NATIVE AMERICAN WISDOM TODAY

WHEN I WAS WORKING AS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST IN UPPER LAKE (MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST) I HELPED A SOUTHEAST POMO CREW OF VARIOUS AGES REPLANT TREES IN A BURN AREA. THE ELDER THERE HELPED TO PLANT A PRAYER STICK AFTER WE FINISHED FOR THE DAY. THE PRAYER STICK CEREMONY WAS FOR HEALING THE EARTH AND IT WAS JUST A SMALL 12" STICK WITH A SINEW BOW. I ENJOYED WORKING WITH THIS GROUP AND WE HAD A GOOD TIME PLANTING TREES AND DIGGING SOME HOLES.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ARE INNATELY IN TUNE WITH NATURAL RESOURCES AND HAVE FOUNDED THEIR LIFE CYCLES BY FOLLOWING NATURE AS A TEACHER THROUGHOUT THE MILLENIA. EACH YOUNG GENERATION IS TAUGHT TO RESPECT THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT ARE IN THEIR TERRITORY. BY DOING SO THEY LEARN CONSERVATION SKILLS AND ARE AWARE THAT RESOURCES CAN BECOME DEPLETED IF OVERLY USED IN ONE LOCATION. THUS IT IS IMPORTANT TO TRANSFER THIS KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO TEND THEIR LANDS AND MANAGE THEM.

THEY HAVE FOLLOWED THE PATHS OF THE ANIMALS AND KNOW THEIR WAYS OF GRAZING AND EATING, AS WELL AS THE ELEVATIONS IN WHICH THEY LIVE. THEIR HUNTING PRACTICES HAVE FOLLOWED THESE ROUTES AND THEY KNOW HOW MANY ANIMALS THEY NEED TO HUNT AND HOW MANY FISH THEY NEED TO CATCH FOR THEIR VILLAGE. BY COLLECTING SEEDS, TUBERS, AND NUTS THEY ACTUALLY ARE USING TECHNIQUES THAT HELP THESE PLANTS REPRODUCE. THE SMALL CORMLETS OF LOMATIUM PLANTS ARE LEFT IN THE GROUND OR REPLANTED BY THE VILLAGES IN ORDER TO ENSURE MORE PLANTS THE FOLLOWING YEAR. BY BEATING THE TARWEED PLANT THE SEEDS ARE DISPERSED AROUND THE AREA SO THAT MORE PLANTS GROW NEXT YEAR. IN THIS WAY THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAVE MAINTAINED A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM FOR THEIR OWN VILLAGES.