North Georgia has a rich history of Native American culture, which has had a lasting impact on the historical and ecological development of the area. FIND Outdoors is so excited to celebrate the area’s rich history with Joe Candillo, who will be leading a presentation titled “The Importance of Land and the Living Natural Environment to Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.”
Joe Candillo is a tribally enrolled citizen of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribe of Arizona (Federally recognized tribe). He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies with a concentration on Indigenous Studies, an MA in American Indian Studies, and an undergraduate degree in Anthropology. Dr. Candillo’s research background focuses on Native American spirituality, aboriginal North American environmental adaptation, and material culture traditions.
Undeniably, Indigenous peoples were the first “ecologist” of the Americas. Traditionally Native peoples of the Americas interacted with and perceived the living natural environment as an extension of human existence respecting it as a source of power and life itself. In this presentation the audience will learn authentically (from a Native American) how indigenous peoples traditionally understood the living natural environment and further how we developed and processed systems of understanding the natural living world within human spaces. This traditional understanding bridged both our physical and metaphysical worlds. Our traditional perspectives of the world as Indigenous peoples are often quite different than the mainstream perspectives of the world people live in today. This presentation will visit a number of modern Western philosophies associated with the understanding and management of land and compare / contrast these philosophies with how Indigenous peoples traditionally understood the natural living world. To fully understand how environment fits into the human experience we will travel back in time through our imagination and study the role the natural living environment had with the first peoples of the Americas.
This presentation will take place outdoors in Anna Ruby Falls’ picnic area. Joe will be showcasing Native American’s relationship with natural resources through discussion and demonstration, as well as tools, art, and clothing Joe has made himself.
This project is supported by Georgia Humanities, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, through funding from the Georgia General Assembly.
