LDS Earth Stewardship (LDSES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others to embrace environmental stewardship as a core aspect of their faith.
Founded in 2012 by a group of Latter-day Saint conservationists, the organization seeks to foster respect for creation and encourage sustainable practices rooted in gospel principles.
LDSES emphasizes that caring for the earth is not just a social or political issue but a moral imperative tied to a divine responsibility, as outlined in Church teachings on environmental stewardship and conservation.
FacebookThe mission of LDSES centers on educating and motivating people within and beyond the LDS community to actively care for the environment. They aim to help individuals see their stewardship as a spiritual duty and encourage actions that preserve natural resources, protect biodiversity, and reduce waste.
By connecting environmental ethics with LDS beliefs, the organization promotes responsible practices that reflect a reverence for God’s creations. To achieve this, they host a range of events including service projects, webinars, and an annual fall forum, featuring speakers who highlight the intersection of faith, ethics, and environmental care.
At the LDSES Fall Forum held on November 2, 2024, Elder Larry Echo Hawk was invited to address attendees as the keynote speaker. An Emeritus General Authority Seventy, Elder Echo Hawk opened his address by reflecting on the importance of Indigenous values in understanding stewardship over the earth, a topic that he said would become “even more compelling as time goes on.”
FacebookHe remarked that he would be speaking not as a Church leader with doctrinal points, but as a member of the Pawnee Nation with a unique perspective shaped by a life dedicated to serving tribal communities.
Elder Echo Hawk explained that, while he doesn’t claim to speak for all Native Americans, his heritage and experience offer him insight into the ways Native teachings harmonize with the spiritual responsibility to care for the earth.
He recalled his service as a tribal lawyer and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs under the Obama administration, a position that allowed him to witness firsthand the interdependence between Native communities and the land.
Federal agents bust a ring of antiquity thieves looting American Indian sites for priceless treasures. Left to right are Utah FBI Field Office Special Agent in Charge Timothy Fuhrman, U.S. Attorney in Utah Brett Tolman, Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk, Secretary Salazar, and Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden. [Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] U.S. Department of the Interior, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsRecounting his extensive travels, he described being “in close proximity to the Indian country of the United States,” where he saw the profound relationship Indigenous peoples have with their environment.
Quoting D. H. Lawrence, he observed, “The American Indian will never control this continent again, but he will forever haunt it,” suggesting that the legacy of Native stewardship will always serve as a reminder of the land’s sacredness, whether or not it’s actively preserved.
Describing the Native worldview, Elder Echo Hawk emphasized that the earth is not merely a backdrop for human activity but a “holy place,” continually renewed by “the constant creative outpouring of the Great Spirit.”
Evvy Trujillo displays the traditional baskets and pottery she creates using natural materials she sustainably harvests. | FacebookHe illustrated this belief by noting how tribes each form unique relationships with their natural surroundings, like the Hopi and their rain dance or the Pawnee and their reverence for the stars and bison. He emphasized that these sacred connections underscore a responsibility to honor the earth’s bounty rather than exploit it.
“When it became important to destroy Indian tribes,” he reflected, “the federal government knew instinctively that the key was to break each tribe’s connection to the land, water, plants, and animals,” severing communities from their very identities.
Sharing a deeply personal account, Elder Echo Hawk recalled his great-grandfather’s forced relocation from Nebraska to Oklahoma. Though his people had weathered physical hardship, their real pain lay in the loss of their “sacred homeland.”
Elder Echo Hawk’s great-grandfather (left), who is the origin of the Echo Hawk name, is pictured in a photo taken by a photographer who traveled throughout Indian country taking pictures of Native Americans. Elder Echo Hawk’s grandfather (right) is pictured in a photo taken by the same photographer. These photos were obtained by a member of the Echo Hawk family at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., according to Elder Echo Hawk. | ChurchofJesusChrist.orgThis sorrow echoed through generations, reducing a once self-sustaining nation to a state of dependency. Standing by his ancestor’s burial site in Oklahoma, he pondered the legacy of this displacement, reflecting on how it was the ties to the land and natural world that kept Native communities rooted in identity, even in times of suffering.
He went on to describe the tragic impact of the doctrine of “manifest destiny,” which justified the view of the American landscape as something to be conquered. He quoted Chief Luther Standing Bear, who said that to Indigenous people, “The earth was bountiful, and we were surrounded with the blessings of the great mystery.”
To them, he explained, the mountains, rivers, and plains were gifts of the Creator, not resources to be consumed. Echo Hawk expressed alarm that what was once a sacred “wild” is now in danger of becoming an amusement park “replica of its former self,” as wilderness and free-flowing rivers are lost in the name of progress.
The suffering of the Pawnee people continued through future generations, Elder Echo Hawk said. His father, second row from the front and fifth from the left, was taken from his parents and placed in a boarding school with the other young men pictured when he was 8 years old, in order to be “assimilated into the dominant culture.” | ChurchofJesusChrist.orgIn the face of this degradation, Elder Echo Hawk held up the Native tradition of conservation, describing how his ancestors used every part of the bison, respecting the animal’s life and purpose rather than simply taking it.
He contrasted this respect with a modern “throwaway society,” emphasizing that Natives knew “there was no ‘away’ to which things could be thrown.” Instead, they lived within natural limits, modeling sustainable practices that could offer lessons for today’s world.
He cautioned that if we continue down our current path, we risk losing more than physical resources; we may also erode our moral character, which is inextricably tied to our treatment of the earth.
FacebookElder Echo Hawk closed by quoting former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, who challenged society to consider, “What does material abundance avail if we create an environment in which our highest and most specifically human attributes cannot be fulfilled?”
Elder Echo Hawk urged listeners to see stewardship as a sacred trust, echoing Native teachings that the earth’s resources are gifts, not entitlements. His message was one of reverence, calling for a renewed commitment to protect the world not only as an inheritance but as a sanctuary that nourishes the human spirit.
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After considering the mission of LDS Earth Stewardship and Elder Echo Hawk’s teachings, how might your daily actions reflect a deeper reverence for God’s creations, and what small steps could you take to honor your stewardship over the earth?
To learn more about earth stewardship and how you can get involved, visit the LDS Earth Stewardship website.
Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.
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