All the terms referring to the pre-contact people of Canada are used and
intended with the utmost respect. I acknowledge that Indigenous, First Nation
and Indian are colonial terms of our choosing and not language chosen by the
people to define who they are. For this reason, I apologize in advance to anyone
who might be offended by the woeful inadequacy of the English language.
What is a good ancestor? First Nation wisdom will tell you that being a good
ancestor is walking in this life with our work truly being an offering in service of
the Seven generations ahead, and honoring the Seven generations that came
before us.
What does being a “bad ancestor” look like? David Ehrenfeld writes about this in
his book Becoming Good Ancestors: How We Balance Nature, Community, and
Technology. He examines our retreat from reality, our separation from nature,
our blatant acceptance of technology, our rejection the old, our dismissive
attitudes towards noneconomic values, and the decline of local communities.
Why should we be good ancestors? Ehrenfeld believes that if we are aware of
what we’re losing and why we’re losing it, the patterns of “bad ancestry” might be reversible. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, would say that being a
good ancestor is our greatest responsibility.
The question remains then: how do we become good ancestors? That question
is harder to answer.
Melissa K. Nelson PhD reminds us of the importance of being reverent toward
our ancestors. “Whether practicing biomimicry, holistic health, ecoliteracy, green design, permaculture, slow food, etc. whatever you are doing on the land, you are living in spiritually occupied territories. We are walking on somebody’s
ancestors. Our actions require clear thinking, pure intention and profound
reverence.” Nelson also wisely cautions us to remember that there are original caretakers to ‘place’. What is done on these spiritually occupied territories is done with great care and great respect, in partnership with local First Nation peoples.
Being a good ancestor isn’t about returning to the dark ages and living as they
did. I happen to value many of my modern conveniences. I am however at a
point where I am questioning my needs versus my wants for bigger picture living
on a planet with ecosystems that are now frail.
If my work is to be an offering of service, this would look more like: enriching and expanding my life by choosing vibrant more diverse communities to engage with; it would be about more family and friend time; it would be about better food, water and soil for all; and be about rediscovering the values of community and mutual caring as I inspire others around me to do the same.
I can’t tell you if there are good ancestors in my family or what that would even
look like. Dad was adopted. My birth mother had minimal connection with her
parents. Family histories get lost this way, sometimes on purpose.
I realize that going forward good ancestry is going to have to begin with me.