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Paper as presented at the 2008 Rebuild Africa Conference held in Washington DC on August 8-9.Man lives in an environment and is sustained by it.People of different professional biases have pointedout this fact, though taken for granted for centuries.pPhilosophers are not left out in this debate. Therate of environmental disasters and decadence is soalarming that lasting solutions are being sought for.The solution to a problem is embedded partly inknowing the cause.Many thinkers have attempted explanations to the rootcause of environmental pollution. Indeed suchexplanations reflect ultural and societalperspectives. Oftentimes, these explanations havewestern perspectives.In this paper therefore, we do argue that the problemof the environment in Africa is a peculiar one and assuch demands closer attention. The peculiarities areentrenched in colonialism and a resultant distortionof the psyche of the African. This has reduced him toa mere being struggling for survival. No wonder thathis values are misplaced. Why think of the survival ofyour environment when the inhabitant still seeks forsurvival? And as he seeks for survival, he ignorantlydestroys that which would have been of benefit to him.The solution therefore, would requier a re-orientationof his psyche. This way, he is ble to appreciate andvalue the environment in which he lives and thereforeshall seek to conserve what is left of it.
Citation preview
African Environmental Ethic: A Creation of Distorted Values.
BY
Omam. Pat. AgboroDept of PhilosophyUniversity of Lagos
Nigeria
Man and the Environment. These are two inseparable
entities that cannot be divorced from each other. There
seems to be a constant and almost perpetual interaction of
one with the other. Should we then say that, they are two
sides of a coin?
Various arguments and discussions on environment,
environmental hazards and call to ‘save the environment’
make one wonder: ‘was man made for the environment or
the environment made for man’? The answer depends on
how one chooses to look at it.
The biblical account of the creation story explains that the
environment was first created before man. Man was then
created to control, subdue, dominate and replenish the
1
environment. This portion of the bible has been greatly
criticized. It is argued by Lynn White (1967) that it shows a
lack of pro-environmental orientation. This is because the
human is seen as an exalted specie, separate from and
superior to nature. Everything had been put in place for his
benefit and rule for white, this biblical view permeates the
western culture, thereby creating a general disregard for
nonhuman forms of life and natural processes. While some
scholars agree with white that western values and beliefs are
anthropocentric, thereby legitimizing the exploitation of
nature, they maintain that the Judeo-Christian religion is not
the main cause of this anthropocentric view. They argue that
the charge to subdue, dominate etc was quoted out of
context. They point out other portions of the bible which
emphasize stewardship and that man was actually given the
charge to take care of the environment. On the other hand,
some are of the opinion that the human centeredness of the
western culture should be blamed on elements of ancient
Greek philosophy that are in part foundation of modern
scientific thought (Callicott, 1983). Shiva (1989) on his part
2
traces this attitude to the scientific revolution which he
argues was responsible for the mechanical view of nature.
Whitney (1993) blames it on western capitalism.
Should we then say that the environment was made for man
or the other way round? This indeed is a mind bugging
question. Whichever way one chooses to look at it, the fact
still remains that man lives in an environment and is
sustained by it. He is faced with the task of understanding
his lot. He needs the environment for shelter, food, clothing,
mobility and what have you. Needless to say, whatever
progress or achievement man seeks is only within and in
relation to his environment. So if the environment was made
for man, why the hullabaloo about taking cares of the
environment? The answer is not farfetched. That which was
made for man must be sustained and taken care of so that
man will continue to benefit from it; not only in his
generation but also for posterity. Gifford Pinchot (1910:3)
talking about the conservation of the U.S. environment
asserts that:
3
The most prosperous nation today is the United States. Our unexampled health and well being are directly due to the superb natural resources of our country, and to the use, which has been made of. Then by our citizens, both in the present and in the past. We are prosperous because our forefathers bequeathed to us a land of marvelous resources still unexhausted. Shall we conserve those resources, and in our turn transmit them, still unexhausted to our descendants?
This is the crux of the matter which in itself has been an
issue of debate these past decades. It is not something one
reads about anymore but an issue that is definitely with us
which has in itself become everybody’s problem. The
warning bell ringing in the air suggests that when the natural
resources of any nation become exhausted, disaster and
decay in every facet of national life follow as a matter of
course. And these natural resources seem to be getting
exhausted. It is therefore not surprising that solutions are
desperately being sought for. Usually, the first step in
solving a problem involves knowing its cause(s). Many
thinkers have attempted explanations to the root cause of
environmental pollution. Indeed such explanations reflect
cultural and societal perspectives.
