Page - 220 - in Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change

220 emphasises the importance of understanding and incorporating an indigenous worldview to achieve long-term sustainability. He repeats an admonishment from Tewa elders to “look to the mountain”, that is, to think about the impact on future generations over thousands of years. He argues that “Indian kinship with the land, its climate, soil, water, mountains, lakes, forests, streams, plants, and animals has literally determined the expressions of an American Indian theology [of place]” (Cajete 1999, p.  3). Grim (2001) asserts that most native peoples share a perception that non-human beings are equal in status with humans, that all life exists in familial relationships, and that these relationships are sustained in ritually prescribed ways that often con- serve biodiversity. While “there is no one ‘indigenous’ view on religion and ecol- ogy… spiritual relationships established between native peoples and their homelands” often foster ecological commitments and activism, including biodiver- sity conservation (Grim 2001, p. xxxiv). For example, the indigenous Ifugao Igorots of the Philippines conduct rituals led by a native priest to control rice pests, thus preserving plant species on which the Igorots rely for food. Additionally, the Ifugao believe that “nature spirits” inhabit trees and stones in forests and watersheds, which are “centers of biodiversity,” including over 200 plant varieties (Tauli- Corpuz 2001, p.  295). Furthermore, indigenous groups value reciprocity. They care for the land, and thus their health, including spiritual well-being, is maintained. K.  Wilson (2003) writes of the importance of tangible places for maintaining the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health of individuals and communities among the Anishinabek (Ojibway and Odawa) living in northern Ontario, Canada. She sum- marises this as: Activities such as hunting and harvesting are not only of nutritional benefit, which supports physical health, they also allow individuals to connect spiritually with Mother Earth, the Creator and spirits while being on the land. This is important because it allows individuals to pursue simultaneously physical and spiritual connections to the land that are important for emotional and mental health (Wilson, K. 2003, p.  90). Many native peoples have engaged  – and continue to engage  – in  local ecological activism to preserve their lands, cultures and spiritual traditions, struggles that often preserve biodiversity. For example, in the 1970s the James Bay Cree in Quebec taught non-natives their spiritual worldview and formed a coalition to oppose a hydroelectric dam that threatened Cree hunting spaces and lifeways (Feit 2001). The dam threatened the destruction of many species on which  the Cree rely for sustenance and cultural vitality as well as the ancestral homeland where Cree spirits live alongside them. More recently, Native Hawaiians protested the construction of a new telescope on Mauna Kea because it was to be located on a sacred mountain that is rich in biodiversity and home to important native deities. In Nigeria and other West African countries, native African religious traditions have blended with African Christian churches to support tree-planting projects, including developing “inter-religious rituals” that “tap salient aspects of indigenous knowledge” and add “conscious, proactive conservation” of biodiversity (Kalu 2001, p.  242). K. N. Irvine et al.