Kincentric Ecology – Today
Ambience: Flute music played by Enrique Salmon
We’re listening to music of the Raramuri people of Mexico. You might find it pleasing to the ears, but their culture has more to offer than just an enjoyable listening experience. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Raramuri anthropologist Enrique Salmon believes that there is much to be learned from indigenous societies, especially for those who are looking to develop a more sustainable way of life. According to Salmon, cultures like the Raramuris’ shouldn’t be copied by Westerners, but rather used as an inspiration.
ES: “I think the lesson that modern industrialized peoples can get from the Native folks who still practice the traditional languages and land management techniques, is to find their own stories — and I like that approach, because they borrow some models from indigenous cultures from around the world, but then they apply it to their own history. They just want to find a way that they as an individual, as a person can affect change in their lives and in the lives around them. And I like, I like watching those people. I like trying to teach them as much as I can of how, as an individual, I perceive nature… Look at everything as if it’s your relative. You are directly related to it. That it is related to you. Carry that further into every aspect of life. Into what we eat. Looking at where our medicines are coming from. Looking how, where the water from our tap in the house is coming from and how it is effecting our lives –directly our health — and all these things are part of your relationship to everything around you.”
Pulse of the Planet is presented with support provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.