Ecological breakdown

Rapid City, S.D.—Humanity stands at a crossroads and must come together to realize dramatically different and supportive relationships with one another, the Earth, and all life on the planet, if we are to surmount cascading ecological and social crises now underway. That was the message of Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples, who welcomed hundreds of attendees to the 12th World Wilderness Congress convening the last week of August in the Black Hills, or Hé Sapa in the Lakota language. Though these gatherings, dedicated to assessing and often resetting global conservation work, date back to the 1970s, this is the first such congress being convened by a tribal authority.