Mother Earth Day

We all share the same breath - the land, the people, the animals, the water, and the air.

Ask yourself: Are your decisions today ensuring an equitable quality of life for the next seven generations to come?

Founded 51 years ago, the term 'Earth Day' was created with an effort to take action in human behaviour across local, national and global impacts that respond in kindness to our planet. More than ever before, this day is packed with a series of creative promotions, digital initiatives and activations by brands in over 190 countries, practiced by one billion people. But to Indigenous people, Mother Earth Day is celebrated each and every day.

The Seventh Generation Principle is a practice created by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy to empower the current generation of human beings to live for the benefit of the next seven generations. When it comes to our land, water, air, and our relationships, every decision should be made with our children seven generations into the future.

Our lands, water, and air are gifts from Mother Earth. Indigenous people represent under 5% of the world's population and are responsible for 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Our 6th extinction of climate change is escalating more rapidly due to the greed of exceeding Mother’s Earth’s boundaries. True prosperity shouldn't have to come at a cost to our planet, nor should Earth Day be abused as a source of entertainment or a marketing trend. Across the world, our people have been stripped away from their traditional territories in the name of eco-tourism and large-scale developments, forced to abandon their ancestral grounds. The conversation surrounding climate change resilience our people and communities always carried is now progressively acknowledged as a vital role in the achievement of environmental management and sustainable development.

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LAND

The protection of our lands begin when we understand the relationship between people and land. To you, you might see land as something to own, a commodity that is bought and sold, but also a space to make a living and call home. To us, it is much more than that. Land is the mother to our social, physical, spiritual and cultural connection, playing a fundamental role to our sustainable economic development for generations. Land is much more than a place, because the hills, rocks, trees, prairies, and animals, are all formed of the same substance, as well as our ancestors who continue to live within the land, water, and sky. A protected land must never be neglected - from the forests, mountains, prairies and wetlands, land is a being. It needs to loved and cared for, but it loves and cares for you in return. Land is family.

WATER

The health of our land and water is a reflection of our health. Water is the lifeblood of Mother Earth, and like our land, is to be treated as a living being.  When we understand that water is a relationship and is interconnected, our focus on using water as a substance to drink is ignorant. The domination of Western science and technologies have neglected the value of water management by Indigenous peoples, contributing to the loss of water around the world. We are water. Up to 60% of our body is made of water, so we must love, honour, and respect our water for its gift to us and all living things. Water is the symbol of life. It is our first medicine. Treat water as a sacred gift each day, because it is.

AIR

It's not just a gaseous substance, it is the gift that brings you into existence. Your first breath. Air symbolizes our relationship to Mother Earth in practicing reverence, humility and reciprocity. So, as a being, if we don't take care of our air, it doesn't take care of us; when we hurt and pollute our air, it hurts and pollutes us. Let it be a gentle reminder that our decisions today will make an impact on the quality of our air for the next seven generations.

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Today, many organizations like the Aichi Target are addressing and fighting biodiversity loss. Governments and marine areas are taking more conservation measures to protect our lands, air and waters with the realization Indigenous stewardship is a critical way to meet those goals. We extend our gratitude and thanks to our Guardians and Keepers across the lands as they continue to empower our nations and cultural responsibility, leading the care and protection of our forests, animals, plants, air and water, recording development each day. Our Guardians and Keepers connect our youth with Elders in preparation of becoming the next generation of ministers, educators, and leaders.

We invite you to live each day in balance with our environment. Let's remember in order to save our planet, our perspectives, guidance, and management towards biodiversity must not be forgotten. We can start by embracing the value of the seven generation stewardship. It's the least we can do for the next seven generations. It's the least we can do for our Mother Earth.

Respect yourselves, respect the land that we are walking on, the water that we drink, and the air that we breathe.

With love and gratitude,

The team at Cheekbone Beauty