Living in Balance with Nature


What Indigenous Cultures Can Teach Us

By Ellie Marie Hammond

March, 2022

One thing I know for certain is that in order to deal with the environmental problems we face today many solutions must be considered and implemented. In fact, the most ingenious solutions will probably come from seemingly unsuspected sources. I’ve dedicated my life to learning about such approaches. However, no approach to sustainable land management has touched me in the way that Indigenous Land Ethics has. The Native philosophy of land stewardship gives top priority to Nature’s needs, knowing that Mother Earth will provide the necessities of life as long as She is in balance.

What makes Indigenous Land Ethics so special is the concept of relationality. Relationality or “relational ethics” is how Indigenous communities around the world organize economic, political, social, and land management structures. The basic principle of relationality is that individual wants and needs are not the most important factor that go into decision making. Instead, decisions are based on the collective environment’s needs and desires.

The collective environment is not limited to humans. All living things are recognized as beings, like humans, with sentience and consciousness. Each part of the environment--animals, insects, plants, landscape features, weather–are viewed as “relatives” to the people who share the environment with them. The environment as a whole is a family, and it is the people’s job to engage in reciprocal interactions with everything around them, always considering the desires, behaviors, needs, and roles of everything that comprises their home. Thus, when making decisions about how to run society, Indigenous communities extend beyond their own human goals, and through their unique and rich culture engage with the environment to find solutions that work for all.

In Sequoia National Forest, Kernville, California

This way of being is incredibly powerful. From what I have observed both in the classroom and in everyday life, climate change is the result of humans considering themselves superior, ultimately exploiting the environment to achieve their own comfort, convenience, and development. There is a price to pay for such limited thinking. It is now clear that when this behavior goes unchecked environments become degraded, ecosystems break down, and we lose more than just the beauty and recreation of Nature. We lose our entire support system.

There is much to be learned from Indigenous groups who have developed beautiful ways of engaging with their land and all it encompasses. Their cultures prove to be the most efficient environmental stewards. Relational thinking allows for more than human needs to be met. It shows us the possibility of a comfortable life from working togetherwith our ecosystems, rather than working against them.

I am not alone in thinking this way. In the Western scientific community Indigenous Land Management strategies are gaining more respect, prestige, and importance. At the end of this essay I’ve attached a few case studies which conclude that Indigenous Peoples aren’t only great at environmental conservation and restoration, they should be considered teachers and knowledgeable peers to Western land management protocols. Amazing things happen when these two groups work together. Indigenous communities provide scientists with invaluable knowledge that comes from generations of working with the land, developing intricate relationships with all landscape features. In return, Western scientists provide resources, political power, and data to enhance what Indigenous cultures already know about their home. Both Western science and Indigenous philosophy are enriched when working together. In partnership they make each other stronger.

The take-home message is to think about how we can step outside of ourselves and adopt a more relational approach to the lives we lead. For myself, I find satisfaction in observing nature and developing my own distinctive way of building relationships with everything around me. Instead of opting for my own convenience or desires, I think about how I can become content in ways that are not destructive to the environment. I try to get outside more, take care of my spirit rather than satisfy my ego, and consume less. I also try to educate myself about all the different cultures and perspectives in this world. Studying Indigenous cultures has taught me so much about myself and the world around me, who knows what else I’ll learn as I continue to explore. 

Most importantly, I’ve adopted the idea that all life has agency, and deserves my consideration and respect. The best example to describe this practice is when I walk my dog. Sometimes I just want to move quickly, get my heart rate up, and make it from point A to point B. My dog, however, is a wanderer. She loves making stops along the way, breathing in scents, listening to sounds, observing all the sites. I used to find this aggravating. In my mind I had more important things to do, other desires to fulfill. But I decided to put myself in her perspective. She loves exploring using all of her senses. It isn't much to ask that we walk a little slower, stop more often, and just take it all in. The end result is the same–I get my exercise, she satisfies her senses, and we both feel content. 

My dog is just one of the many non-human teachers in my life, and it's these teachers I consider to be the most wise.

 

RESOURCES FOR TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ITS VITAL ROLE IN THE MODERN DAY:

·      “Animal agency: Wildlife management from a kincentric perspective,” by Jonaki Bhattacharyya and Scott Slocombe. In the journal Ecosphere, vol. 8 issue 10, Oct. 2017. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.1978

·      Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer; Milkweed Editions, 2015. Available in the public library, bookstores, and on Amazon; https://www.amazon.com/Braiding-Sweetgrass-Indigenous-Scientific-Knowledge

·      “Indigenous Land and Sea Management–A Case Study,” Australia State of the Environment, Dec. 2011. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.468.3790&rep=rep1&type=pdf

·       “What we can learn from Indigenous land management: Lessons from first nations governance in environmental management.” Science Daily, Nov. 2019.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191105075838.htm

·      “Efforts of Indigenous Knowledge in Forest and Wildlife Conservation: A Case Study on Bulang People in Mangba Village in Yunnan Province, China,” by Kaiwen Su, Jie Ren, Yueting Qin, Yilei Hou, and Yali Wen.  MDPI, Forests, 2020. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/11/1178/htm