Native American environmental activist Winona Laduke promoted how environmental sustainability and awareness of indigenous faith can benefit American society in a speech at UW-Madison Thursday.
The talk, entitled ""Religion, Faith and the Land from a Native Perspective,"" was given as part of the Multicultural Student Center's speech series ""Faith or Justice?: Ironies, Inequalities and Ideologies"".
Laduke focused on her native Anishinabek peoples' teachings and their applicability to problems faced by
American society today, specifically environmental sustainability.
""We have botched some things up, because that's what humans do,"" she said. ""The question is if you have the humility and commitment to fix it.""
Laduke said her Anishinabek religion emphasizes a cyclical view of the world that focuses on renewal and long-term environmental conservation, rather than the linear view focused on short-term financial gain that currently dominates our society.
According to Laduke, this cyclical view is one through which our society can begin to focus on ""how to work with the land instead of how to own it, transform it, and change it.""
Laduke also said the decline of locally grown food causes deterioration of indigenous people's culture and increases energy wastes.
This energy-focused economy, she says, is toxic for our country. When asked if she saw a place for herself in it, she said of the economy, ""I don't want a bigger piece of the pie. I want a different pie.""
Despite these problems, she said she felt optimistic about the future of sustainability in Wisconsin.
""We've got a good land,"" she said, ""and it's worth fighting for.""
