The Ancestors
Ways of 'Knowing and Being'
Indigenous people openly and often refer to 'The Ancestors'; what they mean is more connected than the family tree.
The ancestral knowledge of Indigenous peoples is an ancient heritage that has been passed on from generation to generation since the beginning of time. This wisdom is part of their system and structure of life linked to their spirituality, identity, practices, economy, and culture. All of the world's native peoples define themselves not in terms of genealogical descent, but in terms of relationship to the land and in terms of their relationships to all of creation through the land. Their knowledge goes far deeper than we imagine.
These cultures are truly the experts of sustainable environmental management practices. Embodying the essence of being 'one with nature', protecting, preserving, exchanging without defacing or impairing any part of the wild world they exchange energy with. As humanity evolves, we begin to understand that this way of thinking embraces a deep and complex worldview, very different from the long-engrained ways of living that have proven to destabilize individuals and environments. Ancestral and cultural knowledge of the indigenous communities and peoples of the world, have long demonstrated successful methonds protecting and preserving nature, but life itself.
"We are all indigenous, like fingers of the same hand. Brothers and Sisters, we share this Earth. We are equally accountable for how we care for it and each other."
Wandering Wolf, Grand Elder of the Living Maya
Who's Indigenous?
The definition of Indigenous varies by who is defining it and for what purpose. The UN says it's a Haplo Group that occupied a region prior to colonization. What about Ireland? People from many surrounding nations immigrated to the Emerald Isle over 3,000 years ago. How long do these original cultures need to occupy a place they consider their homeland before they qualify as 'native'. Haplo Groups are pretty cool for tracking origin. But the Celts didn't arrive until long after, and they consisted of many Haplo Groups. Wouldn't you agree that Celtic is indeed an ancient culture? Everyone descends from group(s) of people in ancient times. If you ask the Indigenous, they'll tell you that how you identify to a place or culture is deeply personal.
The Science
Oral history has been increasingly recognized in academia as a valuable contribution to the historical record.
The Ancient Practice of Mongolian Eagle Hunting
During the harsh Mongolian winter — when humans are most challenged in the steppes — Eagle Master Kairatkhan’s golden eagles are the source of sustenance. The arctic foxes and small animals they kill provide meat and the fur that clothes him and his family. And it’s precisely that line between life and death that prompted filmmaker, explorer and start-up veteran Sam Cossman, to fly thousands of miles to spend Christmas in an adobe hut in subzero temperatures.
The Map
Indigenous Inhabitants approxomately 2,500 BC
Newgrange (Irish: Sí an Bhrú[1]) is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, eight kilometres (five miles) west of the town of Drogheda.[2] It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. Newgrange is the main monument in the Brú na Bóinne complex, a World Heritage Site that also includes the passage tombs of Knowth and Dowth, as well as other henges, burial mounds and standing stones.[3]
In Irish mythology, Newgrange is often called Síd in Broga (modern Sídhe an Brugha or Sí an Bhrú). Like other passage tombs, it is described as a portal to the Otherworld and a dwelling of the divine Tuatha Dé Danann.[44]
Greek Theory of Autochthones
The People Belong to the Land
In ancient Greece, the concept of autochthones (from Ancient Greek αὐτός autos "self," and χθών chthon "soil"; i.e. "people sprung from earth itself") means the indigenous inhabitants of a country, including mythological figures, as opposed to settlers, and those of their descendants who kept themselves free from an admixture of colonizing entities. In mythology, autochthones are those mortals who have sprung from the soil, rocks and trees. They are rooted and belong to the land eternally.
The “autochthony” of the Athenians was a common theme on vase paintings, in political rhetoric, and on the tragic stage. In the epideictic oration of Panegyricus I Socrates addressed to his countrymen the following passage:
"...for we did not become dwellers in this land by driving others out of it, nor by finding it uninhabited, nor by coming together here a motley horde composed of many races; but we are of a lineage so noble and so pure that throughout our history we have continued in possession of the very land which gave us birth, since we are sprung from its very soil and are able to address our city by the very names which we apply to our nearest kin; for we alone of all the Hellenes have the right to call our city at once nurse and fatherland and mother."