MEDIA ALERT: What Western Society Can Learn From Indigenous Communities (New York Times)

Editor's Note

The New York Times recently published an article written by Rachel Cernansky, a freelance journalist and the sustainability editor at Vogue Business. The article examines what Western society, and science, has to learn from Indigenous science with regard to ecological practices, and takes a look at how bridging the divide between the two would help bring additional harmony and stability into Western ecological scientific practices. You can read the full article here.

July 10, 2021

New York Times

What Western Society Can Learn From Indigenous Communities

Summary

Nearly two decades ago, when the New Zealand highway authority was planning the Waikato Expressway, people from the Māori tribe Ngāti Naho objected. The highway would encroach on an area that, in Māori tradition, was governed by a water-dwelling creature, a taniwha.

The authorities took those concerns into account and rerouted the road to circumvent the area in question. As a result, a year later, when the area was hit by a major flood, the road was unharmed.