In the English language, we separate “plants” and “animals” from “humans.” We also separate “nature” from “everything else.” However, this distinction is not the same in every language. For example, it does not exist within many Indigenous languages.
Roo (Catawba Nation) explains how the Catawba do not have a word for differentiating plants, animals or nature from humans. This way of understanding leads to more respectful relationships with the beyond-human world.
How can thinking of humans as part of nature help us to treat the environment better?