Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and Peoples

Description

It is one of the cruelest ironies of modern times that American Indians| who have lived in close ecological harmony with the earth for thousands of years| are among the primary victims of “ecocide” in today’s polluted world. This book examines the age-old ecological practices of native groups and documents the subsequent destruction| which continues to this day| fueled by the dominant culture’s greed for land and resources.

The authors present a detailed history of human suffering and environmental degradation inflicted on specific Indian populations throughout North America| whose plight| tragically| is typical of what is happening to many other native groups.

The book concludes with the moving testimony of American Indians who have experienced the slow death of their lands| their means of subsistence| and their communities. They speak of Navajo uranium miners who died spitting blood| Akwesasne mothers who carry PCBs in their breast milk| Cree hunters who find freshly killed caribou poisoned and already dying from toxic substances. As the authors note| the destruction continues even as environmentalists begin looking to Native American precedents for solutions to our common global catastrophe.