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Love from the Earth

5/6/2018

PEGI EYERS

All my life the clock has been ticking, and the ideological pendulum has been swinging. Finally, my awareness has come to rest in vital knowledge – that I was raised by a false paradigm on “Kanata” and that I am living on stolen land. This shattering reversal of reality transformed and radicalized me, but I don't feel disempowered. For to use a common cliché, “the truth will set you free.” I am a white woman, a Gaelic Scot born into the colonizer agenda, the great Empire-building project, "the grand and glorious experiment” here on Turtle Island. And at the same time that I am a product of the status quo, life choices have given me an acute awareness of colonial oppression. I consider myself blessed to be thriving in the traditional homelands of the Mississauga Anishnaabe, and I battle with cognitive dissonance and the dismantling of my whiteness every day. For example, the “acknowledgment of territory” so popular in white spaces can only go so far, when it is indigenous flags that should be flying on municipal buildings, and the land repatriated and returned to First Nations.

I woke up from a childhood cushioned from reality and blind to the walls around me, walls that separated people of color from those privileged by Empire. Yet with each new layer of whiteness and coloniality I unpack within myself, my personal obligation and responsibility to tear down walls grows in equal measure.

Back in the 1980’s I was a teenager living in various regions of British Columbia, traveling here and there as the impulse struck. With my young husband, we eventually put down roots in the Similkameen Valley, just before the first wave of First Nations resistance and resurgence began to rise. Day after day we witnessed members of the Smalqmix community arriving at the bar, where the cheap beer kept flowing and the cowboys kept singing. “Welcome to the Hotel California. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” In those days we offered many rides home, giving “safe passage” to our native friends, taking them back to their dark and broken shacks, with no running water or warmth in the winter. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

One day we found ourselves drifting through Hope B.C. and decided to sleep under the stars on the bank of the Fraser River. We approached a circle of Stό:lō folk beside their nets and liquor bottles, and in the common way of vagrants everywhere, were immediately made welcome. Language and cultural differences were definite barriers, but at the moment the need to set the nets and harvest the salmon took priority. As the evening wore on, the drinking took center stage. Farther down the rocky shoreline, I fell asleep listening to the sing-song Stό:lō speech. Screams in the night woke me, as inebriated people ran back and forth along the riverbank as a Stό:lō man became caught in the current. His body washed up downriver many days later, and I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

Fast forward through a kaleidoscope of cultural events; teachings from the Elders; pow wows; indigenous arts, books, film, theatre and music; and First Nation friends who sparked my life for decades. Deep in the canyon of city streets, I pass a crouching woman with long black hair hidden in the corner where bus shelter meets skyscraper wall. Urgent with my own necessities and agendas, I feel helpless in the face of such obvious need, and press on. What happened to this indigenous woman? Her Toronto was not my Toronto, and I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

A few years later I am working in an art gallery in a mall, and an indigenous artist appears day after day to take his cues from the paintings. Over coffee, I hear he has a terminal illness, in addition to PTSD. What is PTSD? It is being pushed beyond one’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual limits not once, not twice, but repeatedly: over and over and over. I see the dark spirits circling above this man, both from his own Ojibway heritage and the other chthonic realms. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

In recent times I have reached middle age. Empowered by the words of Haudenosaunee and
Anishnaabe Elders, I
notice the cultural appropriation rampant
in my own community,
mostly by my white
sisters who practice
New Age Spirituality.

I distance myself immediately and learn all I can about white privilege and Allyship Theory. I hesitantly enter solidarity spaces and become bolder as confidence grows. From both native and non-native people, I encounter hostility, denial and confusion. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

I continue to do anti-racism work on principle, and as a Settler-Ally, I know I have no right to speak. Then, a prominent academic tells me that keeping silent is an extension of the colonial agenda to infantilize us all, and I try to stay in middle ground. I learn how kind words can change lives. But in the shadows, the tears of indigenous people continue to flow, and my care is yet another burden, another misguided platitude that does not fit the healing pattern. I hold the despair etched into the actions of this devastation.

I am listening. First Nations have called me the enemy, and it’s absolutely true. My people have been the carriers of genocide and slavery, and the worst disseminators of racism the planet has ever known. I am privileged, I am white, and I carry the same colonial patterns of violence endured by my Ancestors that were forced on everyone else. No longer can I pretend that white people are the authorities on human nature, and I need to just sit, beyond redemption, with the harm that was done. It may be beyond my power to remove the burden of history or the trauma of POC, but I can be accountable and make amends. I can continue to change my own beliefs, and decolonize my inner and outer reality. And with the agency that belongs to me alone, (i.e. the "power of one") I can fight for the rights of indigenous people and the land - as writer, ally, friend. And as I dismantle my whiteness, I know that my life’s work is to honor the Earth in all I think, say and do. And above all, to reject the patriarchal ethics that dominate our humanity and the land.

Suddenly, in the midst of the activism, rallies, discourse and friendship, an idyllic vision rises in my heart. Should I speak of it? Do I dare? My vision touches on “inclusivity,” which is linked to neo-liberalism, white privilege and power. And yet regardless of blowback, I continue to hold a vision of hope. It will not go away. It is based on mutual healing. Without pretending we are all the same, my vision is of a thriving collective of diverse folk bonded to the Ancient Spirit of the land.

Can we allow the Earth to heal us? This is the vision, and the rejuvenation of our ancient and timeless connection to the land in the face of massive change, as our way forward. Can we hold on to this vision with all of our might?

VISIONING

Pre-colonial and indigenous societies all over the world know Mother Earth as sacred, and the source of all life, enchantment and joy. Without exception, the wisdom and cultural traditions of all people emerge from the land. Not to know this is to remain disconnected from the Earth, the source of our spiritual ecology, and to perpetuate the goals of Empire that separate us from our embeddedness in the natural world.

