--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An indigenous culture with sufficient…" description: "\"An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and bilingual and intercultural education, is in a better position to maintain and cultivate its mytho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg" --- # An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and… ![“An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and bilingual and intercultural education, is in a better position to maintain and cultivate its mythology and shamanism. Conversely, the confiscation of their lands and imposition of foreign education, which turns their young people into amnesiacs…” quote by Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg) > “An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and bilingual and intercultural education, is in a better position to maintain and cultivate its mythology and shamanism. Conversely, the confiscation of their lands and imposition of foreign education, which turns their young people into amnesiacs, threatens the survival not only of these people, but of an entire way of knowing. It is as if one were burning down the oldest universities in the world and their libraries, one after another — thereby sacrificing the knowledge of the world's future generations.” [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loss of land and forced education erodes indigenous knowledge, threatening cultural survival and global heritage. **In simple terms:** Taking land and imposing foreign education destroys indigenous knowledge. Key Takeaway Protect indigenous lands and support culturally relevant education. Themes culture knowledge colonialism Mood concerned urgent Type political educational When to use this quote - policy making - community advocacy - academic research Key Concepts indigenous rights education policy cultural preservation Questions to Reflect On - How can societies honor indigenous knowledge while modernizing? - What policies effectively protect cultural heritage? A Different Perspective Balancing development and cultural preservation is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Future generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Indigenous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indigenous/) [Indigenous culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indigenous-culture/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Shamanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shamanism/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Territory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/territory/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [Shamanism is a kind of universal spiritual practice with indigenous cultures around the world, and one important element of it is taking care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/shamanism-is-a-kind-of-universal-spiritual-practice-with-indigenous/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [The essence of intercultural education is the acquisition of empathy-the ability to see the world as others see it, and to allow for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/the-essence-of-intercultural-education-is-the-acquisition-of-empathy/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [There is something about the light, the heat (physical and perhaps metaphysical), the vibrancy of street life, and the rawness and disjointedness of much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-webb/there-is-something-about-the-light-the-heat-physical-and-perhaps/) [Alex Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-webb/) > [If people can't acknowledge the wisdom of indigenous cultures, then that's their loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/if-people-can-t-acknowledge-the-wisdom-of-indigenous-cultures-then/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Obviously, my Indigenous culture is very special to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mauboy/obviously-my-indigenous-culture-is-very-special-to-me/) [Jessica Mauboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mauboy/) > [ It seemed \[there are\] musical nodes on the planet where cultures meet and mix, sometimes as a result of unfortunate circumstances, like slavery or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/it-seemed-there-are-musical-nodes-on-the-planet-where-cultures-meet/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [There is a beginning and end to all life - and to all human endeavors. Species evolve and die off. Empires rise, then break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/there-is-a-beginning-and-end-to-all-life-and-to-all-human-endeavors/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [I started studying indigenous cultures and I was really inspired by their life styles and the way that they lived. Part of that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailene-woodley/i-started-studying-indigenous-cultures-and-i-was-really-inspired-by/) [Shailene Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailene-woodley/) > [Whale Rider' was a very authentic and specific movie about the indigenous culture from where I come. Amazingly, by the fact it was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niki-caro/whale-rider-was-a-very-authentic-and-specific-movie-about-the/) [Niki Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niki-caro/) > [There seems also to be a tremendous risk to indigenous cultures if we insist that all scholarship be conducted in English. We are, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/there-seems-also-to-be-a-tremendous-risk-to-indigenous-cultures-if-we/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [Wherever wolves run free, indigenous cultures have revered them as symbols of loyalty, free will, fearlessness and unity. But wolves haven't had it easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-helene/wherever-wolves-run-free-indigenous-cultures-have-revered-them-as/) [Zoe Helene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-helene/) > [“In a world run by the indigenous, no ethnicity is the second race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/in-a-world-run-by-the-indigenous-no-ethnicity-is-the-second-race/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The role of globalization is to homogenize all cultures, and to turn them into commodified markets, and therefore, to make them easier for global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-mander/the-role-of-globalization-is-to-homogenize-all-cultures-and-to-turn/) [Jerry Mander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-mander/) > [ He \[Hugo Chavez\] put poverty at the heart of political debate. Rightly so, given the country's immense inequality and poverty. He invested heavily in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-carroll/he-hugo-chavez-put-poverty-at-the-heart-of-political-debate-rightly/) [Rory Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-carroll/) ## More by Jeremy Narby > [This is perhaps one of the most important things I learned during this investigation: We see what we believe, and not just the contrary;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/this-is-perhaps-one-of-the-most-important-things-i-learned-during/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [In truth, ayahuasca is the television of the forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/in-truth-ayahuasca-is-the-television-of-the-forest/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [“When I started reading the literature of molecular biology, I was stunned by certain descriptions. Admittedly, I was on the lookout for anything unusual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/when-i-started-reading-the-literature-of-molecular-biology-i-was/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [“During this investigation, I became familiar with certain limits of the rational gaze. It tends to fragment reality and to exclude complementarity and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/during-this-investigation-i-became-familiar-with-certain-limits-of/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [“Nonetheless, gazing