Writing about Environmental Sustainability

What WE are going to do in this class

During this class, we will examine sustainability and the world ecosystem we exist in and how Indigenous practices and beliefs can move us forward in our relationship with Earth. If we consider the planet a living being, as many Indigenous populations do, perhaps we can start to understand what needs to be done to sustain and heal the planet so that we can also sustain our existence. I would like to begin with examining our footprints and how the way we exist is not sustainable. I would like to examine ways to make human existence sustainable. To do so, I think we need to look at cultures that are and have been more in tune with what the planet needs, what ecosystems need, to continue thriving, to sustain. With understanding of what can be done, I would like to move forward to consider ways to adjust the ways we live to make our lives more focused on making the changes we need to make to ensure that Earth and humans, along with many, many other organisms on Earth, can continue to exist.

     I would like you to remember that many of the cultures we will examine are still alive, but they may not be thriving. Still others may be in the process of being resurrected. Their ways of life have, for many of them, been influenced by Western cultures with little to no reciprocation. Perhaps, if Western cultures were to pause for a moment and look at how many Indigenous cultures lived in harmony with their ecosystems instead of dominating and inflicting humans will upon them, we would be able to move in a more sustainable direction more quickly than we currently are.