The Sea Within Us: Caring for the Deep
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s award-winning and widely influential book, The Sea Around Us, an interdisciplinary group of Indigenous culture bearers, scientists, artists, and ocean storytellers will address the legacy of DDT+, industrial, and radioactive waste dumping off the southern California coast. As a visionary marine biologist, Carson represented the science of the ocean alongside a sense of accountability to what she termed our “mother sea.”
Through eight concise presentations, this symposium will explore the science behind the contamination, its impact on ocean ecosystems and marine mammals, Indigenous relationships to these waters, and how we might chart a path toward healing and accountability through diverse practices of caring for the deep. How do we understand the ocean not just as a dumping ground, but as a living ecosystem and sacred space? What does science tell us about the long-term impacts of DDT contamination? How do Indigenous knowledge systems offer alternative pathways to ocean stewardship? And what actions can we take to protect the sea around us?