Robin Wall Kimmerer is a Potawatomi botanist, author, and professor at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. As a scientist and a Native American, her work is informed by both Western science and Indigenous environmental knowledge.  Her central contribution is bridging these two ways of knowing. She brings to her scientific research and writing her lived experience as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the principles of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) — a body of knowledge Indigenous peoples cultivate through their relationship with the natural world, centered on the interdependency between all living beings and on humans’ inherent kinship with the animals and plants around them.  Her major books include [[Gathering Moss]] (2003), [[Braiding Sweetgrass]] (2013), and The Serviceberry (2024). Braiding Sweetgrass became an international bestseller, weaving together plant science, Indigenous stories, and reflections on reciprocity and gratitude toward the natural world. One of her distinctive philosophical contributions involves language. She argues that calling the natural world “it” absolves us of moral responsibility and opens the door to exploitation. To stop objectifying nature, she has proposed the word “ki” as a new pronoun to refer to any living being — human, animal, or plant — with the plural “kin.”  She was named a MacArthur Fellow and “genius” grant winner in 2022.  The Seven Fires Prophecy / People of the Seventh Fire The Seven Fires Prophecy is an Anishinaabe prophecy that marks phases, or epochs, in the life of the people on Turtle Island (North America). The seven fires represent key spiritual teachings, and suggest that the different colors and traditions of human beings can come together on a basis of respect.  Seven prophets came to the Anishinaabe people living on the Northeast Coast of North America; each described an era of time that would come to pass. The first three fires describe the great migration of the Anishinaabe people along the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Great Lakes region, where they found their sacred food, Manoomin (wild rice).  The Fourth through Sixth Fires describe the encounter with European colonizers and the period of cultural destruction that followed. Then comes the pivotal Seventh Fire: The Seventh Prophet was described as “young and had a strange light in his eyes” and said: in the time of the Seventh Fire, New People will emerge and retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. The Sacred Fire will again be lit. At this time the light-skinned race will be given a choice between two roads — one green and lush, the other black and charred. In the prophecy, the people decide to take neither road, but instead turn back to reclaim the wisdom of those who came before them. If they choose the right road, the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire — an eternal fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood.  The “People of the Seventh Fire” are essentially those — Indigenous and non-Indigenous — who are doing the work of cultural and ecological recovery in this era, seen as the fulfillment of that ancient prophecy. Dan Wildcat Daniel Wildcat, Ph.D., is a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and an accomplished scholar who writes on Indigenous knowledge, technology, environment, and education. He is also director of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center. A Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, Wildcat formed the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group, a tribal-college-centered network working on climate change issues.  He continues the work of Indigenous scholarship forged by his mentor, Vine Deloria, Jr.  His books include Power and Place: Indian Education in America (with Deloria), Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge, and On Indigenuity: Learning the Lessons of Mother Earth. His core argument is captured in a phrase he coined: indigenuity — the idea that the restoration of Native knowledge is essential for saving humankind and the planet.  He calls for a paradigm shift from “resources to relatives and rights to responsibilities,” arguing that we cannot address physical climate change until we have a cultural climate change.  Elder Tom Porter (Sakokwenionkwas) Thomas R. Porter (Sakokwenionkwas — “The One Who Wins”) has been the founder, spokesperson, and spiritual leader of the Mohawk Community of Kanatsiohareke, located in the Mohawk Valley near Fonda, New York, since 1993. He is a member of the Bear Clan of the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne.  Tom Porter has been a nationally recognized figure in Indian Country since the 1960s, when he co-founded the White Roots of Peace, a group of Iroquois Elders who toured the country sharing traditional teachings and encouraging Native people to embrace their respective traditions. Recognizing that Mohawk language and culture were dying out, he also co-founded the Akwesasne Freedom School for grades K–8, with a curriculum entirely in Mohawk.  Tom was raised in the home of his maternal grandmother, who spoke very little English, making him one of the last generation of his people to be raised as a Mohawk speaker from birth. He learned the teachings of his great-grandparents’ generation, which were reinforced when, from his early teenage years, he was asked to interpret for the traditional chiefs.  In 1998, Porter launched the first Iroquois Immersion Program, a language and lifeway restoration project for the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse), which he described as the “Carlisle Indian Boarding School In Reverse” — an institution designed to reverse assimilation and cultural genocide.  His book And Grandma Said… Iroquois Teachings preserves oral teachings passed down through generations. These four — Kimmerer, the Seven Fires Prophecy, Wildcat, and Tom Porter — all converge around a shared theme: that Indigenous knowledge systems are not relics of the past but living, urgent wisdom for navigating the ecological and spiritual crises of the present moment.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ - [ ] People of the 7th fire prophecy - [ ] [Dan Wildcat] Elder Tom Porter `Author:` ## Summary ## Key Takeaways ## Quotes - ## Notes > [!info] > ## Highlights `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`