|
Main
Menu
External
Pages
|
CENTRE OF THE WORLD
An excerpt from: 'Center of the World ‑ Native American Spirituality'
As Told by: Plains Cree Pipe Keeper Don Rutledge with Rita Robinson
(From: 'Earth People' Volume 4 Number 6)
"The Native American can never return to the buffalo hunt, but Native American spirituality can live wherever we are. This spirituality enriches the lives of people who hunger today for a more balanced world in which we are in harmony with nature.
"At one time, all the Native American people were in touch with the universe and the sacred circle, including Mother Earth, Father Sun, the moon (usually Grandmother Ed.), the rain, thunder and lightning. We were aware of the seasons because they touched our naked bodies and spirit.
"We believe that all living things, including the four-legged, the winged, the finned, the crawling animals, the trees, rocks, rivers, oceans, as well as man and woman are made by the Creator. We share space with these things. We do not dominate or conquer them…
"According to Native Americans, however, the spirit or soul is not so easy to kill because it is all around us. We are the centre of all that is happening. Each individual is the centre of the world. Where you stand is the centre of the universe. All else surrounds you. But most importantly, in our circle we are one with the universe and dependent on everything we touch, see, smell, taste, hear, feel, sense, and experience. With this understanding comes a great sense of responsibility and awe…
"The condition of the earth today brings great pain and tears to the Native American, and uncertainty for the unborn children of the world. I believe that the only way we can begin to heal Mother Earth is by taking personal responsibility for our own circle. We can begin by understanding a little of what is happening to our earth, and how some technology is destroying, not saving, us. I believe, like many Native Americans, that we need a rebirth of our spiritual heritage to heal ourselves and our planet…
"To most Native Americans, living in harmony with his or her environment is paramount to life and existence. The development of an electric teakettle that breaks down into recyclable parts, or switching to unbleached coffee filters does not provide the answers we need to live in balance and harmony with the earth and sky. "Things" do not give us spirit. Interconnectedness, spirituality, honour, and reverence provide our means for wholeness…
"Native Americans try to follow the "Red Path," which flows with nature. We are connected in the same way to all things of creation. We're aware, though, that in addition to the Red Path, there is also the "Black" one, which goes against the flow. Red is the positive way. Black is the negative. Both are necessary, but our goal is to keep to the Red Path and pay attention to the lessons we can learn from the Black, or negative world.
"Technological societies often stray into Black Paths, but we will not always have the choice of returning to the Red Path after the death of the world's delicate balance.
"Native Americans are not calling for a "return to nature." Rather, we feel we must embrace what is left of creation and try to heal – make good medicine – within our lives in the cement cities we have constructed. Our cities, after all, are built on and of the earth. Our food, though tainted with chemicals and pollutants, still requires nurturing from the earth, rain, and sun. Our very lives are entwined with every other life form, be it a stone or a river. All of these things have life force or "spirit."…
Our beliefs, our rituals, our ceremonies, our pain and our suffering, are not a religion; they are a way of life. In that way, all of the nearly two million Native Americans living in the United States (from the eight major language families) are united as one. We (the red race Ed.) are connected to all races: black, yellow, and white, in the same way that we are connected to the oceans, the animals and the earth.
Ways to Help Heal Grandmother Earth
(Chapter VIII)
My belief is that the earth cannot be healed by technology alone. We need a change in values, and a reawakening of spirituality that leads to nurturing ourselves and the earth. We can no longer assume that life exists only for man's consumption. Our lifestyles may have to become less comfortable in order to revitalise grandmother earth.
Ways to Help Heal Grandmother Earth
• Take time to turn over a rock and look at the world under it. Then put it back as it was.
• Learn to savour and enjoy the different seasons, and climatic changes.
• Celebrate life at every opportunity.
• Welcome the unknown, and wrap it around your body like a new blanket.
• Laugh at yourself when everything is bad. Look to the good.
• If you have a choice between laughing or crying, try to laugh, but crying is natural and healthy.
• If you build a house in the mountains, don't tear down the mountain. (And don't take the city to the bush. Ed.)
• When using water, use each drop wisely as if you were out in the desert with a limited amount.
• Use only what you need to sustain your household circle.
• Give thanks for the food that is available.
• Hunt only what is necessary for food. Kill animals only for eating.
• Don't kill predatory animals such as snakes. Learn to live in harmony with bugs and spiders.
• Respect those on other paths.
• Eat healthy, life‑giving foods.
• Help people who are in need.
• Support causes that help save the earth.
• Savour each day by living one day at a time.
• Use positive action rather than negative thought.
• Cultivate a spiritual garden as you would a vegetable garden with effort and care. (Don't forget the magical ingredient ‑ Love. Ed.)
• Feel nature’s spirit when in the out-of-doors.
• Listen for the sounds of animals.
• Travel light.
Earth's Shadows
By: Fran Dancing Feather
Big Bear City, Calif.
Oh Great Mother, your face is changing.
You're getting older.
Nuclear sadness in your belly brings pain.
Sky is brown above your head,
And your Native children cry.
But the great bird shall break free one day.
He will shake the earth,
Crumbling the great towers to the dusty ground,
Laying waste to the greedy lovers of power,
Putting things back the way they used to be.
Oh Great Mountain, I'm getting older too.
My voice is cracking, when I'm defending you.
My song is out of tune.
The way of my people is dying'
Replaced by ignorance and war.
From the top of the Sacred Mountain,
To the crashing waves of your great oceans,
The simple truth remains.
Poisoned waters flow from the Continental Divide,
To the edges of the land of your dark children.
All that is left are the artifacts,
The handmade jewelry and loom-woven blankets.
The ruins of the ancients are trampled by the curious,
And the drunken “Indian” stumbles in the street…
But somewhere the Rainbow Warrior sails.
The "Earth First" children sit in patient protest
Among the redwood forests, never giving in.
The people say consciousness is raising.
Patience! Patience! Faith must long endure.
There are lodges, deep within the shadowed forests,
Where the old ones enter the dreams of the children,
Saying "Dry your eyes, for we will live free again
Where the wild cougar walks in peace
And the eagle soars in unpolluted visions
And Grandmother river sings to the seekers of peace."
|
