Earth Day: Save planet the indigenous way

Daniel Wildcat has no doubts about global warming, who’s to blame and who needs to make changes. In fact, he prefers to use a more in-your-face term for the phenomenon: global burning.

And in his book, “Red Alert,” the Haskell Indian Nations University professor makes the argument — a plea — that we confront the problem from the perspective of the world’s indigenous peoples, who have much to offer on the topic of living “with” the planet.

“My goal is not to become one more doomsday-sayer,” Wildcat said, “but rather to say that we must deal with the issue of climate change and that we should pay attention to people whose lives are deeply rooted to the landscapes and seascapes they call home.

“For some indigenous peoples, this phenomenon isn’t inconvenient, it is deadly. It really threatens their whole culture.”

Wednesday, on the eve of Earth Day, Wildcat, a Euchee member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, will discuss and read from his book at the Kansas City Library’s Plaza branch.

With most of us living and working in “insulated boxes,” managing only brief encounters with the natural world, it’s no wonder some can’t understand what is happening to the climate, he said.

But global warming is a result of the burning of fossil fuels, Wildcat said, and, unchecked, the further result might be another kind of burning, a social conflagration over water, energy and the effects of extreme weather events.

Wildcat, faculty member in the American Indian studies department at Haskell and a national speaker, recommends a dose of “indigenous realism.”

The term, he said, is meant to steer clear of a romanticized discussion about native people’s closeness to nature or about so-called tribal secrets and mysteries.

Instead, indigenous peoples have practical, useful knowledge about living sustainably in specific environments, from food and clothing to building structures. These ideas can be a starting point for changing our post-industrial lifestyles, he said.

“There are reasons why earth lodges worked in the middle of tornado alley,” he said. “I think we need a whole generation of indigenous architects re-conceptualizing the kinds of spaces we live and work in.”

But will anyone listen?

“I think the general public will give them that credibility,” he said. “There’s a lot more willingness to listen to someone who is speaking from experience rather than from scientific or theoretical model building.

“Indigenous people have an opportunity to contribute now, and we have a responsibility to do so.” Go to the Kansas City Star for details on where and when to meet Wildcat for a discussion of his book.