Earth Day today and we celebrate with this film presented by the Akwesasne Freedom School, located in St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, Akwesasne, New York, dedicated to
the preservation of native language and cultures, dedicated to respect for, understanding, and preservation of, Mother Earth.
Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen (this “Thanksgiving Address”, or “Opening Address”) is, they declare, “a message for the world, reminding us to walk gently on the Earth and live in reciprocity with one another. What we do to one part of the web of life, we do to ourselves.”
The film was directed by Konwanahktotha Alvera Sargent and Jess Lowe Chaverri
Translation (the inclusion of English sub-titles) by Kiokwirokton Mitchell & Helen Phillips
Ever more essential, no, crucial, to be addressing these issues.
For previous postings on Earth Day on the Allen Ginsberg Project – see here, here and here
and, for Beat aficionados and eco-warriers, a quick shout-out for this book (published just last year (by an academic press, and only in hardback, so a tad over-expensive, but still well worth obtaining) – Chad Weidner‘s Greening Bohemia :
“Greening Bohemia”, the publishers write, “is the first book to connect diverse Beat Generation literature to environmental concerns..(It) shows the Beats’ varied environmental contributions. It (furthermore) challenges the boundaries of Beat literature by including sometimes marginal voices in the discussion..”. It proposes that “Beat writing contains deep insights into the human-nature relationship, critiques of consumerism, spiritual quests, and a vision for a more harmonious future human existence, (placing) the Beat Generation in a larger ecological and cultural narrative, emphasizing its lasting impact, and encouraging readers to (perhaps) reconsider its legacy.”