Sample content Week 1 DQ 1 The Connection between Nature and Spirit Gottlieb asks, “Of what value is nature?” Based on your reading of Part I, “can we speak of love or mutual respect for a particular tree, an endangered species, or an ecosystem?” Select at least two writers from this section and analyze how their responses to these questions may vary or agree with your own. The author that I am discussing first is Luther Standing Bear. He has plainly displayed that he gives nature a lot of importance. His whole community of Lakota Indians not only adored but also esteemed the Earth and all that it offers. He says that the people loved sitting on the ground because when they touched the Earth physically, they felt themselves closer to it. Sometimes, to hear the Earth with lucidity, they pressed their ears against it (Gottlieb, 2004). To explain the feelings of the Lakota towards the earth, sky and water, the author utilizes words such as kinship, rever