Brainstorm Week 9 - Caroline Johnson

Million’s understanding connects with the idea of buen vivir and mother earth by throughout this article explaining the relationship of different indigenous groups with Mother Earth. The Tinglit story on page 99 illustrates the relationship between these indigenous people and the earth. This story illustrates how if not treated with respect, the Earth, in this case a glacier will respond, to restore harmony. Additionally, a chief of the Gitskan explains how “‘For us, the ownership of territory is a marriage of the Chief and the land. Each Chief has an ancestor who encountered and acknowledged the life of the land. From such encounters come power. The land, the plants, the animals and the people all have spirit – they all must be shown respect. That is the basis of our law’”(Million 100). This connects to last week as it is shown that these societies base their laws and actions around their relationship with the Earth. This article is also similar to the Ecuador articles as it discusses how these groups must fight against Capitalism and western ways to maintain their land and their beliefs.

Ybarra’s article explains the contradiction of the general public belief that Hispanics are not invested in the environment. This negation of public belief is discussed in goodlife writing which “Goodlife writing embraces the values of simplicity, sustenance, dignity and respect” (Ybarra 4). These groups “reject the idea of possession itself” (Ybarra 6) in regard to land brought about through colonialism. Further, this article discusses ecocriticism in terms of decoloialism For example, “In  short,  the  decolonial  involves  a  rejection  of  Western  epistemology in which we break down the dichotomy between humans and na­ture and make space for indigenous practices and narratives that have survived colonization and that preserve and adapt traditional environmental knowledge.” (Ybarra 15).