Indigenous Website

Northern College Indigenous Resources & Services

    • Contrast
    • Layout
    • Font

12 Principles of Indigenous Philosophy

  1. Wholeness (Holistic thinking): All things are interrelated. Everything in the universe is part of a single whole. Everything is connected in some way to everything else. It is only possible to understand something if we understand how it is connected to everything else.
  2. Change: Everything is in a state of constant change. One season falls upon the other. People are born, live and die. All things change. There are two kinds of change: the coming together of things and the coming apart of things. Both kinds of change are necessary and are always connected to each other.
  3. Change occurs in cycles or patterns: They are not random or accidental. If we cannot see how a particular change is connected it usually means that our standpoint is affecting our perception.
  4. The physical world is real. The spiritual world is real: They are two aspects of one reality. There are separate laws which govern each. Breaking of a spiritual principle will affect the physical world and vice versa. A balanced life is one that honours both.
  5. People are physical and spiritual beings: When something hurts our spirit it will affect us physically and vice versa.
  6. People can acquire new gifts but they must struggle to do so: The process of developing new personal qualities may be called “true learning”.
  7. There are four dimensions of “true learning”: A person learns in a whole and balanced manner when the mental, spiritual, physical and emotional dimensions are involved in the process.
  8. The spiritual dimension of human development has four related capacities:
    1. The capacity to have and respond to dreams, visions, ideals, spiritual teaching, goals and theories;
    2. The capacity to accept these as a reflection of our unknown or unrealized potential;
    3. The capacity to express these using symbols in speech, art or mathematics;
    4. The capacity to use this symbolic expression towards action directed at making the possible a reality.
  9. People must actively participate in the development of their own potential.
  10. A person must decide to develop their own potential: The path will always be there for those who decide to travel it.
  11. Any person who sets out on a journey of self development will be aided: Guides, teachers and protectors will assist the traveler.
  12. The only source of failure is a person’s own failure to follow the teachings.