20/09/2025
In many Indigenous communities, emotional intelligence has always been at the heart of our ways of living. Long before it became a modern concept, our ancestors wove emotional awareness into ceremonies, teachings, and daily practices.
When we are taught not to harvest plants in anger or with heavy hearts, it is not only about respect for the medicines; it is about recognizing that plants also carry spirit and feelings. Approaching them with gratitude, humility, and calm ensures we take only what is needed and honor the life given for our healing. This teaching extends to food, prayers, and medicines: each life given, whether plant or animal, is a sacrifice that sustains the people, and we are instructed to walk in honor of that gift.
Emotional intelligence in our ways is not just personal; it is communal. We honor those who came before us, those who help us along the way, and those who will come after. To live in balance means to understand responsibilities beyond ourselves; it means carrying ourselves in a way that reflects gratitude and humility.
Our Elders remind us that words carry power. They say our words are like โcasting spells,โ shaping the world around us. That is why many Elders take time before answering a question or responding; they pause to reflect, to make sure their words align with their spirit. The energy released through words does not disappear; it ripples outward and eventually returns to us. Speaking with intention, clarity, and kindness is emotional intelligence in practice, ensuring what we send into the world is rooted in good spirit.
This is resilience. This is cultural preservation. To live with emotional intelligence is to live the teachings decolonization calls us back to: respect for all life, for our languages that carry these teachings, and for the ceremonies that remind us of our place in the circle.
Our words, our songs, our harvests, our ceremonies all guide us toward being in good relation. Emotional intelligence is not new to our people. It is something weโve carried since time immemorial, and revitalizing it through language, ceremony, and daily practice is part of healing and strengthening our nations.