55 min
Cultural survival through reclaiming language and land, with author Jay Griffiths Mongabay Newscast
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- Nature
Today’s guest is Jay Griffiths, award-winning author of several books, including the acclaimed Wild: An Elemental Journey. She speaks with co-host Rachel Donald about the importance of language for preserving communities and their cultures, the impact of colonization and globalization on Indigenous communities, and the innate human connection with the natural world in the land of one's birth.
Roughly 4,000 of the world’s 6,700 languages are spoken by Indigenous communities, but multiple factors (such as the decimation of human rights) continue to threaten their existence along with their speakers’ cultures.
The guest also explores parallels between humans, nature and culture: “There’s great research that suggests that we learned ethics from wolves [by taking] an attitude to the world of both me the individual, and of me the pack member,” in caring for all members of the group, she says.
Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
Image credit: Kali Biru (Blue River) on Waigeo Island in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler
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Timecodes
(00:00) Introduction
(01:45) The power of language
(09:03) Colonialism and globalization
(17:40) The trickster in myth to modern governance
(23:24) Reclaiming belonging
(20:27) Championing Indigenous voices
(34:45) Against mechanic modernity
(40:35) West Papua, a brief explainer
(46:22) Land and identity
(51:50) A world of climate refugees
Today’s guest is Jay Griffiths, award-winning author of several books, including the acclaimed Wild: An Elemental Journey. She speaks with co-host Rachel Donald about the importance of language for preserving communities and their cultures, the impact of colonization and globalization on Indigenous communities, and the innate human connection with the natural world in the land of one's birth.
Roughly 4,000 of the world’s 6,700 languages are spoken by Indigenous communities, but multiple factors (such as the decimation of human rights) continue to threaten their existence along with their speakers’ cultures.
The guest also explores parallels between humans, nature and culture: “There’s great research that suggests that we learned ethics from wolves [by taking] an attitude to the world of both me the individual, and of me the pack member,” in caring for all members of the group, she says.
Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
Image credit: Kali Biru (Blue River) on Waigeo Island in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler
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Timecodes
(00:00) Introduction
(01:45) The power of language
(09:03) Colonialism and globalization
(17:40) The trickster in myth to modern governance
(23:24) Reclaiming belonging
(20:27) Championing Indigenous voices
(34:45) Against mechanic modernity
(40:35) West Papua, a brief explainer
(46:22) Land and identity
(51:50) A world of climate refugees
55 min