Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows)

aka Don Trent Jacobs, Ph.D., Ed.D.,

Antioch University

Formerly the Director of Education at Oglala Lakota College, Four Arrows, aka Don Trent Jacobs, Ph.D., Ed.D., is currently Professor of Educational Leadership for Change at Antioch University. He speaks about his journey and advocacy work in this thought-provoking interview facilitated by Ketu Oladuwa and Kelsey Greene.

“Okiciya makiyokipi na iyuteya, cuke wayokapi, mitakuye oyasin.
(Help each other acclimate and adjust, because the truth is, we are all related.”

More About Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows):

Four Arrows is the author of 24 books and numerous other publications on Indigenous Worldview. Also an award-winning activist for Indigenous rights, his work has been endorsed by such notables as Vandanna Shive, Noam Chomsky, Hentry Giroux, Greg Cajete, Vine Deloria, Jr., and many others. He lives with his artist wife in Mexico.

*Explore his work at fourarrowsbooks.com

How sustainability and freedom manifests and relates to his work (in his words)

In a truth and virtue based world, humans flourish because they experience both freedom and ecologically sustainable practices. When the idea of “freedom” is connected to a hegemonic, hierarchical, materialistic, post-truth and greed/power based culture, freedom and sustainability are sacrificed.  Freedom can be enjoyed only when we recognized our interconnectedness with the complex,  mysteriousing non-human sentience all around us. This will move away from the idea of “rights” to the concept of “responsibility.” Indigeneity has proven that freedom and ecological sustainability go hand in hand with the aforementioned considerations.

References

About Four Arrows

Fearless Engagement of Four Arrows: The True Story of an Indigenous-Based Social Transformer

From Four Arrows’ writing collection:

• Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth (new book)

• Teaching Truly: A Curriculum to Indigenize Mainstream Education

• The Red Road: Linking Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives to Indigenous Worldview

• Indigenous Sustainable Wisdom: First Nation Know-how for Global Flourishing's

• Primal Awareness: A True Story of Survival, Transformation, and Awakening with the Rarámuri Shamans of Mexico

• The Indigenization Controversy: For Whom and By Whom?

• Teaching Virtues

Relevant works:

• At Least She’s Safe: A creative exploration on why we must pay attention to Indigenous worldview

Restoring the Kinship Worldview*, by Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez, is a perfect place to start- the foundation is good relations, making kin of human and non-human. We must return to this place or perish.”—Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

Additional Films Mentioned

• Aluna

• King Leopold’s Ghost

• Exterminate All The Brutes

• The River Runner 

• Misak Education: Decolonising the Mind

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The Proven Sustainable™ Conversation Series is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Any funding directed towards the Conversation Series will go towards production efforts to ensure the the recorded discussions are diligently captured and meaningfully distributed. This Conversation Series and website are not-for-profit and created with the intent of channeling support directly to the Peoples represented.