Tyson Yunkaporta on how the 'wrong story' harms nature, and how we can change it

About this episode

Tyson Yunkaporta discusses how storytelling influences society and the environment, emphasizing the importance of Indigenous perspectives in shaping a sustainable future.

Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta (Apalech clan (Wik) Lostmob Nungar) joins the Mongabay Newscast to detail the Aboriginal perspectives behind his latest book, Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking . The book explains how stories shape society, how they can harm us and the environment, and how they may save our species and the natural world. Yunkaporta explains how Indigenous laws, systems and lore can help us improve modern society, specifically in how humans relate first to the land, then to each other, and why this shapes how we exploit nature and care for it. Identifying the "wrong story" is critical, Yunkaporta explains, to correcting harmful behaviors or ways of governing. Ultimately, it's a lie, he says. Personified by what he characterizes as narcissistic or selfish behavior, it's generally seen by those who exploit the natural world at the expense of community well-being. "It's a terrible thing to … misrepresent things, make false claims, bear false witness in a way that is bending story, the story that everybody follows. The narratives that people tell that weave together to make a community and to hold a community on the right path that's…

People in this episode

Host: Mike DiGirolamo

Guest: Tyson Yunkaporta

Topics covered

• Indigenous perspectives
• storytelling
• environmental ethics
• Aboriginal culture
• modern society

Keywords

• Indigenous thinking
• environment
• storytelling
• Aboriginal perspectives
• sustainability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mongabay Newscast

Books & works: Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking

Places: Aotearoa New Zealand, Sydney

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