John,

Itukdi Wigwa. 

I hope you are able to spend a moment each day — not just a holiday centered on "thanks" — in gratitude for the land we occupy. Learn about whose ancestral lands you occupy here.

This month is Native American Heritage Month and in our work at Washington Conservation Voters, we push beyond the land acknowledgment because we know there is no climate justice without Indigenous leadership. We work with Native Nations, utilize Native-owned businesses, and honor the wisdom and insights of Indigenous voices. 

One thing this year has revealed to us is that we — you and I — are nature. Our work isn't just focused on some forest, or waterway, or climate or community over there — it’s within you. It's within all of us. It's about people and the environment and the nature within both. This is why in my culture we consider everything our relative. We care for things more passionately when we see each other as relatives. The people, the trees, the salmon, the mountains, and the ocean are all our relatives. 

I am reminded of a favorite poem of mine by Ofelia Zepeda, a citizen of the Tohono O'odham Nation, called "Carrying Our Words":

We travel carrying our words.
We arrive at the ocean. 
With our words we are able to speak of the sounds of the thunderous waves.
We speak of how majestic is it, of the ocean power that gifts us songs.
We sing of our respect
and call it our relative.

Wherever you are and whomever you're with — family, a loved one, friends, the trees, and even the ocean — you are surrounded by your relatives. Take good care of nature. What you do to nature, you do to yourself. 

Warmly, 

Alyssa Macy
CEO