David Suziki on living in a sustainable world

We remain biological creatures dependent on clean air, clean water, clean soil and food, clean energy from the sun, and all of the other species of plants and animals. That's what we depend on to live and to live well. The great opportunity, I believe, the only opportunity today is that we have to shift from an anthropocentric way of seeing the world to an eco-centric, back to the way we've always seen ourselves. And, there are still people who live through eco-centric values, who fight for their territory, which is everything for them and which they feel they have a responsibility to care for. Of course, I'm speaking of Indigenous people all over the world, the only people with a track record of living sustainably for thousands of years. What corporation or government can even claim that for a century or even a decade? None. No corporation or government has a track record of sustainable activity.

I believe we have to rediscover Indigenous values to drive our policies, our strategies, and our actions. And, I'm always amazed that despite all that has been done to them, to stamp out their cultures and their very people out of existence, they are willing to teach and share with us. The principles of UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and the recommendations of the TRC, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are a part of social justice. And we need to have some social justice. But far more important to us, I believe, is that by observing those principles and rights, we have a chance to learn a better way of living on this planet.