Ownership of things is not a concept we understand—even ownership of ideas and knowledge. In Western culture, when somebody has an idea, it belongs to that person—it’s patented, copyrighted; it’s theirs. But in indigenous cultures, we put our heads together and share ideas and if someone takes an idea and runs with it, that’s borrowing, not thievery—for there is no ownership of the idea. The thinking is, that idea is not mine; I’m just the person it happened to come through. Someone else can borrow it, but they can’t own it—and neither can I.
