<\/span><\/h2>\nOne of the most important lessons we can learn from Native American culture is to appreciate what we have.<\/p>\n
Right-back before the first white man set foot in America, the Natives were surviving and thriving wholly off the land and what it provided. They found food in the animals and plants, weapons to hunt from the trees and rock and clothing and shelter from animal hides.<\/p>\n
Additionally, medicines were created over the generations from the plants and tree – using their anti-inflammatory properties to reduce swelling, cure headaches and toothaches and to settle digestive issues over a period of trial and error.<\/p>\n
<\/span>What Can We Do?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nAlthough we live in a more modern era surrounded by technology and simple, immediate solutions, we still have access to the raw materials that the Native Americans used all those years ago. Instead of using them, we choose to take them for granted.<\/p>\n
Learning about foraging for food and using herbal remedies for minor ailments can save you money and give you extra knowledge in the event of an emergency. All of our modern medication was originally created using natural elements and can often be better for you than more modern chemical medicines.<\/p>\n
<\/span>2. Live in Harmony with Nature <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nIt was the Native Americans that originally taught settlers not only to live off the land but to respect it. They understood how to interpret nature, pick up the signs in changing seasons and cultivate the ground to make it suitable to grow food.<\/p>\n
They weren\u2019t greedy and only took what they needed from nature, believing that this behaviour would ensure more fruitful living, as nature would respect them in the same way.<\/p>\n
<\/span>What\u2019s Changed?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nToday\u2019s society is quite different. We\u2019re powered by money and fight for possessions for pleasure, not necessity.<\/p>\n
But imagine what would happen if we were taken back to basics. How would we survive?<\/p>\n
We must learn to only take what we need and respect the animals, plants and the environment around us. Without them, we wouldn\u2019t have the food we put on our table today. Caring for animals and plants can help you give as much back to nature as you\u2019re taking – keeping natural harmony and balance.<\/p>\n
<\/span>3. Learn to Minimize Waste<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nThe modern world is wasteful and it\u2019s the same across the globe. We fill our landfills with waste food, old clothes, and items that we just got bored of.<\/p>\n
Native Americans would use every piece of what they had. It was their responsibility to catch their own meat, to grow their own vegetables and to make and fix their own clothes. It\u2019s a vastly different lifestyle if you don\u2019t know when your next meal is coming.<\/p>\n
They were great recyclers:<\/p>\n
\n- Eating the Whole Animal <\/strong>– melting down the fat and bone marrow to make soup and preserving any meat they didn\u2019t eat for a time when food was scarce.<\/li>\n
- Tanning Hides<\/strong> – Preserving the hides of the animals they killed for food allowed them to make clothes and create shelter.<\/li>\n
- Fixing Old Clothing <\/strong>– They learnt to repair clothes because hide tanning took a long time, the next outfit might have taken weeks to be ready to wear and in cold winters, layers were key.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Not only did this benefit their way of living, but it also showed the respect they had for nature around them, making sure every kill had a sure purpose. This is a respect that many of us have sadly lost in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
<\/span>How Could This Benefit Us?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThere\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t follow their example though. Removing waste is easier than you think:<\/p>\n
\n- Use the seeds and pits in fruit and vegetables to grow your own.<\/li>\n
- Use leftover meat cutlets to make soup or stew.<\/li>\n
- Preserve fruits and vegetables to eat out of season.<\/li>\n
- Dry out your meat and store it for winter. The Native Americans dried their meat by hand – removing the fat and letting it dry in the summer sun. Although we have modern appliances to make our jerky – their old method still works, so give it a go.<\/li>\n
- You can even use the bones to make a broth mixed with vegetables which is really good for you.<\/li>\n
- YouTube is full of videos on how to repurpose old clothes with holes too. So, don\u2019t be so quick to throw things away.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Upcycling furniture and appliances is also a massive trend these days – sure, it\u2019s fashionable, but think of all the money you\u2019re saving and all the skills you\u2019re developing in maintaining your own lifestyle for longer.<\/p>\n
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