Lifeworlds

Today I’m joined by Abhayraj Naik, a lawyer and activist-academic who teaches interdisciplinary courses on climate, environment, justice, law, policy, and research methods in universities across India. We discuss the trajectory of the Rights of Nature in India, and how this legal approach differentiates itself from other forms of environmental law. Abhayraj shares why the Rights of Nature can catalyse entirely new world views on the human relationship to nature, and the thrilling, often philosophical, new sets of questions they unleash (who gets to speak on behalf of nature? How might one cross examine nature?). We engage in a fun thought experiment on who should at the table when creating representation for natural beings, the skills required to implement such laws, the Rights of the River Ganga, and how the RON movement intersects with other religious or indigenous cultural traditions. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/lawabhayraj-naik Show Links: Law’s Nature paper Initiative for Climate Action Kalpavriksh and the larger Vikalp Sangam network (great work in the rights of nature space in India, my collaborators Shrishtee Bajpai and Ashish Kothari in particular focus on this there)Inner Climate Academy Rights of Rivers South Asia AllianceGlobal Alliance for the Rights of NaturePeople’s science movement from state of KeralaEcocide Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wonderful father-daughter duo of Dr John Borrows and Lindsay Borrows explore questions such as: Is law a noun or a verb? How can we read the archive of the law that is written upon the Earth? What exactly is indigenous law, and how can it serve to revitalise colonial law? John Borrows has transformed Canada’s understanding of how indigenous and non-indigenous law can co-exist and created the world's first dual Indigenous law program at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. His publications include Recovering Canada; The Resurgence of Indigenous Law and Drawing Out Law. He is the 2017 Killam Prize winner in Social Sciences and the 2019 Molson Prize Winner from the Canada Council for the Arts, the 2020 Governor General’s Innovation Award. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020. John is a members of the Chippewa First Nation in Ontario, Canada. Lindsay Keegitah Borrows is mixed-rooted Anishinaabe and a citizen of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation. She is a lawyer, writer and teacher, whose work aims to support Indigenous communities to revitalize their traditional laws for application in contemporary contexts. She has worked with many legal traditions including Anishinaabe, Haíɫzaqv, Mi’kmaq, nuučaan̓uł, St’át’imc, Denezhu, Tsilhqot’in and Māori. She has worked as a lawyer at the Indigenous Law Research Unit (University of Victoria Faculty of Law), and at West Coast Environmental Law. She is a new professor at Queen's University Faculty of Law. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/lawjonandlindsay Show Links: University Victoria Joint Degree in Indigenous Law:   Dark Matter Labs article Otter’s Journey through Indigenous Language and Law Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Dr John Borrows, Lindsay Borrows & Abhayraj Naik. This week we’re traveling from British Columbia to Bangalore, exploring two different legal systems that are revolutionizing the very foundations of our global system of law. In transforming how we advocate and litigate on behalf of nature, these approaches require legal professionals to develop a whole new series of skills and sensibilities which revolve around translating the lifeworlds of other beings. The wonderful daughter-father duo of Lindsay and John Borrows will talk about indigenous law systems in Canada. They are both lawyers and members of the Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario. John created the world's first dual Indigenous law program at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, and Lindsay’s work supports Indigenous communities in revitalizing their traditional laws for contemporary contexts. What I found so astonishing about this conversation is how indigenous law is written in the land itself, as a verb, a living being. Nature is the professor. Their case laws brim with interspecies stories.We’ll then jump into the Rights of Nature with Abhayraj Naik. The Rights of Nature is a legal tool, now present in over 15 countries and 50 cities around the world, that confers the rights usually given to human beings over to other forms of life. Why does this matter? Put quite bluntly, under the current system of law in almost every country, nature is our slave. He’ll get into some fascinating components of the RON in India and the thrilling, often philosophical, new sets of questions they open up. Abhayraj is an activist-academic legal practitioner, co-founder of the Initiative for Climate Action, and holds degrees from the National Law School of India University and the Yale Law School.Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/ecocentriclaw Show Links:University of Victoria Joint Degree in Indigenous LawDark Matter Labs article Otter’s Journey through Indigenous Language and LawRights of Rivers South Asia AllianceGlobal Alliance for the Rights of NaturePeople’s science movement from state of KeralaEcocideLaw’s Nature paperInitiative for Climate Action Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Herb’s career in British Columbia has centered on forestry, land based communities and natural systems. From his work as a conventional forester he went all the way to launching an embodied learning forestry school and The Silva Forest Foundation, which he ran with his wife for 30 years. They developed over 25 nature-based plans across Canada, and around the world, upending ways that large landscape management was done by communities.In our conversation, we speak about the role of intuition and heart based thinking in developing nature-directed communities, how you get everyone on board, and the differences in indigenous thinking when it comes to forests. We also touch on the absurdity of exporting wood pellets for ‘biofuels’, how decaying wood acts as a natural sponge cleaning precious water, why “sustainable” forestry is not so sustainable, and his experience of getting the skeptical to hug a tree.Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/natureplansherbhammondShow Links:Silva Forest FoundationBook: David Korten’s Change The Story, Change the FutureBook: Maintaining Whole Systems on Earth's Crown by Herb HammondLook out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes.Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Tara Martin, a scientist blending data science with intuition, discusses conservation decision science, including saving a preserved island for indigenous stewards. She talks about the importance of art, beauty in conservation, the role of salmon, and ancient plant Camasiella linii. Tara highlights advocacy for other species, reimagining decision-making processes, and engaging indigenous values and art in conservation efforts.

