Indigenous Religious Traditions in Five Minutes - Molly Bassett
45. Do Indigenous Peoples believe plants, animals, and waters have personhood?
Indigenous Religious Traditions in Five Minutes - Molly Bassett
Meaghan Sarah Weatherdon [+]
University of San Diego
Meaghan Weatherdon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. She specializes in the study of Indigenous religions and spiritualities on Turtle Island with a particular focus on intersections between spirituality, youth self-determination, and land-based activism.
Description
What ethical responsibilities and moral imperatives come with designating other-than-human beings as persons? What does it mean for Indigenous Peoples to regard trees, beaver, or moose as their relatives? This article addresses these complex questions by discussing a few key examples in which Indigenous Peoples have drawn on their own spiritual traditions to fight for the legal recognition of other-than-human beings as persons.