Learning Native Wisdom: What Traditional Cultures Teach Us about Subsistence, Sustainability, and Spirituality (Culture of the Land)
Holthaus presents the latest offering in a series articulating a new agrarianism, a work enriched by the more than 25 years he lived among Native peoples in Alaska. He describes his essay collection as an “invitation to conversation” about the concept of sustainability—a concept embracing respect for the environment, social life, and the integration of the world’s economy. He illuminates the sharp distinctions between the long-term view taken by Native peoples regarding the connection between nature and humans, and the “immediate return” goals of the U.S. economy, exemplified by our “frantic hunt for the last barrel of oil.” Drawing on quotes from ancient and contemporary philosophers, nineteenth-century Native speakers, and religious texts from various world religions, Holthaus underlines two crucial components of the earth’s spiritual health: the survival of ancient languages, and an atmosphere of “humaneness” among diverse cultures worldwide. Finally, he explores the definition of nature in its broadest sense, and calls for the adoption of agrarian principles that create healthier, economically viable food systems capable of sustaining us all. --Deborah Donovan