The Indigenous
Circle of Life describes essential self-organizing interactive fractal* or meme* components upon which
human life and society are built. Indigenous societies have compassionately and carefully orchestrated this design around the world over millennia. Fractal*
Design implies structural patterns or elements across infinite micro to macro scales
which repeat themselves. We exist as
individuals, families, extended families, communities, cities, regions, provinces,
states, nations, confederations, continents, hemispheres and as a planet. When design is self-organizing then the intelligence of each conscious part is actively contributing to the whole through its groupings at different levels. Like DNA as a genetic code upon which plant
and animal life builds its structures and channels energy, human society has codes or operating
rules and ‘etiquette’ (French = ‘prescribed-behaviour’) of interaction based in consciousness, which
keep us in equilibrium. If we wish to
understand sustainable development, change or break or wish to rebuild these
codes, we should be aware of their impacts at various levels of our existence over time. Time itself is infinite recreating its patterns across history recorded and unrecorded. The Indigenous Circle of Life is a broader view of the Great Law of Peace (mutual-aid in multihome living & inclusive economy of the Production Societies) found in Indigenous societies around the world. See also the following section A. HOME 9) MUTUAL-AID.
* Fractal
is derived 1975, from Fr. fractal, from L. fractus "interrupted,
irregular," lit. "broken," pp. of frangere "to
break" (see fraction).
Coined by French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot in "Les Objets
Fractals." Fractals are components organized into patterns which repeat themselves at each level of human & nature's endeavour & activity. Many
important spatial patterns of Nature are either irregular or fragmented to such
an extreme degree that ... classical geometry ... is hardly of any help in
describing their form. ... I hope to show that it is possible in many cases to
remedy this absence of geometric representation by using a family of shapes I
propose to call fractals -- or fractal sets. [Mandelbrot, "Fractals,"
1977] http://www.ted.com/talks/benoit_mandelbrot_fractals_the_art_of_roughness.html * A meme (/ˈmiːm/; meem)[1] is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."[2] A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures.[3] The word meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme (from Ancient Greek μίμημα Greek pronunciation: [míːmɛːma] mīmēma, "imitated thing", from μιμεῖσθαι mimeisthai, "to imitate", from μῖμος mimos "mime")[4] and it was coined by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene(1976)[1][5] as a concept for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, fashion, and the technology of building arches.[6] 1) INDIGENOUS CIRCLE OF LIFEIndigenous Circle of Life.pdf Indigenous technologies engender sustainable
development.
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Technology
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TRADITION:
Partial
list of indigenous economic and social
practices drawn from First Nation experience & records across the
Americas as well as world-wide. These
complementary and interactive practices form a culture of community.
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TODAY'S
APPLICATIONS
Join
Les Elements du design INDIGENE, Elemental Design, an inclusive organization committed to 'self-generation'
of community resources. Contact First Nation peoples and learn more.
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1.
Council
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The right of individuals in societies
to call council for issues that affect them. Eg. Practice at meetings of
asking, “Why have you come?” sets the agenda to include all participants.
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Guidance to time-based accounting,
participatory incorporation, organisational structuring, stakeholder
caucusing & progressive share based ownership & representation.
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2.
Solidarity by Voluntary Simplicity
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Community Leaders are distinguished
for having the least possessions. Focus on life essentials: food, shelter,
clothing, warmth, health and sharing (potlatch).
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Personal Financial Management to
empower life & vision realization.
Solidarity to enable-invest in all community members to work & share
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3.
Dialectic
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‘Both
Sides Now’ debate in conflict resolution.
Individual right to challenge other individuals and officials to debate on
actions, proposals & issues that affect them. Dialectic Right to be heard
equally with opponents. Recording
(traditionally in the witness of circle) of debate.
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‘Both
Sides Now’ debate in conflict resolution. An easy
equal-time recorded-dialogue
procedure for individuals in adversarial or research relationships engenders
dialectic group dynamics. First Nation models of Victim-Aggressor reconciliation.
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4.
Meeting in circle
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Eye contact, group awareness, respect,
equality, concertation and task sharing.
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Aid for groups in describing and
implementing circle process.
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5.
