Indigenous ideals and shaping environmental movements
Veronica Lucchese ·Food, fuel, shelter, and clothing, the four basic human needs,8 can be ordered to your door with the click of a button. In a consumer based society, it can be hard to remember the human connection to nature. The western conservation and environmental movements aim to remind people of our role in nature and to envision more sustainable management. The core principles of these movements are based on Indigenous ideals of reciprocal relationships.9 Capitalist driven environmental management leads to unsustainable human and natural systems.2,3,4,8 This linear approach views the environment as a resource to be exploited.2,3 This creates resource scarcity and vulnerabilities in our society. Reciprocal relations, an Indigenous concept that all living things exist in an interconnected balance, is a core concept in the creation of the western environmental movements. Improved inclusion of Indigenous ideals and communities in environmental management helps improve sustainability outcomes.9
Ethics is rooted in the idea that humans use morality to discern between good and bad.5 Land ethics, similar to the Indigenous connection with the earth, calls for the moral obligation of society to care for the environment.6,8 It also adopts an Indigenous inspired definition of land to include more than soil, but rather a network of natural systems.2,4 The stewardship failures that led to the Great Dust Bowl and other major environmental disasters of the 1900’s exposed the dysfunction in capitalist based environmental management. The soil, water, plants and animals rely on each other to maintain a balance. To view one aspect of the environment more dispensable than another leads to environmental and societal instability. Adoption of more holistic management is needed to fully understand our environmental impact.
The idea of land ethics gave Indigenous concepts legitimacy in the western world.7,8 Critiquing modern consumerism and praising the more natural lifestyle of Indigenous people is a core concept that still persists today. Like many authors from that time, Thoreau and Leopold reduced the advances of Indigenous cultures with destructive terms, like “savage”8 and “less advanced”.4 Despite their racist terminology, both authors promote the Indigenous way of life as a framework for how to shape sustainable environmental management. More successful Indigenous inclusion efforts in management prioritize the needs and advice of the people rather than solely relying on academic interpretations.3,9
Lack of incentives can be detrimental to the success of environmental management adoption.4,8 Having a viable solution does not guarantee that all the stakeholders will participate. Poor land ethics and lack of incentives can contribute to low adoptions of best environmental management practices.4 Land ethics is unattainable if you do not mitigate the drivers of our capitalist society. Improved engagement and inclusion of all communities can help improve management compliance.10
Rachel Carson, author of “Silver Spring”, delivers on Thoreau’s call for proof to convince society that changes in environmental management are necessary.1 Using cultural and scientific evidence, Carson emphasizes public health impacts that arise when economics is the key driver in agricultural practices and environmental management. Delving into the history and effects of toxins to invasives, Carson reinforces the idea of coupled human and natural systems and creates a sense of drama and urgency that is characteristic of environmental movement. While she does not explicitly reference Indigenous influence, her message reinforces the call for a reciprocal relationship with nature.
Humanity and the environment are deeply intertwined. Historically, the western world has taken a capitalist based approach to environmental management. With past environmental disasters and the ongoing climate crisis, a more inclusive approach to environmental management is needed. To have land ethics and Indigenous ideals be reflected in management, steps must be taken to move away from a capitalist system and stakeholders exclusion.
Sources
- Carson, R. (1962) Silent Spring—I, Pg 1-19, 68-70, The New Yorker, June 16, 1962 Issue
- Fox, N. J. (2023). Green capitalism, climate change and the technological fix: A more-than-human assessment. The Sociological Review, 71(5), 1115-1134. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261221121232
- Klusener, E. (2018). Capitalism vs. nature: The fight for a greener planet. Global Social Challenges. https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/global-social-challenges/2018/04/23/capitalism-vs-nature-the-fight-for-a-greener-planet/
- Leopold, A. (1949) A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There, Pg 5-23, 235-245
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Ethic. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic
- Morrison, D. (2013) How similar and Indigenous North American and Leopoldian Land Ethics? [Web log post]. Indigenous Food Systems Network. https://www.indigenousfoodsystems.org/content/how-similar-and-indigenous-north-american-and-leopoldian-land-ethics
- Pratt, S. L. (2022) “ Lessons in place: Thoreau and Indigenous philosophy.” Metaphilosophy 53: 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12563
- Thoreau, H. D. (1854) Walden.
- Whyte, K. (2016) 'Indigenous Environmental Movements and the Function of Governance Institutions', in Teena Gabrielson, and others (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Political Theory, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199685271.013.31, accessed 6 Feb. 2024.
