The Oceti Sakowin, as well as other Native nations, share a philosophy. We are taught that in all that we do, we should seek to honor our ancestors and contemplate the consequences of our actions, including how they will affect the unborn. Being a wasicu (fat taker) who hoards the best for themselves while others suffer and die because of that selfishness is not only undesirable but damning. While wasicu is often used to describe white men, anyone, irrespective of color, can become one.
We are directed to look to the future and secure the prosperity of those living seven generations from now. This is how we were able to thrive as Indigenous peoples absent Western civilization for many millennia.
The traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples, who have lived in their ancestral homelands since before recorded history, makes them experts in how Earth’s ecosystems work. Even though Indigenous lands now represent less than 22 percent of the world’s land area, our territories currently comprise 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity.
As the sons and daughters of Earth, Indigenous peoples have become her primary protectors, and we often share her fate. All over the globe, Indigenous peoples are the holdouts, laying their bodies in the path of bulldozers and in front of loaded guns, willing to die to save land, water, and life.
In the Amazon, Indigenous tribes live in voluntary isolation, protecting the most biodiverse place on the planet by virtue of their inhabitance.