Great article that neatly summarizes a lot of history to show how we've arrived as a species at where we are today. I particularly appreciated the introduction of the concept and theory, "Shifting Baseline Syndrome." This connection to our collective amnesia and warning that we need to see a more complete picture of history (history of Nature in particular) is a key concept in today's Citizen Science movement, and the importance of "Two-Eyed Seeing."
Original in Spanish, directed by Luis Miguel Domínguez @DOMINGUEZLM
This documentary had a significant impact on me, a living example of the depiction of the Mi’kmaq people.
Civilized cynics like to paint humanity as a band of killers always looking for opportunities to kidnap, kill, rape and enslave. They are not capable of imagining ways of life outside the commodified reality and the imperialist paradigm.
The imperialist civilization has been led by hedonistic sociopaths and megalomaniacal psychopaths driven by the desire to conquer territories, colonize and enslave people, plunder wealth to build temples and palaces to immortalize themselves.
This is the paradigm that humanity must abandon to reverse the future that looks increasingly bleak.
Historical accounts that defend the humanity of Indigenous peoples are labeled as fiction, but accounts that portray them as unscrupulous savages must be assumed to be factual.
The immense ethnocultural diversity of the indigenous peoples who inhabited planet Earth for hundreds of thousands of years certainly gave rise to violent and peaceful tribes, but as most tribes enjoyed more than enough territory to satisfy their needs, it is more plausible to believe that violence was more episodic than systemic.
It is very common these days to accept Chief Paul's version of things. They were every bit as savage as the colonists. The Micmac commonly attacked settlements of either whites or Indigenous, took slaves and raped the captured women. When colonials did this they would have been viewed by colonial citizens as criminal types. raping and pillaging was not part of their normal behaviour.
As far as their respecting the land and environment, probably the biggest reason they didn't wipe out any species was that they did not have the technology, or the population to do so.
Check out their record with the Elver fishing, wanting to fish out of season, and their illegal sales of fish to the Chinese fish buyers., their illegal sales of Salmon and Lobster on the black market.
I agree with a lot of what you have to say about people who are abusing our environment, but if you are taking Chief Paul's book as a book of nonfiction/science, my respect for your "Science" drops considerably.
This is a good one to read/reread today.
Great article that neatly summarizes a lot of history to show how we've arrived as a species at where we are today. I particularly appreciated the introduction of the concept and theory, "Shifting Baseline Syndrome." This connection to our collective amnesia and warning that we need to see a more complete picture of history (history of Nature in particular) is a key concept in today's Citizen Science movement, and the importance of "Two-Eyed Seeing."
Thanks for this, Linda!
Isolated: The Zo'é tribe (full documentary)
https://youtu.be/9SW0jzXTS6A?si=WcQ1KfjJf8frEPzy
Amazonia, última llamada. Capítulo II. Aislados
https://youtu.be/DkEZ4DGAD3U?si=73Bnwcp2n3HE9-Hf
Original in Spanish, directed by Luis Miguel Domínguez @DOMINGUEZLM
This documentary had a significant impact on me, a living example of the depiction of the Mi’kmaq people.
Civilized cynics like to paint humanity as a band of killers always looking for opportunities to kidnap, kill, rape and enslave. They are not capable of imagining ways of life outside the commodified reality and the imperialist paradigm.
The imperialist civilization has been led by hedonistic sociopaths and megalomaniacal psychopaths driven by the desire to conquer territories, colonize and enslave people, plunder wealth to build temples and palaces to immortalize themselves.
This is the paradigm that humanity must abandon to reverse the future that looks increasingly bleak.
Historical accounts that defend the humanity of Indigenous peoples are labeled as fiction, but accounts that portray them as unscrupulous savages must be assumed to be factual.
The immense ethnocultural diversity of the indigenous peoples who inhabited planet Earth for hundreds of thousands of years certainly gave rise to violent and peaceful tribes, but as most tribes enjoyed more than enough territory to satisfy their needs, it is more plausible to believe that violence was more episodic than systemic.
Your post is excellent. Thank you.
Thank you!
It is very common these days to accept Chief Paul's version of things. They were every bit as savage as the colonists. The Micmac commonly attacked settlements of either whites or Indigenous, took slaves and raped the captured women. When colonials did this they would have been viewed by colonial citizens as criminal types. raping and pillaging was not part of their normal behaviour.
As far as their respecting the land and environment, probably the biggest reason they didn't wipe out any species was that they did not have the technology, or the population to do so.
Check out their record with the Elver fishing, wanting to fish out of season, and their illegal sales of fish to the Chinese fish buyers., their illegal sales of Salmon and Lobster on the black market.
I agree with a lot of what you have to say about people who are abusing our environment, but if you are taking Chief Paul's book as a book of nonfiction/science, my respect for your "Science" drops considerably.