How do we bypass the dominance of modernity and go directly to the source of our eco-being? We – eternal reflections of the Great Mother – red, yellow, black, brown and white – all of us, People of the Earth – are sacred vessels for spirit, ever loving, ever perfect, always blessed. We are strong in our bones as the Earth is strong! When we reclaim our true power, our circles form in bonds of protection, and we speak for the green realm, for all beings.

We align ourselves with natural law and care
for Earth Community,
and when we return to the source of all knowing
– our intimate and humble interaction with the land - experiences in companionship with the elements, spirits, and
forces in nature are
available equally to all.

Recovery from colonialism has no timeline, yet our urgent task is to reclaim the sacred essence that spirals us back, to our deepest and most ancient connection. Nourished by the web of life that sustains us all, we become re-rooted in our own earth-emergent heritage, our own ancestral traditions, and our own rites of passage. And in a true coming-together of hearts and minds in emotional integrity and right relationship, we find our way home to peace, and then, to peaceful co-existence.

The love of the land is the only true wealth we have – we are part of the Earth and the Earth is part of us! And in this fledgling love, a small fire in the darkness, the spirit is luminous in every person. Before time and before place, there is something we all share. We are each a spark of the Great Mystery, in our primal being we are whole, and nothing has ever been broken. Knowing our true heart’s home on the land, we hold ourselves gently, in perfect love and perfect trust.

"Love from the Earth" originally appeared in Confluence: Youth Passageways Journal Volume II, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2017.

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for neurodecolonization, social justice, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon.com
www.stonecirclepress.com

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The Problem with Far-Away Ecotherapy and Nature Connection Retreats

2/28/2018

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BY PEGI EYERS

At this point in history, with late-stage capitalism and climate disaster events coming at us in waves, how can anyone justify going on nature-bonding trips to exotic locations? This activity is particularly absurd when it applies to members of the Ecopsychology community, who could be providing important role models for other folks. If a particular demographic or professional group focused on nature connection fails to take a stand on reducing our carbon footprint, why should anyone else feel motivated to change?

Travel to exotic locations is a privilege, not a right, and in terms of carbon impact, a typical 747 aircraft burns 4 litres of fossil fuel each second! A flight to Australia from Europe creates 4.5 tonnes of carbon. By comparison, traveling 2000 km by car emits less CO2 than one transcontinental flight, and the average emission per capita globally is around 1 tonne. In the face of these devastating statistics, it may be a good idea to ask ourselves if we care enough about the Earth to just STAY HOME!

Going on "retreat" from the ecosystem where we actually live is a strange phenomenon, coupled with the promise that we will make a "special connection" with nature that somehow doesn't exist at home. The lure of exotic experiences is a big draw, such as "enjoying rhino tracking" or “respectfully encountering dolphins in the wild." Yet isn't it possible to find the magic and mystery of nature, and the beautiful creatures of Earth Community, right in the ecosystems of our own home places that need our care and attention?

Travel to exotic destinations is made possible by socioeconomic privilege, and especially the wealth accumulated by the boomer generation. We hold a lifetime of conditioning from society that tells us to enjoy our wealth and privilege, with exotic travel being one of the most popular normalized pleasures. (Next to body care, fancy clothes, restaurants and live entertainment, that is!) We have also been indoctrinated to admire the ultra-rich and emulate the jet-setter lifestyle (whether or not we will ever be ultra-rich). We have to ask ourselves if members of the nature-relatedness field really want to follow these aspects of the capitalist paradigm, that promote the excessive consumption of both material goods and experiences?

Another diversion that often comes up with "nature retreats" is the option to "meet with local indigenous people." From our positionality in the west as members of the dominant society, this suggests a number of ethical considerations. Is the meeting superficial or based on long-standing relation-ships? Meeting with the more enterprising of the local people can be seen as "tokenism," as one or two individuals do not speak for, nor represent the concerns of the entire Indigenous community. And even if a local tourism industry has sprung up to accommodate western travelers for economic development (often under the guise of "intercultural sharing") there is still an underlying consideration (and a macabre one at that). How ethical is it to normalize the subjugation that our own Colonial ancestors created in the first place? The eco-tourism or "teachings to outsiders" industry is one way for Indigenous people to recover from Colonialism, but coming in with paternalism or white saviorism can be perceived as more neo-colonialism. Adding insult to injury, in all our variations the presence of white westerners obstructs the sovereignty of indigenous societies, and their right to live free of colonial pressures within their own epistomologies.

Instead of fleeting encounters with Indigenous folks, a better approach may be to contribute to the cultural survival of specific indigenous nation from afar, and practice good Allyship, which supports healthy boundaries and the principles of non-interference. As have the Indigenous people in Hawaii, the Kogi in Colombia have recently asked North Americans to STAY HOME. Their beleaguered ecosystems are becoming more and more fragile, and it is increasingly seen as an extension of socioeconomic privilege to assume we can travel anywhere just because we feel like it, and insert ourselves into the precious homelands and narratives of peoples in other places.
.
If you are a member of the Ecopsychology community and decide against traveling to an exotic location for nature connection, a public statement outlining your objections, including your assessment of the carbon that has been offset, would be most welcome. And thank you for your inspiration!

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Earth-Emergent in the City

2/20/2018

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BY PEGI EYERS

The Ancestral Arts are on the rise today, as we embody a more harmonious way to live, interconnected with nature, the other-than-human world and Earth Community. And yet depending on where we live, it may be impossible to fully re-create the vibrancy of an earth-wise culture. In places of urban sprawl, the environment may be in an eroded condition, or we may find our access to wild nature denied. The challenge then, for those living in the city either by choice or necessity, is to reclaim or enhance the aspects of a foundational bond to the land that gives rise to our spiritual ecology, and find our kindred spirits and community links in the process.

