THOUGHTS ON TWO WORLDVIEWS
By Tessie Naranjo
One fall day in 1991, I received an unexpected phone call
from Dr. Francis P. McManamon, chief of the archeological
assistance division at the National Park Service.
Dr. McManamon introduced himself and began to ask a few
questions. Given the reason for this call, I responded in
detail.
Several weeks before, the governor of Santa Clara Pueblo had
received a letter requesting applications for a position on
the review committee for the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act. This letter was forwarded
to my office--the Santa Clara cultural preservation
program--along with a request from the governor that I
respond.
I sent the necessary paperwork and was surprised when
Dr. McManamon called requesting additional information.
After several questions about my role in the community, he
asked if I would be willing to serve a five-year term on the
committee. I said yes. My world has changed dramatically
since that day.
In the course of my involvement with NAGPRA, I have read the
statute many, many times. I have had the opportunity to
discuss its meaning with a wide range of both traditional
Native Americans and non-tribal people. One thing that has
struck me is how differently these two groups define
relationships.
Traditional Native Americans believe that everyone and
everything exist in an integrated and pervasive system of
relationships. One resident of Santa Clara Pueblo puts it
this way: "We are part of an organic world in which
interrelationships at all levels of life are honored. Our
relations to the place we live--the land, water, sky,
mountains, rocks, animals, plants--is tangible. Our sense
of social relationships leads us to respect all who have
gone before and all who will follow, our elders as well as
our youth."
Traditional Native Americans see an essential relationship
between humans and the objects they create. A pot is not
just a pot. In our community, the pots we create are seen
as vital, breathing entities that must be respected as all
other living beings. Respect of all life elements--rocks,
trees, clay--is necessary because we understand our
inseparable relationship with every part of our world.
This is why we honor our ancestors and the objects they
created. This honoring allows us to remember our past and
the natural process of transformation--of breathing, living,
dying, and becoming one with the natural world. Not even in
death are we unrelated.
My understanding of relationships has been hard to reconcile
with the non-tribal view. Consider museums. Human remains
and cultural items are treated as non-living entities.
Unacknowledged are the enduring relationships that
traditional Native Americans maintain with their ancestors
and their world.
I have come to realize that the staffs of most museums and
agencies do not share our basic values and philosophic
views. Museums certainly have had a great impact on
traditional Native Americans and perceptions of who we are.
But we do not share the assumptions underlying what museums
do: collection, preservation, documentation, and exhibition.
This difference in view surfaces in most of the activities
surrounding NAGPRA. Encouragingly, this has led to a
growing awareness among all those with a stake in
repatriation.
Nowhere is this more apparent than at meetings of the
committee. From the very first one--when six members were
asked to nominate a seventh--decisions have been by
consensus. This is the way of my people and the one with
which I am most comfortable. The meetings are often more
like open discussions than formal get-togethers. Decisions
are made only after all members, as well as the public, get
a chance to air their views. Thus far, all of our decisions
have been unanimous.
When the committee held hearings in Hawaii on the remains of
Pacific islanders, member Dr. Martin Sullivan, head of the
Heard Museum, asked Indians in the group to talk about
accepting spiritual testimony [see article by Edward
Halealoha Ayau]. Dr. Sullivan was sincerely trying to
understand how we should assess this evidence.
During our Phoenix meeting last year there was animated
discussion in which the public questioned the validity of
scientific study. Leigh Jenkins, cultural preservation
officer for the Hopi, stood up and in a gentle but certain
voice talked about how his program works with the
archeological community to clarify issues about the past.
NAGPRA has brought together two completely different
worldviews in a forum where people freely discuss their
differences. This relationship, like any human
relationship, is sometimes awkward, sometimes caring, and
sometimes difficult. But it is a relationship that will
continue.
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For more information, contact Tessie Naranjo, P.O. Box 1807,
Espanola, NM 87523, (505) 753-7326, fax (505) 753-8988.