I know the elders and guardians of the land issue a lot of alerts. They are the eyes of the first nations, which have now become sedentary. They observe the impact of climate change when they're on the land and provide a lot of information to environmentalists and biologists. Elders have also been issuing warnings about the changes they see for many decades now.
As regards policies, the answer is yes, especially on economic and trade issues. It's important to consume responsibly.
When we hunt caribou, we stick to the number necessary to support our population. The caribou was used in many ways, particularly in the remedies used in traditional first nations medicine. We also used parts of the animal to create instruments like the teueikan. Certain parts of the animal were used to feed us, while others were used to make tools and clothing. The caribou has enabled us to survive for millennia. Consequently, nothing is ever wasted.
Now we're seeing excess consumption. We aren't husbanding our natural resources and there's a lot of waste. We aren't living symbiotically with the environment by respecting it. We put it in second place, subordinating it to human beings. However, these are living beings as well, and I believe we should attach much greater importance to the earth that feeds us and guarantees our survival and that of our wildlife. I therefore believe that our way of viewing the world should be taken into consideration.
I should also mention the way our elders are treated. Our elders are very important to us. They transmit their memory to us, and I think we should be inspired by what we have done, by our values and our principles. That could be helpful when policies are drafted or amended.
Respect is another of our fundamental values, in many ways. There is respect for differences, for example. That should be reflected in the policies we adopt. There is also respect for the beliefs and principles of groups, for the hierarchy of values, which is different, and for the approach they take. All that is based on historical context and our language, which crystallizes our thinking.