Embrace Indigenous knowledge to save our Earth

It’s not a secret to anyone that our world is facing an existential crisis brought on by climate change. But what many people may not know is that embracing the knowledge that Indigenous people have developed over millennia is a key to unlocking a multitude of solutions.

The United States is witnessing catastrophic wildfires that burn entire communities to the ground, flooding that destroys homes and roads, and drought that cripples communities and businesses. This is all the result of centuries of neglect and exploitation of our Earth.

For Indigenous people, caring for our lands and waters is not a fad or campaign. It is who we are, because they are a part of us, and we were a part of them. The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the keyboard that I type on … it all came from the Earth.

Indigenous knowledge of our natural systems sustained people on this continent for thousands of years, reflecting a genuine and vital connection to the Earth. That connection is grounded in the idea that walking softly on the Earth is a responsibility of us all, because we are obligated to future generations.

Our efforts, during Earth month and every month, to care for the lands and waters that sustain us have grown more urgent. Without our planet, we have nothing.

Each day, I count my blessings. I was taught to greet the sun and thank Creator for the Earth that gives us everything we need to live, and to give thanks to our ancestors who made a way for us to be here. I often approach Creator humbly, knowing that I have so much more than I ever need.

I have three siblings and was raised on hand-me-downs by industrious family members who wasted nothing. As I grew older, I was proud of what my parents had taught me. That sentiment has carried me through to this day. Sharing what I can, using only what I must, and ensuring nothing goes to waste.

This idea that we tread lightly on the Earth, only taking what we need and never more, is something that Indigenous people grow up learning. My Pueblo ancestors were some of our country’s first agriculturalists, planting the three sisters, corn, beans and squash, in the quiet valleys and subtle canyons of places like Bears Ears, Gran Quivira, Chaco Canyon and Pecos Pueblo, where spring run offs showed up each year to quench the desert floor, and the thirsts of plants and animals. We preserved food by drying it in the more than 300 days of sun per year that the desert provided. Over generations of observation and care, the Pueblo people learned to live in balance with the harsh desert climate and to thrive.

The commitment to the land and to future generations, informed by the sacrifices of those who came before, drives my work every day.

I am proud to be part of the Biden administration, which is championing a conservation agenda rooted in a similar commitment to our lands and waters now and into the future. We’re using the sun and wind to power our homes and businesses. We’re working with nature, instead of against it, to restore ecosystems and protect communities from the impacts of climate change.

Through President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we’re putting historic resources into restoration and resilience. We’re using the ocean’s power to capture carbon, and we are restoring grasslands to support species important to the balance of entire ecosystems. We’re investing in opportunities to restore bison, salmon and other wildlife critical to Native subsistence. We’re focusing on policy proposals that will help restore a balance to the multiple uses of our public lands that for too long have been dominated by extractive industries. We’re building resilient communities and empowering local leaders to make the best decisions for their people.

We’re doing all of this while recognizing that many communities disproportionately bear the burdens of climate change. We are pursuing environmental justice in everything we do, so that everyone has an opportunity to reap the benefits of this transition — as we mark a new way of thinking about the resources we take from the Earth and how we protect the planet that provides us everything.

After all the destructive eras this nation has lived through, the time for solutions is now. To chart a path for the future, we must look to the past. There is much to learn and honor in how Indigenous people have lived and thrived. The Earth is resilient, and if we listen to it, it will guide our work.