For indigenous peoples around the world, every aspect of creation can serve as a spirit guide for humans. All creatures great and small, indeed all living forms, from mighty oak trees, to the reeds that bend but do not break in the fiercest winds, possess qualities that teach us about the world we live in. There is no dogma associated with this kind of knowledge, although many of the cultures that believe or believed in spirit guides were also cultures that perceived the earth as divine and their spiritual beliefs were often a form of animism or shamanistic.
Animals are revered as creations of Nature, and so are held as examples of survival, brotherhood, and knowledge of the ways of nature. They are without human treachery or hatred, and haven’t the capacity for self-destruction or degradation of the environment. They are part of the natural order of the universe rather than living outside of it or against it.
