What Ancient Native Americans Knew

My heart swelled with relief and pride, as our President Biden attended this year's G7 Conference, held in Cornwall, United Kingdom. We are again a nation concerned with the environment, and committed to working with the distinguished representatives of the 6 other member countries. 

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist, admonished world leaders for failing to address the urgency of climate change. Her organization, Fridays for Future, is a youth-led group that fights for more equitable and powerful laws regarding climate and the environment. She is right to admonish all nations for not doing enough to deal with climate change. And, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Planning for future generations is not a new concept, by any means. In fact, the Seventh Generation plan developed by the ancient Iroquois Haudenosaunee became the guiding principle by which the tribes governed. 

Dating back to at least 1500 AD, the Seventh Generation principle, also called The Great Law, became the social, political and ceremonial fabric of the Five (later Six) Nation Confederacy. In fact, the American Constitution contains contributions from The Great Law, possibly thanks to Ben Franklin, who greatly admired the way the Haudenosaunee governed.

The Seventh Generation Principle in modern times is often brought up when decisions about water, natural resources and energy are made whether participants realize it or not. How will what we do today affect later generations? The idea that what we do now impacts future generations is an ancient one. 

The following brief, but engaging video further explains how Native Americans lived to honor people "seven generations" into the future using the Seven Generations Rule. 

Coming soon: Other ways early Native American principles not only impacted our past, but teach us about the future as well.