environmentalism
Monday, March 23, 2015 11
Burning Our Mother
Environmental injustice and indigenous suffering
subban jama › copy editor
W
hy are we so apathetic about environmental injustice and indigenous suffering, Canada’s two most famous shames?
“Going green” is not just a seasonal recommendation for Canadians; it is a moral imperative.
“Continuance of life depends on sustenance and it
is the duty of everyone to nurture and protect the
land. As women we have a special relationship to
Our Mother the Earth because we also give life and
nourish children and the generations that come
from us. We are responsible to teach and demonstrate that we are stewards of the natural world.
The role must now encompass a much greater
struggle that Indigenous peoples all around the
world are facing in light of the industrialization
and destruction of Our Mother the Earth.”
haudenosaunee clanmothers, 2007
We are all very aware of Aboriginal people’s special relationship to land and to the environment. We
know that the preservation of their lands is of paramount importance for Indigenous communities who
envision land—“Our Mother the Earth”—in radically different ways from most Canadians. To the
Indigenous imagination, land does not exist solely as
a resource but as a source of spiritual, ͽ