What we can learn from Indigenous vs. Western views of nature

This episode from Jakob Corbin in fall 2020’s ANTH 405, Public Anthropology and Global Environmental Challenges, class at Colorado State University discusses views of the natural world and compares Western European views to Indigenous views. The Western ideology sees the wilderness as something to be tamed or conquered, an idea that began with Catholicism. That ideology, coupled with capitalism, continues today and has major ramifications for how we live and manage ecosystems. From Indigenous points of view, the concept of the honorable harvest is prevalent, which requires a balance between humans and nature. Rather than conquerors, humans are stewards, and methods of stewardship that utilize this mentality allow for a more dynamic and healthy ecosystem. Listen in for an introduction to how these different understandings of humans’ role in nature impact the environment.