Decolonizing environmental justice: interrogating the limitations of the anthropocene in embracing indigenous cosmologies. With a focus on Māori lives in Aotearoa.
- Author
- Costa L
- Year
- 2024
- Pages
- 11 pp
- Summary
- Life is centered around continuous motion. Consistent connections communicate a "universal reality" in biological patterns of living organisms, perpetual cycles in ecosystems, and ever-changing interactions with the environment (Nuku, 2024). Aotearoa (New Zealand), much like all of Austronesia, was founded on Indigenous principles for hundreds of years. The effects of English colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries included the widespread depletion of languages, the imposition of European legal and political systems, and foreign technologies. The Māori indigenous community occupying the land endeavored to safeguard their values, knowledge, and reciprocal connections based on whakapapa (genealogy) and connection to their land, rivers, mountains, and other resources (Parsons, Fisher and Crease, 2021, p. 94). Despite barriers, Māori continue to play an important role in shaping Aotearoa's cultural, social, and political landscape, contributing to the country's multicultural identity today. In this paper, I will discuss the Anthropocene's origins before moving on to its environmental implications in Aotearoa. Following that, an examination of decolonizing environmentalism takes place, demonstrating the divergent perspectives between Māori and Western worldviews. The study concludes by looking into the conceptual limitations of the Anthropocene, as well as how we can use Indigenous ontologies to better understand climate change.