First Lady Michelle Obama greets Elizabeth Ferguson, 21, of Kotzebue, AK, following her remarks at the Tribal Youth Gathering in support of the Generation Indigenous and Reach Higher initiatives in Washington, D.C., July 9, 2015. Photo by Lawrence Jackson / White House
Columnist Naomi Schaefer Riley, who is writing a book about Indian issues, argues that First Lady Michelle Obama got it wrong when she spoke to Native youth about environmental issues:
It’s hard to make it through a US history textbook without coming across the silly claim that American Indians were the original environmentalists. First lady Michelle Obama even repeated it at last week’s gathering of tribal youth. “Long before the United States was even an idea, your ancestors were harvesting the crops that would feed the world for centuries to come,” she said. “Today on issues like conservation and climate change, we are finally beginning to embrace the wisdom of your ancestors.” Embracing the wisdom of your ancestors? Really? Has Mrs. Obama discovered some ancient Indian text that predicted the melting of the glaciers? Sorry: There’s little evidence that Indians had any fundamentally different understanding of the environment than any other people on Earth. Which is to say, when resources were scarce, Native Americans worked to conserve them. When they weren’t, they didn’t.Get the Story:
Naomi Schaefer Riley: No, Native Americans *weren’t* the original environmentalists (The New York Post 7/14) Related Stories:
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