Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have thrived in the forests of Kwinitekw, which is now known as New England.  Abenaki, Wampanoag, and the Six Nations Confederacy people were able to live a highly sustainable life by utilizing the knowledge that was passed down through the generations, and still continue today. The Indigenous people of the Eastern coastal areas share many similar teachings and values with other Indigenous people throughout North America, who all lived sustainable lifestyle before the invasion of colonial settlers in the 1600s (1).The Indigenous people practiced ethical hunting. All of the animal would be used and only harvested when needed. The matriarchs in the individual bands practiced diverse agricultural planting. They would crop cycle to avoid depleting nutrients from the soil, as well as companion planting. These people would also share most knowledge to all members of society to ensure that all members understood the way of life and taking care of the Earth they walked upon. As for livestock, Indigenous people did not utilize domesticated animals until the arrival of foreign settlers.

In attempt to build a new type of lifestyle, many immigrants made the journey to what they called the New World. The settlers brought a new type of thinking about civilized life and convenience (2). These settlers used the definitions created by classical philosophers of society which justified all violence on Indigenous people in North America. Once absent on North America, European settlers brought new concepts of individual land ownership. Transcending trade, settlers also started to take natural resources from the land to export back to their motherland for profit (3). Many ideals from the motherland (England) were transferred over to what is now New England (4). Many of these morals and mannerisms were forced onto the Indigenous coastal peoples. Throughout history, there have been many accounts of violence to erase and later to civilize Native people. By enforcing this new way of life on all Indigenous people on North America has led us to the current state of affairs; unsustainable and a path of destruction created by our own hands.

By understanding the history of North America and the establishment of a settler colonial colony, it will be easier to identify the systems and mannerisms that contribute to an unsustainable life (5). It can easily be used to look at civilization globally, since Europe influences most of the world relations.. The newly evolving sphere of Indigenous Environmentalism and environmental justice can contribute to the global academic discourse, and western academia slowly opening up to accepting new forms of knowledge. Diversity is important in an interdisciplinary field like environmental studies; the more the better. Now, how do we move forward?

 

  1. William Cronen.
  2. Blackhawk
  3. William Cronen
  4. Ibid
  5. Peter Dauvergne

For Citations, please see References.