native american coalition
It's difficult to draw a comparison between an article about persons in opposition to dam construction in western United States and another article about trends in American consumerism. However, there is an underlying message created in both articles about the current habits of American culture and society. Both articles (Mik Moore's "Coalition Building Between Native American and Environmental Organizations In Opposition to Development" and Juliet Schor's "Cleaning the Closet: Toward a New Fashion Ethic"), discuss the public's ignorance to our culture's disassociation from the environment and how groups of people, an awareness of unique beliefs, and ways of life can bring about a social change. Mik Moore discusses the coalition between the Native Americans tribe of Esselen and environmental organizations in opposition to the New Los Padres Dam, which had been planned for the Carmel River in California. He focuses on the importance of the Native American philosophy as a symbolic resource for activism as well as the different strategies between native and non-native activists to stop the building of the dam. Many organizations and others protested against dam construction in California for reasons that the building of the dam
Non-native dam construction attackers and the Esselen tribes-people were able to form a common bond in the appreciation for and recognition of an ideal relationship with the land. (Moore 293) While the Esselen tribe had their religious beliefs as clout, a movement cannot rely solely on emotions and value without time, money, access to the media, and services of professional resources. Schor doesn't advocate the end of shopping all together but rather she suggests a reestablishment of the values and importance of clothing in cultures as forms of expression and protest. To do this we must become "conscious consumers". We are addicted to mindless purchases and have little attachment to what we actually obtain. It has been mentioned so many times that our culture is so used to a life where everything has a short, one-time use. Schor desires to see people "consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life and promote social justice. She, like Moore, has observed popular societal and cultural trends in the United and has maintained that there is an increase in waste and consumption of commodities, which ultimately devalues the worth and significance of what is being produced or consumed. While everything seems to lack value because of our habits (Schor makes that her claim on consumerism) this is also manifested in the reaction to the building of the New Los Padres Dam where people who opposed the building of the dam because the area had value and worth (non-monitorial) were seen as backwards and in the way of growth. Moore states that "there was an indigenist vision that emphasized connectedness with a communicative and animate natural environment" (Moore 302) and the Native Americans felt that their environment was being seriously abused, as a new dam was a clear indication that their water, a natural resource, was being wasted. He gave the organization of CAWS as an example. Their beliefs as symbolic resources were used in constructing expressively empowering, related frameworks. No policy solutions were suggested and no major corporations were to blame in these articles. Both articles tackle growth in some ways.
Common topics in this essay:
Native Americans,
United Moore,
Padres Dam,
Effectively Moore,
Native American,
,
Esselen Tribe,
Fashion Ethic,
Juliet Schor's,
Movement AIM,
building dam,
dam construction,
environmental organizations,
native americans,
los padres dam,
padres dam,
organizations opposition,
juliet schor's,
growth schor,
value worth,
environmental organizations opposition,
esselen tribe,
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Acceptance Essays