out the train window at a random sample of the Western world, I could not avoid noticing a kind of separation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/nonetheless-gazing-out-the-train-window-at-a-random-sample-of-the/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [If one stretches out the DNA contained in the nucleus of a human cell, one obtains a two-yard-long thread that is only ten atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/if-one-stretches-out-the-dna-contained-in-the-nucleus-of-a-human-cell/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [According to Eliade, the shamanic ladder is the earliest version of the idea of an axis of the world, which connects the different levels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/according-to-eliade-the-shamanic-ladder-is-the-earliest-version-of/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [Wisdom requires not only the investigation of many things, but contemplation of the mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/wisdom-requires-not-only-the-investigation-of-many-things-but/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [The rational approach start from the idea that everything is explainable and that mystery is in some sense the enemy. This means that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/the-rational-approach-start-from-the-idea-that-everything-is/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [The global network of DNA-based life emits ultra-weak radio waves, which are currently at the limit of measurement, but which we can nonetheless perceive...in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/the-global-network-of-dna-based-life-emits-ultra-weak-radio-waves/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > […there are approximately 125 billion miles of DNA in a human body -- your personal DNA is long enough to wrap around the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/there-are-approximately-125-billion-miles-of-dna-in-a-human-body-your/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [“One thing became clear as I thought back to my stay in Quirishari. Every time I had doubted one of my consultants' explanations, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/one-thing-became-clear-as-i-thought-back-to-my-stay-in-quirishari/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [“All the peoples in the world who talk of a cosmic serpent have been saying as much for millennia. He had not seen it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/all-the-peoples-in-the-world-who-talk-of-a-cosmic-serpent-have-been/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [What if it were true that nature speaks in signs and that the secret to understanding its language consists in noticing similarities in shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/what-if-it-were-true-that-nature-speaks-in-signs-and-that-the-secret/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) > [“Shamanism resembles an academic discipline (such as anthropology or molecular biology); with its practitioners, fundamental researchers, specialists, and schools of thought it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/shamanism-resembles-an-academic-discipline-such-as-anthropology-or/) [Jeremy Narby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) [Explore all 16 Jeremy Narby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/) ## More Burning quotes > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The entire cosmos is one vast burning bush, permeated by the fire of the divine power and glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/the-entire-cosmos-is-one-vast-burning-bush-permeated-by-the-fire-of/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [Two beautiful women crashing and burning for the sake of the Women's Championship!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ross/two-beautiful-women-crashing-and-burning-for-the-sake-of-the-women-s/) [Jim Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ross/) > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Catholicity seized on man... and the mystics, transcending all, taught him to ascend on high with the wings of contemplation the Ladder of Jacob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-donoso-cortes/catholicity-seized-on-man-and-the-mystics-transcending-all-taught-him/) Juan Donoso Cortes > [Some fighters know when to stop on their own and go on to something else, and then some fighters have nothing to go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hagler/some-fighters-know-when-to-stop-on-their-own-and-go-on-to-something/) [Marvin Hagler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hagler/) > [Death is staring too long into the burning sun and the relief of entering a cool, dark room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/death-is-staring-too-long-into-the-burning-sun-and-the-relief-of/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [All philanthropy ... is only a savory fumigation burning at the mouth of a sewer. This incense offering makes the air more endurable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/all-philanthropy-is-only-a-savory-fumigation-burning-at-the-mouth-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Time is a vindictive bandit to steal the beauty of our former selves. We are left with sagging, rippled flesh and burning gums with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael/time-is-a-vindictive-bandit-to-steal-the-beauty-of-our-former-selves/) [Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Nearly all runners do their slow runs too fast, and their fast runs too slow." Ken Mierke says. "So they're just training their bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/nearly-all-runners-do-their-slow-runs-too-fast-and-their-fast-runs/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [Intense, burning desire is the motivational force that enables you to overcome any obstacle and achieve almost any goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/intense-burning-desire-is-the-motivational-force-that-enables-you-to/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Will closed his eyes. He could not hear Jem go, not anymore; he did not want to know the moment when he left and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/will-closed-his-eyes-he-could-not-hear-jem-go-not-anymore-he-did-not/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) Browse all 1,668 Burning quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and bilingual and intercultural education, is in a better position to maintain and cultivate its mythology and shamanism. Conversely, the confiscation of their lands and imposition of foreign education, which turns their young people into amnesiacs, threatens the survival not only of these people, but of an entire way of knowing. It is as if one were burning down the oldest universities in the world and their libraries, one after another — thereby sacrificing the knowledge of the world's future generations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremy Narby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-territory-and-bilingual-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Burning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-territory-and-bilingual-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jeremy-narby-31798_burning_an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-te_2049377.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An indigenous culture with sufficient territory, and bilingual and intercultural education, is in a better…” — Jeremy Narby", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeremy Narby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-narby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An indigenous culture with sufficient territory,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-territory-and-bilingual-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-narby/an-indigenous-culture-with-sufficient-territory-and-bilingual-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```