all my relations, 2023
The photographs in this series are each 24 x 36 inches and printed on canvas.
ALL MY RELATIONS: HONORING THE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION OF DOMESTIC AND WILD ANIMALS IN THIS TIME OF ECOLOGICAL PERIL
Staff members, volunteers and animal ambassadors from a few select animal rehabilitation and rescue organizations in Northern California provide testimony regarding the ethical questions and consequences raised by our current relationship with the other animals. These warriors speak for the voiceless and give us a glimpse into the lives of our relatives.
We hope those who read their words and view the photographs of our kin will be more aware of the suffering inherent in how humans deal with both domestic and wild animals, and as a consequence take positive steps to change how we view and relate to them.
The first people on Turtle Island (the North American continent) understood that all living beings are related and honored that ancient biological connection. The phrase, All My Relations, is still expressed today among Native peoples and is an acknowledgment of that vital relationship. The implication is that the human animal has an obligation to preserve and protect as well as understand our fellow creatures as our future well-being is forever linked. As the ecological balance becomes increasingly fragile due to human activity, it becomes crucial for us to repair that connection and learn from the other species as humans did in the past. The modern Euro-centric concept of animals as property to be exploited stands in contrast to indigenous peoples’ view and to the current animal rights perspective.
The conventional sense of human superiority is used to justify the cruelty to animals in ‘factory farming’. It is important to remember that the package of meat we buy in the market was once a living being who was not born to suffer for our pleasure. With the rapid acceleration of global warming, the advent of out-of-control wildfires, and the appropriation and destruction of their habitats, wildlife population has plummeted by 2/3 in the last 50 years! It is in our own best interests to break this cycle of horror and learn to live in peace with all of our relations on this planet we all call home.
—MITAKUYE OYASIN
