Mother Earth teaches us to be human. She brings life to life and shares her gifts with us. In return for the gifts of our Mother, it is our responsibility as humans to care for all living beings living upon her.

The rock carries the wisdom of the ages and is known as the oldest teacher and is called “Grandfather�? From the rock we learn inner strength and faith. The rock is slow to move yet when the rock moves, the whole world pays attention.

The tree teaches us about Honesty for the tree is able to move the nutrients from the roots to the uppermost branches. The sap moves through the tree just as we must learn to allow truth to move through us. For each human there is a tree that is just like you. If you are acting as though you carry the whole world upon your shoulders, you will see a tree that is bowed down. Some trees appear to be tall, straight and handsome, yet that same tree may be rotten on the inside. Some people are like that. Crooked people will see crooked trees, just like them. We must strive to be tall, straight and honest and grounded with a “good root system�?and to know that just as each tree is an individual and a member of a family, so are we.

Although it gets walked on, grass keeps coming back. As humans we do that to one another, yet even when we get “walked upon�?we must show kindness to ourselves and others and keep coming back. We also nurture, fertilize and care for the grass just as we must care for one another. A blade of grass has two sides to it just as we, as humans have a smooth side and a rough side. We must recognize this and be kind to ourselves in order to smooth out the rough edges.

The animals give us the greatest gift of all and that is the lesson of sharing. They give up their lives so that we can live. In the old days, our ancestors would offer a prayer to Creation and ask for an animal to feed the people. When a hunter connected with an animal, that was an indication the animal was ready to die. After the hunter killed the animal, its heart was divided among the hunters and a piece of the heart was offered back to the Mother Earth with a prayer of thanks.

As humans we need to learn to share with one another and give thanks for the gifts of life shared with us.

The FOUR teachings of Faith, Honesty, Caring and Sharing which come with the rock the tree, the grasses, and the animals keep us connected with our Mother Earth.

~Cree Teaching. Author Unknown