In some Native American languages, the term for plants translates to “the ones who take care of us”.
– Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
We could call anything in nature this. It all takes care of us. Even what seems harmful or dangerous is part of natural systems that take care of us. The universe as a whole takes care of us. We wouldn’t be here without it.
Water = the one who takes care of us. Land = the one who takes care of us. Ancestors = the ones who took care of us. The stars = the ones who take care of us.