Indigeneity: relating to native species (naturally occurring outside of human manipulation), indigenous people (more original to an area relative to newcomers/settlers), political movements (to redress colonial oppression relating to economic marginalization, racial discrimination, and territorial disposition), and indigenous knowledge (the knowledge of human and non-human interactions in a certain region over generations).

Photo taken by me of Nonnie Egbuna

The most intriguing aspect of this word to me was the idea of human and environment interconnectivity. Often times, it is difficult to associate individual actions with the entirety of environmental issues, and this thought process stems from the notion that the environment and the human are in separate spheres. Under the definition of indigeneity is the acknowledgment of that indigenous people play a vital role in the ecology of the areas in which they inhabit. This idea parallels the undeniable truth that the lives of humans impact the environment and in turn the environment impacts the lives of humans.

Through this photo I portray this relationship through obvious visual depictions of the environment and the human. The attitude of my subject (Nonnie) is one of praise representing not only a connection to the environment, but a careful, mutualistic attitude towards the earth that we inhabit. An inclination that would prompt behaviors that promote sustainability and protection. The overwhelming presence of green in this photo depicts a tone of health and growth for the environment, as well as, for Nonnie. Together the subjects – Nonnie and the vines – portray a mutualistic relationship model for the human and the environment that includes growth and health for both parties.

Work Cited

Adamson, Joni; Gleason, William A.; Pellow, David N.. Keywords for Environmental Studies. New York: NYU Press, 2016. Ebook Library. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.

Many people have become motivated to care about ecology (particularly air quality and water quality) because they have or know some who has asthma, cancer, or another illness that is environmentally triggered. Do you or someone you know have health concerns that shape your relationship with the environment?

It has always been intriguing to me the way that people choose to think and behave based on an issue’s closeness to them. An issue can be easily dismissed by people who do not feel an urgent or immediate conscience of said issue. Our perceptions of a situation are impacted by our own personal relationship to the problem at hand. While air and water quality are definitely environmental concerns, the urgency to change public attitudes and behaviors relating to these problems only comes when they are viewed as human health concerns. The fault in this phenomenon of thinking is the initial separation of the environment and humans. The Environment is perceived to be some far off, distant entity that we as individuals have no direct impact on; when in reality, the environment is everything from the air we breathe to the ecological systems that we disrupt with light pollution.

Protestors of Flint Water Crisis (http://www.blackbottomarchives.com/blackpapersocialjustice/2016/10/11/flint-still-doesnt-have-water)

By connecting human life to the environment, there is more of a responsibility felt on our parts to ensure healthy relations and behaviors. My relationship with the environment is undoubtedly shaped by the health of people in areas who are either affected by environmental oppression, or people in nations that have harsh ecological conditions which hinder development. Cox speaks of “sacrifice zones” which are essentially areas in which legislatures feel less responsibility to protect the environment due to the race or socioeconomic status of the people in said region. This discriminatory, illogical thinking strips people of the basic right to a clean, healthy living environment.

Work Cited

Cox, Robert, and Phaedra C. Pezullo. “Chapter 2 Contested Meanings of the Environment.” Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2016. Print.

Name: Alyssa Cleveland

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

(Intended) Major: Environmental Science and Policy and Global Health

Three Topics that Intrigue Me: Tropical Biodiversity, Cultural Anthropology, and Ecology

Most Interesting Bit of News I read (heard) lately: the missing link to sending a man to the moon was Euler’s Method (Hidden Figures movie)