By Diane Waddell
It is good to live on and near lands where First Nation persons
have lived; to walk on those lands and by those waters which were once
considered sacred; these lands and waters which indigenous persons today
continue to hold sacred as they work to stay in ‘right relation’ with Mother Earth.
Dr. Dan Wildcat speaks of this land, air, and water in his new
book, On Indigenuity: Learning the Lessons of
Mother Earth. It is about the importance of
learning about the sacred ‘Earth-Keeping’ that
Indigenous persons can share with those who take the land for granted and under whose watch a climate crisis is occurring.
Dr. Wildcat, a Yuchi member of the Muskogee
Nation of Oklahoma, is an author,
professor, and administrator at Haskell Indian Nations University in
Lawrence, KS. He has been a speaker at a
previous PEC conference, talking about a previous book, Red Alert! Saving the Planet with
Indigenous Knowledge. He
summarizes that book by stating that those of us who have helped create and
exacerbate the climate crisis are doing everything but change our way of living
to slow the crisis.
He is passionate about the importance of
learning from native people, those who consider the elements of Earth a gift
rather than a resource, who see Earth as relational, and who live with
mindfulness and humility.
It is an invitation to listen, to hear, to put
our ears to the ground and become aware of that sacred drumbeat, that sacred
rhythm. This is an invitation to share
in gratitude Dr. Wildcat’s passion.
In this statement, Land Back! (Page 48) he
proposes a restorative justice principle/proposal. Hear and consider….
Land Back!
Land back!
Why, where….to whom, for what?
Returned? Restored? Received? Reimagined?
Revered…Honored.
Land back!
Just politics, left of center,
Right of center, front and center
No, Just Centered
Land back!
Where we began, a specific place, a deep
space,
A song, a prayer, embodied mindfulness full
of grace
A grounded soaring spirit found in place
Land back!
Our situation brought full circle
Through prayer, song, ceremony, and direct
action
A gift entailing gratitude and generosity we
must share.
Land back!
Let’s
talk, let’s pray, let’s
play
Let’s
forget just us and find a way to justice
In the national eco-kinship system too many
have forgotten.
Land back!
A community restoration activity
The embodiment of right relations.
Land,
air, and water — life-centered justice.
Land back!
—DRW
Thank you, Dr. Wildcat.
Aho.
Diane Waddell is a leader in
the JOY New Worshiping Community, Ecumenical Eco-Justice and the St. Joseph
Sustainable Environment Advisory Committee.
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