- Vargas-Nguyen, V., Kelsey, R.H., Jordahl, H., Nuttle, W., Somerville, C., Thomas, J. and Dennison, W.C. (2020), Using Socioenvironmental Report Cards as a Tool for Transdisciplinary Collaboration. Integr Environ Assess Manag, 16: 494-507. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4243
About the author
Veronica Lucchese
Veronica Malabanan Lucchese is a NOAA-LMRCSC Fellow II and a second year PhD student studying Environment and Society at the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science. Passionate about life sciences, environmental justice, and public education, Veronica is dedicated to improving environmental management practices and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Her dissertation work will focus on using Social Network Analysis and Ethnographic Film to address environmental injustice in the Chesapeake Bay. Highlighting the Potomac, Patuxent, and Patapsco river watersheds, her work will utilize coding, webscraping, in person surveying, and science communication tools to reach a broad demographic.
From 2019-2022, she worked as a NOAA contractor for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Her work as a federal contractor focused mainly on scientific communications, outreach, website design, and economic data analysis. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and majored in Marine Affairs, Geology, and Anthropology.
Through her role at IAN, she will assist indicator analysis for the 2023 Chesapeake Bay Report Card and the creation of communications products such as short films and social media content. Her work will contribute to the international COAST Card project.
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Comments
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Colin Vissering 9 months ago
Nani - great blog post nicely highlighting both the strengths of indigenous approaches to achieve a balance of society and nature and a discussion of the western environmental thinkers who embraced and built upon that core philosophy in developing our modern environmental movements. I have been fascinated by the increase in research and literature that recognizes how indigenous societies have functioned so sustainably and looks to bring these lessons to modern approaches of ecosystem management. Unfortunately, the industrial revolution and the broad embrace of capitalism, while in many ways improving the quality of our existence as humans, did so at a price. We must now use those philosophies and approaches you discuss in your blog to get ourselves back on track for a sustainable future.
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Meghna Mathews 9 months ago
Great blog! I completely agree with your statement that a more inclusive approach to environmental management is needed. This begs the question of what kind of approach would be most effective. Lack of incentives can certainly prevent successful outcomes of environmental management. At that point, it comes down to what stakeholders are willing to be involved in this change. I also liked that you talked briefly about land ethics and how it is unattainable if you do not mitigate the drivers of our capitalist society. Including all communities can help improve management compliance on so many different levels.
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Samantha 9 months ago
I agree that the lack of incentives is barrier to successful environmental management. Stakeholders seemed more interested in the results of their investment and how it will benefit them. What could be the first step in changing stakeholder view to benefit the environment rather then themselves.
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Joy Amadi 9 months ago
I love this part "To view one aspect of the environment more dispensable than another leads to environmental and societal instability". I agree. It is very important that we understand the interconnectedness of every component of the environment because they all play their own individual role. Eliminating or ignoring one aspect would obviously hamper sustainable development.
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Benjamin Komolafe 9 months ago
Your post wonderfully articulates the critical role of indigenously generated ideals in guiding sustainable environmental movements. It's inspiring to see the recognition of reciprocal relationships and land ethics as essential principles for fostering a more harmonious relationship between humanity and nature. And I believe that in order for us to achieve real and effective sustainability, modern environmental management practices must learn to integrate some of the ideals.
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Toni Zais 9 months ago
Great post, Nani. It is so important to acknowledge the resistance that environmental leaders enforced through negative stereotypes of the indigenous communities that inspired and uplifted many aspects of the environmental movement. It's upsetting to see how indigenous practices only started to be legitimized when mainstream scientists popularized the concept of land ethic. However, I'm glad to see that these communities are beginning to be recognized for their contributions to the modern environmental movement.
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Toni Zais 9 months ago
Great post, Nani. It is so important to acknowledge the resistance that environmental leaders enforced through negative stereotypes of the indigenous communities that inspired and uplifted many aspects of the environmental movement. It's upsetting to see how indigenous practices only started to be legitimized when mainstream scientists popularized the concept of land ethic. However, I'm glad to see that these communities are beginning to be recognized for their contributions to the modern environmental movement.
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Kayla 9 months ago
Thank you for the blog! Yes, improving engagement in communities is very important. Having "bridges" in communities, building relationships with leaders and well-respected members of the communities can result in far more meaningful dialogue. I really like your inclusion of prioritizing the advice of people rather than academic interpretation.