editor’s note: part of our stories of alaska series, this piece explores the state through wildlife, plants, and bioindicators, looking at today’s challenges and accomplishments, and signs of what’s to come. click on the photoessay below to see the full story.

part of the root of human caused climate change is that we have forgotten what it means to be native. much of the developed world lives as a conqueror might, giving little to no regard for their local surroundings. if contemporary citizens can reconnect with their surroundings and treat their environments from the perspective of being native, we could see a drastic shift in the impacts of each individual. we could save the world. 

—

sources: the native flute clips were adapted from a piece titled, “native american style flute in a” they can be found on www.freesound.org. it was uploaded by, wood_flutes, and is under creative commons license 4.