--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let us be the ancestors our descendants…" description: "\"Let us be the ancestors our descendants will thank.\" — Winona LaDuke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png" --- # Let us be the ancestors our descendants will thank. ![“Let us be the ancestors our descendants will thank.” quote by Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png) > “Let us be the ancestors our descendants will thank.” [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages living responsibly so future generations can honor us. **In simple terms:** Live responsibly for future gratitude. Key Takeaway Act sustainably today. Themes environment legacy responsibility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - policy making - community planning - personal lifestyle choices Key Concepts intergenerational ethics stewardship Questions to Reflect On - How will your choices affect future generations? - What legacy do you want to leave? A Different Perspective Future benefits depend on present actions, not guarantees. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) [Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) [Ancestors Descendants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors-descendants-330358/) [Descendants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/descendants/) [Descendants Thank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/descendants-thank-4435915/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Let Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-ancestors-4435914/) ## Related quotes > [We must not forget that these men and women who file through the narrow gates at Ellis Island, hopeful, confused, with bundles of misconceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-weyl/we-must-not-forget-that-these-men-and-women-who-file-through-the/) [Walter Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-weyl/) > [Ancestors do not mean so much. The rebel who succeeds generally makes it easier for the posterity that follows him; so these descendants are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/ancestors-do-not-mean-so-much-the-rebel-who-succeeds-generally-makes/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Distinguished ancestors shed a powerful light on their descendants, and forbid the concealment either of their merits or of their demerits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallust/distinguished-ancestors-shed-a-powerful-light-on-their-descendants/) [Sallust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallust/) > [“The foundation of morality on the human sentiments of what is acceptable behavior versus repulsive behavior has always made morals susceptible to change. Much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-foundation-of-morality-on-the-human-sentiments-of-what-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“it was the kind of moon that I would want to send back to my ancestors and gift to my descendants so they know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/it-was-the-kind-of-moon-that-i-would-want-to-send-back-to-my/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [All Americans are either immigrants or descendants of ancestors who came from somewhere else, including Native Americans. We should all respect and admire immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-c-ting/all-americans-are-either-immigrants-or-descendants-of-ancestors-who/) [Jan C. Ting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-c-ting/) > [We don't have previous lives; we have ancestors. We don't have afterlives; we have descendants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/we-don-t-have-previous-lives-we-have-ancestors-we-don-t-have/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [I am proud to call myself a Hindu, I am proud that I am one of your unworthy servants. I am proud that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/i-am-proud-to-call-myself-a-hindu-i-am-proud-that-i-am-one-of-your/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Let every man remind their descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of their ancestors, or from cowardice fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/let-every-man-remind-their-descendants-that-they-also-are-soldiers/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [As to the fable that there are Antipodes, that is to say, men on the opposite side of the earth where the sun rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/as-to-the-fable-that-there-are-antipodes-that-is-to-say-men-on-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Why do we not exhaust the heritage of the ages, spiritual and material for our immediate pleasure, and let posterity go hang? So far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/why-do-we-not-exhaust-the-heritage-of-the-ages-spiritual-and-material/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Human beings of all societies in all periods of history believe that their ideas on the nature of the real world are the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-robert-harrison/human-beings-of-all-societies-in-all-periods-of-history-believe-that/) [Edward Robert Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-robert-harrison/) > [Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/not-only-does-democracy-make-every-man-forget-his-ancestors-but-also/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Life is a continuous flux. Our nonhuman ancestors bred, generation after generation, and incrementally begat what we now deem to be the species homo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/life-is-a-continuous-flux-our-nonhuman-ancestors-bred-generation/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) ## More by Winona LaDuke > [I'm Harvard-educated; I'm an economist by training. I'm an author, a journalist, as well as being active in community development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/i-m-harvard-educated-i-m-an-economist-by-training-i-m-an-author-a/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [What our Seventh Generation will have is a consequence of our actions today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/what-our-seventh-generation-will-have-is-a-consequence-of-our-actions/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [I used to go to some Harvard parties with my athlete friends, and they would introduce me as 'Winona, the Indian activist.' It made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/i-used-to-go-to-some-harvard-parties-with-my-athlete-friends-and-they/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [The reality is, is that the military is full of native nomenclature. That's what we would call it. You've got Black Hawk helicopters, Apache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-reality-is-is-that-the-military-is-full-of-native-nomenclature/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [Now that I think about it, I was arrested in 1992. Some people may think of that as a bad thing, but I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/now-that-i-think-about-it-i-was-arrested-in-1992-some-people-may/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [In the time of the sacred sites and the crashing of ecosystems and worlds, it may be worth not making a commodity out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/in-the-time-of-the-sacred-sites-and-the-crashing-of-ecosystems-and/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [The military is the largest polluter in the country, and so you have a lot of military waste contaminating reservations - as, for example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-military-is-the-largest-polluter-in-the-country-and-so-you-have-a/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [The essence of the problem is about consumption, recognizing that a society that consumes one-third of the world's resources is unsustainable. This level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-essence-of-the-problem-is-about-consumption-recognizing-that-a/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [The reality is that the founding fathers were land speculators. The fact was that you couldn't vote in this country if you did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-reality-is-that-the-founding-fathers-were-land-speculators-the/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [“The question of socialism or communism or capitalism or between the left and right – I think the important question is between the industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-question-of-socialism-or-communism-or-capitalism-or-between-the/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [The first thing I am is a person. I am a woman. And I am part of a nation, the Indian nation. But people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-first-thing-i-am-is-a-person-i-am-a-woman-and-i-am-part-of-a/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/food-for-us-comes-from-our-relatives-whether-they-have-wings-or-fins/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [Mother Earth needs us to keep our covenant. We will do this in courts, we will do this on our radio station, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/mother-earth-needs-us-to-keep-our-covenant-we-will-do-this-in-courts/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [I think of some of my friends who have passed to the spirit world but are who here with me when I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/i-think-of-some-of-my-friends-who-have-passed-to-the-spirit-world-but/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [If we moved from industrialized agriculture to re-localized organic agriculture, we could sequester about one quarter of the carbon moving into the air and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/if-we-moved-from-industrialized-agriculture-to-re-localized-organic/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) [Explore all 74 Winona LaDuke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) ## More Ancestor quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [Food binds us to our roots as strongly as any song or poem. Many of us have learned more about our ancestors in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-thomas/food-binds-us-to-our-roots-as-strongly-as-any-song-or-poem-many-of-us/) [Anna Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-thomas/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [And I saw for the first time how, despite the isolation of our own lives, we are always connected to our ancestors; our bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-richman/and-i-saw-for-the-first-time-how-despite-the-isolation-of-our-own/) [Alyson Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-richman/) > [There is an ancient Indian saying: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." If we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/there-is-an-ancient-indian-saying-we-do-not-inherit-the-earth-from/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [It is how it has always been. We will accept the legacy of our ancestors,' Asha says, smiling, and in her smile I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/it-is-how-it-has-always-been-we-will-accept-the-legacy-of-our/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) [Browse all 767 Ancestor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let us be the ancestors our descendants will thank.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Winona LaDuke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants-will-thank/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants-will-thank/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/winona-laduke-9240_ancestor_let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants_1326313.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let us be the ancestors our descendants will thank.” — Winona LaDuke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Winona LaDuke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let us be the ancestors our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants-will-thank/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/let-us-be-the-ancestors-our-descendants-will-thank/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```