Throughout history in North America, the indigenous peoples culture, tradition and religion have always differed from the western way of life. In this essay, I will explore two things. First, I will talk about the indigenous people’s view of the conservation of resources which can also be termed as the traditional ecological knowledge and the economist view of natural resources. Second, I will argue in this essay that by thinking of resources from the traditional ecological point of view, we can better understand why conserving our natural resources is important. I believe that we understanding why conservation of our natural resources is important will go a long way in helping us understand why our individual action affects our ecosystem.
About three years ago, I became interested in the indigenous people’s view of the conservation of natural resources when I saw a documentary which explored the indigenous people way of culture and beliefs. What I was fascinated about was when the presenter of the documentary discussed about the principle of hunting in indigenous tradition. Indigenous people set out to just like everybody else to look for food in order to provide for their family, when they kill an animal, they believe that the animal is given to them by the land. They do not believe that they kill the animal because of how skilled a hunter they were. In order to show their gratitude to the land, they make sure that they do not misuse the meat that they derive from such animal.
Who are the indigenous people? Emery and Associates defined indigenous people as descent of populations that lived in a particular country or geographical regions to which the country belongs, at the time of colonization or conquest and who irrespective...
... middle of paper ...
...has never been neutral in relation to indigenous peoples, lands, resources and development. The struggle to control lands and resources to facilitate development is the principal feature of the relationship between indigenous peoples and governments worldwide. Science is based on discovery, and has provided the foundation for the industrialization of the earth and the concentration of wealth in the hands of nations with the greatest scientific capacity”.
Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac.Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Alan, R. Emery and Associates (1997) Guidelines for Environmental Assessments and Traditional Knowledge. A Report from the Centre for Traditional Knowledge of the World Council of Indigenous People (draft), Ottawa, p. 2.
The Indian act, since being passed by Parliament in 1876, has been quite the validity test for Aboriginal affairs occurring in Canada. Only a minority of documents in Canadian history have bred as much dismay, anger and debate compared to the Indian Act—but the legislation continues as a central element in the management of Aboriginal affairs in Canada. Aboriginal hatred against current and historic terms of the Indian Act is powerful, but Indigenous governments and politicians stand on different sides of the fence pertaining to value and/or purpose of the legislation. This is not shocking, considering the political cultures and structures of Aboriginal communities have been distorted and created by the imposition of the Indian Act.
In addition, decolonization in this paper will mean the reverse cycle of the colonizing process, but also understanding culture is always changing and Indigenous peoples need historical traditions and ceremonies but our culture also evolves and there’s a mixture of Indigenous ways of knowing and being and also incorporating western ways of knowing and doing. All perspectives offer benefits such as these two diverse perspectives. Colonization will be used, this word’s meaning for this paper is the idea that Europeans came over to what we now call North America and claimed the land and stated they discovered a n...
I believe that The First Nations did, in fact, have conflict with the Europeans due to the over hunting of animals, specifically beavers. In this position paper, I will explain my viewpoint through three contentions relating to the resolution at hand. First, the First Nations spirituality with animals, then the proof of actual over hunting, and lastly, the European and First Nation visible animosity. Furthermore, I will now delve into my first contention.
Holism is present and the importance of nature and the maintenance of a traditional life-style (stick four). Through McLeod’s (2007) work we see a bond between landscape and other beings. “Through ceremonies, prayers, and songs, the Nehiyawak were able to communicate with other beings and the powers of the land around them, the Atayohkanak, the spiritual grandfathers and grandmothers” (p. 26). McLeod goes on to state that the power of ceremonies in a relationship is not limited to a human-to-human relationship. For example, “[t]he pipe stem is significant for the Nehiiyawak, the Dene and other Indigenous nations as a way of concluding arrangements… [it] was more than… a way of sealing political arrangements… it was a way of making and affirming relationships with the land, of honouring the spiritual powers who dwelt where the people were living.” (McLeod, 2007, p. 27) As well, language is a reoccurring theme. McLeod (2007) attributes much of the continuity of the Cree people to maintaining language which is often through the elders (in his instance, his
The significant societal, economical, and political changes of the First Nations tend to be overlapping and correlational. As political maintenance declines the economy declines, and as the economy declines society crumbles and quality of life declines. While issues in one area cause issues in others it becomes hard to separate what can be solved politically vs. societally. All issues, either with society or politics, cause damage to the First Nations economic situation creating gaping issues with society such as health issues, famine, sheltering, and education.
