seven generations
Indigenous planning horizon
Seven generations refers to a principle, originating in Indigenous North American philosophy, that decisions should consider their impact on descendants seven generations into the future—roughly 150 to 200 years.
The concept emphasizes long-term environmental and social responsibility: We must think seven generations ahead when managing these forests.
It appears frequently in sustainability discourse and corporate responsibility statements, sometimes diluted from its original meaning.
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- legacyWhat's passed down
- futureTime still to come
- IroquoisNative American confederacy
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
long-term thinking · descendants · grandchildren · elders · ancestral wisdom · oral tradition · wisdom · stewardship · earth · indigenous · planning · looking forward · foresight · responsibility · continuity · lineage · tradition · longhouse
- indigenous traditionselder council, powwows, totem poles, healing rituals, sweat lodges
- land stewardshipland stewardship, forest stewardship, forest management, wildlife management, sustainable harvest
- Indigenous Governanceself-rule, self-government, community councils, tribal councils, elder council
seven generationsshort-term thinking
Focus on immediate outcomes
immediate gratification · short-termism · here and now · instant results · in the moment
seven generationsexploitation
Selfish use of others
planned obsolescence · slash and burn · boom and bust · unsustainability · depletion
seven, sevens, seventh, sevenths, sevenfold, seventeen, seventeenth, seventy, seventies