Sustainability:
The Sign of the Times
Jose H. Lucero

UN BE OG DIN DE (With your respect)

Greetings. I am Jose H. Lucero of the White Corn family and Winter clan from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. I speak in part from the collective thoughts and wisdom of my traditional elders, which they have entrusted me to share with you now.

There is a short story of two indigenous elders standing on the side of the road holding a sign that read, “The End Is Around the Bend.” Shortly a tour bus full of
eco-tourists passed and the people laughed and joked about the two crazy men. Next the elders heard screams and a great crash. One elder turned to his companion and said, “Maybe we should change our sign to read, ‘Caution: Bridge Out’.”

Indeed, there is inherent danger when people choose to ignore signs. In 1854, Chief Seattle wrote to the President of the United States and said, “Continue to contaminate your bed and one day you will suffocate in your own waste.” Perhaps nowhere in time has this statement been more relevant than today. Despite the signs, we have contaminated our world in many ways and are only now seeing that we, along with our world, are suffocating.

Recently the concept of sustainability has become quite important. When examining this concept we must ask ourselves one question: Exactly who sustains whom? There is only one Earth, whom we call “mother,” who sustains us. We, as her children, cannot do the sustaining. The Earth would survive, and more than likely thrive, without us. We would not be so fortunate without the Earth. The Creator, through Mother Earth, has gifted us with all we need to survive. However, instead of protecting and carefully utilizing these gifts, we have exploited and wasted them.

The causes of this are many. We have become distracted by drugs and alcohol, gambling, political power, and even technology. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium with the natural world. The end result is catastrophic damage to Mother Earth such as the depletion of natural resources as well as the creation of massive problems like global warming.

Scientists estimate that since the last ice age, the Earth has continued to sustain us for approximately 10,000 years. However, within less than 300 years, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, we have all but drained Mother Earth of her resources. While we recognize this, the majority of people choose to ignore the signs and continue to live in a “throwaway world,” acting as if there is nothing wrong, and continuing to demand more from the Earth.

There is no doubt that a great number of people have heard of the global warming crisis. The rate of increase in carbon dioxide levels is truly terrifying.