Skip to main content
The Gift of Ecological Humility
In my early 20s, I apprenticed myself to the The Queen Mothers of Kroboland in
Ghana with the hope of understanding more about my cultural heritage. Early one
morning, I arrived at the compound of Paramount Queen Mother Manye Nartike, who
was particularly animated by a rumor she had heard about our diasporic practices
in relation to land. In disbelief she admonished me, "Is it true that in the
United States, a farmer will put the seed into the ground and not pour any
libations, offer any prayers, sing, or dance, and expect that seed to grow?" Met
with my ashamed silence, she continued, "That is why you are all sick! Because
you see the Earth as a thing and not a being."
