The article proposes a reflection on the contribution of the ādivāsī issue in the broader debate on Environmental Humanities in India. The theme of indigeneity on the one hand and the ontological turn in anthropology on the other have highlighted the centrality and importance of the ecological message in the theoretical approach of these disciplines. However, the paper investigates a possible originality of Indian thought in a debate that too often, even in postcolonial studies, has been manipulated by the West. Through the case study of some indigenous cultures of central-eastern India, the paper proposes some original examples of indigenous ontologies and shamanism conveying an idea of respect and consubstantiality of man with other non-humans and with an earth that is mother for everyone. The essay concludes by mentioning the pioneering vision of two of the first Indian anthropologists who understood the importance of the man-spirits-nature connection and of a holistic vision of the cosmos among the native cultures of the Subcontinent.