Someone who gives and wants it back is considered an “Indian giver” in western civilization. But Native Americans (referred to as Indians by early “settlers”) became synonymous with giving and taking back as a result of a cross-cultural misunderstanding between Indigenous people operating in a gift economy and westerners operating on the concept of private property and commodities in a market economy. According to Dr. Kimmerer, from a Native American perspective “the fundamental nature of gifts is that they move and their value increases with passage.” Whereas no trespassing signs are accepted and even expected in a property economy, such practices are unacceptable in an economy where land is seen as a gift for all. Therefore, our cultural perspectives and experiences are important in shaping our worldview.
Commodities and gifts are fundamentally different. Dr. Kimmerer learned through the gift of wild strawberries (given from the earth itself) that the world is filled with gifts simply scattered at your feet. “A gift comes through no action of your own. It's not a reward; you cannot earn it, call it to you, or even deserve it, and yet it appears. Your only role is to be open-eyed and present.” Unlike commodities that are associated with a bundle of rights, the essence of a gift is that it establishes a relationship, and comes with a bundle of responsibilities. Wool socks bought from JC Penny are a commodity and have no obligations attached, but the gift of hand knit socks from grandma are different. You’ll take better care of them and reciprocate because gifts from others create an ongoing relationship. Gifts given from the earth are no different.
The stories we choose to shape our behaviors have adaptive consequences. If we view natural resources as gifts from the earth as do the Indigenous cultures described by Dr. Kimmerer in her book, would we show more restraint in how much we extract from the environment or reciprocate more than we do when natural resources are viewed as commodities bought and sold (however cheap or expensive)? Is a gift relationship with nature sustainable in a tribe of 300 million?
How can we find our way to understanding the earth as a gift in our modern world? We can’t all be hunter-gatherers but “we can behave as if the living world were a gift. Refusal to participate is a moral choice. Water is a gift for all, not meant to be bought and sold. Don’t buy it. When food has been wrenched from the earth, depleting the soil and poisoning our relatives in the name of higher yields, don’t buy it. The market economy story has spread like wildfire, with uneven results for human well-being and devastation for the natural world. But it is just a story we have told ourselves and we are free to tell another, to reclaim the old one.”
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The source of information used in this article comes from “Braiding Sweetgrass” section 1, “Planting Sweetgrass.” By Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer.