The current climate crisis is a manifestation of the deep-rooted belief in separation and supremacy that has propelled dominant culture and action for centuries. The resulting extraction and exploitation of the Earth's resources have not only caused environmental devastation but have also left a lasting impact on our collective psyche.
Perhaps, its worth considering to what extent climate issues are in our tissues? and how we can lean toward earth reconciliation?
I propose that it starts with validating and recognising Indigenous jurisdiction - as a route toward co-liberatory and reconciliatory earth relations.
Indigenous legal traditions expand the notion of humanness as impenetrably intertwined with the natural world. For the natural world are ancestors, a fact which is grounded in deep time truth. Humanness and wellbeing is tied to responsibilities that exist for time immemorial, to an ancestral lineage intertwined with plants and animals, this is rooted in realities that western science is slowly starting to piece together.
Through the responsibility and the autonomy that comes with realising our interconnectedness we can minimise attachment to colonial structures of domination.
We can emerge in co-liberation and healing with the revitalization of Indigenous-led societies that incorporate embodied intelligence with the power of liberating our minds from the myth of separation.
The Myth of Separation and Its Impact on Our Bodies
The myth of separation has led us to believe that we are separate from the biosphere, resulting in a destructive cycle of extraction, exploitation and neglect. This disconnection from the web of life has caused deep wounds within our bodies, and the more than human kin as we have absorbed the traumas of living in a world driven by extraction and profit.
Our automatic survival mechanisms, once necessary for immediate threats, are now manifested in our relationship with the Earth. We project an enemy other onto the biosphere, failing to acknowledge that the pain and disconnection we experience are symptoms of a system that separates us from our true nature.
Embracing Responsibility and Earth Reconciliation
To heal these wounds, we must embrace a sense of responsibility for our actions and their impact on the Earth. This responsibility lies not only in acknowledging our collective trauma but also in actively engaging in practices that foster reconciliation with Indigenous communities and thus the ancestorial earth.
Indigenous communities, with their profound understanding of our inherent interconnectedness, may seek to guide this transformation in reclaiming this responsibility.
This wisdom, rooted in ancestral knowledge and cultural practice that seeks a relational coexistence with the Earth holds inherent and invaluable support in processes of healing, organising and governing with the earth.
Deep Listening, Learning, and Transformation
Restoring harmony with the Earth requires us to embark on a path of deep listening, slowing down and embodied learning. We can examine the ways in which extractive systems have shaped our behaviors and beliefs, and seek alternative practices that honor interconnectedness.
By acknowledging the pain and trauma in our tissues, we can consciously work to transform our individual and collective ways of being.
Embodied anarchist societies grounded in co-liberation with BIPOC communities make space for ways of relating that transcend extractive ways of being. The practices required for transforming and embracing the planetary crisis are patterned in nature and are already moving through us. We need only listen.
Transforming climate issues through reconciliation
Our climate issues are indeed in our tissues, reflecting the deep-rooted belief in separation that has driven our societies for centuries. By recognising our interconnectedness, embracing reconciliation and supporting the revitalization of Indigenous wisdom, we can begin to heal our relationship with the Earth.
One avenue for this is to advocate for and promote the recognition of Indigenous rights as the lived embodiment and expression of inherent Indigenous legal traditions. This also requires acknowledging and understanding that Indigenous human rights extend to the ancestors in the mountains, forests and lakes - who have a voice too!
In Aoeteroa / New Zealand, Te Urewera Act has transformed a national park over to the governance of the land itself, vested in the guardians of the region who listen to and are bound by the voice of the land.
This is genuine Climate Justice!
As we embark on this journey of transformation, we can choose to remember that the solutions to the climate crisis lie within ourselves and our connection to the natural world.
Only by listening deeply and learning from nature can we truly heal our bodies, our societies, and our planet.