Economic democracy
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Based in Societies and Caucuses (see
numbers 8 and 9), it is a foundation for political democracy, economic
inclusion and expression in decision-making. Indigenous ways provide open
account-ing recognition for all contributions and thereby avoid the
relegation of economics as a hidden hand in politics.
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Time-based and human resource accounting
techniques for business & organizations. Participatory structure,
caucusing, progressive ownership, internal conflict resolution. Participatory stakeholder grouping and
structuring provides the means for communication & collaboration.
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6.
Political democracy
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Integrating individual and collective family,
extended family, neighborhood, community, region, province, state, nation,
continent, hemisphere & inter-national council. Straw-vote indicators.
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A system of family, community and
planetary council with checks and balances for every level integrated as part
of the whole. Based in democratic economy foundations.
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7.
College Progressive economic ownership
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Youth apprentice to elder master and
differential recognition in production societies for experience, investment,
accomplishment and decision-making acumen. Experience & Theory PRAXIS
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Share incentive programs with
visioning & apprenticeship. Stake-holder Relational Economy
Worker, consumer, founder, supplier investment, Research & Development.
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8.
Equality of men and women
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In political and economic processes,
deriving from time-based accounting for all community contributions. Men and
women are grouped according to their 'trades' into Societies and interests.
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Accounting for family & community
service that valorizes individuals for service and vision. Complementary human resource
planning.'Caucusing' <Iroquois=grouping of like interests
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Technology
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Tradition
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Today's Applications
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9.
‘Caucus’
<
Iroquois = 'Grouping of like-interests'
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Inclusive foundation for diverse
community perspectives, governance and co-operation. Individuals with
like-interests unite as ‘societies’
in order to give recognition and represent points of view, contribution,
specialty & expertise.
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Free Association and disassociation of
individuals. Flexible identification and organization of multiple stakeholder
groups and appropriate time-based accounting for their natural contributions.
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10.
Consensus decision-making
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Based in respect for diverse and common values. The group
includes all points of view and action in decisions. Decisions allow for
parallel courses of action such as the ‘Two Row Wampum Treaty.’ The
individual is responsible to include the group. See endnote Page 4
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Group dynamics and training in indigenous
consensus models is distinguished from the ‘linear’ consensus model used by
popular groups. Paired with caucusing it allows for free association of
participants.
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11.
Vision quest, Progressive Ownership
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The unique value of each individual,
ap-prenticeship learning, adult-youth men-torship in Production Society foundation
of indigenous education. Youth & adults at each stage of life are
supported in seeking their personal vision or contri-bution (gift).
Progressive Ownership
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Community service, apprenticeship
learning, adult-youth mentorship as the foundation of youth education. Youth are supported in
seeking their personal vision or contribution for the community. Goal identification
exercises. Progressive Ownership.
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12.
Time-based economic accounting
String-shell
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Kayoni, Wampum, Esnoguy, Seewan &
Quipu traditional American hemisphere string calculators for record keeping.
Graphic language systems. Accounting all community labor contributions to
well being within each society (or caucus) Understandings of astronomy.
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In societies (caucus). Inclusion of
all stakeholder contributions to community well being forms a comprehensive
model. Community Service Register, Research & Development for business,
industry, Family care of members, etc.
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13.
Earth-based,
Mapping
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Data organization according to place
by individuals & societies. Traditional geographic knowledge allowed natives to draw huge hemispheric
sectoral maps and to chauffeur Europeans across it. Ecological Mapping allows
for inter-disciplinary ecological impact analysis as well as research and
development of resources (human and physical).
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Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
for multi-discipline green mapping. Tiohtiake(Montreal region):
Heritage Rooted in Sustainability http://cbed.geog.mcgill.ca/WIP.html
Eco-Montreal Tiohtiake Green Map
www.eco-montreal.mcgill.ca International: www.greenmap.org
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14.
Longhouse (apartment)
Pueblo
(townhouse)
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Living together with respect for
vision, diversity, inclusive economics, dialectic expression, parallel
complementary paths (eg. Two Row Wampum) & caucusing of
like-interests. Critical-mass economic
planning allowed for ownership, special-ization and exchange. Multi-generational living provided for the
complementation of each age. See
endnote Page 4.
