The Wesleyan Argus - LaDuke emphasizes global warming in welcome address

Renowned environmentalist and activist Winona LaDuke welcomed students this year by passionately urging them to think critically about the current global crisis of climate change and the connection between their lives and the environment.
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LaDuke also discussed the background of her people, describing the main teachings of their tradition: equality, reciprocity, and a cyclical view of the natural world. She explained how these beliefs have taught her to see all animals as relatives to be respected, and how her worldview, which embraces natural cycles like those of the tide and the moon, differs from the linear, myopic system that she sees governing too many minds today.
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LaDuke continued to address “peak oil” and energy, critiquing the Bush administration’s support of “clean coal” and nuclear power. She insisted instead that more time and money should be invested in renewable energy.

“It turns out that you can only invade so many countries for oil. We have to come to terms with the fact that we can’t mine fossil fuels anymore,” she said.

On food security, LaDuke spoke about the danger of genetic engineering and the corporate concentration of seed types.

“The question of who now owns [seeds] has become a question of seed slavery,” she said, describing the unsustainable agricultural practices she sees advocated by today’s society.

LaDuke went on to explain how her tribe researched their energy consumption and discovered that they could dramatically reduce their fossil fuel use and energy costs by installing solar heating panels and wind turbines.

“Now every reservation in Northern Minnesota wants a wind turbine,” she said.