Reflecting on Indigenous Wisdom and the Urge to Oppress

“Often, environmental activists of white European descent enter dialogue with Indigenous people seeking to learn how to avert ecological collapse, asking, ‘What can we learn from you?’… one Māori participant suggested that perhaps the more critical question is: ‘What can we learn about ourselves from our historical commitment to the genocide of Indigenous people?’ and ‘How might such reflection inform our understanding of our role in driving today’s continued and intensifying crises?’… If many of today’s crises are, in their different manifestations, crises of oppression, then transformative change will only be possible in the context of examining the origins of oppression and the urge to dominate.”