Virtues
Anishinaabe Seven Grandfather Teachings
Seven widely taught Anishinaabe values: love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility and wisdom.
- Tradition or school
- Anishinaabe Traditions
- Framework type
- Virtues
- Authority classification
- Customary
- Observance
- Mixed requirements
- Research status
- Identified for research
- Origin period
- Oral traditions with modern published formulations
- Origin region
- Great Lakes and surrounding Anishinaabe territories
- Attributed origin
- Anishinaabe elders and oral teaching traditions
- Intended audience
- Anishinaabe communities and others receiving the teachings with cultural context and respect
- Published constituent items
- 7
- Last reviewed
- 28 June 2027
Primary texts and authority
Seven widely taught Anishinaabe values: love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility and wisdom.
Rules, principles or steps
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Love
Act with love that recognises connection and responsibility.
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Respect
Recognise the dignity, place and responsibilities of others and the living world.
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Bravery
Face difficulty and act rightly despite fear.
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Truth
Live and speak according to what is genuinely known, with humility about limits.
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Honesty
Be sincere and do not deliberately misrepresent yourself or others.
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Humility
Understand oneself as one part of a larger living community.
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Wisdom
Use knowledge, experience and sound judgement for right living.
Historical development
Published forms are prominent in education, governance, healing and cultural revitalisation, while teachings and associated symbols differ among communities.
Variations
This page follows an Anishinabek Nation enumeration and does not claim identical wording or authority across all Anishinaabe communities.
Traditional interpretation
Seven widely taught Anishinaabe values: love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility and wisdom.
Controversies and disputes
The teachings must not be mislabelled as a universal 'Native American code' or detached from Anishinaabe peoples and authority.
Truth By Reason analysis
The values form a relational ethics of care, truth, courage, humility and judgement within community and the living world.
Ethical themes
Sources
- Anishinabek Nation — Seven Grandfather Teachings Primary source