Indigenous People Sound the Alarm on Climate Change

[n2doc]

Posted by Brian Clark Howard of National Geographic News October 11, 2011

The air in the auditorium smelled faintly of burnt herbs. Josefina Lema Aguilar, a Kichwa elder from the mountains of Ecuador, lit a tiny sacred fire to bless last week’s conference on “Seeking Balance: Indigenous Knowledge, Western Science and Climate Change.”

Dressed in traditional garb from the Andes, Aguilar gave the event’s opening prayer at the (now LEED-certified) National Museum of the American Indian in Washington.

“At home we would light a big fire, but here in this developed country, where we are more uptight, we are in an enclosed area, so don’t worry, I will light only a little fire,” Aguilar joked in Spanish (and through a translator). “It’s the custom and tradition of all indigenous peoples to give thanks to Mother Earth, Mother Air, Mother Water and Father Sun for giving us life and having us as part of their family,” she continued.

And according to the delegates at the conference, representing more than a dozen Native cultures from around the world, the message is clear: Mother Earth is in trouble. But fortunately, many of the assembled elders were also quick to point out that there is much the Western world can learn from indigenous people to address some of the problems, and to more effectively deal with the impending changes.

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http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/11/indigenous-people-climate-change/

[Admiral Loinpresser]

1. Obama needs to sit at her feet and listen. n/t

[GliderGuider]

2. This is similar to what the "Awakening the Dreamer" initiative is attempting

They too are bringing together the traditions of the North and South, the Eagle and the Condor, in order to re-unite our visions, awaken the North from its long dream of conquest, control and consumption, and move humanity back toward wholeness and healing.

http://awakeningthedreamer.org/about-atd/our-story/

In the mid-1990′s, through a mysterious set of circumstances, a group of North Americans visited a remote and intact group of indigenous people – the Achuar – located deep in the Amazonian region of Ecuador.

This relationship, that was to become The Pachamama Alliance , was actually initiated by the indigenous elders and shamans themselves who, out of their deep concern for the growing threat to their ancient way of life, and their recognition that the roots of this threat lay far beyond their rainforest home, actively sought the partnership of committed individuals living in the modern world.

From the beginning, our indigenous partners have reminded us that one of the most powerful actions that can be taken in support of the rainforest and its inhabitants is to “change the dream of the North,” since it is our dream—our desires and appetites—that is driving the destruction of the rainforests around the world.

The Pachamama Alliance took the Achuar’s mandate to change the dream of the north- the dream of the modern world- seriously. It was clear that a task of this magnitude would require the collaboration of huge numbers of individuals, communities, institutions, and governments around the world.