Brainstorm Week 9 - Pavithra Prabhu

My name is Pavithra Prabhu.

After reading last week’s Ecuadorian texts, I have come to understand that buen vivir refers to the harmony between humans and nature. Dian Million through “Indigenous Matters” emphasizes the need for the integration of indigenous knowledges and practices in order to deconstruct and overcome colonial powers. Moreover, she acknowledges the need to use the knowledge responsibly and how “indigenous people have resistd giving away knowledge of their medicines and even of their bodies (DNA), because they are wary of Western researchers’ record of abusive strategies (TallBear 2013)” (Pg. 106, Indigenous Knowledge). She refers to how past instances have used Indigenous knowledge in order to boost mining and oil production, harming the environment around them. This goes directly against the idea of “buen vivir” as it harms nature. This brings us back to the overall message Million wants to convey in “Indigenous Matters” – indigenous knowledge has a lot of potential applications, but to practice buen vivir, the consequences of applying this knowledge need to be kept in mind. According to Priscilla Solic Ybarra, “Goodlife writing celebrates traditional and envi­ronmentally sustainable agricultural practices in northern New Mexico” (Pg. 17, Writing the Goodlife). Therefore, “Goodlife writing” is a direct mechanism of spreading the message of the “buen vivir” philosophy. Both of these texts indicate that the concept of buen vivir can be extrapolated to become relevant to minority issues and the environment; overall, the final outcome of these knowledges and practices is dependent on our actions.