There are many ways to practice our ancestral wisdom and reclaim the wonders of nature in the city! As we explore the green commons, public parks, planted spaces, borders, cemeteries, quiet corners, abandoned lands and (so-called) wastelands, we can revere urban space just as much as wild or semi-wild ecosystems. Strolling around city neighbourhoods, or wayfaring and hiking through woods and parks (with or without an agenda) has obvious health benefits, and enhances the intimacy and detail of a more grounded, grassroots perspective. And as we get to know the landforms and ancient cultures that were there before urbanization, we find that the magic of the earth is ever-present in the older landscapes beneath the surface of the city. As they always have, the genius loci - the ancestors, spirits of place, primordial forces and beings of myth and mystery - are willing to communicate with us, if we are open to their messages.

All land is sacred, but places that embody "genius loci" can be said to be more highly charged with spiritual energy or healing power from natural formations such as ley lines, songlines, wellsprings or forest groves. Known as “numina” to the ancient Romans, these special places are home to the numen - ancient earth spirits, intelligent entities, orbs or deities - or are sites that still resonate with culturally-significant historical events.

In today's world, places that evoke "genius loci" can be sites of human architecture imbedded in the land, that hold deep meaning to our personal mythology and cultural history. Consciously or not, the effects of natural locations play a role in our psychogeography, which are the emotions, memories, behaviors and epiphanies we hold in response to special places. Even sites in the city that are often overlooked or neglected can be approached with an attitude of reverence and reciprocity, which helps to re-enchant these green zones and contribute to the remediation of marginalized spaces.

Paying attention to the tree people, stones or birds in the city, and bringing elements and natural objects from the wild into our urban interiors, are all ways to stay connected to the land. Marking the seasons and cycles of the moon, celebrating the quarters and solstices, and coming together with like-minded community in ceremony and ritual are ancient practices that express our earth-rooted beliefs in urban spaces. Rewilding, re-greening the commons, urban herbcraft, natural medicine and community farming are all ways to create deep connections to the actual and spiritual gifts of the soil.

Earthing is another wonderful practice available to us in the city. Walking barefoot on the grass or at the beach, sitting or reclining on the ground in parks, gardens or private yards accesses the healing and energizing properties of the earth, which has been identified by science as the transfer of electrons (the earth’s natural, subtle energy) into our bodies. "Earthing" gives us strength from the healing frequencies of the land, and promotes the vitality of the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of our being. The most amazing thing about the soothing, grounding and cleansing practice of "Earthing" is the simplicity and access, and it certainly gives new meaning to the term "earth-connected!"

Without a doubt, it is our immersion in green spaces and our bodily contact with the Earth that promotes tranquility, reflection and restoration for the human spirit. Even in the city, the movement of waters and stars, or the growth of plants and animals, imply the presence of indwelling spirits. Stones, trees and other aspects of the natural world are self-aware, autonomous and willful beings who possess their own traits and dispositions. A spiritual force pervades all of nature, and the other-than-human world embraces a host of endlessly expressive and individualistic living entities. The Earth is aware, and even in the city, green zones hold elemental forces inhabited by sentient beings and creatures. As we reconnect deeply with these wonders and our eco-selves in the city, our re-landing will sustain the sacred ground of our collective being, for generations yet to come.

photograph © Milissa Mulligan

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Voices of Earth ~ Archaic Whispers

11/30/2017

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PEGI EYERS

hands in earth, green growing
cavern sweet with flowers and leaves
(diving deep)
earth that is her body
ten thousand things rise and fall

Ancestors!
Ancestors!

the deepest sound is silence
next to hard rock she can remember

listening ~
not with the ear with the spirit

Ancestors!
Ancestors!

the trail is cold
cave walls echo

………..

summoning
blissful hallowing
voices of earth, archaic whispers
guided, protected and inspired

rhythmic drums and sacred songs
homelands etched on the heart

Ancestors!
Ancestors!

diving deep
earth that is her body

] [

(wings to fly)
rising up to meet the light

"Cave Painting" by Elaine de Kooning

Excerpt fom Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers
"Ethnic Memory & Connecting with the Ancestors"
Do You Remember?

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Good Allies BY PEGI EYERS

11/3/2017

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Allyship Theory provides an excellent framework for correct protocol, ethical interactions and solidarity with First Nations. To explore the guidelines for cross-cultural relationships in your own community and beyond, access "Good Allies: A Synthesis of Contemporary Ally Theory" by Pegi Eyers here:

good_allies.pdf
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Song of the Ancestors

10/30/2017

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"Ancestors" by Black Dicefish

BY PEGI EYERS

With deep pre-Christian roots, the Celtic fire festival of Samhain (an old Gaelic word meaning “harvest at summer’s end”) celebrates the beginning of the Pagan Year in many traditions, and marks a liminal time when the Wheel of the Year turns from light to dark, and winter is coming. In Celtic Reconstructionism, Celtic Spirituality, Avalonian, Druidic and Pagan traditions today, Samhain or All Souls Day has been revived as an important holy day for solitary ritual or “gathering of the tribes,” with practices emulated the ancient traditions and rituals of lighting the sacred fire, divination, masquerades and costumes, feasting, dances, songs, storytelling and practical jokes.

At Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is thin, spirits, deities, fairies (the Fair Folk or “aos sí”), or souls of the dead may choose to visit, and with offerings, rites or libations, much can be accomplished in communing with our Ancestors or interacting with the gods, goddesses and spirit beings. The borderline time of Samhain is excellent for remembering our Beloved Dead, receiving their wisdom and guidance, and acknowledging the cycle of life, death and rebirth according to our own specific ancestral traditions.

