Invitation to a yarning with Tyson Yunkaporta and Jeremy Lent

As people get ever more discouraged by our civilization’s seemingly unstoppable acceleration toward climate breakdown and ecological devastation, they turn increasingly to the traditional wisdom of Indigenous peoples, recognizing that their values offer a life-affirming alternative to those of the dominant culture.

But what, exactly, can those of us raised in Western, consumer lifestyles actually learn from Indigenous values? Aboriginal scholar Tyson Yunkaporta, a member of the Apalech Clan in Queensland who carves traditional tools and weapons, published in 2019 a phenomenal bestseller Sand Talk, with the subtitle “How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World.” His book is paradigm-shifting—bringing a crucial Indigenous perspective to issues of history, education, money, and power, and offering a new template for living.

Tyson, though, will be the first to tell you not to get carried away by clichés like “Indigenous wisdom,” explaining with a chuckle that the subtitle to his book was imposed on him by the publisher!

If you’re interested to explore the broader possibilities of applying life-affirming values to our entire society, I invite you to join me in a Masterclass hosted by Earth Charter International on Thursday, May 12 at 11:00 am Pacific on Envisioning an Ecological Civilization.

Register for Event

About the Speakers

Tyson Yunkaporta is a member of the Apalech Clan in far north Queensland, as well as an academic, an arts critic, and a senior research fellow in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University in Melbourne. He carves traditional tools and weapons, and in 2019 published the phenomenal bestseller Sand Talk (with that infamous subtitle: “How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World.”): A paradigm-shifting book that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability—and offers a new template for living.

Links:

Tyson’s academic page at Deakin University

Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

Jeremy Lent, is an author and speaker whose work investigates the underlying causes of our civilization’s existential crisis, and explores pathways toward a life-affirming future. His recent book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, offers a foundation for an integrative worldview that could lead humanity to a sustainable, flourishing future. He has written extensively about the vision of, and pathways toward, an ecological civilization.

Links:

Jeremy’s website

The Web of Meaning: UK/Australia edition.