by Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a world renowned Indian Hindu environmentalist who was recognized by Time magazine as an environmental "hero" in 2003. Forbes Magazine identified Dr. Shiva as one of the Seven Most Powerful Women on the Globe. Dr. Shiva advises governments worldwide. Dr. Shiva is a prominent member of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. She is on this organization's executive committee. Tom Goldtooth (Bdewakantonwan Dakota/Dini') is also a member of this organization's executive committee. Mr. Goldtooth's traditional Bdewakantonwan Dakota homeland is located in East Central Minnesota and its land base consists of the Rum (Wahkon) River Watershed. I am a Bdewakantonwan Dakota rights advocate who is leading a movement to change/restore the badly named "Rum" River back to its sacred Dakota/Lakota/Nakota Native name Wahkon. And I am also working to gain legal personhood environmental rights for this sacred (wahkon) river.

The idea that a feature of nature, like a river, is a living being might seem like a strange concept to some, but it is nothing new to Indigenous and other traditional peoples around the world. While the Western philosophical system is based on an anthropocentric paradigm and is underpinned by the idea that man is separate from nature and in dominion over it, Indigenous and Hindu philosophical systems tend to conceive of humans as a part of nature, often in a stewardship role to help maintain its balance. It is a Hindu and Indigenous People's traditional belief that rivers are living beings with personhood environmental rights.

The Paris Agreement and environmental planetary efforts to end the climate crisis have recently been undertaken to move away from the anthropocentric paradigm of a Western philosophical system and to develop in a sustainable manner-point towards the possibility of a shift towards an Indigenous and Hindu earth-centered paradigm, where humans are part of the planetary system and aim at living in harmony with it.

After I sent Dr. Shiva the following email statement, which includes the links to two new articles of mine (articles located on my website), she sent me a response email wherein she (in part) wrote: "I am looking forward to reading your writings!"

I am an Indigenous Peoples' rights advocate who has received support for my advocacy initiatives from several internationally renowned Indigenous activists. Two new articles of mine present a summary of my advocacy work. They are titled Global Paradigm Change | Rights of Nature: Now A Global Movement and Global Paradigm Change. After sending these articles to a large Hindu global organization and movement named Ananda, a prominent member of Ananda wrote "WOW." She then expressed that she would like to travel from California to Wahkon, Minnesota to meet me and learn more about my mission. I believe that when Indigenous and Hindu leaders come together to promote legal rights for nature and especially for legal personhood environmental rights for the badly named "Rum" (Wahkon) River in Minnesota the global paradigm change will occur.

Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer
Director of Rum River Name Change Organization, Inc.

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The popular website "Indigenous Peoples Literature" has a section on its homepage titled "Indigenous Inspiration. It includes the following words: "In this spiritual culture of the Sun, God as Father is wisdom and He lives in the throne within us between the two physical eyes known as the third eye. That is the eternal spiritual Father, who never leaves us. God as Mother is love and she lives in the Temple of the love. Our Father and Mother are one. They never separate and they never divorce, because they are conscious.”