With Dr Tara Martin & Herb Hammond. Today we are joined by Dr. Tara Martin and Herb Hammond, who have pioneered fascinating methods in developing large-scale maps and management plans for biodiverse, high-priority conservation landscapes. What really sets them apart is their ability to integrate both cutting edge Western science and indigenous worldviews, a synthesis called "two-eyed seeing." In these interviews, they debunk the misguided idea that separating humans from nature is the best way to restore and manage ecosystems, and show instead how human touch is vital in tending to the land. Tara and Herb are bridge builders, between the hard data science and predictive modelling, between governments and policy, along with private investment, and most importantly, the lived realities on the ground. Dr Tara Martin is a scientist, professor, and the founder of the Martin Conservation Decisions Lab at the University of British Columbia. We cover the basics of conservation decision science and “priority threat management” (a tool she’s pioneered) and discuss her lab’s work with First Nations across Canada, especially in the Fraser River Estuary, along with the role of art and beauty. Peppered throughout the interview are glorious descriptions of the eco-cultural landscapes that she’s worked tirelessly to protect. Herb Hammond is one of the most respected elders in the space of nature-based planning. Herb started out as a conventional forester but soon became dispirited with the destructive practices of the industry, and went on to found The Silva Forest Foundation which he ran with his wife Susie for 30 years. Over the course of their career they’ve developed over 25 large scale nature-directed plans for Canada and around the world, upending ways that landscape management is conceived and implemented.Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/naturebasedplansShow Links:Tara Martin Decisions LabResearch: Frasier River Estuary RELAW: West Coast Environmental LawBriony Penn Ecological Art Silva Forest FoundationBook: David Korten’s Change The Story, Change the FutureBook: Maintaining Whole Systems on Earth's Crown by Herb HammondLook out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes.Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Without being awake in our bodies We can’t feel how our bodies belong to this earth Feel the touch of the world upon you. This one I will keep brief, and allow the practice to speak for itself. Find a quiet place where you will be undisturbed for half an hour. If you can be outdoors, that’s even better. And settle in, allow yourself to be guided and drift into deep connection with the forces of our home planet.Recorded in the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica -- thank you to all the birds and creatures who feature in this episode. I hope I have your consent.Episode Link Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a beautiful conversation with Joe Martin, who is also known by his traditional name Tutakwisnapšiƛ. We speak about his work as a master canoe and totem pole carver, and role as an elder in his community. Joe is a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation living in Tofino, Vancouver Island, and has carved over seventy canoes made from ancient trees. He has sparked a revitalization of this ancient art form in his own community and among neighboring nations in the Pacific Northwest. In our talk, Joe describes how indigenous totem poles serve as visual living texts of natural laws of the land. He shares outlines of the learnings that are handed down in his tradition, from the land to grandparents to children. We learn about the teachings of the wolf, why bears are related to women’s puberty rituals, and how animals show us to only take what we need, and not for our greed. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/indigenousviewjoemartin Show Links: Film: The Canoe MakerBook: Making a Chaputs, The Teachings and Responsibilities of a Canoe MakerBC Achievement Award, Joe MartinJoe’s Facebook page Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A delightful yarn with Tyson Yunkporta, Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of Sand Talk. Tyson is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland, Australia. On this episode we discuss: How their systems lab aggregates data and knowledge through indigenous sense-making protocols “Avatar Depression” syndrome and how the West may begin to remember its own aboriginal knowledge How giving names to nature can either kill, or create kinship The role of ceremony in maintaining energy flows.. And why ceremony isn’t always such an enjoyable matter! Why baramundi is not the correct name for a saltwater fish, and why biomimicry doesn’t work quite as well as we may think How land seen as capital becomes a dying land And finally, what happens when the dress rehearsal for an epic ceremony actually becomes the real thing! Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/indigenousviewtysonyunkaporta Show Links: Deakin University Indigenous Knowledges Systems LabSand Talk bookIndigenous AI LabThe Other Others podcast Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Tyson Yunkaporta & Joe Martin (Tutakwisnapšiƛ). Today we’re joined by two master indigenous scholars and artists, who will be laying down clues from their ancestral cultures on how to interpret and read the laws of the land. Our first conversation is what he likes to call a yarn, with Tyson Yunkporta, Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland, Australia. Tyson is the author of the book Sand Talk which was wildly successful, and I reckon part of its popularity is the way that Tyson is able to pack in such punchy wisdom along with his sharp-witted, trickster humor. We discuss how their lab collects data and knowledge through a very special indigenous sense-making protocol, and then applies it to issues like economic reform, broken landscapes, cyber safety and neuroscience. We delve into the importance of engaging with place, why a real ceremony is not all fun and games, and how the west can quit longing and start acting in rediscovering its own indigeneity.  We’ll then visit wisdom holder and elder Joe Martin, who will be speaking to us from British Columbia. Joe is a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and is a master canoe and totem pole carver, with over seventy canoes having been whittled and chiselled away by his hands. Just earlier this July, he and his community raised a new totem pole in ceremony at the ancient village of Opitsaht which depicts his family’s teachings of natural law. I’ve uploaded videos of the totem poles in the show notes, where you can see how each pole carries millennia old myths, stories and teachings about the human relationship with forces like the bear, wolf, raven, sun, moon and stars.  I hope that both of these conversations will entice you to uncover and excavate your own family lineage, all the brimming folk tales and myths and lifeworlds held by your people and the land where your blood and cosmologies sprouted from. Episode Website Link: lifeworld.earth/episodes/indigenousview  Show Links: Deakin University Indigenous Knowledges Systems LabSand Talk bookIndigenous AI LabThe Other Others podcastFilm: The Canoe MakerBook: Making a Chaputs, The Teachings and Responsibilities of a Canoe MakerBC Achievement Award, Joe MartinJoe’s Facebook page Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes. Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd & The Rising by Tryad CCPL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.