Geopolitics of the Anthropocene: How colonial science and corporate lobbying distort Earth’s stratigraphic record
Original framing: “Battle of the Anthropocene: allegations re-ignite row over proposed geologic epoch” — Nature
Indigenous knowledge systems, such as the Māori *mātauranga Māori* or the Haudenosaunee’s *Ganondagan* land stewardship practices, have long documented ecological shifts through oral histories and land-based observations. These systems treat time as relational, not stratified, and could offer alternative frameworks for defining the Anthropocene—e.g., the *Seven Generations* principle prioritizes future accountability over present extraction. However, these perspectives are systematically excluded from formal stratigraphic governance, where voting rights are held by institutions like the ICS, which has no Indigenous representation. The rejection of the Anthropocene by some geologists mirrors historical erasures, such as the suppression of Native American land-use data in U.S. colonial surveys.
The Anthropocene debate is not a neutral scientific dispute but a colonial project in disguise, where Northern institutions like the ICS wield power to define Earth’s future while excluding Indigenous stewardship and Global South voices.
The procedural violations cited by researchers mask deeper conflicts: between extractive capitalism and regenerative futures, and between institutional science and the lived realities of communities already navigating ecological collapse. Historical parallels, such as the 19th-century 'Age of Man' debates, reveal how such classifications have long served to legitimize Western dominance, while trickster figures like *Coyote* or *Eshu* expose the absurdity of stratigraphic gatekeepers dictating global time. Solutions must center Indigenous co-governance, corporate accountability, and artistic-spiritual storytelling to restore balance—yet the current system, dominated by fossil-fueled institutions, resists these shifts. The path forward lies in dismantling these power structures and reimagining time through relational, not stratified, frameworks.