The Thanksgiving Address obligates humans to live in balance with all living things

Evidence

Today we have gathered and when we look upon the faces around us we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now let us bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. Now our minds are one.* … We are thankful to our Mother the Earth, for she gives us everything that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she still continues to care for us, just as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send thanksgiving, love, and respect. Now our minds are one. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 369

Categorization

• XREF: The refrain ‘now our minds are one’ is the genuine form of the unity the Pledge only mimics — the direct structural payoff of loc 361. — connects to: Earth is created cooperatively from animal gifts plus human thanksgiving — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 27; The Thanksgiving Address is simultaneously a political constitution and environmental philosophy — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 408; The Thanksgiving Address is at once ceremony, scientific inventory, and Native science lesson — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 375 (+1 more)
• ADDENDUM: Earth addressed as Mother who supports our feet could feed the ‘On Sacrifice’ essay’s thread on reciprocal human-created bonds, or the trees-as-infrastructure worldbuilding essay’s more-than-human kinship.
• CANDY: The whole ceremony is quotable — a school day opening by thanking the earth first.

Broader Connections

• The Address frames water as a responsible being rather than a resource #exemplifies (0.85) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 377
• The Thanksgiving Address is simultaneously a political constitution and environmental philosophy #expands (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 408
• The Thanksgiving Address is at once ceremony, scientific inventory, and Native science lesson #expands (0.75) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 375