Animistic pragmatism and native ways of knowing: Adaptive strategies for responding to environmental change and overcoming the struggle for food in the Arctic

Abstract

Future-regarding norms appear to be an essential ingredient in motivating adaptive management strategies in the wake of climate change. These norms have always played a part in the 'ecosophy' or ecological-philosophy of Alaska Native Peoples in the Arctic, such as the Inupiat of Seward Peninsula. This kind of animistic pragmatism reflects 'distributed cognition,' a special source of practical wisdom that spans over thousands of years and which has been instrumental in the Inupiat's struggle to survive and thrive in harsh and evolving environments. Native elders have been the embodiment of transgenerational distributed cognition - collective memory, norms, information, knowledge, technical skills, and experimental adaptive strategies. They are human 'supercomputers,' historical epistemologists and moral philosophers of a sort, who use narrative, a form of moral testimony to help their communities face challenges and seize opportunities in the wake of an ever-changing landscape. Here, I will tease out the nature of this 'ecosophy' in terms of pragmatism and then show why this form of pragmatism is necessary for problematizing multi-scalar, intergenerational, uncertain and complex environmental challenges like climate change. The 'ecosophy' of the Inupiat of Seward Peninsula, offers examples of 'focal practices' which are essential for environmental education. These focal practices instill key virtues, namely, humility, gratitude, self-reliance, attentiveness, responsibility, and responsiveness that are necessary for subsistence living. Through ancient narratives, community dwellers are encouraged to aspire to be good persons and to fulfill their roles as community members. These roles often revolve around the procurement of food in a sustainable way and with due reverence to the agencies of the animals harvested. This variant of pragmatism can provide insights into how the metaphysics of dichotomies may be dismantled in order to promote future regarding norms that are mindful of more eco-centric interactions with nature. Alaska Native ecosophy as animistic pragmatism can challenge the dominant reductive streak in contemporary environmental and food ethics.