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Planning for Collectively owned
housing in apartment blocks, townhouses etc.
Stakeholder accounting, elemental housing design Respect for
diversity, intra-parallel group dynamics, conflict resolution, caucusing,
differential accounting for diverse stakeholders: worker, consumer, supplier,
& founders.
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Technology
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Tradition
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Today's Application
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15.
Elemental Design
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For buildings, infrastructure and
economic activity including Sun
(fire, heat), Air (wind), Water (rain and snow), Earth (compost and soil), Life (human ergo-dynamics, plants,
bacteria, worms etc.). Forms the foundation for a ‘permacultural’ design of
community.
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Based in the five elements leading to
ecological design of housing, transport, equipment, clothing, infrastructure,
agriculture, complementation of resources and more. Designing for the interaction of the five
elements.
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16.
Orchard Agro-forestry mixed field cropping & wild
plant nurture
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Orchard Food Production. Cultivate the earth. Trees penetrate the
earth and sky, absorb sun-photosynthesis, raise & hold minerals, water,
organic matter and life in myriad forms as a foundation for the biosphere as
well as generating weather.
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Identification of suitable forest
cover, indigenous orchard perennial plants, permaculture technique, field
cropping, storage and supply. Consider
with Elemental Design and Geographic Information Systems.
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17.
Tradition
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Elders tell stories and bring
reflection for past, present & future.
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Environmental impact planning for
seven generations.
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18.
Sovereignty
(integrated
governance)
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Flows from individual to clan, to
village, to nation and between nations. Among the Haudenosaunee, visitors
arriving at a village wait 'at the
wood’s edge', smoking a fire and receiving village messengers of welcome
or precaution.
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Indigene is founded upon principles of self-realization and
sovereignty, in order to economically and politically empower individuals,
family, community and nation.
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19. River based
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Communities used canoe for transport
of people, materials and goods. The
rivers kept alive through agro-forestry.
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River (water) based communities honor
water flow on the land and in all life forms.
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3 RELATIONAL ECONOMY
A DEFINITION: A FULL
CYCLE OF
GIVING & RECEIVING
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comprehensive recognition-of, accounting-for and empowerment-of the
inherent economic relationships between us.
'Economy' is derived from <Latin = 'Care & nurture of the
home be it domestic or worldly'.
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Counter to 'relational' are fragmented ex-clusive, competitive & institutional economies. Relational Economy, a foundation of indigenous peoples, challenges community activists to build sustainable relationships, belonging and ownership. |
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;)
INDIGENE,
Elemental Design, 2/9/10 Douglas Jack, eco-montreal@mcgill.ca Eco-Montreal Tiohtiake Green Map www.eco-montreal.mcgill.ca
Tiohtiake, Kanien’keh, Turtle Island, Mohawk Placename Mapping Sustain-ability
Rooted in Heritage http://cbed.geog.mcgill.ca/WIP.html Indigene Community www.indigenecommunity.info
Two Row
Wampum Treaty: The Kanien'kehaka 'People of the Flint' lived in Kanien'keh a
nation between Montreal and New York City as part of the Haudenosaunee 'People
of the Longhouse' confederacy (Iroquois).
Reference: p10 Wampum Belts by Tehanetorens, '93, Iroqrafts,
Ohsweken, Ontario, N0A1M0. This belt symbolizes the agreement and conditions
under which the Iroquois welcomed the white (Dutch) peoples to this land. "You say that you are our Father and I
am your son." We say, "We will
not be like Father and Son, but like Brothers". This wampum belt confirms our words. "These two rows will symbolize two paths
or two vessels, traveling down the same river together. One, a birch-bark canoe, will be for the
Indian People, their laws, their customs and their ways. The other, a ship, will be for the white
people and their laws, their customs and their ways. We shall travel the river together, side by
side, but in our own boat. Neither of us
will make compulsory laws or interfere in the internal affairs of the
other. Neither of us will try to steer
the other's vessel." The agreement
has been kept by the Iroquois to this date. |
Ċ ď Douglas Jack, May 12, 2010, 5:46 PM
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