Native American Indians: The World's First Environmentalists

Photo: Jeff Kubina

The definition of an environmentalist is: someone dedicated to the preservation of the natural environment. By this definition it is clear that the Native American Indians were the first environmentalists. Perhaps, if we had learned from them the respect they had for all living things, our planet would not be ill with a high-grade fever.

Photo: Jeff Kubina

A 20th century Sioux shaman stated: ‘I believe that more and more people are sensing what we meant when we prayed for a new earth and that now, not only the Indians, but everybody has become an endangered species. So let the Indians help you bring on a new earth without pollution or war. Let's roll up the world - it needs it."

Photo: Jeff Kubina

For well over a century, American Indian shamans have prophesied the end of an earth cycle and the return of all living things which had vanished under the pressures of our present world. As we observe governments, industries, and ourselves, we must see a system of waste and pollution so widespread that it will cast a shadow across the generations to come. It doesn't take a clairvoyant or a scientist to predict disaster. We are already aware of the need for change. The question is, whether the necessary changes in our institutions and ourselves will occur faster than the production of pollution generated by our patterns of behavior.

Photo: Jeff Kubina

Rolling Thunder, a spiritual leader from the Cherokee tribe has stated: "When you have pollution in one place, it spreads all over. It spreads just as arthritis or cancer spreads in the body. The earth is sick now because the earth is being mistreated, and some of the problems that may occur, some of the natural disasters that might happen in the near future are only the natural readjustments that have to take place to throw off sickness. A lot of things are on this land that do not belong here. They're foreign objects like viruses or germs. Now, we may not recognize the fact when it happens, but a lot of the things that are going to happen in the future will really be the earth's attempt to throw off some of these sicknesses. This is really going to be like a fever or like vomiting, what you might call a physiological adjustment."

Photo: Jeff Kubina

"It's very important for people to realize this. The earth is a living organism, the body of a higher individual who has a will and wants to be well, and who is at times less healthy or more healthy, physically and mentally. People should treat their own bodies with respect. It's the same thing with the earth. Too many people don't know that when they harm the earth, they harm themselves, nor do the realize that when they harm themselves they harm the earth. It's not very easy for you people to understand these things because understanding is not knowing the kind of facts that your books and teachers talk about. I can tell you that understanding begins with love and respect. It begins with respect for the Great Spirit, and the Great Spirit is the life that is in all things - all the creatures and the plants, and even the rocks and the minerals. All things - and I mean all things - have their own will and their own way, their own purpose; this is what is to be respected. Such respect is not a feeling or an attitude only. It's a way of life. Such respect means that we never stop realizing and never neglect to carry out our obligation to ourselves and our environment."

Photo: Jeff Kubina

Like a dormant tree, enduring the cruelty of winter, the Indian cultures respect for Earth - their desire to live in peace with all living things - lives on as the tree lives on waiting to burst open with bloom at the gentle touch of Spring’s hand. We must honor Earth, for if we do, we can avert disaster.

Every place on earth, like every one of us, has a diverse character. The time has come to respect and listen to the Indian elders, who tended so lovingly to Earth's needs before we took their home and freedom. We must learn from them and honor Mother Earth. In the end it is possible that with Western ingenuity and native insight, we can cross the threshold to a new and healthy earth.