity for western civilization will be challenging. An Indigenous worldview demonstrates that place-based learning and the repair of community connections is imperative for healthy social-ecological systems. Nature's importance must be regarded for its own sake, not just for the benefit of humans. Incorporating these principles into present-day society encourages more sustainable practices and helps to treat our common planet with respect. In addition, the act of receiving traditional wisdom from our Indigenous neighbours facilitates a reconciliation of the tragic legacies that endure from colonization. Without this fundamental healing, little long-term recovery of people and the land is likely.
Introductory Essay: Traditional Knowledge, Spirituality and Lands
The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2011
In times like ours, when people are inundated with notions of consumerist identities, culture is often seen mainly as a resource to be tapped into for economic development. This certainly is true of blatant consumerist culture produced by such economic behemoths as Hollywood, but it is a narrow view on the importance and functions of culture. The objective of this issue of the International Indigenous Policy Journal is to demonstrate the radical importance of culture and spirituality in not only defining a people and their society but also in affecting their well-being and how these things are all interrelated.
INDIGENOUS SUSTAINABILITY: Ecological Healing to Development.pdf
Published September 2018 by Keikieboe Scientific & Literary Publishing, Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Exclusion of pages 16-275 for copyright purpose). This well-timed, important book passionately deals with the root cause of the ecological and health crises by highlighting the role of both Ecological and Holistic Healing in the reclamation of sustainability. The author intrigues the reader with a fascinating knowledge on Natural Healing as an efficient way to confront the onslaught of stress and degenerative illness. Inspired by the age-long wisdom of world's Indigenous Peoples, this book attempts to heal the deficiency of dominant, non-Indigenous societies in carrying out development. Development has ushered material progress but it has become ambiguous because its detriment has outweighed its benefits. Largely instigated by governments, businesses, academia, and Christian religion, development has become invasive and predatory especially toward the poor, the Indigenous, and the environment.