Recently in a worshop I attended that was faciliatated by a friend who is an trapper and a proud Anishinaabe woman, it was brought home to all of us just how differently settler culture and Indigenous culture hold Mother Earth. Kaaren refers to the animals that she hunts for food and clothing as All My Relations. She is steeped in the teachings around each of the various animals and she approaches them with respect and gives thanks in ceremony for the gifts they offer.
Part of these teachings involves taking only what you need and using all of the parts of the animal.
On the other hand we refer to Mother earth in terms of natural resources and this perspective automatically leads us to think of all aspects of the natural world as things to be consumed. Instead of thinking of forests as home to ecosystems important to our survival as a species we think of lumber to sell to the USA.
We allow Nestle to pillage our aquifers while they drain dry and First Nation communities suffer under boil water advisories. We desecrate the land to extract fossil fuels rather than focus on investing in renewable energy.
If we thought of the land and waters we live in and on as part of the cycle of life that supports us rather than as a commodity to be consumed and fill our coffers we would not be in the climate crisis we are currently facing.
Shifting our perspective and the paradigm that governs our thinking is an important step we cannot ignore.
Recent Comments