In my studies of local indigenous culture, I have noticed a growing interest in this area among the general public. I’m not entirely sure how to explain this, but it’s a good thing, in my view. I think we are all aware that many vital systems are broken, and we search for new ways of thinking. Climate change and social injustice are high on the list of concerns.
It turns out that many of the “new” ways of thinking have actually been around for millennia. As I have struggled to comprehend a radically new (to me) way of viewing and processing the world, as a student of the Western Abenaki dialect of the Algonkian language, I have witnessed first-hand a resurgence of efforts to revitalize an ancient culture.
It turns out that this age-old culture never went away, despite the best efforts of the colonial oppressors to suppress it. The “Opening Remarks” of the Fall 2021 Sierra magazine contain a nice summary of the current relevance of indigenous culture in our country.
I was particularly struck by the quotation given at the end of the editorial:
They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-4-fall/editor-s-desk/seeds-resistance
