“All relevant institutions [must] actively promote wilderness policy that acknowledges that nature is multi-dimensional, transcending the material and physical realms; and use language that honors the rights and roles of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom Systems, natural and custom
‘The elders are still there. Don’t think that they are gone. They’re still there around you. And you have this message that you have to carry in your heart, in your mind, in your blood, in nature, in every living species.’ — Hinano Murphy
‘These birds don’t care about the laws you make or the borders you draw. They need to migrate, procreate, and raise their young.’ —Angutekaraq Estelle Thomson
‘Mother Earth, she doesn’t need humans to help save her. … It’s a question about whether or not if we humans are going to survive and be here,’ Ilarion Merculieff, Unangax̂ (Aleut), told delegates at the World Wilderness Congress last weekend.
Attendees encouraged to advance legal claims in defense of all life on Earth. “There is no time to equivocate,” says Ponca Nation environmental justice leader.
“If you see this animal like your grandma, how would you treat it versus just something in the wild?” asked Tatewin Means, executive director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation.
“Either we face a lot of chaos, global disasters, tears from our relatives’ eyes … or we come together [and] unite as people of the world,” Arvol Looking Horse said.
Every four years the World Wilderness Congress convenes to assess the state of the planet and the health of the full and wondrous web of life that fills the Earth. Each convening brings new causes for alarm and urgency. But each convening also produces new reasons for hope.