Synthesis and Response to Indigenous Resistance and Racist Schooling on the Borders of Empires: Coast Salish Cultural Survival

            Michael Marker’s Indigenous Resistance and Racist Schooling on the Borders of Empires: Coast Salish Cultural Survival discusses the causes for the split and assimilation of the Coast Salish people. The Coast Salish people were Native Americans that lived in the same area for thousands of years, until the United States and Canada were created, which caused a split within the population. This split resulted in the Native Americans having difficulties maintaining their different rituals and therefore maintaining their culture as a whole. 

            However, the most detrimental aspect of the two nation’s expansion was the attempts of the United States and Canadian governments to assimilate the Coast Salish people. The two governments created schools that aimed to alter the children’s views on their culture and to change the traditions and values that were upheld by their ancestors. In the schools, the children were treated very harshly and were punished for exhibiting any behaviors that corresponded to their culture.

            Personally, I am outraged that this was ever a problem. The United States was founded as a means to escape religious tyranny, and it seems so hypocritical that the people of this country could not accept the Coast Salish and embrace the differences that they had. 

Food and Sustainability in the Outer Banks

In a majority of restaurants and grocery stores, the food is imported. Despite the open source of seafood, there is a desire for fish that is not native to the Outer Banks, causing a need for importing. Fortunately, there are now efforts being made to eat more locally and create a sustainable environment within the Outer Banks. The local commercial fishing industry formed a partnership called Outer Banks Catch, which provides local seafood to consumers. To help improve sustainability, eighty percent of the Outer Banks belongs to state parks, preserve or wildlife refuge. It is also the only East Coast destination banning the use of plastic bags.


http://www.outerbanks.org/

Environmental Ethics

The "artifact" I selected is a video lecture on environmental ethics. It defines the term as, "The moral relationship of human beings to the environment and its nonhuman contents."This video discusses the question of whether or not it is acceptable for humans to control nature and wipeout entire species. The speaker mentions the point of view that humans were created in God's image, and because we were created as the dominant species, we have the right to control nature. He also discusses the thought that by doing so, we are doing God's work, and that allowing nature to live on its own would be a sin. The speaker, however, does not agree with those thoughts. He feels that a tree should have the "same legal standing as a house." He says that deforestation is like an "environmental genocide." The speaker discusses two philosophers who fought for nature's rights. The first is Aldo Leopald, who said that, "Humans are part of the world and not conquerors of it." The second he mentions is John Muir, who said, "The World does not exist for man's use, but it exists apart from humans as its own community." He contradicted the thoughts mentioned at the beginning of the video by stating that God created all of the other organisms in the world as well, so what makes humans more valuable? The speaker states that he doesn't believe nature will ever have equal rights due to its importance in human life. He feels that human control cannot be eliminated, but he does state that it needs to be limited in order to preserve the world for future generations. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dguYC_qlF48