Receiving the Gifts from Indigenous People

In this time of accelerated damage to our beautiful planet, over exploitation of our oceans and fresh waters, destruction of our forests at alarming rates, and mass extinction of wildlife...it is well and truly time that we sought the wisdom of those peoples who lived in intelligent harmony with their environments for thousands of years....Indigenous Peoples, or First Peoples as they are more correctly called. In Australia, we have Australian Aborigines, who comprise the oldest continuous living culture on Earth- they have been here for somewhere between 50,000 and 125,000 years.

Image of Kimberley Elder David Mowaljarlai

Kimberley Aboriginal Elder David Mowaljarlai said:

‘We have a gift we have been trying to give you

 ... We want to fill up your emptiness with meaning so that you can love us and our country. We want to teach all Australians about their belonging in this country ... before it’s too late’.

Many white people are feeling disconnected from the earth, from the land where they live- often far from where their own particular indigenous ancestors lived. Noel Nannup, an Aboriginal Elder from the Perth area has shared that once we have lived here for 6 years, we are part of the land- the land knows us. 

Mowaljarlai also said : ‘Everybody who has been here can come back now, because when you’re walking around, your skin falls off, your hair drops down, even finger nails go onto the ground. All these things go into the earth, that way the land remembers who has been here, because you become part of that land.’  This sense of belonging is what we need right now more than anything- for our own healing, for our childrens’ future and for the planet. It is our disconnection from our living environment, from a sense of responsibility for caring for the land to which we belong - rather than “own”- that is allowing us to exploit, pollute and destroy the very life support systems with which we live. 

“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” From The Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Aboriginal People, and Indigenous people everywhere, do not generally think in terms of hierarchies, institutions, patriarchies using left brain thinking. Indigenous people think more in terms of what Mowaljarlai has called pattern thinking or right brain thinking. It is more holistic, broad and inclusive, relational and experiential. It doesn’t divide and cut everything up into pieces- it considers the whole picture, with humans just a thread in the whole woven tapestry of life on earth rather than as the controllers. This more creative type of thinking is desperately needed now to counterbalance the overly rational linear and reductionist thinking of prevailing western minds that does not take everything into consideration but considers everything in isolation and in reference to “me me me”. 

Indigenous people can teach us how to live sustainably in any given place. There are many bushfoods and potentially ‘miraculous’ bush medicines in Australia that we have not yet learned about. From the well known tea tree oil, to witchety grubs, and flowers that have the potential to treat cancer, there is so much untapped wisdom that has been passed down for hundreds of generations.

Australian Native Bush Tucker

Aboriginal people in Australia have incredible skills in living with the land sustainably. We can only benefit from better understanding our environment, from knowing our local bush foods, how to better manage our natural fresh water sources, how to thrive in the hot summer and the cold winters, how to understand the cycles of weather, how to burn the land for the benefit of all species. First though we need to respect this ancient wisdom and we can do that by understanding our own sense of belonging and our proper place within  our landscapes. 

One of the most important things Indigenous Cultures can teach us is how to live together in community; how to value collective wisdom, how to appreciate each other, to rely on and share with each other, how to deeply listen to each other. Indigenous cultures tend to think not so much in terms of individuality as we do in the West, but as a collective- they consider each other and the greater good while making decisions. They have structures in place to guide the community which take into account the needs of everyone, including future generations and their environment. Eldership is valued and old people are not discarded into homes as in they are in the West- their maturity and wisdom is valued and utilized-  but everyone has their place and all contributions are valued. Women’s unique healing and intuitive skills are important as are mens’ abilities to protect, nurture and guide the clan. We can learn from them to consider everyone’s needs and let go of self centredness which does not ultimately serve anyone’s best interests. 

People sitting in a circle, San Salvador

What we have to learn from Indigenous Peoples is incredibly valuable, and we have a desperate need now more than ever to listen to their wisdom, to honour them and to help protect their culture - we will be enriched, reconnected to our landscapes, to ourselves, our families and our communities. 

 Indigenous Peoples throughout the world have been displaced, discounted, their cultures eroded and many lost.

They have been wiped out by massacre, neglect, abuse, alcohol, institutional thinking, and centuries of deep trauma. They need us to recognise their gifts and help them find their place in the modern world, but even more so, we need them. 

Dadirri is a name given to a type of deep listening practiced in Aboriginal Culture- a listening based in respect, inner quiet, still awareness and waiting. A listening that does not try to hurry things up- that patiently waits for things to unfold. Indigenous Peoples have been waiting for a long time for us to listen to them, to learn from them, as they watch us spiral the planet into destruction.

The Earth that they deeply know as our mother, our home is our very life support system. We all have the capacity to listen deeply and we should start now- in fact, it is essential that we do.