Who will f ind peace with the lands ?
by Paula Donnelly-Roark photo : Wib middleton
Most of us have a favorite place in nature — a mountain , a lake , a forest , meadow , a desert vista , a river , a waterfall — to which we can no longer return to because it has been “ developed .” The physical beauty and surrounding wildlife have been wiped away or considerably diminished because roads have been built , houses constructed , or large sports and entertainment centers funded . Given this situation , a question posed by the esteemed Native American scholar Vine Deloria , Jr . is particularly appropriate . In his book , God is Red , he asks us : “ Who will find peace with the lands ? The future of humankind lies waiting for those who will come to understand their lives and take up their responsibilities to all living things .”
It requires attention because it personifies our human necessity to recognize that we are an integral and connected part of this majestic landscape — not as owners and users , but as participants with responsibilities to the natural world . And it is , of course , the same for anyone one who carries with them their treasured places in nature . But the question for us is how to give rise to this greater comprehension of nature . In the commercial world we live in today , Vine Deloria ’ s viewpoint — no matter how beautifully stated — holds little value . Land is viewed as a commodity to be bought and sold for a great majority of people , in terms of both law and practice . However , paying attention to these same two words can put us on the path to identifying how to move forward . Again , Vine Deloria points out possible paths for our consideration .
Deloria believes that the incoherence of our modern world runs deep and must be recognized if we are to make any headway . He points out that for Native Americans it is the concept of nature from which their basic understandings and beliefs are built . But for North Americans of European heritage it is the concept of history that organizes perspectives and beliefs . To put another way , it is nature versus history or space versus time . So , no matter how the differing concepts are viewed , misunderstanding is sure to prevail when
6 plenty I summer growing 2021