Since 1970, people all around the world have set aside April 22 as Earth Day, pausing to focus on caring for the planet.

Since time immemorial, of course, Indigenous peoples have been doing the same thing. Every day.

“This is about how we think, how we live, our ways of knowing … about being human,” said Inuit leader Sara Olsvig, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and a former member of the Greenland and Danish Parliaments. “And also being human in close interaction and with nature. It represents our worldview of humans not being separate from nature.”

The one-day focus of Earth Day — although in some circles the commemoration has grown to become Earth Month — can strike a slightly discordant note to Native ears.

“It's an odd thing to even say, ‘Oh, it's Earth Day,’” said Penobscot citizen Darren Ranco, an anthropology professor at the University of Maine. The Penobscot are Wabanaki – the People of the Dawnland – and are taught to greet the sunrise every day and appreciate their place in the natural world, their connection with the earth.

“That connects us to our places,” Ranco said. “I think the cultural framing [of having a single Earth Day], of course, is quite different.”