Ecocide Is Genocide: Decolonizing the Definition of Genocide

I demonstrate how the destruction of the land, water, and nonhuman beings of the Americas constitutes genocide according to Indigenous metaphysics and through analysis of the decimation of the American buffalo. In Genocide Studies, the destruction of nonhuman beings and nature is typically treated a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genocide studies and prevention 2020-09, Vol.14 (2), p.104-121
Main Author: Eichler, Lauren J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
applied ethics
comparative philosophy
holocaust and genocide studies
indigenous studies
metaphysics
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Summary:I demonstrate how the destruction of the land, water, and nonhuman beings of the Americas constitutes genocide according to Indigenous metaphysics and through analysis of the decimation of the American buffalo. In Genocide Studies, the destruction of nonhuman beings and nature is typically treated as a separate, but related type of phenomenon—ecocide, the destruction of nonhuman nature. In this article I follow in the footsteps of Native American and First Nations scholars to argue that ecocide and the genocide of Indigenous peoples are inextricably linked and are even constitutive of the same act. I argue that if justice is to be achieved for Indigenous peoples through the UN’s ability to prosecute genocide then the definition of genocide needs to, at minimum, include ecocide as a recognized act.
ISSN:1911-0359
1911-9933
DOI:10.5038/1911-9933.14.2.1720