Bioneers

For many, Thanksgiving is one of the only times America’s first peoples are mentioned in school, but they are portrayed as sidekicks, to the real heroes, the pilgrims. ?? Let's flip the script. Join the movement to celebrate the real history of #Thanksgiving. We can take back Thanksgiving and celebrate it through new traditions that honor the true origins of this beautiful time of year. Explore Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program’s compilation of resources, videos and curriculum here: https://buff.ly/48zqgsM #DecolonizeThanksgiving #CombatErasure #Indigeneity

?? By affording rights to its iconic waves, a Brazilian city is paving a new path to marine protection. Linhares, Brazil, a world-renowned surf destination, has legally recognized its prized waves as living beings, granting them the inherent right to exist, continue to form naturally and be restored. Learn about this significant news for ocean ecosystems in this following article written by Isabella Kaminski for Hakai Magazine https://buff.ly/4i2ThkZ

Whose land are you on? ?? A fundamental task for non-Indigenous people who want to be better allied with Indigenous people is to learn whose land they are currently living on. Alexis Bunten (Aleut/Yup’ik), Co-Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program, explains: “Learn the name of the Native Peoples of the place you live, and acknowledge that you are in their ancestral territory. In your opening words to the Thanksgiving meal, you might make it a new tradition to say something like the following: “We are thankful to live on the Monterey Peninsula, the ancestral territory of the Rumsen Ohlone peoples.’” Identifying the Nation native to the land you live on can foster gratitude, humility and open doors to learning more about the history of colonial dispossession.? Explore the map ???? https://buff.ly/4eEn2FT #TribalSovereignty #NativeLands #WhoseLandAmIOn #DecolonizingThanksgiving

Check out what our Indigeneity Program co-director Dr. Alexis Bunten is up to! #DecolonizingThanksgiving #Indigeneity #TrueStoryofThanksgiving

The pop culture story of the First Thanksgiving, often told to children in grade school, is a myth. ??? To unveil the true story of what happened at the First Thanksgiving, and how Indigenous lives have been affected ever since, Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program’s Alexis Bunten (Aleut/Yup’ik) hosted a conversation with Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy), the Akomawt Educational Initiative’s Director of Education. “We use the word ‘decolonize’ a lot, and that has a lot of application in what we do. But really what we do at Akomawt is re-indigenize history,” Newell said. “We need to make Native Peoples once again human in the history of this country, to add our perspective of how this country was formed.” ?? Read the full interview:?https://lnkd.in/gwiy-WTn #IndigenousHistory #NativeAmericanHistory #Decolonize #Thanksgiving

After the election I know many folks are still feeling anxious about what is to come, especially those who work on environmental rights and climate change issues. Even though I am a young millennial, so much has changed in my life for Indigenous people on Turtle island. Seeing how much progress we have made in advocating for our rights and the rights of nature gives me hope. November is #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth so lets keep our spirits up and honor all the hard work happening in Indian country. It was a pleasure to be a guest lecturer this summer for Bioneers online course, "Indigenizing the Law: Tribal Sovereignty & the Rights of Nature. Britt Gondolfi did an amazing job assembling so many fantastic advocates working on the Rights of Nature. Check out this highlight Reel by Bioneers that spotlights some of the guest lecturers, like myself :) , and my colleague Samantha Skenandore, Managing Partner for the Midwest office at Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP, Native Law Group.

Imagine meeting a creature that feels both familiar and alien — one that observes you as intently as you do it. ?? When marine biologist Danna Staaf first locked eyes with an octopus at age 10, she was spellbound. This creature, with its shape-shifting body and expressive gaze, sparked a lifelong fascination with cephalopods, the group of marine beings that includes octopuses, squid and their relatives. Years later, Staaf has dedicated her career to exploring their secrets. She went on to earn a doctoral degree in biology from Stanford University, where she studied baby squid, and authored “The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives: A Natural History of Cephalopods,” “Monarchs of the Sea,” “The Lady and the Octopus” and “Nursery Earth.” In this conversation with Bioneers, Staaf shares insights on how her early encounter shaped her work and discusses the captivating characteristics of cephalopods that continue to motivate her research and writing. ???? Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9yfFztF #Cephalopods #Octopuses #Squid #MarineBiology

Instead of the notion that humans are the dominant environmental force on Earth, bio-scientist Predrag B. Slijep?evi? has another story to tell — one that puts microbes at the center. In his book, “Biocivilisations: A New Look at the Science of Life,” Slijep?evi? writes that as organisms with far greater evolutionary experience than us, microbes, fungi, plants and other animals can teach us valuable lessons. Life, after all, existed without humans for more than 99.99% of the Earth’s existence. Take humans out of the equation, and the biosphere’s natural trajectory would continue. But take microbes out, and the whole thing would collapse. “It is a constant reminder that humans are non-essential by-products of what mostly amounts to microbial evolutionary games,” Slijep?evi? writes. He notes that microbes, for their part, are virtually everywhere — deep in the oceans, high on mountain peaks, amongst tropospheric clouds, in every kind of forest and even in our bodies. In this excerpt from chapter one of “Biocivilisations,” Slijep?evi? describes the basic elements of microbial biocivilization – language, mind and memory – and shows how almost all elements of human civilization have precursors in the bacterial world. ?? Read more: https://buff.ly/4eBMk7A Chelsea Green Publishing #Bacteria #CellularCommunication #Microorganisms #IntelligenceInNature

Combat erasure by telling the real story of Thanksgiving around the table. ???? Bioneers is committed to decolonizing Thanksgiving, by recognizing and sharing the truth of what this holiday means for Native Americans and all Americans. Join the movement to celebrate the real history of Thanksgiving, start conversations with your family and friends, and create new traditions. Explore resources, videos and curriculum here: https://buff.ly/48zqgsM #DecolonizeThanksgiving #CombatErasure #Indigeneity