First Nations and Inuit people have lived in Canada for thousands of years. For generations, they depended on their surroundings to provide their food and shelter. To survive, they had to understand how each part of the environment was connected to the other and to their own lives. Treating nature with respect was their way of life. It was a part of who they were; how they worked and played together, their traditions and their spiritual beliefs.

Many of us today live in big cities and get our food from far away places, which makes it seem like we don’t have very much to do with our natural surroundings. Instead of understanding and working with nature to survive, we have tried to control it. Often we do things to take care of the environment only after we have already damaged it!

First Nations and Inuit people have believed that humans are a part of the environment, not separate from it, and that all living creatures are equal and deserve respect. They made sure that they took care of the environment in everything that they did. For example, when they hunted, they didn’t kill any more than they needed and they didn’t waste any part of the animal so that there would be plenty of wildlife for the future.

What do you think life would be like today if people treated the earth as the First Nations and Inuit believed it should be treated? How would things change?