Whenever people begin discussing climate change and the ecological impact humanity has played on the earth, conversation will often naturally approach the topic of dystopian systems. Dystopian literature and media has become incredibly prevalent in our modern society, which makes sense. Considering how much increased awareness we’ve gained on the world and its problems in the last couple centuries, it’s no wonder these apocalyptic scenarios emerge at the forefront of our imaginations. Political dystopias have always been popular and thought-provoking. For example, George Orwell’s 1984 is a chilling description of a totalitarian state that feels all too real in countries like China, and even here in the US with constant surveillance and a lack of privacy. Even more pressing is the environmental dystopia, such as is mentioned in Octavia E Butler’s Parable of the Sower.
And that is why the readings for this week stood out to me so much. According to professor Kyle Whyte, indigenous Americans have experienced a dystopia themselves. The idea of dystopias happening before my time is certainly not news to me. Many cultures and civilization throughout the ages have experienced collapses of their worlds, especially due to political upheaval or even extreme ecological change. And I suppose I intuitively understood that native Americans have gone through a similar process. But to specifically label it as a “dystopia,” and to have it be caused not by natural or environmental factors but through human colonization and destruction is all the more shocking.
But calling it anything other than a dystopian situation would be oversimplifying at best. Entire forests cut down, wild herds of buffalo culled, and civilizations as impressive as anything to be found in the Old World ravaged by disease and war. The culture of these indigenous cultures, which were so attuned to the natural world, has been crushed under the heel of technological progress.
Dystopian literature speaks to our imaginations, of what could go wrong. So realizing that things have already gone wrong, and that these people have already been through the worst, can help raise awareness for what happened. Whyte suggests a myriad of solutions, all of which prioritize the inclusion of native tribes into discussions of environmental preservation and research. These people were here before us, and understood the importance of their natural environment long before any American citizen did. It is imperative we include everyone into the conversation, so that this anthropocentric world we live in can be reevaluated. The dystopia is now, and in fact to some people it has already happened. Now we must rebuild, and fix our mistakes before the dystopia comes for everyone.
Whyte, Kyle. Our Ancestors’ Dystopia Now: Indigenous Conservation and the Anthropocene. Routledge Companion to the Environmental Humanities. https://kylewhyte.marcom.cal.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2018/07/Our_Ancestors_Dystopia_Now_Indigenous_Co3.pdf
Croakey, director. Talking #JustClimate and Decolonising Climate Science with Professor Kyle Whyte. YouTube, 24 Feb. 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbAqnbJTW3Y.
