Concepts
On this page we share some interesting concepts, links, and books around the different domains of knowledge around which the Totems idea was developed. These include science, philosophy, art and cultural studies. Even if you never make a Totem, we encourage you to explore these issues, and participate in any way you like to leave the world a better place than you found it.
Protecting habitat is one of the best ways to have an impact, through organisations such as the World Land Trust which has Sir David Attenborough as their patron. Joining your local nature society, or a birding group is another great way to direct your love of nature to knowledge and action. In Australia, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy has been doing amazing work to preserve endangered species in over 12m hectares of protected habitat, including providing temporary animal shelters after severe bushfires.
Cultural Appropriation and Totems
One of our concerns with this movement was about cultural appropriation. The concept of Totems is arose in the field of anthropology and with the study of First Nation peoples by the developed west, and is bound up with Colonialism and exploitation. There is a real risk of straying into very difficult cultural battlegrounds and that is the last thing we would want as an outcome from this movement.