After attending the Global Indigeneity and Sustainability Seminar, Monday, October 10, 2016 many understandings came to light. The purpose of the seminar series is to promote opportunities for students, community, and faculty to learn about other Indigenous peoples around the world. The seminar has certainly been a learning experience for me and I hope to motivate others to attend the upcoming sessions. Attendees will learn of the wonderful diversity of the world such as, the Sami Indigenous people, who I was informed of on Monday.
Thomas DuBois, a presenter from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talked in length about the culture of the Sami people. The Sami people live in four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Sami are reindeer herders as well as hunter/gatherers. Reindeer husbandry is divided into groups. The bigger herds are allowed to graze on the Scandinavian landscape. Sami use these for meat, fur and antler. Smaller herds, contained on farms, are used for dairy products like milk and cheese. Historically, Sami people moved with the herds of reindeer, practicing a sustainable existence with the animals and land. Families still practice this today coming out of the cities to herd the reindeer for seasonal grazing.
Thomas DuBois talked about the Sami people’s authority on issues concerning culture, cultural heritage, reindeer farming and education. Land use by the Sami belongs to the “crown”(government) and farmers own their lands. Reindeer migration has been disrupted by changing landscape. Governments have built dams and changed borders. The government realizes that having Sami people at the table when decisions are made is better for everyone. Sami people want the government to respect their traditional rights to land and water.
The next speaker Tim Frandy was from Northland College in Ashland, WI. Traditionally Sami relationship with the natural environment is traditional. This relationship was expressed when Tim Frandy related this in a story about “The Winter Moth”.
In 1967, the northern tundra was visited by a moth which ate the bark of the birch tree and soon many of the trees died out. Scientists were alarmed and scrambled to come up with a way to get rid of the moth. When a member of the community was asked about the dilemma he advised that nature would deal with the moth. Scientist predicted the moth would take away a food source for reindeer and result in weight loss. The results were as the traditionalist thought. The reindeer did not lose anything in fact there were fat reindeer! Reindeer eat many types of plants, not just birch and the tree loss gave other vegetation a chance to grow. Moth droppings fertilized the soil and more grass remained good and green under the snow. Sami people used their knowledge gained through traditional and modern practices to adapt to changes in nature while being sustainable.
As we go about our days on Mother Earth, we often hear issues in the news about the environment and the ecosystems we live in. Be mindful; respect and love are the key elements of our world. Celebrate the diversity of our world. The seminars have brought this important lesson to the forefront for me. It amazed me that a people on the other side of the world in Scandinavian countries share attributes that resemble those of natives in Wisconsin. There are many more Global Indigeneity and Sustainability seminars every Monday in the Library Classroom at College of Menominee Nation.
Thomas DuBois, a presenter from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talked in length about the culture of the Sami people. The Sami people live in four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Sami are reindeer herders as well as hunter/gatherers. Reindeer husbandry is divided into groups. The bigger herds are allowed to graze on the Scandinavian landscape. Sami use these for meat, fur and antler. Smaller herds, contained on farms, are used for dairy products like milk and cheese. Historically, Sami people moved with the herds of reindeer, practicing a sustainable existence with the animals and land. Families still practice this today coming out of the cities to herd the reindeer for seasonal grazing.
Thomas DuBois talked about the Sami people’s authority on issues concerning culture, cultural heritage, reindeer farming and education. Land use by the Sami belongs to the “crown”(government) and farmers own their lands. Reindeer migration has been disrupted by changing landscape. Governments have built dams and changed borders. The government realizes that having Sami people at the table when decisions are made is better for everyone. Sami people want the government to respect their traditional rights to land and water.
The next speaker Tim Frandy was from Northland College in Ashland, WI. Traditionally Sami relationship with the natural environment is traditional. This relationship was expressed when Tim Frandy related this in a story about “The Winter Moth”.
In 1967, the northern tundra was visited by a moth which ate the bark of the birch tree and soon many of the trees died out. Scientists were alarmed and scrambled to come up with a way to get rid of the moth. When a member of the community was asked about the dilemma he advised that nature would deal with the moth. Scientist predicted the moth would take away a food source for reindeer and result in weight loss. The results were as the traditionalist thought. The reindeer did not lose anything in fact there were fat reindeer! Reindeer eat many types of plants, not just birch and the tree loss gave other vegetation a chance to grow. Moth droppings fertilized the soil and more grass remained good and green under the snow. Sami people used their knowledge gained through traditional and modern practices to adapt to changes in nature while being sustainable.
As we go about our days on Mother Earth, we often hear issues in the news about the environment and the ecosystems we live in. Be mindful; respect and love are the key elements of our world. Celebrate the diversity of our world. The seminars have brought this important lesson to the forefront for me. It amazed me that a people on the other side of the world in Scandinavian countries share attributes that resemble those of natives in Wisconsin. There are many more Global Indigeneity and Sustainability seminars every Monday in the Library Classroom at College of Menominee Nation.
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