We need reciprocity

There are lots of different definitions of reciprocity but it often includes asking for permission, only taking what is needed, sharing what is taken, and giving thanks or giving back (Teixidor-Toneau and colleagues, 2025). I first paid attention to the idea of reciprocity when reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, which I highly recommend everyone reads or listens to (are libraries an example of reciprocity in Western spaces?). Reciprocity makes sense to me, whether we are talking about relationships with humans, animals in my house, or the broader world. But, reciprocity is in contrast with the Western nature-culture dualism. I’ve written about this before in a post called What is The Environment?

Coincidentally, I happened to find a special issue of a journal on reciprocity at the same time that one of my classes was reflecting on how they see their relationship with nature. Semester after semester students indicate that they want to be connected with nature, but they often see themselves as separate. Of course, many of them don’t realize this is happening until after they go through the reflection, which is based on the blog post What is The Environment? if you are interested in giving it a try yourself. This is the thing about culture. We are so deeply embedded in it that we don’t realize how it influences our behaviour and even our thought patterns. That means that in Western cultures and those who experience Westernized education, we develop the view of humans as separate from nature. In Christian cosmologies this has been primarily focused on a hierarchical understanding where humans hold dominion over other beings and natural resources. When you are deeply embedded in these systems, it is hard to see that there is another way of looking at the world.

Reciprocity is one cultural belief that has the potential to change this. With reciprocity, we recognize that humans and nature are not different. In fact, many Indigenous cultures perceive the different elements of nature as relatives. For a powerful example, see the video The Land Owns Us from the Global Oneness Project. “From this perspective, plants, animals and fungi are not seen as food or material sources, but rather as vital participants in a relational web that connects humans and animals to spirits, ancestors and other beings” (Teixidor-Toneau and colleagues, 2025, Epistemological and ontological perspectives underpinning reciprocity, para. 2).

For those of us coming from a Western system, there is a lot to change in order to reach the idea of reciprocity. I constantly get caught up in the role that English as a language plays in shaping my relationships with nature. Even the word nature itself is filled with questions. Is my yard part of nature, are my home part of nature, or is nature only ever something that I can travel to? But I challenge myself, and you in turn, to consider how you might begin to shift your thinking, your language, and your actions to center reciprocity, relationship, and connection over separation and domination.

If you enjoy reading research and would like to see some case studies of reciprocity. The Teixidor-Toneaur and colleagues article is the introduction to the special issue on the topic from People and Nature. Here is the link to the Issue – Special Feature: Examining human-nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge.