Wîci pimâtisiwin askiy, wîci ayâwak kîkway.
“The land gives life; it shares everything.”
This proverb expresses a worldview in which land is not a backdrop or a resource. It is a living, giving relative that sustains and connects all beings. It also reminds people that what the land does naturally, humans should mirror in their own behavior: giving, sharing, and sustaining life around them.
This article explores what the proverb means, how it fits within a broader Cree understanding of the world, and what lessons it offers for daily life right now.
1. Translation and Layers of Meaning
At the surface level, the proverb is often rendered as:
“The land gives life; it shares everything.”
This English line captures three key ideas:
- The land gives life
The land is the source of water, food, medicine, materials, and shelter. Without it, human life is impossible. - It shares everything
The land is generous and abundant. It does not hoard what it has. It offers itself to all beings: humans, animals, plants, and even unseen forces. - Implied reciprocity
If the land acts in this generous way, people are called to reflect that same spirit of sharing and care in their own choices.
The phrase can be understood not only as a description, but also as an instruction: because the land shares everything, you too should live as a sharer and a protector, not purely as a taker.
2. Cultural Context and Origin
While this specific wording is in Cree, its spirit is deeply rooted in many Indigenous worldviews, including Cree teachings about:
- Askiy (the land): Not just soil or territory, but a living presence that is related to you.
- Pimâtisiwin (life, living, way of being): Life is more than survival. It includes a good way of living in balance with others and the land.
- Wîci (together, with): A reminder that life is relational. You live with the land, with other beings, not apart from them.
The proverb reflects a long history of living closely with the land, learning from its cycles and limits, and understanding that taking without giving back leads to imbalance and harm.
Rather than treating this as a quote from a single historical figure or moment, it is more accurate to see it as part of a living oral tradition. The exact wording may vary between speakers and communities, but the core message is consistent: land is life, and generosity is the natural law.
3. Key Life Lessons From the Proverb
Lesson 1: Interdependence, Not Isolation
“The land gives life” pushes against the illusion that humans are separate from nature. Your health, your food, your water, and even your sense of place are all tied to askiy.
In practice, this means:
- Recognizing that harm to the land is harm to yourself and your community.
- Remembering that every product, every meal, and every building traces back to the land somewhere.
Lesson 2: Choose Gratitude Over Entitlement
When you hear “it shares everything,” you can respond in two ways:
- Entitlement: “Of course the land provides, that is its job.”
- Gratitude: “What the land gives is a gift, not a guarantee.”
The proverb points toward gratitude. It asks you to notice how much you receive before you start demanding more. Gratitude often leads naturally to restraint and respect.
Lesson 3: Sharing Is the Natural Order
The land does not keep a private stash. It shares sunlight, air, water, and soil with all beings.
If the land sets the pattern, then:
- Hoarding and extreme greed go against that pattern.
- Healthy communities echo the land by sharing food, time, knowledge, and care.
Sharing here is not just about charity. It is about understanding that your well-being is tied to the well-being of those around you.
Lesson 4: Responsibility Follows Privilege
If you benefit from the gifts of the land, you also carry responsibility.
That can mean:
- Protecting ecosystems rather than exploiting them to exhaustion.
- Supporting practices that respect water, soil, and wildlife.
- Standing with communities whose relationship with their land is threatened.
Privilege without responsibility leads to collapse. Privilege with responsibility leads to continuity.
Lesson 5: Enoughness Instead of Endless Extraction
“The land gives life” does not mean “the land gives endlessly without consequence.”
The proverb can be read as both reassurance and warning:
- Reassurance: There is enough when relationships are respectful and balanced.
- Warning: If you treat the land only as a storehouse to empty, you break the very source of life you depend on.
It calls for a sense of enoughness: taking what you need, not everything you can reach.
4. Applying the Proverb in Modern Life
Even if you live in a city, far from forests or open lakes, this proverb can shape daily choices.
In Personal Life
- Practice land-based gratitude: Remember, every meal comes from somewhere. Pause to thank the land and all the steps between soil and plate.
- Reduce waste: Wasting food, water, or materials shows disregard for the generosity of the land.
- Spend time outside: Even small contact with parks, trees, and open sky helps reawaken a sense that you live with the land, not just on it.
In Community and Relationships
- Share like the land: Share knowledge, time, support, and resources with others, especially those who have less.
- Build mutual support networks: Food sharing, community gardens, tool libraries, and skill exchanges echo the spirit of “it shares everything.”
- Honor Indigenous leadership: Many Indigenous communities carry generations of land-based knowledge. Listening to and supporting their leadership is part of respecting the land.
In Work and Economy
- Question purely extractive thinking: When profit is the only measure, the land becomes invisible. Ask how your work impacts water, air, and soil.
- Support regenerative and respectful practices: Whether it is the food you buy, the energy you use, or the projects you back, lean toward those that heal rather than strip the land.
- See long-term patterns: The land thinks in seasons, generations, and cycles, not quarterly reports. Aligning with those longer rhythms leads to more durable success.
5. A Living Reminder
Wîci pimâtisiwin askiy, wîci ayâwak kîkway.
“The land gives life; it shares everything.”
This proverb is not just a poetic sentence. It is a compact teaching that you can carry as a daily check-in:
- Am I remembering where my life actually comes from?
- Am I treating the land as a giver or just a resource?
- Am I living in a way that reflects sharing, gratitude, and responsibility?
Each time you ask those questions, you narrow the gap between what the land is teaching and how you live.
The land gives. The choice in front of you is how you will respond.
