The Ecological Indian

Ecology is the prime aspect of sustainability in this modern world and nobody ever understood it better than the aboriginal societies. Keep America Beautiful is a video that enumerates this particular honor given to the environment by the aboriginal population, in this case, a tribal Indian. The video depicts a tribal Indian meandering through a pristine brook in his canoe. He reaches the bank of the brook only to find it deposited with rubbish and pollutants. He walks towards a road nearby and finds car drivers throwing garbage carelessly. Tear began to pour out of his eyes (Adcouncil, 2007).

Adcouncil released this video on Aug 6, 2007 in order to create an environmental awareness but it specifically indicated that the aboriginal population is far more ecological than the modern citizen. Shepard Krech’s (2000) book, The Ecological Indian is a similar text on the same topic that clearly identifies the degradation of environment with the advent of western civilization in native countries. He enumerates the systematic utilization of the ecology in the hands of market economy induced society of the modern era and thereby ramification of the environment.

However, Kimberly Tallbear (2000) specifically noted that the problem is not that one sided. He stated that “The fundamental difference between natives and Euro-Americans lies not in being ecological saints versus being the ecological anti-Christ” (p.4). Therefore, it is important to understand that the issue of environment is not about finding a scapegoat or trying to enact a blame game but it is a much more serious issue and should be dealt with maturity and common sense. Thus, the fundament aspect lies in the fact that even if native aborigines are more environmentally friendly and responsive, the modern world should take responsibility and clean the ecological system. It is not because the modern society is responsible of this misdeed but simply because it has the resource to do so.