Why There is No Solution to the Global Crisis Without Indigenous Spirituality
Photo by Jimmy Piaguaje
2.5 minute read
Nobody is writing about this. There are tribes that forecasted the environmentally destructive nature of our economic models before the term climate change was even coined.
The world's top experts have spent the past 30 years warning us about its dangers and the need to immediately address the problem as a global community. The Paris Agreement is a landmark environmental accord that was adopted by nearly every nation in 2015 to address climate change and its negative impacts.
International leaders poured time and energy into this agreement, but how much of it is actually redirecting the destiny of humanity? According to Nassos Stylianou from BBC News, " We are not on track to meet climate change targets. If we add up all the promises to cut emissions made by countries that are party to the Paris climate agreement, the world would still warm by more than 3C by the end of this century."
If the "top experts" in the western world have failed to implement sustainable solutions, who do we look to now? Indigenous people have been living in their ancestral territories for thousands of years, maintaining harmony and balance with the natural world.
Indigenous spirituality is an advanced technology, that was used to reorient people in previous cycles of drastic climate change. According to Clifford Mahooty of the Zuni tribe, "We know that we were part of the universal system, and we accessed it by prayer, ritual, and ceremony. We used different techniques; for example, fasting, prayer, and meditation."
The Zuni tribe, located in the Southwest of the United States, is one of many indigenous tribes that have advanced ways of accessing higher consciousness, which has provided solutions in times of environmental crisis.
Recent research demonstrates that while the world’s indigenous peoples make up less than 5% of the total human population, they manage or hold tenure over 25% of the world’s land surface and support about 80% of the global biodiversity.
How can we possibly talk about climate change solutions without including the voice of indigenous people? As a global community, we have lost our way; and we have lost a spiritual relationship with the land. According to Jon Waterhouse, an Indigenous Peoples Scholar at the Oregon Health and Science University, "The future of our planet lies in indigenous ways of living on the Earth.”
To gain a deeper understanding of indigenous spirituality and climate change; I lived with over 15 tribes from South to North America. While filming for The Roots Awaken, I participated in many rituals and ceremonies that all led me to the same awareness; we are one and inseparable from our environment. Also, one of the biggest reasons that world leaders have failed us is because they are using too much of their mind and not enough of their heart to address the root problems of climate change.
It's essentially the golden rule; the way we treat our environment is the way we treat ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us are disconnected from the cause and effect relationship of our actions towards the earth. In our modern society, some "top experts" and environmentalists call themselves climate change activists, but rely entirely on markets for their consumption.
While living in indigenous communities in South America, over 85% of the food I consumed came directly from the land I was on. Most of the time the people that fed me planted the food themselves; maintaining a direct relationship with the environment.
Indigenous spirituality is based on a longstanding cosmo-vision that respects the law of cause and effect. The ceremonies and rituals maintain a strict web of relations between the people and the environment that keep them in balance; preventing overconsumption and destruction.
To learn more about indigenous spirituality and how it can be used to create climate change solutions follow The Roots Awaken.
Written by Kumiko Hayashi - kumiko@therootsawaken.com