Environmental activist and acoustic artist Dana Lyons yesterday urged an alliance between members of the environmental movement and indigenous peoples in order to combat the current destruction of the earth's resources.
Lyons delivered his speech, titled "The Ethics and Philosophy of the Radical Environmental Movement," to about 30 students in 13 Carpenter Hall.
He pointed out that the land upon which Dartmouth lies was seized by white colonists from the Abenaki Native American tribe without a proper treaty and joked that tuition might go up if the College were to pay the rightful owners of the land to use it.
Lyons said a common misconception of the modern environmental movement is that it is solely composed of middle-class whites. But many indigenous people are getting arrested and their leaders are being killed for protesting environmental infringements of their people, he said.
Lyons said an area of forest the size of a football field is cut down every second, one-third of the world's species will be extinct by the year 2005 and the ozone layer continues to be depleted.
"If we're going to survive we have to live sustainably," Lyons said. "We are part of an interconnected web. Every living thing is important."
Lyons then played a tune on his acoustic guitar and sang a humorous song about cows and the environment.
He urged action to protect the environment by giving money to local environmental groups. He asked students to confront the forces contributing to the environmental decline with boycotts and constructive projects.
While Lyons asserted his commitment to nonviolence and respect for other groups, he said it is sometimes justifiable to do something technically illegal if all other channels have been exhausted.
Lyons concluded, "The whole thing behind the radical environmental movement ... is the issue of sacredness ... What are you willing to fight to defend? What are you willing to die to defend?"
Later last night Lyons played more acoustic songs and sang his environmental lyrics at the Lone Pine Tavern in the Collis Student Center.
The lecture was co-sponsored by the Environmental Studies Division of the Dartmouth Outing Club and the Environmental Studies Department.
