When modern states first initiated plans for exterminating the conservation cultures of the Fourth World, religious fundamentalism was the motivating belief of their dominant societies. Intertwined with that belief was an unquestioning faith in market economics. Over time, a rift developed between dominant society’s haves and have nots over these doctrines, but was not fundamentally challenged until the environmental movement brought into question the basic assumptions of market theology. Today, that rift has widened with the awareness generated by the anti-globalization movement, made famous in Chiapas and Seattle.

The current showdown between the UN and the World Indigenous Movement in Poznan, Poland is a classic contest between faith–based fundamentalism and scientific observation. With faith in market doctrine plummeting worldwide, the proven track record of First...