This interview is reposted here with permission from Deceleration News. To read more of their coverage of WILD12 go to www.Deceleration.news
At the 12th World Wilderness Congress, held in South Dakota, USA, in August 2024, Deceleration’s Ceiba Ili interviewed Angute’karaq Estelle Thomson, a Yup’ik traditional medicine practitioner, educator, bird activist from the Southwestern Bering Sea Coast community of Hooper Bay, Alaska, USA.
Thompson shared her wisdom on the importance of migratory birds in her community’s cultural and spiritual life. With over 220 species of nesting birds that arrive in her homeland each year, the significance of these birds extends beyond their physical presence—they are vital to the community’s identity. Thomson’s work focuses on advocating for migratory birds as global citizens, reminding policy makers and western scientific communities that birds, unbound by human borders, must be treated as integral parts of the ecosystem, not nuisances to be managed.