What does Amadin mean? Why did Kyle call the company Amadin? The story behind the name.
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary defines amadin: wake h/, wake h/ (by touching with the hand)... Word Parts: amadin /amadin-/: /amad-/ wake; /-in/ act on h/ or it (animate) by hand
Why did Kyle call his media production company Amadin? After graduating from Northland Environmental/Liberal Arts College in 1991 with a self‑directed and self‑designed Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Global Environmental Studies, Kyle formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization focused on modern media and entertainment, called Amadin.
Kyle Schmierer's Native American Studies professor, Dr. Joe Dan Rose, advised him on the name to honor the indigenous people and original inhabitants of the Great Lakes area before colonial conquest, broken treaties and genocide by the American government.
Kyle asked Professor Rose of Northland College in northern Wisconsin, near the Bad River Reservation, for the best word in his language to mean “to awaken” in a spiritual and activist sense. Dr. Rose suggested amadin: a word from his own Ojibwe (Chippewa) language. His own First Nations people prefer to call themselves Anishinaabe - which means “original person,” “first/original people,” or “good human.” in their language.
The purpose of Amadin media organization was and still is "to awaken" the children of Mother Earth, Terra, Pachamama before it is too late for the survival of humanity and thousands of other species.
This devastatingly fast accelerating 6th mass extinction event is all human caused - not a natural disaster like the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs, but an easily avoidable catastrophic and horrific disaster fueled by greed, the pursuit of control and power.
For more information on the beautiful Anishinaabe language, and to hear the pronunciation of the word amadin, visit The Ojibwe People's Dictionary website.
Accelerated Extinction Rates
Scientific analyses show that extinction rates today are hundreds of times faster
than the natural background rate. If current trends continue, researchers warn that
Earth could reach mass‑extinction levels within a few hundred years.
Source: Ceballos et al., 2015 —
Science Advances
Why Some Scientists Say the Sixth Mass Extinction Has Begun
One camp argues we are in the early stages of a human‑driven mass extinction.
- Human activity has accelerated extinction rates far beyond natural background levels.
- The pattern resembles the early phases of past mass extinctions.
- Waiting until 75% of species are gone is scientifically irresponsible — by then it’s too late.
Key Points From This Camp
- Anthropogenic extinctions have been rising since global colonization began around 1500.
- The term “sixth extinction” has been used for decades, popularized by Leakey & Lewin (1997) and E.O. Wilson (1992).
- Some researchers (e.g., Ceballos et al.) argue that losses of genera and families — not just species — indicate a mass‑extinction trajectory.
- They warn that denying the crisis “paves the way for it to happen” by reducing urgency.
Core argument: Even if the total percentage lost is still small, the rate and drivers match the beginning of past mass extinctions.
Sources:
Ceballos et al., 2015 —
Science Advances
Ceballos & Ehrlich, 2023 —
PNAS
Concerns About Avoiding the Term “Mass Extinction”
Others argue that avoiding the term undermines conservation urgency by making the crisis appear less severe than it is.
Where Most Scientists Agree
- We are in a severe human‑driven biodiversity crisis.
- Extinction rates are far above natural background levels.
The disagreement is about whether to label the crisis as a mass extinction now or reserve the term for when losses become catastrophic.
Source: Barnosky et al., 2011 — Nature
