Author(s): Peter Knudtson & David Suzuki

Personal Development

This text explores the beliefs about the delicate relationships between humans, nature and the environment held by two traditions commonly thought to be diametrically opposed: Western science and the age-old wisdom of indigenous peoples around the world. Science writers Peter Knudtson and David Suzuki have collected and preserved native peoples' profound ecological wisdom about our universe, our planet, and our physical and spiritual lives.The authors have gathered sacred stories and traditions from the Elders; from the Inuit Arctic to the Australian outback, the tropics of Africa, Malaysia and the Amazon to the continent of north America. Here are tales of profound human empathy with and respect for animals, landscapes, plants and natural forces vital to our survival. Each selection conveys a sense of the diverstiy and unity of indigenous peoples' intellectual and experiential insights into the workings of nature.Valuable in their own right, the vignettes also provide the foundations for a global environmental ethic. Most important of all for the shared future of our planet, these "sacred ecologies" when juxtaposed with the ideas of some of the wisest and most respected scientists of our time - Albert Einstein, Alan Guth, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, Loren Eisley, Paul Erlich and many more - hold much in common with aspects of modern science. Contents: Acknowledgments Authors' Note A Personal Foreword: The Value of Native Ecologies (David Suzuki) Visions of the Natural World: Shaman and Scientist Distant Times: Recognising the Kinship of All Life Mother Earth: Nature as a Living System Ways of Seeing Nature: Native Natural Histories Animal Powers: The Kinship of Humans and Beasts Plant Powers: The Relationship Between Humans and Vegetation Sacred Space: The Relationship Between Humans and Land Time as a Circle: Responding to the Rhythms of Nature World Renewal: Maintaining Balance in the Natural World The Fate of the Earth: Voices of the Elders Appendix: Excerpt from United Nations Draft Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Notes Index First published 1992.