Holding the Fire

Following another summer of record heat waves, droughts, floods, and wildfires across vast swaths of the planet, the injuries done to the planet by the Industrial Growth Society have never been so conclusive. As I grapple with collapse, I wanted to speak with Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, an Indigenous Pamiri from Tajikistan, who has lived through it and come out the other side.

How is it possible to maintain perspective on the polycrisis? Dr. Lyla June Johnston, who is of Navajo, Cheyenne, and European lineages, has brilliantly woven her knowledge into her public speaking and multigenre art, inspiring international audiences towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. 

How do we find true belonging, and true community in the most literal sense of that word? To answer this question, Dr. Yuria Celidwen, from Chiapas, Mexico, combines Indigenous studies, cultural psychology, and contemplative science in her research. 

Shoba is a Boorana woman who promotes health and education in pastoralist communities in Kenya. Her work, and how she lives her life, offer a model of how to continue to serve and do our work, no matter the results. 

In this podcast we’ve heard several people speak of the grave crisis facing humanity today, but from the perspective of how Indigenous communities have been living in these crises for hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of years. Yet, despite facing the most challenging forces of colonialism, they are still here, still persisting with resilient cultures. Alson Kelen, a native of Bikini Atoll, is one of the world’s few masters in the ancient art of wave-piloting. 

Before we can take the necessary actions to serve and protect the Earth, we must first fully understand and embody the interconnectedness of all things. Paty Gualinga of the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, an Indigenous community based in the Ecuadorian Amazon, spoke directly to this.

As the Great Unraveling unfolds, it is almost always the most vulnerable populations, those with the fewest resources, who suffer the most, whether it be from climate impacts, collapsing economies, or dysfunctional governments. Sam Olando from Kenya, spoke to an aspect of this vulnerability that many of us don’t often consider.

One of the themes that has revealed itself on this podcast is that the problems besetting the planet today all stem from our disconnection from the Earth. Celine Lim, an Indigenous Kayan leader from Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, knows this all too well.

Given the scope of the crises upon us, have you ever felt a yearning to learn more about living in a culture that is not based on extractivism, commodification, acquisition, and exploitation? It was this question that led me to Galina Angarova from the Lake Baikal region of Siberia.

It’s challenging to hear about collapsing ecosystems and the global climate spiraling out of balance, but by acknowledging this reality, we are able to orient ourselves and respond accordingly to the crises.  On that note, I was excited to speak with Aslak Holmberg, an Indigenous Saami who lives on the Deatnu River, on the border of Norway and Finland.

More than ever before, it is grossly obvious that the western industrialized extractivist mindset is the root cause of the multiple crises besieging the planet today. I couldn’t think of a better person to speak with about this than Dr. Anne Poelina in Australia. 

This podcast is about bringing forward the perspectives of Indigenous communities from around the world, as all of us, humans and more than humans alike, reckon with the consequences of a global, industrial society built on growth, extraction, and colonialism.