“In many non-western cultures, the Ancestors have an intimate and absolutely vital connection with the world of the living. They are always available to guide, to teach and to nurture. They embody guidelines for what is most valuable about life.” (Malidoma Somé)

All during the year and especially at Samhain, we can keep the connectivity to the Ancestors alive by invoking their memory on a daily basis, with prayer and gratitude, making offerings, and politely asking for assistance and guidance. Contact with the ancestral realm brings rewards of empowerment, resilience and strength, and we may find that our ethnocultural path is meaningless without the recognition of the Ancestral Spirits. The best way to revive the magical potency of Ancestral connection and receive their blessings and wisdom, is to give them an honored place in our hearts and homes.

Designing ancestor altars with special objects such as photography, artwork, poetry or heirlooms that represent our Beloved Dead, create a vibrant channel or “portal” between the living and the spirits. At Samhain, candles, flowers, incense, fragrance, and offerings of food and drink can be arranged to honour and welcome the spirits back home. Portable Altars are great for travel, pilgrimage, offerings, outdoor installations, creating sacred space or visiting grave sites, and also function as containers for our grief, respect and honor.

Indigenous and earth-emergent societies worldwide practice Ancestor Veneration with altars, ceremonies, processions, celebrations, offerings and elaborate burial grounds. Honoring the Ancestors at Samhain and keeping them close creates a powerful link between the past and the present, and can bring us great joy, peace and good fortune. As we become more comfortable with interacting in the continuum of nonmaterial reality and honoring the Council of Ancestors - politely engaging their help with visualization, prayer, song, offerings and ceremony - we are participating in the ancestral veneration that is at the heart of all indigenous societies.

Also, honoring the Ancestors opens a valuable channel of knowledge that travels back and forth from the Ancestors to ourselves. The Ancestors are waiting to make contact! As much as we want to communicate with our Ancestors, they are willing to communicate with us.

Waking Memories are the sudden realizations and "epiphanies" that arise from spending time with the memorabilia and myths of our Beloved Dead, and travel to the geographic places of our our ancestral heritage. Tapping into the reservoir of "epigenetics" or ancestral messaging that resides in our physical essence can affirm the vitality of the unseen worlds, and the deep sense of belonging that dwells in our hearts and souls.

Dreamwork and Intentional Dreaming allows us to deliberately create the conditions for the Ancestors to meet us in the dreamtime, and to return to the exact same dream for more information. The process of Dream Archaeology is the extensive research that can be done to validate the symbols, messages, and direct communications we receive. In addition to paying attention to our dreams - guided meditations, visualization and pathworking are other kinds of spiritual modalities that can bring us closer to the spiritual realm of the Ancestors.

"Motherline" by Ulla Anobile

Constellation Work is a deep healing process whereby participants "stand in" for the members of one's extended family circle. Magically and spontaneously, from the deep inner knowing of the participants (or possibly the Ancestors themselves?) gestures and simple words indicate the residue of family blessings or intergenerational trauma. These often cryptic messages are interpreted by an experienced professional, and are then acknowledged and incorporated into present-day reality. A deeper awareness of family dynamics leads to the healing that is possible for both the subject and the Ancestors themselves. The experiences and stories of our relations do not need to hold us back, as we can transform our family legacy and grow into our best selves with inner work and other modalities such as meditation, therapy, journaling, poetry, expressive arts and dance.

“With prayer, you may be offered help by those who have crossed over into Spirit. Many cultures make invoking the wisdom and assistance of the Ancestors a part of their daily spiritual practice. The spirits of the Ancestors live on and can connect to us, and they are there to help us everyday.” (Sonia Choquette)

As we become more attuned with our heritage, both our own stories and the memories we hold from the family soul, can become a rich source of guidance and strength. Any healing work that we do in our lives heals our ancestors as well, as they continue to send us their blessings, and cheer us on! Samhain is the perfect time to renew our respect for the Ancestors, reconnect with their energy, and receive their gifts, support and spiritual guidance.

Working with the Ancestors and reviving the magic of ancestral veneration is vital to the re-enchantment of our world, and is an organic part of the recovery process for the reconstruction of earth-rooted societies. By honoring our ancestors on All Souls Day, we acknowledge that these “wise mentors,” “special messengers,” “spirit elders” and “loving spirit guides” are there to help the living. As they shaped us, and passed on the gift of life with their intentions, sacrifices and achievements, thanking the ancestors is an extension of gratitude for our entire Earth Community.

“We call upon those who have lived on this earth, our Ancestors, who dreamed the best for the future generations, and upon whose lives our lives are built. With gratitude we call upon them to teach us and show us the way.” (Chinook Blessing)

~ BLESSED SAMHAIN! ~

Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for neurodecolonization, social justice, ethnocultural identity, building land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Amazon.com www.stonecirclepress.com

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Decolonization ~ Meaning What Exactly?

10/5/2017

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With all the dialogue happening on decolonization today, a reminder on baseline definitions can be helpful, before widening out to other personal/collective interpretations and actions. There are movements happening right now across ethnic and cultural lines (including the dominant white society) that use "decolonization" to describe a wide array of practices. Do we need to re-examine how we use the term? What does “decolonization” mean to you? The following definitions can offer starting points for discussion, and for action going forward.

(1) Break Free
The first and most basic meaning for “decolonization” is when a nation seeks to become free of the oppressor/oppressed regime imposed on them by a colonial power, and to physically and legally undo the colonial state, or Empire, that has dominated their society. Dependency can be transformed to independence through nonviolent revolution, or national liberation wars, and there have been several active periods of decolonization in modern times. For example, the breakup, or dissolution, of the Spanish Empire in the 19th century, the German, Ottoman and Russian Empires following WWI, and the Soviet Union following the October Revolution.

