} mtxinu.COM!noele (Noele Krenkel) writes:
}
} > I do feel many environmentalists are insensitive to Native American
} > concerns/culture. I've found this to be true in the US, Costa Rica
} > and Belize......I'm beginning to question the whole concept of Ecology
} > Tourism which is developing, as I've seen Sierra Club Members, Audubon
} > Society Members tour these Central American countries with no concern
} > about the indigenous people...
}
} i too am worried about eco-tourism. there's a potential to create a
} 20-21st century equivalent to the 19th c. "white man's burden."
}
} i fear that for many ecotourists, they are carrying a green burden which
} is motivated much like the earlier imperialists-- save the world, trust
} our expertise.
}
} does my phrase a green man's burden help to symbolize this for you?
All this seems reasonable but perhaps the world is in such a miserable
condition that there is a need to reprioritize a few things.
It seems unfair to blast "eco-tourism" to such a degree when what
should concern us first is the preservation of our habitat and
environment. Also, placing Native people on an ecological pedestal
need not always be an accurate reflection of reality. Greed, the
desire for "a better standard of living", cruelty and other base
emotions are not attributes of only one group of people.
Some things will have to be lost of we wish to work towards a less
polluted world and a more environmentally aware population. Through
history, groups of people have heaped atrocity upon atrocity on weaker
groups of people, and always, the fittest have survived. Fittest does
not mean most deserving, but he who has strength wins, such is the law
of the world. Only now have people become aware that the weaker must
be treated with respect and Nativenet is a good example of this
growing awareness. Who know, perhaps in 2050, we may even have a
meatless society when it will become unacceptable to torture and kill
animals.
But in the meantime, clean air and water, green trees and wildlife...
these are the things that must be accorded their due priority. Many
things go on under the guise of "culture". Consider the killing of
the endangered black panther of the Everglades by the chief of the
(Seminole?) Indians in Florida recently ( a few years ago). He claimed
(correct me here please, if I am wrong) that this was a ritual and
arresting him for this was a violation of his religious rights. One
may say that the white man was responsible for the plight of the
panther, but does that mean that that one carries on nevertheless with
ancient rituals that ignore the present? Shouldn't culture evolve?
Looking forward to a friendly discussion...
Regards,
Vasudev Murthy
murthy@ssd.dl.nec.com