Abstract

In the context of the Small Island Developing States in the Pacific island region, referred to here, as Oceania, the violence of the colonial experience is perpetuated to this day by widespread Christianity and education systems which marginalize indigenous knowledges and ways of being and doing. Dominant global development paradigms exacerbate this mindset relegating indigenous ways of knowing the world and being in it to the periphery of all discourse. Climate change brings to the fore the significance of indigenous knowledge systems which are inherently about sustainability and balance – living in harmony with the rhythms and cycles of the planet – our known cosmos. This paper explores the indigenous conceptions of custodianship and the role of the human within the known universe, in communion with land, sky and sea. It also presents the view that the arts; both heritage and contemporary are critical to meaningful discourse about sustainability.