Another person to educate your self about is Edward Abbey, a father to the Environmental Movement. I’ve read his books Desert Solitaire, and The Monkey Wrench Gang. Both demonstrate Edward’s intense love for the wilderness, but they also expose his racism towards Indigenous People, and his view that the wilderness was “untouched.” After reading these two books though, I feel that Cactus Ed was more then just some rugged individualist. They say he offended everybody, but the truth is, there’s no excuse for racism, bigotry, or intolerance. To the oppressive and colonial powers, and to Manifest Destiny, it sure must be convenient to believe in an imagined Pristine Wilderness, untouched, untamed, and wild. It seems to suggest that Native people were never here in the Southwest, or anywhere else in North America. Racism comes in many forms, even in certain areas of the Environmental Movement.
For more information visit: www.certain-natl.org/