CSJ Symposium Focuses on Indigenous Voices
This week marks the annual CSJ Center Symposium, hosted by the CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice. This year’s theme, inspired by the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, is “Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor: (Re)igniting the Voice of the Marginalized.”
When we think about issues of ecological justice and sustainability, we will always be best served when we consider the humanitarian needs of Indigenous communities alongside the environmental needs of the land. The relevance of these issues can be seen even today in the Loyola Marymount University vicinity, in the conversation surrounding the traditional Tongva stewardship of the Ballona Wetlands.
What this symposium hopes to achieve, in collaboration with the broader LMU community, is to raise awareness of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) — bodies of knowledge passed down through the generations that have helped Indigenous communities around the world act as effective ecological stewards. In this time of urgent need, listening to the voices of the marginalized is vital to developing a system of integral ecology that will best respond to the ongoing climate crisis.
The symposium, running from Monday, Feb. 3 to Wednesday, Feb. 5, begins with a keynote address from Barwendé Médard Sané, S.J., a research associate from Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute and a prominent figure in the field of environmental justice, with a focus on traditional African ways of knowing. Sané will appear on another panel on Tuesday morning alongside Emelyn A. dela Peña, LMU vice president for DEI, focusing on the intersection between environmental justice and anti-racism.
The Tuesday session will also feature a screening of the first episode of the new documentary series “Facing the Storm: The Indigenous Response to Climate Change,” and an evening reception of original student-created music and dance, facilitated by Tania Fleischer, senior lecturer of music, and Laura Ann Smyth, instructor of dance. Thursday’s program will feature panels including LMU professors and faculty from a variety of disciplines speaking on a range of topics, ranging from Asian studies and business ethics to theology and political science.
The symposium, which is free and open to the university community and the public, will be held in Ahmanson Auditorium in University Hall. More information can be found here.
Loyola Marymount University has signed on to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, a global initiative inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical On Care of Our Common Home (Laudato Si’) that will guide our institutional journey to ecological renewal by 2030. To learn more, visit lmu.edu/lsap.