4
In this paper, we do argue that the problem of the
environment in Africa is a peculiar one and as such demands
closer attention. The peculiarities are entrenched in
colonialism and a resultant distortion of the psyche of the
African man. This has reduced him to a mere being
struggling for survival. No wonder that his values are
misplaced. Why think of the survival of the environment
when the inhabitant still seeks for survival? And as he seeks
for survival, he consequently destroys that which would have
been of benefit to him.
We shall begin by defining key concepts that are being used
here. This is necessary because often times words are taken
for granted and philosophers are particularly intellectually
cantankerous and could want to clear any form of doubt
regarding concepts that are being used.
The first question to be considered is what is the
environment? We definitely would not want to be
presumptuous by assuming that we all understand what we
mean by that very word.
5
Tairu T.T. (1998:8) defined environment as a “combination of
natural objects (living and non living) objects made by
human beings, the inter-relationships between these and
various circumstances which surround people on earth.”
Gordon Marshall (1994:153) a sociologist defines it to mean
the territory in which human action occurs. He explains that
significantly, “the current social and political attention given
to the environment concentrates on the physical world- on
towns, houses, the countryside, and natural resources such
as air and water.
Ebin (1995) defines environment as comprising of land, air,
water and all the physical structures surrounding us. It refers
to the totality of space, time and socio-cultural settings
inherent there in.
Osuntokun (2001:293) a historian environmentalist defines
environment to mean man and his surrounding including the
life support provided by the air, water, land, animals and the
entire ecosystem of which man is but a part.
From the above definitions, it is clear that by environment
we do mean both the physical surrounding of people as well
6
as a group of organism. It is the people, plants, trees, water,
air, ozone layer, atmosphere, weather e.t.c. and
relationships that exist between them.
Inyang- Abia (1996:106) succinctly puts it when he says,
that which surrounds is the environment. Every system except the largest has an environment. It is from the environment that life inputs are derived and into it life outputs are sent. Therefore the environment determines, to a great extent, the nature, lifestyle, human culture and activities among other things.
There is also the economic part of the environment. While
some argue that the environment is a subset of the
economy, others suggest that it should be the other way
round. For Lester brown,
Economic theory does not explain why Arctic Sea ice is melting. It does not explain why grasslands are turning into desert in northwestern china…nor does it explain why we are in the early stages of the greatest extinction of plants and animals since the dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago. Yet economics is essential to measuring the cost to society of these excesses. (Brown 2001:4)
The next question to be considered is ethics. Ethics is often
defined as the concerns with “what ought to be”. This is
opposed to the scientific concern of what is. In other words,
7
while science describes reality as it actually exists, ethics is
concerned with prescribing what ought to be. In effect, a
discourse on environmental ethics will involve a prescription
about the oughtness of environmental situation. Often times,
when the question of “oughtness” comes up, there is the
concern for the prevalent state of affairs that needs to be
changed. The concepts of right and wrong come to bear. And
questions about attitudes and behaviours are critically
examined. Questions like ‘what should I do (or not do), how
should I act and not act’ arise. Everybody at one time or the
other is faced with moral issues day in and out. They come in
all shapes and sizes. Issues of war and peace that national
leaders face are among the “biggest” of moral issues
because they involve the possibility or reality of immense
destruction and slaughter.
For example, in 1961 Abraham Lincoln had to decide whether to use military force to resist the southern states’ attempts to secede from the union and in 1945 president Truman had to decide whether to use atomic weapons on Japanese cities to end the war with Japan.(Barcalow 1994:3).
8
Issues of environmental ethics have equally been of great
concern especially in the last decades. It has attracted the
attention of various professionals from all works of life. In
1972, the United Nations sponsored a conference on the
Human Environment in Stockholm. Ever since then both
developed and developing countries concluded that the
environmental question is not a case of crying wolf where
there is none. The problems are real and tangible and they
require urgent attention.
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Nov: 2000) explains
that environmental ethics is a topic of applied ethics, which
examines the moral basis of environmental responsibility. In
these environmental conscious times, virtually everyone
agrees that we need to be environmentally responsible for
toxic waste, contaminating ground water, oil spills that
destroy shore line, fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide
thus adding to the green house effect, and use of
fluorocarbon gasses which deplete the earth’s protecting
ozone layer.
