Goldtooth seeks environmental justice for indigenous people

Environmental justice for indigenous people and the need to respect their traditional values were twin themes in Tom Goldtooth's talk to a crowded Kuenzel Room in the Michigan Union Jan. 29.

Goldtooth, who is executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, is based in Bemidji, Minn. In his talk he focused on the need to protect food and water resources, and to reverse the negative effects of energy policies and climate change on indigenous people.

"Climate change is real, and indigenous people have been seeing its effects for a long time, from thinning of the ice in Alaska to dangerous flooding in the Pacific islands," he said. "The problem is fed by the West's addiction to consumptionespecially fuel consumption. Now (President) Bush and (Vice President) Cheney are calling for more coal-fired plants, more oil exploration and more nuclear plantsand the people who have to live with the consequences are the poor people and the indigenous people."

Energy company land-grabs, mining operations that force relocations and threaten food systems and agricultural practices, massive hydroelectric projects that displace communities and wildlife, deforestation that reduces biodiversitythe list, Goldtooth said, is virtually endless.

In addition, he noted the subtler threats posed to traditional indigenous cultures. "Genetically modified organisms and seeds pose a serious threat to native seed stocks, while commercially processed foods are destroying the health of our people," Goldtooth said. "Our culture and our knowledge are based in our lands, our foods and our traditional practices. When you disrupt those things, you disrupt the very fabric of indigenous societies.

"All of us, from all races and cultures, must learn to work together, and we don't have much time left. I propose that the real 'axis of evil' consists of the big multinational companiesespecially the oil companiesand international governments who are destroying our environment and hastening climate change in their pursuit of profits," Goldtooth said.

The MLK Symposium Planning Committee, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Native American Students Association sponsored his appearance. TreeTown, a local Native American drum group under the leadership of drumkeeper Andrew Adams III, opened and closed the event with traditional songs.

For more information about the Indigenous Environmental Network, visit http://www.ienearth.org.

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