Every person has their own opinions, perspectives and views on the world and on certain aspects in their lives. Hence, the perception of the concept of land and the way we treat it may vary across cultures. On one side we can see land as a resource for our own pleasure and our own profit just as a simple medium for our own satisfaction. This way of seeing land introduces us to extractive behaviours. As Grey, Emma and Roberto emphasize in their keyword definition: extractivism is increasingly used to refer to the accelerated pace of natural resource exploitation at an industrial level […] to make full use of natural resources”(Malayna Raftopoulous). This view of  land encourages its vast misuse. It also causes the destruction of it and it does not come with any respect to the land itself. Land is only seen as a resource nothing else.

Nevertheless, as we learned from Tamara’s Unit 3 lecture there are also different ways to look at land. Land does not necessary have to be only seen as  a medium for our profit. The Indigenous peoples Garinagu see land as something completely different: “The Earth is our mother; the sea is our father”(Matamoros 2016). From this saying we can see the completely opposite view of land. It is something that all peoples are connected to and that gives them life – it is “our mother” (Matamoros 2016). Thanks to this understanding of land Garinagu “have a deep respect for the land that has resulted in sustainable agricultural sciences” (Tamara). Garinagu’s perception of land makes the biggest difference in their treatment of it. Garinagu are not oblivious to the fact that we need land, land does not need us. They are well aware of the dependency relationship with land at the top and people below it. Thus Garinagu peoples act upon their profound holistic awareness in regards to people’s relationship with land itself.

Both these various approaches to land emphasize how important the perception of anything can be. It has such a big effect on our behaviour, treatment, understanding and respect not only of land but also of other people, nature, things and basically anything you can think of.

These two completely distinct perspectives lead to very polarized outcomes. Thus, let me ask you two questions :

1. Where do you stand with the perception of the land we live on?
2. Is there a grey area between these two perspectives?

Cant wait to read your responses! 🙂

Katerina