Issues of environmental ethics can be summarized thus:
9
That the environment was originally made for man’s benefit. Man’s actions are supposed to be beneficial both for him and his environment. The environment has been adversely affected by man’s actions. Therefore, man must redirect his actions to salvage his environment. Infact, the call for preservation and conservation took several dimensions in the west. One perspective was that western societies needed to learn how to be technical innovations, less wasteful of natural resources, more conscious of their dependence on the biosphere.
Another perspective suggests that the ecological approach
can be abandoned in favour of a more mystical, primitive
and humanitarian approach.
Aldo Leopold (1966:238) an ecologist argued that the West
stands in need of a new ethic; an ethic of conservation. He
calls it “an ethic dealing with man’s relation to land and to
the animals and plants which grow upon it”.
On the whole, environmental issues are divided into two
categories. The first category refers to problems like global
warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, and deforestation
etc.
The second problem refers to the consequential problems
emanating from the first. Several causes have been
10
highlighted. They include population pressure on limited
natural resources, international trade in toxic wastes and
rapid urbanization.
Abuse of the environment could be in two ways. The first is
through nature itself. Floods, earthquake, erosion, volcanic
eruption, tornadoes, e.t.c. can cause environmental
pollution. It can also be caused by the activities of man. As
we have mentioned earlier, there exists a necessary inter-
relatedness between man and his environment. It is this
relationship that gives rise to the ethical issues about his
environment.
In Africa, environmental pollution is quite prevalent.
However, it was never really an issue at least it was not
registered in the consciousness of the African. What has
been and still is of paramount importance to him is the issue
of development and betterment of his lot!
There have been several conferences held on the
environment in Nigeria and various appeals are being made
to the government and the people of Nigeria to salvage what
is left of the environment. Inspite of the fact that Nigeria is
11
blessed with natural resources, and is not prone to
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions like her counterparts in
some parts of the world, her environment still suffers from
pollution.
Marinho (1998:145) in his article, “Towards protection of the environmental and ecology” describes the Nigerian environment as:
The easily managed but neglected masses of cellophane bags and other litter at and beyond police checkpoints and toll gates that have turned the sale of pure water into pure pollution. The environment is the soft drink company that puts its logo on up to 80 percent of a school signboard it erects without putting anything educational into the school and thus immorally and perhaps criminally influencing the minds of the children almost for free. The environment also includes the immoral if not actually illegal insistence of government parastatals like NEPA and NITEL on payment of their bills by bankdrafts each of which adds 85 to 280 naira cost to the consumer of more than 1000 naira worth of the commodity.
He laments therefore that a man pursued by a sense of
persecution and injustice will have little time for the
environment. This is the point we are making: that the
environment cannot be treated in isolation of the rest of the
problems weighing down the nation in particular and Africa
in general.
12
There is need to interject here that we are not saying that
the call for environmental preservation is a false alarm. The
stark reality stares us in the face and if nothing is done, lives
would be in grave danger. Neither are we brushing aside
with the wave of the hand, the efforts made by individuals,
international bodies, government and non governmental
organizations to address the issues. We do not adher to the
myopic stance of “it is better to be rich and dirty than to be
poor and clean”. If such a situation was the ideal, then the
western world would not be concerned about the
environment as they already are. What we are saying
essentially is that in order to address the African
environmental question, certain peculiar factors have to be
taken into consideration. These peculiarities are entrenched
in the facts of colonialism and neo-colonialism, the
consciousness of the African with the resultant effect
observed even in her present day realities.
By the African, we do mean the masses: the common man
that constitutes the major population of the continent.
13
IN THE BEGINNING
The mere mention of the word colonialism brings to the
listeners mixed feelings. To the ex-colonial lords, it brings to
mind sweet memories of rightful domination of a people. To
the African, that very word brings to mind the ravaging of
the Africans by the so called ‘white masters’. To some,
colonialism is synonymous to rape; the ravaging of the
untouched bride, by ‘that’ infidel. Many African countries still
seem to be struggling to recover from the negative effects of
colonialism.
Ideas rule the world and to say the least these ideas reveal
the mindset, culture, belief and orientation of a person or a
group of persons.
