Land Journals

In our Indigenous Perspectivs course, we have been doing land journals each week where we are to spend time on the land and pay close attention to our 5 sense in particular, what is the earth/land showing/telling me? In Indigenous Culture, the land is highly valuable to them. The land is sacred. In the many novels we have read in this course, North American Indigenous Literature, we clearly see the connection to land. My question is, when did we loose focus on the land and the importance of it. Unfortunately it seems that people do not care about the earth as much as we used to. Global warming is a prevalent issue as well as littering, and pollution - and I can't help but to wonder what Indigenous People would say and or feel about this. If we continue to treat the earth the way we are presently, there is going to be a drastic consequence (poor food quality, decrease of medications, poor water quality, etc.,). I think we need to adopt Indegnous Persepctives in the way that they care about the earth. If we began to take small steps in improving the lands condtions, the land will recover and continue providing for us. We need to learn from Indigenous Persepctives - they apprecitate the earth and all it provides for life. They treat the land with respect and I can't say that we do presently.

In creating my own land journals each week, I have began noticing things that I normallly wouldnt have. We live busy lives and often don't find time in our day to get outside to fully sit down and appreciate what the earth shows us each day. By fully connecting to the land and being present, we see many of the beautiful aspects of the land such as wildlife, plantlife, the clouds, and sun, the northern lights, etc,. We hear the sounds of life, the noises of animals, the giggles of the children nextdoor, the whistling of the wind, etc,.

My point is, by ensuring that you can take out a part of your day where you are able to connect to the land, allows oneself to be appreicative of the land. The land can be something that one takes for granted but it should be celebrated each day.

I'm glad you brought up our land journals and the impact they have had on you personally! I too have really valued this exercise and recognize how it has positively impacted my relationship with the land, and overall my own mental health. We often do not take time to appreciate what the land has to offer, but I have learned through this exercise that the land always grounds me and brings me back to a place of peace. When my life feels so chaotic and stressful, connecting with the land is the best strategy to bring me back down and offers me a space and time to find calm and just simply be.

I appreciate how you brought up the question of when did we lose focus of this and how integrating Indigenous perspectives. This is something I have reflected on a lot in the last few weeks (and even wrote my short essay on). Indigenous culture views nature as a partner to humans, rather than something to be ruled by humans. I have grappled with how we can integrate Indigneous perspectives more in our Western culture to make a lasting impact. Do you have any ideas or strategies on how to integrate more Indigenous practices or perspectives in your own personal life?

You've brought up a good point about adoping Indigenous perspectives in a way that cares about the earth! In this way the earth will take care of us in exchange. The past few years I have really gotten into gardening. At first I was just planting whatever I wanted and not thinking much of it. However, last summer I learned about plants that are native to the Medicine Hat area. I learned the importance of planting plants that were once part of this area, and how replanting them will benifit the land in a great way. Not only are the native plants good for humans, but they are also helpful to animals and bugs that need to survive in this area. Planting native plants is just one small way I am trying to help the land in this area!