Some words for Earth Day
by Joanna Eede
In celebration of the 40th Earth Day, we thought you might like to see some statements from tribal peoples across the world – Penan of Malaysia, Bushmen of Botswana, Yanomami of Amazon river basin – that depict the profound ties tribal peoples have with their lands.
Kombai children, West Papua © Grenville Charles
For many, their part of the Earth is the very bedrock of their lives – it provides their shelter, food and medicines, is the burial place of their ancestors and the inheritance of their children.
Tribal peoples still understand better than most the vital connections between man and nature, and that in damaging the Earth we are also damaging ourselves and our collective future.
These quotes are taken from Survival’s book We Are One and our archives.
We were made the same as the sand, we were born here. This place is my father’s father’s father’s land.
Bushman, Botswana
We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, the winding streams with tangled growth as ‘wild’. Only to the white man was nature a ‘wilderness’ and only to him was it ‘infested’ with ‘wild’ animals and ’savage’ people. To us it was tame.
Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux, American Indian
Our land belongs to us because we belong to the land.
Wichi, Argentina
I do not think the measure of a civilisation is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man.
Sun Bear, Chippewa, American Indian
This land is the house we have always lived in.
Linda Hogan, Chicksaw, American Indian