Rather than bore ourselves with the details of colonialist
activities, we shall point out issues that are relevant for our
purposes. The features of colonialist missions could be
outlined as follows:
firstly, for the export of raw materials that are
abundant in the land and
14
secondly, the struggle for mass control of these
sources of raw materials;
thirdly, the search for exclusive markets for
manufactured goods of the colonial powers;
And making the colonized people non manufacturing
dependents thereby, prohibiting them from trading
with other nations.
It is widely agued that the two religions, Christianity and
Islam were strong instruments of colonization under the
pretext of bringing light to the Dark Continent. For some
historians and political analysts the pretentious reasons
advanced by the colonialists to bring civilization and culture
to the ravaged society are quite unacceptable.(Rodney
1972) Such reasons and actions violate not only their
religious teaching but also the moral principles- the right of
any society in its evolution to evolve a culture and
civilization. More so, this left an indelible mark on the psyche
and history of the continent. Such marks include the
negation of the African characteristics that give him his
dignity.
15
As it is to be expected, the coming of the white man into
Africa and the introduction of western education affected his
(African’s) consciousness; for he is suddenly exposed to
things alien to him. He is practically forced to grapple with
strange ideas, ideologies, literature and even language.
Little wonder that at the end of the whole colonization
exercise, the African is purged of his cultural identity. He
thus becomes a person with a confused personality. He is at
the same time Christian, Moslem and the African
traditionalist. He is equally Western, and African
simultaneously. The implication is that the African became a
paradox of names. The same continent is perceived to be
French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Belgian etc. We can
therefore understand the cultural conflicts experienced by
the African at the social and personal levels. This also
accounts for the developmental problems encountered by
the African leaders in deciding which of these conflicting
values are to be accepted by every member of the society.
After all, one cannot be both a villager and a high class
metropolitan.
16
But then was the African a passive observer to the whole
transmission and assimilation processes or an active and
willing participant. Whatever answer one might give, one
fact that cannot be overlooked is that the psyche of the
African was affected. The white is perceived as superior
while the black is perceived otherwise. This attitude has
continued till date. Everything foreign (language, mode of
dressing and ideas) are gullibly accepted as good. Even left-
overs are considered acceptable. And these left overs have
done nothing other than to pollute the environment.
Indiscriminate importation of used frigidaire and air conditioners which still use in spite of part of the Montreal protocol, CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons) which have been found to destroy the ozone layer in the atmosphere thus permitting ultra violet rays from the sun to hit the earth with devastating effects on human, animal and plant health with consequent rise in the incidence of cancers
and other incurable disease. Osuntokun (1999:5)
It seems that while the Africans were learning how to knot
their ties, they lost sight of the climatic relevance of this
‘fashion”. Indeed, the ogogoro –African alcoholic drink was
rejected and replaced by the gin. The dane gun was
regarded as archaic but the pistol was perceived as
17
sophisticated; all well, and good! Yet the issue of
development stares us in the face. It becomes very
important that we need to become as developed as the
west. And with the discovery of so many minerals resources,
it seemed as if we were on our way to economic and
technological development. Alas! Years have come and
gone. We are still grappling with underdevelopment.The
environment is still threatened. The white man has left. Yet
his ghost still remains. From the far shores of his land, he
still exerts a lot of influence on the black man’s land. Now,
the latter suffers from the advancement of the west.
A number of third world countries have been used as dumping ground for toxic wastes from western industrialized countries. The dumping of toxic chemical waste in Koko in 1988 is still fresh in our memory. Steve Okecha (2000:58)
So far, we have established the fact that the African
encounter with the white man, succeeded in making him a
confused being with no mind of his own. Everything foreign
is accepted as superior. He then blindly accepts whatever is
given to him without being able to decipher between what is
harmful or beneficial to him.
18
Another vital question we need ask is whether the African
have any sense of the environment at all. This question can
be answered on two levels. At the simple levels, the African
was quite conscious of his environment for he saw that his
survival was dependent on how well he catered for it.
However, at the complicated level, that is the industrialized
level the African is ignorant. He is consumed first and
foremost by the need to survive, becomes industrialized like
his western counterpart before entertaining any thought or
concern for his environment.