(2) Settler Removal
The next profound meaning for “decolonization” is for the colonizer to “de-colonize” - that is, withdraw and leave the lands of the oppressed they have taken by stealth or force. Here in the Americas, there is a justified belief among First Nations that the colonizer (folks of European descent) must return to our lands of origin. So far, there are a few progressive Settlers who are exploring their own removal, yet for the majority this is far beyond our capabilities, or even our desire. Everyday life in the homogenous American or Canadian nation-state does not support this kind of yearning, or any substantial link to a European homeland. And the trail to Europe can grow very cold, if your motherline has been on Turtle Island for over 12 generations. So, if it is impossible to leave the Americas (as much as we want to) it can be helpful for Settlers to think of this directive symbolically, and to ask ourselves what exactly an America or a Canada would look like, if we were able to reduce our Eurocentric imposition, dominance, supremacy and power? And what would a re-indigenized society look like, if First Nations and POC were in the ascendant position?

In the face of these realities, we can be grateful for alternative approaches being offered by First Nations leaders such as Robert Lovelace (Tslagi/Algonquin).

“Indigenous peoples and Settlers have our own histories, where those histories have led us, and where the possible futures might lie for us together. Because guess what? We are here and now, and we’re not going to change that fact, but what we can do is change the possible futures that we face.”

To maintain cultural continuity, and to show up for common causes with our diversity intact, the most we can hope for is to practice good intercultural competency skills, tolerance for "the other," mutual respect, and peaceful co-existence. Throughout human history, these are the elements that have been missing.

(3) Return the Land
For indigenous freedom fighters, scholars and community peoples, decolonization cannot happen until the ancestral lands are returned. As the source of epistomologies, cultural keystone(s), TEK (traditional ecological knowledge), food sources and medicine for good health, the land is deeply embedded in the communal heart and soul. At the root of indigenous community, the priority to care for and protect the land is for the Web of all Life, and the Seven Generations yet to come. In marked contrast, Empire has failed miserably in the protection of pristine ecosystems. Now, all people, including Settlers, who reject the paradigm of endless growth and recognize the value of IK (indigenous knowledge), can support the repatriation of lands to the original Earthkeepers and First Nations of Turtle Island.

In the truest sense of the word, for the recently colonized (indigenous and POC) "decolonization" is not a metaphor. Those in the dominant society are being asked to avoid using "decolonization" to refer to ideas or actions that do not hold indigenous resistance, sovereignty, land restoration, and other repatriations at the center.

(4) Resistance & Resurgence
As a baseline here in the Americas, for the recently colonized (indigenous and POC) "decolonization" is the active principle that attempts to undo the Settler State on a daily basis, both from within and without. Eurocentric dominance, white supremacy, racism, ethnic cleansing, genocide, slavery, land theft, imposed treaties, broken promises, relocation, forced assimilation, government manipulation, corporate control, psychic violence and all the associated forms of oppression that continue to impact indigenous people and POC in the Americas are identified, confronted, called out, and resisted. One step at a time, and marking the victories along the way, decolonization attempts to undo the colonization of the individual, the community and Earth Community with protest, social justice activism, civil disobedience, education, cultural projects and legal battles.

At the same time that the Settler State is challenged, the necessary recovery and rejuvenation of pre-colonial heritage, language and tradition is taking place, with further preservation of culture ongoing. A focus on health and healing translates into relationships that realign individuals and entire communities with their Original Instructions. The majority of references to "decolonization" by POC and their allies refers to the active principles of resistance and resurgence, and ongoing education that supports and empowers these actions.

From the PhD dissertation by Ioana Radu (Cree) ~ "Healing in Chisasibi"

(5) Neurodecolonization
The minds of ALL people who navigate within Empire have been occupied, or colonized, by the memes and values of the Settler State. In today's era of massive change and climate disaster, root causes such as monotheism, imperialism, white superiority, hetero-patriarchy, capitalism, corporatism, resource extraction and binary political systems are rapidly being exposed as outdated frauds. Even if we have learned to thrive within the simulacrum of these human-created systems, the fact remains that Empire is toxic to all life, including our own. The conditioning and domestication we have received over millennia has translated into many artificial beliefs, habits and behaviors. Here is a sampling - what others come to mind?

Placing human entitlement and humancentric needs above Earth Community,
a disconnect from nature and the normalization of urbanity,
control and domination showing up in our own lives with "Me" instead of "We" behaviors,
implicit or overt judgement of people who don't fit the white cisheteropatriarchy ableist "norm,"
intense competition and the "cult of the individual" resulting in narcissism linked to low self-esteem,
a measure of personal value situated on a hierarchy of wealth or class,
a reliance on consumerism to provide "fulfillment" with fleeting pleasures, experiences and material things,
developing self-identity from the workplace, commercial enterprises and other disconnects from the real,
a lack of rites of passage, low emotional IQ and infantile behavior throughout the adult years,
a fear of the natural cycles of life such as birth, adolescence, aging and death.

The process of neurodecolonization gently challenges the memes of Empire (western thinking) in our individual or collective consciousness, and replaces that ideology or action with pre-colonial, or indigenous thinking. For ourselves, our families and our communities, the move toward life-enhancing and creative patterns, and compassionate and inclusive solutions, can be a life-long undertaking.

The key thing to remember when engaging with the ongoing neurodecolonization of our psyche is that "humans are not fundamentally flawed creatures. That is a myth perpetuated by industrial capitalism in order to naturalize the behavior of violent imperialists. They are the insane." (Derrick Jensen)

(6) Re-indigenization
Neurodecolonization and the reprogramming of the psyche can naturally lead to an interconnection with the evolving processes of all life, and return us to our essential bio-lineage. We are invited to learn from, and emulate the values of IK systems without indulging in cultural appropriation, and a natural extension of this work is to recover specific indigeneities based on our own ethnoculture, as suggested by Zainab Amadahy.

“If the aim of decolonization is to rid ourselves of colonial mindsets why not centralize our own wisdom traditions when they enable us to think and act in ways that support our communities, including Mother Earth, Our Relations and the Great Spirit?”

