Brainstorm Week 9

By: YuYu Madigan

Buen Vivir, loosely translated to living well (Muse 8) is the philosophy of a community and environmentally centered living. In Millions article, she talks about Indigenous relations and holistic politics which relate to this idea because it is focused around harmonious living where we live and breathe as a community including nature. This ties into the values found in last weeks reading regarding la pachamama.  Million writes that "to live as a relative of all other life, with responsibilities to other life-forms and entities" (p13) is one of the greatest challenges for Western societies  though Indigenous communities have preserved these values for generations on generations.  This is to show that balance is necessary and it is part of our social contract to value the earth and treat it like  being with needs. Priscilla Solis Ybarra connects to buen vivir expands on this school of thought by highlighting the values shared by Indigenous groups in contrast with more Western societies. She examines how Indigenous groups' culture is cemented in connectedness with ones surroundings rather than material goods as such items drive ripples and expand on oppression. It instigates a system of division. Folks from the Central and South Americas instead care for the earth and expand on la pachamama futher.  Such ideologies are critical for the longevity of the earth and our time inhabiting it and these creeds outline a sustainable future.