In fact, we dare assert that the common African does not
have any understanding whatsoever of environmental
pollution and the need to arrest the situation. He lives,
moves and breathes pollution. It has become a part of his
life. We are not saying that the African is a foolish
ignoramus but that he has come to accept the assaulted
environment as the necessary price to pay for progress.
No wonder developing countries experience urban drift.
People (mostly men) leave the village in search for the
Golden Fleece represented by white collar jobs. This
19
migration of men to the cities does not help matters at all.
And because there are too many people looking for few jobs,
the large remnant have no choice than to accept to work in
industries. And here, they are not protected from the
dangers of such occupations. They are exposed to fumes,
noise and what have you. At the end of the day, we are
faced with a population of sick, deaf people with low life
span. A pathetic state of affairs indeed! Consequently, wives
and mothers are left to bear the brunt. The resultant effect is
that labour for subsistent farming reduces. The women
automatically take over the running of the household. Thus
the entire responsibility for feeding, clothing etc. rests on her
shoulders. Dankelman and Davidson observes that
Recent studies of 74 developing countries show that women already have more than a fifth of the household chores in Africa and the Caribbean…for some countries, the figures are much higher. (1988:16)
Statistics show that women constitute a larger percentage of
the world’s population. Oyeshola (1995:20) is of the opinion
that the class position of a woman determines to a large
extent how she relates to her environment. Thus, the way a
20
poor woman will relate to the environment will differ from
that of a rich career lady. Since the realities of developing
countries show that the woman is often saddled with the
sole responsibility of catering for the household, we can
imagine the increase in burden if the environment is badly
affected.
As ecological conditions worsen especially because of desertification and deforestation, the burden of the poor woman increases and becomes tiresome. They are to walk further from their homes in search of water, firewood an other forest products for their basic needs. this extra distance adds to their physical burden…in the urban centers, women also do a lot to get water since only about 20 percent of homes have water connected to their houses. (p. 21)
THE PRESENT STATE OF AFFAIRSIn spite of the development they seek, developing countries
in general and Nigeria in particular have the largest
population of poor people. Not only are they poor but they
also live in terribly poor conditions. These poor conditions
generate problems for the environment. They are the
21
presence of pathogenic organisms that exists in the human
excreta, crowded and cramped living conditions. This
problem arises out of lack of infrastructures and services.
…Pipe borne water supplies, sewage connections, garbage collections and basic measures to prevent diseases and provide health care. Such deficiencies promote diarrhea, dysenteries, typhoid…when combined with malnutrition, this can also weaken the body’s defense system and measles, pneumonia and other common childhood diseases become major killers. (Oyeshola, 1995:19)
From the fore going analysis, certain points have been
established:
Firstly, the environmental problems facing Nigeria can only
be solved by first looking at the African and indeed the
Nigerian as part and parcel of the environment that is being
polluted. A symbiotic relationship exists between every
organism in the environment and this shows that each
organism has a function to perform. This is the point Aldo
Leopold (1959) seems to be making in his highly influential
essay titled “The Land Ethics”
If we agree that a relationship exists between organisms, it
then implies that an affected organism would definitely have
22
an effect on the other organisms. If one organism is
destroyed for example, other organisms that depend on it
one way or the other would suffer. This in turn would affect
the product from that organism. Thus if trees are eradicated,
and concrete buildings are put in place, then the atmosphere
is affected.
When we push this argument to its logical conclusion and
apply it to the personality of the African, we can then say
that a man with a polluted mind will necessarily pollute his
environment whether consciously or otherwise. This is so
because, his values have become distorted. And a distorted
value can only lead to a confused state of affairs where one
ideology or another is experimented with and discarded at
whim.
The history of Nigeria is replete with examples of several
ideologies and policies that reflect the confused mind of the
people. If it is not the “domestic socialism” as preached by
the Action Group of Obafemi Awolowo, it is the “Pragmatic
socialism” under Michael Opara’s N.C.N.C. if we do not hear
the sweet song of yakubu gowons “egalitarianism”, it is the
23
fast beat tempo of “jaji declaration” by Olusegun Obasanjo.
Of course there is the ethical revolution in its reggae beat
vocalled by Shehu Shagari. Closely followed by the military
orchestra song titled WAI of the Buhari administration.
