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Seven Generation Sustainability

"In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation."—The Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

How It's Used

"From that history it was not a great leap to 1977, when Dagmar Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox tribe, named his foundation the Seventh Generation Fund, honoring the Great Law of the Iroquois People of the Longhouse: "We must consider the impact of our decisions on the seventh generation." The fund seeks to advance the self-sufficiency of North American tribes."

"'We see an ongoing collision between population growth in California and the open space we have,' [state parks' acting director Ruth] Coleman said. 'Anyone who's lived here more than 10 years can recall when something used to be orchard or range land. As parks get surrounded by urbanization, we should think of ways parks can be connected and enhanced, with habitat and wildlife corridors, not fragmented and broken up even further.

"'We have more visitors to our parks than ever. And more acres are bought for us to protect. So we have to be vigilant about core values. The Iroquois had a concept of the Seventh Generation -- that we should always think about effects of what we do on people seven generations from now.'"

"Of late, the swirl has been working overtime at Seventh Generation - its name inspired by a precept that required Iroquois tribal leaders to consider the impact of their decisions on those at least seven generations to come.

"Compared with industry leaders Procter &Gamble and Kimberly-Clark, Seventh Generation remains a tiny player in the household products business, with overall sales now approaching just $100m and only 52 employees. Its 92 per cent share of the natural market for disposable nappies in the US translates into just 0.2 per cent of the overall market, with a similarly small share in other categories."

"The FRFG is campaigning to change the constitution of Germany to make it mandatory to consider the rights of future generations. This was tried by Chirac in France, but Tremmel says he just set up a committee of old professors. In Israel there is a Commission for Future Generations designed to take "a comprehensive view of the legislative picture with regard to any potential negative effect on the needs and rights of future generations together with the means to prevent such legislation from taking place". And, as our own David Willetts, shadow secretary of state for education and skills, is fond of pointing out, theIroquois, an American-Indian tribe, has, as a part of their Great Law, the idea of Seven Generation Sustainability. Every decision has to be taken in the light of its effects on the next seven generations. At the moment the FRFG is a small operation and Tremmel says there is not enough activity elsewhere. But he is sure the idea will spread as the young realise how much they have been expropriated by the old."

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