JB: What a lovely organization Commonomics USA is! Thanks for providing the link. What would you like to add before we wrap this up? Also, I'm curious: what's the origin of your very unusual first name? I've never heard it before.
ML: I see the climate crisis only being solvable by us engaging on three levels: 1) local, collectively self-determined community projects; 2) radical culture change, away from individualistic, materialistic, competitive ways of interacting and thinking and toward cooperative, values- and relationally-centered ways of interacting and thinking; and 3) engaging in economic and regulatory reform to make all of this possible. None of these levels alone are likely to be enough by themselves for the kind of mass reorientation I think we need right now.
My name-- it is in Ojibwe, and comes from the period of my life in my early 20's when I was doing a fair bit of work (both organizing and spiritual community work) with the indigenous community in Michigan. My first community experience was actually a couple of summers spent on an island in Lake Michigan called Minis Kitigan, in a mixed indigenous and non-indigenous community centered around elder Keewaydinoquay. Grama Kee was a remarkable teacher, and she was the one who declared Ma'ikwe my name. Maiingan is wolf and kwe (or quay) is the feminine suffix for many names.
JB: Well, thanks so much for talking with me, Ma'ikwe. It was a pleasure. I'm looking forward to reading your book. Good luck with your work!
cover art for Ma'ikwe's book: Together Resilient: Building Community in the Age of Climate Disruption
(Image by cover art: Rob Allen) Details DMCA
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Ma'ikwe Ludwig: Author of the new book Together Resilient: Building Community in the Age of Climate Disruption, Ludwig just wrote the piece "Paris Agreement Discord Highlights Need For Community-based Climate Action." Ludwig is executive director of Commonomics USA.
She will be on a national speaking tour in September and October of this year. For information about bringing the tour to your area, contact Mariyam at climatetour(at)ic.org
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