An Indigenous Author Says the Past Holds Answers to Today’s Environmental Crises
When Ailton Krenak walked, barefoot, onto the stage of a packed auditorium during a book festival in Rio de Janeiro, the crowd hushed. He lifted the microphone, sending earsplitting feedback across the room.He took the screech as his cue. People nowadays are too reliant on technology, he said; it is good to be reminded that “we are the ones who speak, not the little gadget.”Krenak, an Indigenous author from Brazil, used the microphone malfunction to launch into one of the main messages of “Ancestral Future,” his new book: Technology often gives people the illusion they’re tackling the crises humanity has unleashed on the planet, he said. Societies should, instead, try to chart the path ahead by looking at what was here before: nature, and ways of living that had all of nature, and not just human beings, at their center.At 70, Krenak, a member of the Krenak Indigenous group of Brazil, has been in public life for decades, as an activist for Indigenous rights, a conservationist and a philosopher. But as the ravages of climate change and the biodiversity crises become more visible in the lives of billions, Krenak has never been more popular.“I could say these things a hundred years from now, and it wouldn’t have any effect. Or a hundred years ago,” he said. It was the overlap of his message with a world in crisis, he added, “that gave it power.”Videos of his lectures and interviews often garner tens of thousands of views. After his talks, older adults and teenagers alike run after him for a picture or an autograph. Many say Krenak’s books have changed how they see nature.Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.
Ailton Krenak was a child when his family was forced to leave their land in Brazil. Now, as a writer, he advocates for a path forward that looks to nature and inherited wisdom.
When Ailton Krenak walked, barefoot, onto the stage of a packed auditorium during a book festival in Rio de Janeiro, the crowd hushed. He lifted the microphone, sending earsplitting feedback across the room.
He took the screech as his cue. People nowadays are too reliant on technology, he said; it is good to be reminded that “we are the ones who speak, not the little gadget.”
Krenak, an Indigenous author from Brazil, used the microphone malfunction to launch into one of the main messages of “Ancestral Future,” his new book: Technology often gives people the illusion they’re tackling the crises humanity has unleashed on the planet, he said. Societies should, instead, try to chart the path ahead by looking at what was here before: nature, and ways of living that had all of nature, and not just human beings, at their center.
At 70, Krenak, a member of the Krenak Indigenous group of Brazil, has been in public life for decades, as an activist for Indigenous rights, a conservationist and a philosopher. But as the ravages of climate change and the biodiversity crises become more visible in the lives of billions, Krenak has never been more popular.
“I could say these things a hundred years from now, and it wouldn’t have any effect. Or a hundred years ago,” he said. It was the overlap of his message with a world in crisis, he added, “that gave it power.”
Videos of his lectures and interviews often garner tens of thousands of views. After his talks, older adults and teenagers alike run after him for a picture or an autograph. Many say Krenak’s books have changed how they see nature.
Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.