The term nitassinan means our land in Innu-aimun, an Algonkian (or 'Algonquian') polysynthetic language spoken by the Innu of Northeastern Canada. It uses the exclusive we, ninan.

There is also an inclusive we, tshinan(u), in which case our land would be tshitassinan or tshitassinu. However, it is the Earth which is addressed as "you" in this poem, and this personified Earth is supposed to be outside the circle of the speaker and all other real persons. (The Innu may call their native land "Tshitassinu" when talking amongst themselves, and "Nitassinan" when talking about it to others.)

Nitassinan, Our Earth was inspired by a poem found at the First Nations Garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden in the Canadian Province of Quebec in the 64th Mid-Southeast Month, in English, in Innu-aimun (which i do not understand) and in French:

Our Earth We take care of you Because you feed us We watch over you Because you heal us Nitassinan, our Earth The sacred place of life

Notre terre Nous prenons soin de toi Car tu nous nourris Nous veillons sur toi Car tu nous guéris Nitassinan, notre terre Lieu sacré de vie

There are many differences between my poem and Our Earth / Nitassinan / Notre terre, such as the use of the tenses. However, the most important difference is that nitassinan and our earth are given opposite connotations in Nitassinan, Our Earth.

Together, the Nitassinan stanzas of the poem may be considered a poem in itself, suitable for singing:

Nitassinan (song) Nitassinan, we protected you, for you served the thirsty; we took care of you, for you fed the hungry; we brought forth two children, for you bore the number. You included and you soothed, so we led our wholesome lives. Nitassinan, our Earth. Nitassinan, when they fly in the face of your land, we grieve for nature gone, the loss that can't go on, but our love makes us stay and withstand, makes us stay and withstand. Nitassinan, our Earth, nitassinan, our land.

['NITASSINAN' SUNG BY MVVM] [MP3 FILE, 1.51 MB, 1:39, v 64.42.1]

On the screen, the background of this poem contains the vague outline of an image cut into a limestone rock in Petroglyphs Provincial Park in the Algonquin Region of the Canadian Province of Ontario.

Those interested in poetry concerned with the natural environment should also read The Elephant in the Room, which provides more information about the role of human overpopulation in the destruction of the natural environment, if not eventually of the Earth itself.