Re: Nyerere and Amerindians

	The romanticization of so-called indigenous cultures, like all
romanticization in the service of current ideological positions, serves
neither the cause of indigenous peoples nor world well-being nor
scholarship.  It is patronizing and worse yet, it represents the
imposition of contemporary and largely Euro-Occidental perspectives,
values, and world-views on peoples who are often not contemporary and
more often not Euro-Occidental.  The desire to find all our present-day
ideals universally enshrined in world history and prehistory is humanly
understandable, but profoundly misguided and in the end counterproductive.

	Warren Wagar
	

On Wed, 3 Feb 1999 kpmoseley@juno.com wrote:

> On Nyerere's observation: Well, but the wonderful thing about small
> groups that use things and then move on is that vegetation, game, etc.
> tends to restore itself when they're gone. People who settle are much
> worse... indeed the very fact of their settling may reflect the fact that
> new territory is getting scarce, and it certainly stimulates increased
> fertility, intensified exploitation of resources, etc.  
> 
> On Amerindians: You have a good point. Probably the evidence is mixed.
> But there do seem to be some cultural elements and world views that
> suggest a very benign attitude towards the animal world and so on. Maybe
> the advent of the horse and gun led to harsher attitudes?? I'm way out of
> my depth here, I hasten to add. Perhaps Thomas Hall could add something
> more intelligent on this. 
>