The land we Call home
A Teaching about the Term Turtle Island
By: Nimkii Brad Howie
When you say the word "Indigenous," what does it mean? Just as the word Indigenous carries broad implications, so too would this article if I didn’t focus on one aspect. So, let’s start with the basics. Indigenous to where? To what is now Canada, the United States, or Mexico? Where do you begin to understand Indigenous peoples in this part of the world? Like so much of Indigenous understanding, it all begins with the Earth—it starts with the environment.
When I used to think about the environment, I thought of what we now call Canada. But Canada has only existed as a country since 1867, and its borders are artificial creations. It’s much more meaningful and accurate to speak about the unique and diverse environments of North America. Where one environment isn’t split among borders, states or provinces, or countries.
Indigenous people have lived in these environments since time immemorial. Across North America, there were, and still are, numerous distinct nations, each with their own ways of knowing, languages, and cultures. Yet, there is one thing that connects us, but it is also what makes us unique; the land.
But what do we call the land we are privileged to live on, but do not own? In the environments of the Northeastern Woodlands and even into the Southeastern parts of North America, many nations tell a creation story about how North America came to be. They say it was formed atop the back of a turtle. While the details of this story vary from Nation to Nation, the land we have lived on since time immemorial is called Turtle Island.
However, not all Nations across North America call this land Turtle Island. Throughout the diverse environments in North America there are diverse set of stories that can be found about the land in which we live upon. Even with these differences, there is a shared cultural value among Indigenous peoples across North America: we see the land as our Mother—a being with nurturing, female energy.
As an Anishinaabe person, I call North America Turtle Island, but I acknowledge that not all Nations do. Whether you call it Turtle Island, Canada, the United States, Mexico, or North America, we should all share one common understanding; Indigenous or non-Indigenous alike. The land we call home is not an it. It is our Mother, our shared Mother.