> Original-Sender: medina@northeastern.edu (Daniel Medina)
>
> My sources indicate that Medicine Eagle is a "plastic" medicine person
> and is quite questionable if she is Indian at all. It is just another
> case of profiting from native spirituality much like Lynn Andrews and
> others who cater to one of the largest "tribes" in the country: the
> "wanna-be's." The negative effects of these former-life Indians and
> present-life self-proclaimed medicine people are translated into the
> ultimate form of exploitation of native peoples: the stripping of their
> religious beliefs for profit. After 500 years of resisting land theft
> and human rights abuses, Indian people are not willing to give up their
> spirituality; it is simply not for sale.
This seems a bit harsh. If three hundred years ago Europeans had chosen
to interact with and learn from indigenous Americans, many of those abuses
might have been lessened or avoided. Sure, that wasn't the case; but I
wouldn't like to think that "all 'wanna-bes'" are there trying to perpetuate
abuse and exploitation of native Americans and their spirituality.
There are many things wrong with contemporary society, and many people are
desparately unhappy with the ways in which they have been taught to live.
If succour and sense comes to them from embracing Indian ideals and
trying to live harmoniously according to them, so much the better for our
world. I can't speak to the point that Brooke Medicine Eagle, or Lynn
Andrews (or Carlos Castaneda, or Ts. Storm, etc.) are charlatans, but if
truth and use come from their works, so much the better. I worked for a
number of years with professor Marija Gimbutas, prehistorian archaeo-
logist of Neolithic European Goddess-religion at UCLA. She has, it is
true, a large group of "neo-pagan" "feminist" groupies. That might seem
preposterous or unfortunate to many outsiders, but as far as I can see
they do little harm except to Aristotelian intellectual integrities
(which I like as much as the next EuroAmerican Indo-European speaker).
What is truth? Something that "rings true" in the heart, I expect. Truth,
or at least helpful mythological advice, is to be found in more places
nowadays than ever before. I myself am delighted that whole generations of
children were taught Buddhism by Yoda in the Empire Strikes Back.
It seems to me that a popularization of "Native American values" (which must
differ tremendously from people to people) would educate people to a
greater awareness of and sensitivity to the situation of the indigenous
people of North America, and at the least introduce more tolerance into
our society.
Michael Everson
School of Architecture, UCD, Richview, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, E/ire
Phone: +353-1-706-2745
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Comments from NativeNet facilitator:
[ I feel we are embarking on yet another "very important" topic here, and
I'll look forward to the free exchange of ideas that always comes out in
such NativeNet discussions. Being that there are some ideas here that
are important to me personally, it will likely be necessary for me to
put aside my moderator's hat in order to enter into the discussion in a
more personal way, which is something I have rarely, done, I think,
though I've permitted myself a touch of editorializing here and there.
I'd only like to say here that I would prefer to say not that children
were "taught" Buddhism by Yoda, but that they were introduced to a certain
spirit of "doing by not doing" that is a common legacy of Eastern ways of
life and thought, and which is certainly a strong current in Buddhism. To
really learn a spiritual practice might be something that is not possible
to achieve either from a superficial rendition which merely attempts to
capture the spirit of the thing (perhaps like certain scenes in "Dances
with Wolves") or that comes from an instructor whose knowledge is secondary
and/or derivative. There is a concept I have been discovering among Native
American people concerning a person who has "a good heart," which I find
a very generous idea and a gracious statement of it. To me it implies a
certain willingness to give credit where it is due, and to try to under-
stand the spirit in which something is done before passing judgement on it.
But maybe we can examine together how we feel about the nature of sacred
tradition and just what are the attitudes of those people who feel they
have a certain primary claim on that tradition. I know there is a diver-
sity of opinion even among Native people themselves on these subjects, so
I don't suppose there will be any easy answers.
Regarding Prof. Marija Gimbutas, I just saved a page from last Thursday's
_Boston_Globe_ (9 January 1992, p. 67) containing a review of her new
book, _The Civilization of the Goddess: The World of Old Europe_, which I
will pass on via NativeNet, if time permits, within the next few days.
--Gary ]