>No text can adequately present the context in which spirituality is learned
>or expressed. Such texts can, in fact, do more harm than good because they
>establish inaccurate or misleading expectations that prevent further
>learning. You must approach this topic as a wide-eyed child, with an open
>mind ready to receive new information and new perspectives. Our religeons
>are dynamic: they are nurtured and grow in the hearts of our elders, and the
>moment they are written down they die. Every text you read will close your
>ear a little bit more to the truth.
>
>Oh, man, why did I start on this?
>Erik Phelps
Its just a "hunch", but I SUSPECT that Erik got started on this for the same
reason one of my "sisters" (whose "privacy" will remain thus) said that
last she heard "there is no hard and fast "dogma" within any Ojibwe religion
so the 'nothing in print exists' position Benton takes surely applies to
himself. Eddie is a spiritual leader for the Lac Court Oreilles Ojibwe ...
and he is reliable in my estimation." This elder and others have said that
many of the traditional peeople think that nothing changes -- "this is the
way we've always done it" so why would anyone need a book when ORAL
TRADITION has long sufficed?
I can almost hear my other network siblings going "AArrrgghhhh"! another
religion debate! Isn't that a little bit like trying to define God?
On the other side of the coin ... for those of us who didn't have the
opportunity of being raised in the traditions of the Midewiwin and other
Ojibwe traditions, how can we make up for lost time? ... except to move
to MN or WI and freeze to death every winter ... Many traditionals feel
that these "new age" books on Indian Religion(s) are there solely for the
benefit of the non-Indian ... nothing could be further from the truth.
There are thousands of culturally-deprived Native Americans out there who
are anxious to get any information they can to fill the void, and the
awkward situation of going to another adult and say "can you tell me
about the Seven Fires?" or "can you tell me what your religion was like
when you were a kid?" Its embarassing! I remember last year when
a "friend I hadn't met yet" on the Net up in Canada wrote in and asked if
ANY of us had any information on the Seven Fires... I wrote and said "let
me know if you find out anything" ... net result: nothing except someone
suggested he/we go read the Mishomis Book. Granted, part of the reason that
neither of us got a really definitive answer is because we are "anonymous
beings" on the NativeNet .... potential spys ... potential Internet Surfers
trying to pry into something that is/was none of our business. Shoot, for
all you guys know I could POTENTIALLY be a Irish Catholic Klu Klux Klan
reactionary about to sell Native secrets to Newt Gingrich! .... hope that
doesn't come back to haunt me!! (Speaking of Newt Gingrich, if ANY of you
want an entire page of humor at his expense, sent me a note and I will
forward same.)
So, to make a short story longer, as only I can do, I hope that people
like Erik Phelps and my "sister" in Wisconsin will continue to butt in &
say "Excuse me, BUT ....
If they don't want to do it Net-wide, I hope they will at least say it to
me ... I need/want to learn "from scratch" ... Jewish in California leaves
a big gap!
Chi Miigwetch! ... Baanimaa
lyn
"Recent archaeological findings near Squid Lake, New Mexico, have led
scientists to believe Moses may have been an Apache!"
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"We did not weave the web of life. We | Lyn Dearborn; Naturalist/Person
are merely a strand in it. Whatever | Turle Clan Ojibwe
we do to the web, we do to ourselves" | dearborn@anchor.engr.sgi.com
--"Walk gently on Mother Earth" -- | 415/ 321-1075
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