Brooklyn Botanic Garden Features Olalekan Jeyifous' ANCESTRAL ECOLOGIES: Reclaiming Indigenous Ecological Wisdom
Original framing: “Brooklyn Botanic Garden Unveils ANCESTRAL ECOLOGIES Exhibition” — bing news
ANCESTRAL ECOLOGIES draws on Indigenous ecological knowledge systems that emphasize long-term sustainability and relational ethics. These systems are often dismissed as 'primitive' in Western environmental discourse, despite their proven resilience over centuries.
ANCESTRAL ECOLOGIES is more than an art exhibition; it is a reclamation of Indigenous ecological wisdom and a challenge to the colonial legacies embedded in urban environmentalism.
By centering African and Indigenous perspectives, the exhibition reveals the systemic exclusion of these knowledge systems from mainstream environmental discourse and urban planning. It aligns with historical movements like the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and the Māori-led conservation efforts in Aotearoa New Zealand, which have long demonstrated the efficacy of Indigenous ecological practices. The exhibition also resonates with the work of scholars like Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Walter Rodney, who have critiqued the Eurocentric framing of knowledge and development. Through its artistic and cultural interventions, ANCESTRAL ECOLOGIES offers a blueprint for a more just and sustainable urban future—one that is rooted in reciprocity, respect, and the wisdom of the ancestors.