In a presentation by Kyle Whyte called "Climate Change, Traditional Knowledge and Environmental Justice," I learned several very important lessons, important ideas for anyone who cares about climate change, and especially anyone who wants to be an ally of indigenous people in this struggle. First, it's important to recognize that traditional environmental knowledge is not just data to be manipulated by western science; it is bound up in their culture, a way of life that recognizes the interdependence of all things on the planet, and respects others not just as resources to be extracted for our human purposes. Indigenous people must be allowed to use their traditional knowledge on their own behalf. In addition, responding to climate change, or any other environmental disaster for that matter, requires a society and political system that is adaptable. Finally we cannot solve climate change if we depend on the same policies that brought about anthropogenic climate change in the first place. I guess the lesson I learned, maybe not what you were going for, is that we need to look at the problem of climate change from various perspectives if we are going to find solutions. We have to be ready to listen to uncomfortable truths, too.
