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He sees a similar idea in the famous Native American poet, novelist, and scholar N. Scott Momaday:

Very old in the Native American worldview is the conviction that the earth is vital, that there is a spiritual dimension to it, a dimension in which man rightly exists. It follows logically that there are ethical imperatives in this matter.

Plains People enjoyed a landscape and an eco-system distinctive from the Eastern Peoples; according to Callicott, "the Lakota worldview represents nature on the model of a large family, the Ojibwa worldview represents nature on the model of a multinational community." Or as Calvin Martin represents the Ojibwa/Lakota comparison:

In the Lakota worldview, the ideal pattern of interaction between human beings and other life-forms is understood to be like the interaction between members of a large healthy family, mutually dependent and mutually supporting. In the Ojibwa worldview, the ideal pattern or interaction between human beings and other life-forms is understood to be somewhat less intimate – more a matter of mutual obligation and mutual benefit, with a distinct quid-pro-quo dimension. Human beings, wildlife, and plant life were trading partners in a multi-species economy of nature.

Thus the Algonquin-speaking Ojibwa conceptions of environmental law stands in sharp contrast to the Lakota by virtue of the markedly rich and plentiful ecology…forest heavy with huge leaves, creeks and rivers that wander through the landscape and animals and plants in abundance. Among these people, there is no emphasis on the horse, and no reliance on a single food source, the buffalo. Rather the emphasis is on the relationship of the People with creatures:

Consider the following sacred tale; it tells how "animal" emissaries from the supernatural world gave rise to the five original patricians of the Ojibwa – each composed of blood relatives who trace their descent backward in time through the male line to the individual who first adopted the name of one of the animals the supernatural emissaries represented. According to the tale,

… the five "original" clans [of the Ojibwa] are descended from six anthropomorphic supernatural beings who emerged from the ocean to mingle with human beings. One of them had his eyes covered and dared not look at the Indians, though he showed the greatest anxiety to do so. At last he could no longer restrain his curiosity, and on one occasion he partially lilted his veil, and his eye fell on the form of a human being, who instantly fell dead "as if struck by one of the thunderers." Though the intentions of this dread being were friendly to men, yet the glance of his eye was too strong, and it inflicted certain death. His fellows therefore caused him to return to the bosom of the great water.

The five others remained among the Indians, and "became a blessing to them." From them originate the five great clans or totems: catfish, crane, loon, bear, and marten [from which other Ojibwa clans named after different species were subsequently derived]. (Levi-Strauss 1; cf. Warren 41-53) Although interesting in and of itself, the narrative is also informative because it indicates how the Ojibwa view animals such as catfish, crane, loon, bear, and marten and their other animal totems. From the Indians' perspective, these are much more than mute targets; instead, virtually all of the animals they pursue are cultural symbols that represent the spiritual essence of their traditional social organization. (Driben, Auger et. al. 103)

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