Professor Brian Burkhart will give a talk on how reconceptualizing the land can be pivotal in addressing ecocide, but only when rooted in a dialogue that recognizes the land both as the foundation of settler-colonial operations and as the source of Indigenous liberation. By focusing on the land, Burkhart seeks to underscore its material, conceptual, and ontological significance for Indigenous peoples, as central to their knowledge systems, values, and ways of being. He will address Indigenous methods of resistance, such as the ’trickster’ approach to epistemic justice and the resurgence of land-based practices, which are central themes in Burkhart’s book Indigenizing Philosophy through the Land (2019). These practices reveal the deep relationality between humans and more-than-human kin, with the land serving as the grounding force for these relationships.  

After the talk, our expert panel will discuss the Indigenous critique on the colonial power dynamics that frequently obscure Indigenous environmentalism by imposing settler-colonial narratives that marginalize or erase Indigenous knowledge systems and relationships with the land. Entering into a meaningful dialogue with decolonial thought, they dive into the specific distinctions, positionalities and encounters between these different ways of knowing. Ultimately, the speakers will chart a path toward epistemic, ontological, and moral sovereignty for Indigenous peoples, offering a vision for self-determined Indigenous futures deeply rooted in a profound connection to the land.