Toward a Transformational Land Ethic: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Diversity

The master narrative of the U.S. settler state has depicted Indigenous peoples as ignorant savages, incapable of wise land (and ocean) use, helping to legitimize and justify violent conquest. Yet the truth is that the Indigenous nations that have lived on the North American continent for at least 15,000 years were inherently sustainable while the modern dominant society has brought us all to the brink of existence in 500 short centuries. In this talk, Professor Dina Gilio-Whitaker, (Colville Confederated Tribes) Lecturer, American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, will draw upon the topic of her forthcoming book which argues that a sustainable future on this continent must simultaneously incorporate Indigenous knowledge and a decolonial ethic of political accountability to Indigenous nations for its ongoing genocidal settler structure. Center for the Blue Economy Speaker Series, Middlebury Inst. of Intl. Studies. Free, open to public, no registration required. Online via Zoom. All details on the web--go.miis.edu/sustainability. For questions, contact Rachel C., Center for the Blue Economy, [email protected], (831) 647-4183 (leave message to receive call back).