An Indigenous Perspective on the Anthropocene: The Neglected Other Story of Crawford Lake
On Tuesday June 11, 2024 Randy Kritkausky will present “A Native American's Indigenous Perspective on the Anthropocene” as a part of the University of Vienna’s Welcome to the Anthropocene lecture series (see https://www.forum-anthropozaen.com/de/kooperationen/van-universitaet-wien-2024). Lectures are available on zoom, register for free here (https://www.forum anthropozaen.com/de/kooperationen/van-universitaet-wien-2024).
Kritkausky will present information about pre-European Indigenous settlements at Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada. This lake was identified by the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) as its “golden spike” epitomizing the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch. That effort prompted him to write an open letter to the AWG (see: http://www.ecologia.org/news/AnthropoceneOpenLettertoAWG.pdf) outlining his concerns as an Indigenous person and as an environmental activist of many decades. The letter appeared as a featured commentary in Native News Online ( see: https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/anthropocene-will-not-overwrite-or-erase-indigenous-history-for-now).
The lecture does not reject the work of the AWG nor the concept of an Anthropocene. It will argue that the designation was premature and it presents social, cultural, and philosophical complications that have not been thought through. Kritkausky will present an alternate path forward for the AWG as it sorts through the challenges it now faces after a surprising vote to reject the Anthropocene designation at this time.
The lecture is one hour with another hour for questions and answers. Lectures begin at 5 pm CET and 11 am New York Time.
Randy Kritkausky is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized tribe in the USA. He is the co-founder of ECOLOGIA, an international environmental NGO (http://www.ecologia.org/) co-host of Indigenous Perspectives podcast (http://www.ecologia.org/news/indigpers.html) , and author of Without Reservation: Awakening to Indigenous Spirituality and the Ways of our Ancestors.