First Nations Legacy - "We are all related"

The Dakota people say "mitakuye oyasin," meaning, "We are all related." It is used as a blessing or a way to end a prayer or a ceremony.



In our modern world, as researchers map genetic codes, we are finding out how very little difference there is among all life forms. We share more than 98 percent of genetic code with chimpanzees, and a surprising number of genetic code - 60 to 88 percent - with bees, chickens and mice.*

As people begin to think of the consequences of human consumption and changing global climate patterns, we might benefit from reminding ourselves that we are related to all life on Earth.

Aho - mitakuye oyasin.

*U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services - National Institute of Health