Perhaps, due to the very fast beat of the WAI song, the
Babangida administration decided to slow down the tempo
and talk about human rights. Then went away military
regime and then democracy comes on stage. And the
realities on ground seem to emphasize the confusion of the
African. What kind of democracy is being practiced? Is it
government of the people, by the people and for the people
or is it the madness of the many in favour of the few? Life
goes on and on in an endless confused circle. This confusion
is also reflected in the educational sectors and indeed every
sphere of the society!
It is necessary that we capture this bleak picture in order to
show that our values have indeed been distorted and that a
country or continent with a distorted value will definitely
experience chaos in all its sectors.
24
We found ourselves in a complete mess, nasty situation whereby most of our activities if not all, seem to have been directed against our own interest towards the negation of our state hood. This is a society in which the activities of many, if not most, people lean towards self discrimination, self humiliation etc. owing to misplaced values and aspirations. (Ogundowole 1992:22)
These misplaced values prevalent in the society have indeed
driven a large number of our youths into a varied anti social
practices which border on various degrees of criminality. In
the bid to survive, oil pipes are busted and everyone within
that community gets his fill until there is a fire outbreak that
destroys the source of “livelihood”.
The distorted value of the African is responsible for the
wrong attitudes that are exhibited towards development
programmes and policies. This has led to the resistance to
change. There is also a general distrust of government and
government’s intentions
Marinho (1998) explains that this distrust is responsible for
the lack of political participation of citizens. This situation is
heightened by the level of poverty, unemployment that is
prevalent in the society.
25
All these go to show that the African environment is crying
for help. It is not just the physical state of the environment,
and by this we mean, the plants, soil, water, air, etc that is
crying for solution.
Rather, inclusive in the plea for help is the African. His being
cries for attention!
We do believe that a change is desperately needed. And the
only way to change a people is to change their way of
thinking and their orientation. For these reasons, we do
applaud various governmental and non governmental
organizations’ effort at organizing international conferences
that are geared towards addressing the issue of the
environment.
However, we reiterate that in order to effect a change in a
people’s attitude, there is the need to change their way of
thinking. And what better way to do so than through
education. By education, we do not mean mere schooling.
We also include value education. Until the values of our
society are looked into and reconsidered, for the purpose of
channeling them, through the right routes (educationally)
26
destruction awaits us at the end of the tunnel. All efforts to
salvage the environment will fail. During the Buhari’s WAI
(dictatorial) regime in Nigeria, proper behaviour was
displayed out of fear of being caught. Such behaviours did
not emanate from a conscious knowledge of the importance
of doing the right things to ensure a suitable environment to
live in. it is therefore not surprising that the moment that
military government was toppled over, things went back to
normal(?).
Perhaps the importance of education is better understood in
the following words of Akande (1988)
The medical doctor buries his mistake The engineer dies with his mistakes But the whole society perishes at the mistake of the teacher.
No matter how technological and industrialized we desire to
be, development in all spheres of the society cannot be
attained without a proper consideration for the environment.
And a consideration for the environment must necessarily
entail a re-orientation of the people’s way of thinking in
order to ensure that the right attitude is exhibited towards
27
nation building. This should be the concern of everybody
within any nation.
We therefore conclude on this note:
The best way to put environmental ethics into practice is to work to instill environmental values in society as the foundation for coercive environmental policies, regulations…
This can only be attained through educational means. And all
the educational sectors play significant roles in carrying out
this assignment. The most effective, seems to be the
primary schools since pupils behavior at this stage can easily
be affected. Once this is achieved, trees would no longer be
cut down for making fire to cook with, but shall be seen not
only as shelter from the sun but as a living thing whose
existence is vital to the existence of other living organisms.
And with a reoriented people shall come a reoriented
government whose policies shall reflect this positive change
in orientation. And only then can we have a people whose
thinking is proevironmentalist like that which is depicted
below:
28
Garnder and Stern (2002) refers to a movie recreation by
Ted Perry of the story of chief Seattle , a leader of the
suquamish tribe in the northwestern united states. He was
giving a response to president Franklin Pierce’s offer to buy
a large chunk of Indian-occupied land and to provide a
reservation for the occupants.
(if we sell you this land,)…the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. I have (heard about)…(a) prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train…(How can) the smoking iron horse be more important than the buffalo that(redmen) kill (only enough of ) to stay alive?...what is man without beasts?... this we know-the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth …All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth…Man does not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. (2002:35)
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