Roger Townshend makes a number of points that support the idea of Native sovereignty. He identifies that the very perception of sovereignty in regard to Aboriginals in Canada has changed. In the initial contact by early European settlers, Aboriginals were treated as “…allies or as enemies, but in any event, as nations to be treated as equals with European States,” (Townshend 37). Through ti...
Olthius, John A. and Townshend, Roger. "The case for Native sovereignty". In Crosscurrents: Contemporary Political Issues, 3rd ed. ed. Mark Charlton and Paul Barker, 5-8. Toronto: Nelson, 1998.
The Declaration enforces the individual and collective rights of all indigenous peoples, along with their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and many other issues. It also emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations. The Declaration prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples, and promotes their full and effective participation in matters that concern them. The aim of this Declaration is to inspire countries to work along with the indigenous peoples to solve major global issues such as multicultura...
Low, M., & Shaw, K. (2011). FIRST NATIONS RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE: Lessons from the Great Bear Rainforest. BC Studies, (172), 9-33.
His book clears the smoke from our eyes of the stereotypes of indigenous populations, their cities, and their cultures. Through reading this book, we find that natives were so far advanced that most of their inventions and discoveries still hold true today. The book also proves to us that textbooks are not always the best resources, even though we have relied on them since public education systems became the norm. Mann’s recount of his studies have opened up a world of more civilized, intelligent, and useful depictions of Indigenous populations and flourishing cities throughout North and South
Australia’s Indigenous people are thought to have reached the continent between 60 000 and 80 000 years ago. Over the thousands of years since then, a complex customary legal system have developed, strongly linked to the notion of kinship and based on oral tradition. The indigenous people were not seen as have a political culture or system for law. They were denied the access to basic human right e.g., the right to land ownership. Their cultural values of indigenous people became lost. They lost their traditional lifestyle and became disconnected socially. This means that they were unable to pass down their heritage and also were disconnected from the new occupants of the land.
Indigenous people have identified themselves with country; they believe that they and the land are “one”, and that it is lived in and lived with. Indigenous people personify country as if it were a person, as something that connects itself to the land, people and earth, being able to give and receive life (Bird Rose, D. 1996). Country is sacred and interconnected within the indigenous community,
Vine Deloria, author of The World We Used to Live In, not only introduces his readers to indigenous Native American spirituality and traditional practices including ceremonies but also brings several important ideas of native spirituality to the forefront. He discusses the importance of having and maintaining a relationship with mother earth and all living beings; an interconnectedness with nature in all forms that is crucial to the understanding and practice of Native American spirituality. Dreams and visions were discussed as an important form of communication in indigenous spirituality. The important relationships with animal and plant spirits are discussed. The concept of power and what is considered power in Native Spirituality. Deloria talks about the importance of place in indigenous spirituality. It is believed that power and wisdom rests in places. The landscape holds memories of all that has ever happened. Through all the aspects Deloria discusses in his book, readers get a clear view and better understanding of Native American spirituality through various accounts of different tribal activities and interviews from both emic and etic perspectives of culture. By using a wide range of research, Deloria does a fairly good job of remaining unbiased which is a difficult thing for anyone to do.
Indigenous people are those that are native to an area. Throughout the world, there are many groups or tribes of people that have been taken over by the Europeans in their early conquests throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, by immigrating groups of individuals, and by greedy corporate businesses trying to take their land. The people indigenous to Australia, Brazil and South America, and Hawaii are currently fighting for their rights as people: the rights to own land, to be free from prejudice, and to have their lands protected from society.
Indigenous Knowledge (IK) can be broadly defined as the knowledge and skills that an indigenous (local) community accumulates over generations of living in a particular environment. IK is unique to given cultures, localities and societies and is acquired through daily experience. It is embedded in community practices, institutions, relationships and rituals. Because IK is based on, and is deeply embedded in local experience and historic reality, it is therefore unique to that specific culture; it also plays an important role in defining the identity of the community. Similarly, since IK has developed over the centuries of experimentation on how to adapt to local conditions. That is Indigenous ways of knowing informs their ways of being. Accordingly IK is integrated and driven from multiple sources; traditional teachings, empirical observations and revelations handed down generations. Under IK, language, gestures and cultural codes are in harmony. Similarly, language, symbols and family structure are interrelated. For example, First Nation had a