Menominee Forest-Based Sustainable Development Tradition

It is tradition among the Menominee People to open an event with a message of thanksgiving to the Great Spirit.

Today we ask for a clear understanding and appreciation of the great bounty we have inherited from our ancestors. We ask for the wisdom to recognize our responsibilities as stewards of today’s resources and to ensure their safekeeping for future generations.

This bounty cannot be measured in financial terms alone, but must include a balance of environmental, economic, cultural, community and spiritual values. Today celebrate the interconnectedness of the Creator’s design so eloquently
expressed by Mother Earth on the Menominee Indian Reservation.