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Writer's pictureSarah Irani

Humans as the Custodial Species



"What we know is that the role of custodial species is to sustain creation, which is formed from complexity and connectedness." ~ Tyson Yunkaporta


I first heard the term "custodial species" in Tyson Yunkaporta's book Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. Basically, a custodial species is the same thing as a Wildtender, but on a species-wide level. And humans, with our big-picture minds and opposable thumbs, we clearly have something extra, and our job is to use this "extra" to tend and caretake and keep safe the world. Not to dominate, not to exploit, but to care for the complexities and connections, to increase diversity, to ensure the water in the rivers remains clean and flows to the ocean, to listen to the original instructions given by the Creator to tend these lands for the greatest benefit of all.


I love the term Custodial Species-- it's very much in the world of the Paradise Realm. We as humans are supposed to be a beneficial and beautiful part of the world. We communicate with animals, we give "feet" to the plants, and we are meant an part of the bounty and abundance that nature provides. We can be just as useful as the butterflies and bees! It's a revolutionary way of thinking, and cultural change begins with the spread of ideas. This is an idea I'm happy to spread here.

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