Decolonization insists that we understand ourselves as we existed before modern civilization, and that implementing holistic solutions and traditional earth-emergent ways of life are vital to the survival of the human race. In these times of unlimited access to information, reclaiming our own root ancestral heritage(s) or EIK (European Indigenous Knowledge) has become a real possibility. The most exciting movement of our time is underway to Reject Empire and its toxic hegemonies, and to shift toward rewilding, economic alternatives, food sovereignty, spiritually-based ecological wisdom, decolonized community, bioregionalism (if possible), and inclusion in the Sacred Circle of all Life.

To recover our pre-colonial eco-self we must stop taking our cues from the dominant society, and become spontaneously directed by the natural world.

(7) We Have All Been Colonized
By the time our Ancestors arrived on the shores of Turtle Island, honoring natural law and living in balance with Earth Community had already been outdated concepts for centuries in Europe. They were part of a social organization based on hierarchy and control, and instead of taking their cues from the indigenous civilizations already thriving in the “new world” our Ancestors went on to repeat the colonial pattern. For our generation today, the question remains - what are we going to do about it?

Here are a few questions to consider, as we look at how we use the term "decolonization."

Where do you see yourself on the decolonization continuum? Do you belong to the historic colonizer Settler Society or the colonized group?
How can reparations be made to First Nations?
Are you recovering your connection to a landbase that has nurtured your people for generations?
Do you center indigenous and POC resistance in your decolonization work?
How are you educating your own cohort on issues of racism and oppression?
Do you consider the recovery of your own heritage part of the decolonization process?
What habits in your thinking, or daily life, can be decolonized?
How can you dedicate more time to the rewilding of both soul and place, and the protection of wild nature?

At the local level, the popular "acknowledgement of territory" before public events provides a solid foundation for the decolonization of self, family, community and the wider world. After decades of denial and ignorance, the unadorned truth of this "first step" declaration centers indigenous reality, and is integral to the decolonization journey.

"I acknowledge that I am living in the traditional territory of the Mississauga Ojibway, stand in solidarity with First Nations land claim processes, support First Nations sovereignty and cultural recovery efforts, and respect the traditional values of the Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Alderville First Nations."

Pegi Eyers ~ Nogojiwanong (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada)

Find out whose land you are on, and honor it ~ https://native-land.ca

"Decolonization ~ Meaning What Exactly?" was published by Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory & Practice October 11, 2017 >link<

Quotes in Order of Appearance
1) Robert Lovelace (Tslagi/Algonquin), "The Architecture of a Decolonized Society: Reindigenizing the Self, Community & Environment," Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC), Trent University, Peterborough, January 18, 2013
2) Derrick Jensen, Deep Green Resistance, comment on social media
3) Zainab Amadahy, “Why Indigenous and Racialized Struggles will Always be Appendixed by the Left,” Unsettling Settlers: Where We Talk about Unsettling Our Settler Selves, August 1, 2012
Resources
Joyce Green and Michael Burton, 12 Steps to a Post-Colonial Future," Rabble http://rabble.ca/news/2013/12/12-steps-to-post-colonial-future
Pegi Eyers, Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, Chapter 19 "Rejecting Empire: Re-centering Indigenous Values /The Psyche & Myth-Busting," Stone Circle Press, 2016
Pegi Eyers, "Rejecting Empire 1" and "Rejecting Empire 2" Academia.edu
https://independent.academia.edu/PegiEyers
Jürgen Werner Kremer and R Jackson-Paton, Ethnoautobiography: Stories and Practices for Unlearning Whiteness, Decolonization, Uncovering Ethnicities, ReVision Publishing, 2013
Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, "Decolonization is Not a Metaphor," Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory & Practice, September 26, 2012
https://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/decolonization-is-not-a-metaphor

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Animism Unbound

6/15/2017

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"Reborn" © Jen Otey

BY PEGI EYERS

As a term for activating our most primal and authentic eco-self in the wild, many important definitions for Animism exist today. Yet these descriptions can obscure this ancient way of knowing with the clutter of western mind. Seeking out the reassurance of intellectual complexity as we "return to the garden" may be the norm for a society disconnected from the land. But Animism is as natural as the flowing of our senses, and it's not that difficult to bypass linear thinking and experience the wonders of nature first-hand. Animism is simple, direct, immediate and profound, and as close to us as the green space, seasonal cycles, and other-than-human-world that surrounds us.

“Everything in nature is alive and speaking. Our spiritual practice is about opening our eyes, ears and hearts to hear, understand, and communicate back. The elements, the Ancestors and the spirit beings that surround us want us to communicate with them. They want to work with us to heal the Earth, but they need our invitation.”1 (Starhawk)

ANIMISM UNBOUND You wander far into the wilderness, to where it seems no human being could possibly have gone before. You wait quietly for something to happen. And sure enough, although you cannot pinpoint the source, small bell-like notes rise up in a pure waterfall of sound, like seeds floating in orbits or flower circles chiming in bliss. Surrounded by harmonious bands of singing green and streaming blue, somehow you traverse bogs, meadows and the antlers of branching trees, to find yourself at your cabin door once again.

"Tree of Life" © Tamara Phillips

Looking to indigenous societies worldwide (including those in Old Europe), we are reminded that humans thrive best within an animistic reality in which everything, inanimate or animate, has life, energy and spirit. To the practicing Animist, every part of Earth Community is aware, and a mountain or an entire territory can be the outward form of spiritual presence, or an abode of elemental forces inhabited by sentient beings and creatures. Without a doubt, the life force in nature such as the movement of waters and stars, or the growth of plants and animals, implies the presence of indwelling spirits.

