February 24, 2011
Re: The Pacific Northwest Medicine Wheel Ceremony
The images used to promote the event that Common Bread and Ancestral Wisdom is hosting Friday at the Longhouse are concerning to those of us in Native Student Alliance (NSA). Native Americans are not part of a mono-culture; we value the uniqueness of each of our peoples and their different ways of knowing and being. By blurring these valued distinctions in public handouts and flyers, inaccuracies and misconceptions are allowed to spread. The following are just a few specific concerns regarding these images.
In this image, the depiction of Chief Seattle and Sacajawea appear to be homogenous. Since her image wasn’t recorded and is merely speculation, we feel that it is incongruous to depict her image as nearly identical to that of the Indian male beside her, identified as Chief Seattle. I have included a link of Chief Seattle’s image here. As you can see, he bears no resemblance to the depiction of the Chief Seattle on the event flyer:
http://img.listal.com/image/154762/600full-chief-seattle.jpg
We also find it odd that Sacajawea (Shoshone) and Chief Seattle (Duwamish) are pictured together. Lewis and Clark’s expedition did not take them anywhere near Chief Seattle’s Duwamish territory. However, if we are incorrect, we would like to know when such a historical meeting took place and if there are records of it that are accessible to us in Native Student Alliance. Also, both figures are depicted with their hands up, in the stereotypical “How!” gesture that so many non-Natives think is “Indian” for hello. This is neither an appropriate nor an actual greeting in Shoshone and Duwamish cultures.
Also inaccurate is the placement of the buffalo and the mention of the “Medicine Wheel”, both of which are highly sacred to the Plains Indian culture. Olympia and the surrounding Washington area is known as Coast Salish territory. Medicine wheels and buffalo are not a part of Coast Salish tradition, thus misrepresenting the original inhabitants of the land.
In total, we feel that the imagery used to promote an event that “was inspired by dreams & visions from sacred ancestors who asked all of us to come together to heal the web of life” does exactly the opposite. Cultural appropriation is racism. The members of Native Student Alliance represent many diverse First Nations people from across the country, and we are unanimous in our agreement that the imagery used on the flyer is offensive and inaccurate.
We have a more serious concern regarding the featured speaker, Bennie LeBeau (aka BlueThunder). We noticed on his website that there is a page devoted to “sponsorship”, which is cause for skepticism. Charging money for spiritual services is considered a sacrilege to Native sensibilities. It gives us cause for concern that he is not a legitimate representative of Native spiritual ways.
http://tetonrainbows.com/Sponsorship.htm
A few of our members attended an Ancestral Wisdom meeting and witnessed the use of
tuning forks, chanting, and wild gyrating around a formation of crystals in the ground...this was done alongside the presence of hand drums and burning sage. We are concerned that the Pacific Northwest Medicine Wheel will be an expression of this cultural mixing, and for this reason we do not support it. Misuse of Native spirituality is not only disrespectful, but it can also be dangerous: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/ict_sbc/selling-the-sacred/
“First they came to take our land and water, then our fish and game…Now they want our religions as well. All of a sudden, we have a lot of unscrupulous idiots running around saying they’re medicine people. And they’ll sell you a sweat lodge ceremony for fifty bucks. It’s not only wrong, it’s obscene. Indians don’t sell their spirituality to anybody, for any price. This is just another in a very long series of thefts from Indian people and in some ways, this is the worst one yet.” - Janet McCloud, Tulalip elder and fishing rights activist.
“We urge all our Indian brother and sisters to act decisively and boldly in our present campaign to end the destruction of our sacred traditions, keeping in mind our highest duty as Indian people: to preserve the purity of our precious traditions for future generations, so that our children and our children’s children will survive and prosper in the sacred manner intended for each of our respective peoples by our Creator.”
– taken from “Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality”, June 1993.
As American Indian students on the Evergreen campus, we want to believe that the folks in Ancestral Wisdom and Common Bread have the best of intentions. However, we also have a responsibility to educate those who are misguided. We appreciate your consideration and understanding in this matter. Incidentally, we have invited the members of Ancestral Wisdom to attend our meetings on several occasions, but have yet to receive a visit from any of them.
Sincerely,
Native Student Alliance (NSA)
1 comment:
well done NSA!
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