John Mohawk, a Turtle Clan Senecca from the Cattaraugus Reservation (Iroquois), former editor of Akwesasne Notes, once the largest Indian publication in the US, is an assistant professor of American Studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo and associate professor and director Indigenous Studies in the Center for the Americas. He lectures on topics in Native American Studies and is also a farmer. Mohawk has been working with the Bioneers since it’s beginning 15 years ago. He was plenary speaker in 2004 Bioneers where this interview was conducted. He’s also working with Bioneers to develop food products based on traditional Iroquios white corn, is on the board of the Bioneers and is the author of Utopian Legacies.
In this interview he talks about the issues of perpetual and inevitable climate change, examples of what has happened to many indigenous societies in the Americas and the importance of our taking responsibility for what happens to us in the era of extreme climate change — e.g., saving non genetically modified seeds and getting to know what wild greens we can eat.