Clan System - Pre-Contact

"Our ancestors had a capacity for educating our children, outlining social responsibilities and for establishing and maintaining relationships among themselves and other bands. All of this occurred inside of a system of organization that derived its parameters from nature-the clan system The clan system arose from the observations of the natural world. Each animal and plant had a function that was intimately connected to another aspect of the environment. Our ancestors observed these relationships and based their understanding of themselves on the lessons of the earth." (Our Responsibility to the Seventh Generation, p. 6)

© 2000 International Institute for Sustainable Development