Indigenous Wisdom

Learning from the wisdom-keepers

Sunday 16th August was the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, which begs several questions, like…. How would indigenous people tell the difference? And… what about the other 364 days of the year? And… is there a risk that nominating a day, week, or even a month of the year to celebrate minorities serve as a substitute for actual effective action to overcome systemic oppression?

But on a more positive, less cynical note, it seemed like a good opportunity to share some thought-provoking quotes from indigenous wisdom traditions. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t come across as cultural appropriation, but rather as a sign of respect, and a reminder that our increasingly lost Western so-called civilisation would do well to listen to the deep wisdom still safeguarded by many of the indigenous peoples of the world.

This list is not intended to be encyclopaedic, either in terms of peoples or quotations. If you have recommendations that I have not included, please feel free to post them in the comments.

Native American/First Peoples:

“Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn’t have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he…