Aloha everyone! I have been lurking on this list for about a month now
and have been greatly enjoying and benefiting from the exchanges. I just
wanted to make a comment about a snip from Coyote1's note:
On Fri, 24 Mar 1995, Coyote1 wrote:
> Here's one where even ~hard scientists~ can agree with us (whatever we
> call ourselves, pagans, animists, you name it) about the
> interconnectedness of everything on this earth. It truly is a living
> organism
Having just finished a master's in the "hard sciences", I tend to feel
more pessimistic about this. Science, or at least the branch I was
involved in, sees the earth not as a living organism, but as a complex
system of intricate processes which the scientists believe they can study,
manipulate, and model separately of each other, given a few choice
assumptions about the particular system they are investigating.
Science sees interconnectedness in that scientists realize they have to
make assumptions before isolating the process they are interested in. I
don't think Coyote1 meant to imply in this snip that science agrees the
earth is a living organism. I just want to share that my experience has
convinced me hard science hasn't got a clue about this.
Furthermore the egoism of hard science and their out of hand rejection of
other (non-rigorous, more interdisciplinary) approaches is very
disturbing to me. I strongly suspect in department where I
received my MS, the faculty is overwhelmingly male and departmental
"politics" reflected inappropriate expressions of "masculine" characteristics
(aggression, dominance, reliance on logic to the exclusion of intuition)
as well as some overt instances of attempts at intimidating the women
there (myself included) who, perhaps, represented symbols of other ways
of seeing the world.
I don't mean to imply that all hard sciences are like this. I am
pointing out my experience with the hard sciences because until I
"defected" to the social sciences, I didn't realize how much hard science
tries to disconnect itself even while claiming a priviledged status
regarding knowledge of the earth. This is very disturbing also, and
especially because the department I left is supposedly one of the finest of
its field in the nation. Everyone there, including the women, think it's
"normal" to operate under the conditions I've outlined.
I don't think I'm too far off the mark in suspecting, at least, that other
hard sciences are not much different. What a rude awakening to find
partriarchy so rampant in a supposedly "objective" field! Sorry for the
long post. This experience was the "epiphany" that opened my eyes to the
need for a feminist perspective in earth studies.
Allison Chun Smith
now, happily, from the Department of Geography
University of Hawaii
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Mar 25 21:04:32 MST 1995
Date: Sat, 25 Mar 1995 21:05:00 -0700 (MST)
From: H-WEST Coeditor Catherine Lavender <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: American Indian Earth Day Program
An event I thought might be of interest to ECOFEM-ers
--Cathy
=============================================================================
[Crossposted from NATIVE-L <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>]
> Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 20:11:11 -0500
> From: Janet Wright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Nation's first ecologists will be gathering in Washington, DC to voice
traditional views and practices for preserving the Earth as part of the
25th anniversary of Earth Day. The American Indian Earth Day Program, "A
Gathering for the Earth," is planned for three days -- April 21-22-23 --
on the National Ellipse in Washington, DC.
The Gathering will host Native leaders, speakers, educational exhibitors,
artists and storytellers. A Woodlands Peoples' "living history" group
will offer demonstrations of life skills and arts. Educational exhibitors
confirmed at this time include the Menominee Sustainable Forest Project,
Waianae Coast Community Alternative Development Corporation, the
Akwe:sasne Freedom School; other exhibits will be a Native plants garden,
renewable energy projects, and mining clean-up, land use, and water
monitoring projects in Montana. Native artists will display works on the
theme of "global change."
A special sunrise ceremony and ground blessing will be held on Friday
morning at sunrise. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) a three hour
videoconference will be broadcast to schools, colleges, and communities.
Native Elders, scientists and scholars will hold a roundtable discussion
about traditional views and values and how they may or may not apply in
today's world of science, technology and business. Panel participants will
include Oren Lyons, Henrietta Mann, Lee Piper, Crosslin Smith, Vine
Deloria, Jr., Al Qoyawayma, Robert Yawakie, Dwight Gourneau and George
Godfrey. The panel will be moderated by Dan Wildcat, Chair of the
Department of Sciences and Social Sciences, Haskell Indian Nations
University. Other special guests will include Grace Thorpe, Simon Ortiz,
Puanani Burgess, Will Hill, and LaVonna Weller.
On Saturday, April 22, representatives from all across the country will
deliver Earth Day messages from their Nations. The Thunderbird Theater
Dance Group from Haskell University will perform modern dance
interpretations of Native stories. And singer/song-writer Joanne
Shenandoah will deliver a special musical message.
On Sunday, April 23, participants will give thanks to the Earth and all
her creations in celebration of our growing awareness and commitment to
safeguard the environment. The day will be open to singers and dancers
from the four directions. Host drum will be the Little River Singers.
The Gathering for the Earth is being sponsored by Project Earthlink, a
partnership of thirteen federal agencies under the auspices of the
Subcommittee on Global Change Research, of the National Science and
Technology Council. The mission of Project Earthlink is to raise public
awareness and knowledge of global change issues. The Gathering has been
designed and planned and will be managed by the American Indian Earth Day
Planning Committee, a group of Native Americans currently living in the
Washington DC area. The videoconference was designed in partnership with
Haskell Indian Nations University and Project Earthlink.
The satellite video conference will air free of charge from 1-4 p.m. ET,
Friday, April 21. The conference may be accessed and/or videotaped on VHS
for any or all of the 3 hours. Satellite downlinking can be accessed on
either KU- or C- Band. The satellite coordinates are: KU-Band SB6
TRANSPONDER 13 HORIZONTAL 95 Degrees West RADIO 6.2-6.8 C-Band TELSTAR 302
TRANSPONDER 1 VERTICAL 85 Degrees West RADIO 6.2-6.8 Contact Linda Greczy:
(202) 401-3806; fax (202) 401-3812.
American Indian artists wishing to lend a piece of art or print for
display should telephone Erma Brewer or Juanita Clifford at (703) 235-5866
between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays for instructions on how to ship
their artwork. Work should be on the theme of "global change," should be
no larger than 24"x 30", and cannot be sold during the event.
Those wishing to present an educational exhibit should call Michelle
Dauphinais (202) 622-0984.
For other information, call Janet Lee Wright, Chair, American Indian Earth
Day Planning Committee, (202) 720-3434; fax (202) 720-3200; email
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
