Reclaiming the Balance, Saving the Future with Winona Laduke

Program Description

“In indigenous cultures, a lot of the nouns are animate, and as such they have standing, they have spirit. They have whole stories. It puts you in a different relationship when you recognize them as being alive.” Winona LaDuke describes life on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota-harvesting maple syrup, organic raspberries, wild rice and game, and organizing politically for land rights and wildlife. She describes the indigenous view of natural beings, and current political issues relating to our relationship with land, animals and each other. Her clear and powerful vision shows us a way to live with respect for the future of the Earth. “There’s a direct relationship between cultural diversity and biodiversity,” says LaDuke, “and sustainability is predicated on both.”

Laduke was the U.S. Green Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 1996, and is the author of the novel Last Standing Woman (Voyageur 1997).

Topics Explored in this Dialogue:

• The importance of cultural diversity
• Seeing objects in nature as alive with spirit and stories
• Life on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota
• The controversy over removing protection of wolves
• What the U.S. founding fathers missed in learning democracy
• Corporate welfare in national forests and waters
• A “Seventh Generation Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution
• A radical definition of conservative thinking
• Winonaís gifted parents, Sun Bear and Betty LaDuke
• The complex issues around Indian casinos
• Restoring the buffalo and the ecosystem of the Great Plains

Program Number: 2738                Host: Michael Toms               Interview Date: 6/20/1998