Deeply personal messages and affinities are all around us, and the appearance and timing of phenomena like a rainbow, the cawing of a raven, patterns etched in sand, or the visitation of a snake can have great individual purpose and meaning. Interpretations can either come easily with an undeniable “knowing,” or become clear over time and distance.

In my own case I have always held an Animist knowing and companionship to wild nature, as I continue to see, feel, sense, observe, know and communicate with other presences out on the land - creatures, beings, elementals, earth spirits, deities, plant allies, and the archetypal animal spirits. These conversations can be one-off, or depending on the place, evolve and strengthen over time, with great care and devotion.

"Sympathy binds human beings to plants, animals, rocks and stars. Therefore they become beings rather than objects, fellows rather than things, and members in a circle of social relations.”2 (Peter Nabokov)

Having interactions with the ecosystem as part of our daily lives, Animists are in agreement that our dependency and reciprocity binds us to the Earth Communities with whom we share our lives. Deeply connected to the land and its seasonal cycles, Animists are in rapport with the animals, plants, living spirits, Ancestors and spiritual forces, and “indigenous animism looks to the wholeness of nature for its principal teachings.”3 (Emma Restall Orr)

ANIMISM UNBOUND The day you finish a Daniel Quinn book that reinforces the sentience of Earth Community and changes your worldview forever, you leave the house, and just outside the door a magnificent toad is waiting. You long for the day when you are as at home in your environment as this attentive being. You place a blessing of protection on the small creature, which leads to a conversation full of magnetic knowing and mutual love. And from that day onward, you remember Wise Toad as a guardian of life's passages.

Western society has finally realized what indigenous societies have always known, that Earth Community is awake and aware, albeit in different ways than how we perceive consciousness as humans. Stones, trees and other aspects of the natural world are autonomous and willful beings who possess their own traits and dispositions. A spiritual force pervades all of nature, and the magical and mysterious presences and spirit beings in forests, shorelines, caves, mounds, springs and meadows continue to present themselves to us, and communicate great insight, awareness and numinosity.

The world is alive with purpose, energy and sacred life. The elementals, earth spirits, plant allies, faeries and “devas” can have identifiable characteristics, personalities or gender, and narratives from oral traditions can portray these other-than-human beings as neutral, lovable, exuberant, terrifying or even mischievous!

ANIMISM UNBOUND You find yourself encountering turtles everywhere you go - images and other icons - and you spot them on summer lawns and in the wild. You feel a sense of the miraculous beyond serendipity, and begin to know a closeness to Mother Turtle, who tells you life lessons of the most sacred symbols unfolding, in the deep recesses of both cosmos and Feral Earth. Then one day you encounter a broken turtle beside the highway, psychopomp and sing to her as she crosses over, and are driven to spend the next four years raising exorbitant sums of money for a turtle rescue organization.

With love and thanks to the many artists who contributed to "The Art of the Turtle"

"Animism, because it seeks to relate and converse with the world, rather than to define and control it, always renews itself. It wakes up every morning fresh and alive, and every evening it tucks itself to bed to dream again for the very first time. Since animism involves a relationship with the world, a living being that exists in the now, the present moment, what more relevant perspective could you find?”4 (Willem Larsen)

If we are open to sharing through our heart, mind, dreaming body and other senses, the stones, trees, plants, animals, birds, insects and sacred creatures with whom we share this wondrous planet have an infinity of healing, guardianship, and learning experiences to offer. By stilling our inner dialogue, focusing on positive intent and emotions, and listening deeply with our ears plus our entire range of senses, we have the ability to initiate conversations with earth spirits and energetic beings. The results can be surprising and awe-inspiring! Some people hear actual speech, for others it is a waking dream, powerful vision or spontaneous experience, while others receive messages through night-time visitations, strong feelings or intuition.

We have never been separate from the life-affirming power of the natural world. As it was in ancient times, the other-than-human world embraces a host of endlessly expressive and individualistic living entities whose actions we may adore, emulate, decipher, predict and even influence! Our relationships with all beings, whether spiritual or physical, indicates an acceptance of multiple realities in the world.

Deeply related and interactive in our mutual admiration, kinship and needs, the cycles and manifestations of growth that occur in self and nature correspond materially and spiritually. The macrocosm and microcosm meeting within ourselves, the divine principle of “as above so below” are also realized. By virtue of being connected to the holism of Earth Community, we become attuned to a vast cosmovision, and all notions of monotheism fall away. Animists evoke, honor and obey a multiplicity of spirits, deities, elements and powers.

“In tribal societies, there is so much to see and hear. The bear speaks, the river speaks, the rainbow signifies, the eclipse is a sign. The animistic personification of natural objects may be difficult for us to accept in any ‘literal’ way. Yet, judged solely on intellectual grounds, animism can be credited with a more sophisticated perception of physicality than Western knowledge. Far from regarding matter as dead stuff, tribal societies perceive it as infused with mind, will, and intention.”5 (Theodore Roszak)

As a clear example of an indigenous tradition, within Anishnaabe epistomology the intrinsic cooperation and communication between humans, animals, birds, insects, plants and spirit beings is known as the “Council of Life.” Also, in the traditional language of the Anishnaabe, most nouns are animate, indicating that in this conceptual framework “things” are alive, and have autonomous standing and spirit.

The Animist perspective is also apparent in the cosmology of the Haudenosaunee, as “the world around and all its features – rivers, trees, clouds, springs and mountains are regarded as alive, endowed with spirit and sensibility every bit as real as those of humans, and in fact of exactly the same type and quality as a human’s. Among the Iroquois this was called Orenda, the invisible force inherent in all parts of the universe.”6
(Kirkpatrick Sale)

ANIMISM UNBOUND "Like echoes like" you are thinking, as you pick up a stone marked with lines of red ochre, exactly the same as the ancient petroglyphs you have visited with indigenous friends. Asking permission, the patterned stone willingly joins the other objects in your sacred pouch, that includes a small figure of divine feminine blessing. Weeks later on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico the pouch is lost to human greed and grasping, yet when you return home, the stone marked with red ancestral pigment is on your altar waiting. You accept this magic as willingly as the Petroglyph Stone has accepted you.

