All of our ancient civilizations, from the Mayans to the Hindus had developed a very refined knowledge of the workings of the natural environment. The were not trying to be masters of the environment, like today's society, but rather had mastered the laws which govern nature, through observing everyhting in their environment.

Not only did they have an understanding of the physical environment, but also an understanding of subtle aspects of it. Unlike the Hindu tradition, which has voluminous written records of the knowledge they ad developed over thousands of years, the knowledge of Native North American Indians was passed down verbally.

Coming back from my trip to India I started to discover that their traditional knowledge had the same roots as our own Native Indians in Canada. However, trying to find any literature on the traditional knowledge is nearly impossible.

I started thinking perhaps the best way to learn more about the traditional knowledge of our Native Traditions might be to actually visit and spend time with elders in Native communities, and those keepers of traditional knowledge.

I live in Kapuskasing, Ontario in Canada. I am not of the First Nations, but I would like to see a revival of traditional knowledge, - from agriculture to living in the wilderness to herbal medicine, to knowledge of the cycles of nature and the natural environment and DOCUMENT these practices and knowledge in a systematic manner.

The current state of the world is starting to recognize the value of traditional knowledge and actually how advanced and intricate this knowledge was, even by today's standards.

If anyone is interested in what I am saying or what we can do to revive this traditional knowledge of the First Nations, please do contact me at ycloutier2000@yahoo.ca . I'm nobody. I don't have any PHD or Degrees, but I have a passion and vision. This is all it takes to be an active point in the world.

Also if anyone knows of anywhere near Kapuskasing, ON, Canada where I could go and talk to elders myself and get the ball rolling, that would be very much appreciated.

Yves