Sacred Planet

In the beginning,

humans lived in small groups...

that collected food

by hunting and gathering,...

taking only what

they needed to survive.

Today, only a few humans still dwell

in the depths of nature...

in some of the last

pristine places on Earth.

They continue

a traditional way of life...

that has been practised,

almost unchanged,...

for thousands of years.

A way of life that has

stood the test of time...

and allowed them to live in harmony

with their natural surroundings.

These may be some of the last remaining

people to live a traditional lifestyle...

based on the wisdom passed down

through countless generations.

Many people have never

heard their voices.

Now it may be time to listen.

L"ve always been taught

by my parents and grandparents,...

the same message they received from

their grandparents for many generations,...

that we treat the Earth as our mother.

When we respect the Earth Mother,

then she provides for us.

And all the things

that we see along the way,...

the four-legged animals,...

the ones in the ocean,...

even the hills and the boulders.

They"re our relatives.

By then learning that we"re all related,...

we also learn the responsibility

to keep our planet alive.

As a young boy,...

when I stood next to a great tree,

a big, full-grown tree,...

I felt really small.

I felt that I still had a place,...

that here"s this great tree,

bigger than me,...

been on the Earth longer,...

and I feel one with it.

The way that my ancestors

were able to maintain a unity...

within the natural environment...

was to see all things sacred,...

meaning there was spirit in everything.

We always respected our elders.

We admired them

for coming so far in life.

My grandfather was a wonderful teacher

and a great storyteller.

It seemed as if, as he spoke,

he also healed.

And I wanted to learn that.

What my grandfather told me...

is that when I speak,

I will touch the hearts of many people.

I know now what he meant.

And there is a healing in the story.

There"s power in the word.

That"s how we built

the power of our communities.

That is how we taught our children

to be great leaders,

to be great medicine people...

Through the stories.

The most basic balance that

is important to our traditional way of life

is to have enough food to eat,

to have water to drink,...

and to have firewood

to keep ourselves warm.

The land provides us

with our basic needs,...

so we are completely

dependent on nature.

Without these things,

we cannot survive.

Lessons can be learned

from other cultures,...

but we"ll also learn from their mistakes.

If the people continue

to treat the Earth with no respect,...

our traditional way of life

will come to an end.

When we kill an animal, the remains

will be shared between the people.

The skin will be used for clothes,

for our blankets.

If it"s a big animal, the meat

will be sun-dried to be eaten later,...

and all the meat will be eaten up.

Sharing is a very important thing

in our culture.

If you don"t share with other people,

they will not share with you.

Sharing is just a natural way of life.

The most important message

I would teach the children...

is they must not forget

about our land and our culture.

Ancient teachings have been passed

down through generations of our people.

These teachings say

all life forms are interconnected.

Everything is part of

one whole and living organism,

and each part is vital

to the survival of the whole.

I believe the Earth is one living being.

The end of any one life form

will lead to hardship of another.

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