Original Instructions orient like a compass rather than dictate like a map

Evidence

The Skywoman story, shared by the original peoples throughout the Great Lakes, is a constant star in the constellation of teachings we call the Original Instructions. These are not “instructions” like commandments, though, or rules; rather, they are like a compass: they provide an orientation but not a map. The work of living is creating that map for yourself. How to follow the Original Instructions will be different for each of us and different for every era. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 38

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precise definition distinguishing Indigenous ethics (orientation) from Western rule-law (map) — the compass/map contrast is the load-bearing bridge concept for the Legal Systems course.
• XREF: Compass-ethics directly parallels Legal Systems’ contrast between rule-based Western law and relational Indigenous land law.