For many Indigenous and other nature dependent peoples, the notion of community and the sense of ethical responsibility is not limited to humans but includes the Earth-’others’ who form part of their kin (across space and time). In this context, they have long established practices and protocols for earthy governance, where decision making is not restricted to the humans alone but includes and is rooted in deep relations of kinships and communication with Earth others. Critically, these systems of earthy governance do not ‘stand alone’, but are rooted in the struggle for self-determination, asserting that people living in their regions must have the autonomy to decide what happens to their lands and territories. Autonomy is at the heart of most community political mobilisations as it is both practice and theory of inter-existence and inter-beingness of living in land especially because of the history of violence perpetrated on these territories and their people. Along with the invisibilisation of these relations and the undervaluing of the associated knowledges.

In recent years, as the climate crisis and ecological unraveling intensify, there has been a surge of interest in earthy governance, amongst researchers, activists and community based organizations in the west, as part of a larger shift from more traditional approaches to environmental protection and animal ethics to multispecies justice. Recognising how current crises, including not only ecological, but also health and political crises, are rooted in forms of life and institutions that perpetuate human exceptionalism and enable (if not require) extractivism, they are seeking to transform dominant institutions, including those that shape decision making.

In exploring what earthy governance might look like, these researchers, activists and community organizations have often acknowledged the longstanding practices of Indigenous peoples, and recognised the importance of learning from them in non-appropriative ways. To date, however, there has been relatively little by way of rich and sustained encounters between Indigenous and nature dependent peoples and their knowledges, and those exploring and seeking to advocate for institutional transformation in western contexts.

Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them. along with Sydney Environment Institute organised a two day gathering around Earthy Governance and Interspecies justice from 16-17th June 2025 at Sydney Institute of Marine Studies.This gathering was part of larger Radical Democracy thematic group process within GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives with the focus on exploring a form of decision-making that is not centred on humans alone, but encompasses also the rest of nature.

The intentions of the two day gathering were to hear/learn from and experience the stories of practices and processes of communities where decision making is not restricted to the humans alone but includes and is rooted in deep relations of kinship and communication with ‘Earth others’.

1. How these practices are embedded in institutions within the communities.
2. Articulating our notions of Earthy Governance and drawing important lessons on struggles of autonomy, self determination, and justice
3. How do we understand time, space and ancestrality, spirits/beings and how communities interact with spirits and ancestors across time? How do ‘other’ beings communicate with us in diverse ways including signs, symbols, dreams?
4. What are justice and power dynamics within communities?

We had a small yet amazing group of first nations peoples from South East Asia, Africa, Australia & Pacific Island, South Asia, North America, and Latin America who shared their stories of embedded ways of living and including the rest of nature in their decision making. We started the day with a smoking ceremony honouring the land and its ancestors. This was followed by the invocation of the qualities of the four elements of nature, the gifts of which we brought into the flow of the rest of the two days. It really helped all of us to ground ourselves and set the intention for the space. The gathering was next to the sea at Sydney Institute of Marine Studies and all of us were welcomed by dolphins which was an auspicious start to the two day event. We also had the opportunity to connect with the sea by having a short solitude time at its shore listening to her voice. For the majority of two days, we focussed on stories because these stories embed earthy wisdom and for several communities that’s the way that this relationship has existed. It was collectively felt that it's time that these stories are respected and their contribution to multispecies justice recognized as they sit along with the dominant and challenge those systems.

After story sharing, we did some collective sense making of why and how these stories are connected. We also shared the Radical Democracy Declaration and its important connection with this gathering. We then worked on these questions in small groups What is Earthy Governance for me and my community? What dreams and visions do we hold for this process? Where do we go from here? Who else should be here? We will be collating some points in the coming few weeks but it was unanimously felt that we need a process where such stories are given space and the apparent gap between the rights of nature/more than human rights & autonomy/radical democracy struggles is filled with more embodied ways of organising and coming together. So, it would be important to synergise efforts towards a gathering next year around Radical democracy and earthy governance

Some collective questions that emerged from all stories shared were:

• Questions we are holding!
• Common history of colonialism, genocide, displacement
• Need of restorying Life
• Are we ready to invite more than human?
• Are we ready to listen and be guided by ancestors?
• Learn the way to understand and speak?
• Do we have the patience for the process?
• How do we answer the questions of economy, livelihoods etc?
• Role of the art in connecting and speaking with more than human
• What does radical solidarity look like?
• They don’t attend our meetings but when we form rules their embeddedness, embodies, interconnectedness, is alive for us. - and how can we bring this to our gatherings?

• Confluence on Radical Democracy, Autonomy and Self-Determination (RaDASD) - South Africa 2025