Holding the Fire: Indigenous Voices on the Great Unraveling Reframing Collapse with Lyla June Johnston
Dec 12, 2023
Dahr Jamail converses with Dr. Lyla June Johnston, a scholar of Indigenous land stewardship from Navajo and Cheyenne lineages. They delve into why the ongoing collapse isn’t surprising to Indigenous people and discuss the cyclical nature of collapse and rebirth. Lyla emphasizes the need for new paradigms, contrasting Indigenous wisdom with profit-driven motives, and reflects on selfishness as a mental illness. Healing through self-love and community resilience emerges as a central theme, urging listeners to reconsider their relationship with the Earth.
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Polycrisis as Long-Unfolding Crisis
- The current polycrisis is a long-unfolding crisis starting from 1492 due to colonial brutality against earth and peoples.
- The earth's resilience has limits and we are now facing the consequences of centuries of abuse.
Colonial Trauma Fuels Destruction
- European colonists were deeply traumatized by centuries of war and oppression before colonization.
- Their insecurity and narcissism, born of trauma, fueled destructive colonial behaviors.
Collapse as Teacher and Refiner
- Collapse can be a vital teacher prompting us to reject failed systems like capitalism, monoculture, and white supremacy.
- Though painful, collapse refines societies and encourages emergence of more just models.