There are an infinity of examples found worldwide that reflect interactive success between the human/nonhuman world, such as the miraculous communications in the Findhorn community. By developing empathy skills, opening up their consciousness and widening their sensory abilities, Eileen Caddy, Peter Caddy and Dorothy MacLean were able to hear the wisdom and tutelage as expressed by the overarching nature spirits, or “Devas” of the plant realm.

In a state of heightened awareness - a space of great joy, freedom and unconditional love - they found that the Devas were thrilled to be noticed by humans, and with ongoing interaction became close companions in cooperative gardening and co-evolution. All forms of life start with energies that are materialized into specific physical form by the overarching soul essences of each being, the “Kingdom of Devas” who hold the archetypal patterns. Feeling and harmonizing one’s self with the soul essence of a plant can evoke a response, such as this communication received from the Flowering Gentian.

Blue Gentian

"We bring breaths of open spaces and hills, of sunshine, showers, and breezes. All of these are part of your being. Even if you live in the midst of a busy city, these natural things are home to you. They are part of the atmosphere of this Earth, part of the surroundings in which you live and grow. Even if your life and thinking are completely enmeshed in the human world, still you are part of our Deva world, which works for the perfect flowering of all life. This is your birthright. You may turn your back on it, but someday you will learn the truth and live in connection with all life on this planet. Only then will you tap your highest potential.”7
(Gentian Deva)

An abundance of interactions with the other-than-human-world are just waiting to happen! Numinous encounters tend to be immediate and profound, and then morph into the heart and soul of one's personal mythology. Lived experiences on the land can even form the basis for new oral traditions, as the storied landscape gives rise to new cultural narratives and lifeways. As we focus on the wild as our cultural and spiritual practice Animism will thrive, and by sharing these old/new ways of living with others, the syndrome of nature disconnect will fade away. By extension, our collective responsibility to all life applies to our human clans and kinship groups as well, with the all-inclusive community practices of sharing, care and support.

“Nature is alive and talking to us. This is not a metaphor.” (Terence McKenna)

Honoring the life force in creation and knowing that all beings are sacred are the core beliefs of Animism, and it is our collective responsibility to support this interexistence with the highest respect and generosity of spirit. Human beings are just one strand woven into the complex systems of Earth Community! By respecting the Earth as a living entity and acknowledging all forms of consciousness in the natural world, Animism is the worldview that works best for humanity when we take our appropriate place within (not above) the Circle of All Life. Our reawakening to Animism, arising from our collective ancient past, will naturally move us forward to a future of ecocentric ethics and reciprocity with Earth Community.

ANIMISM UNBOUND   In a state of shock and confusion you practice earthing on the lakeshore for a few hours. Your cares and doubts fall away, and you focus on one particular small shrub who has been gently waving. Remembering your lessons on green energy you pay close attention, but the plant spirit is offended and turns away. After a while other layers open up, and in the healing waters of the deep lake currents you sense a great and ancient feminine being. You think you know her, but hesitate to call her name. It is a brief yet incredible encounter, and as you walk home a voice crystallizes in your mind. "Thank you for seeing me. I have been here since time immemorial, and I will be here after you are gone. Gather your kindred spirits who love the Earth - the time to act is now."

NOTES
1. Starhawk, “A Pagan Response to Katrina,” Starhawk’s Tangled Web: Goddess and Pagan Resources, September 14, 2005.
2. Peter Nabokov, Where the Lightning Strikes: The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places, Viking Penguin, 2006
3. Emma Restall Orr, The Wakeful World: Animism, the Mind and the Self in Nature, Moon Books, 2011
4. Willem Larsen, “Becoming Traditional: Animism, Culture, and the Newly Born,” The College of Mythic Cartography, March 6, 2007
5. Theodore Roszak, “The Greening of Psychology: Exploring the Ecological Unconscious,” The Gestalt Journal, Volume 18, Number 1, Spring, 1995
6. Kirkpatrick Sale, Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision, University of Georgia Press, 2000
7. Dorothy MacLean, To Honor the Earth: Reflections on Living in Harmony with Nature, HarperCollins, 1991

RESOURCES ~ ANIMISM
Indigenous Narratives ~ Immediate and Fluid, Lived Experience
The Sacred: Ways of Knowledge Sources of Life – Peggy V. Beck, Anna Lee
Walters and Nia Francisco >link<
Messengers of the Gods: Tribal Elders Reveal the Ancient Wisdom of the
Earth – James Cowan   >link<
The Manitous: the Supernatural World of the Ojibway – Basil Johnston >link<
The Seven Dawns of the Aumakua: The Ancestral Spirit Tradition of Hawaii –
Moke Kupihea   >link<
The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living – Joseph M. Marshall III
>link<
Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future – Melissa
K. Nelson >link<
Western Interpretations ~ Structured, More Complex
Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology - David Abram >link<
Animism: Respecting the Living World - Graham Harvey   >link<
Everything You Need to Know About Animism - Sarah Anne Lawless >link<
The Wakeful World : Animism, Mind and the Self in Nature - Emma Restall
Orr   >link<
Nature Spirits & Elemental Beings - Marko Pogacnik >link<
Talking with Nature, Journeys into Nature: A Michael J. Roads Reader -
Michael J. Roads >link<
Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings – John Seed,
Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming and Arne Naess >link<

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More Settler-Colonialism: Boomers and the Rez (True Story)

4/28/2017

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So the privileged creatures of civilization, the white sybarites of the comfortable boomer generation, have decided to “get back to the land.” They already tried it in the hippie days, but never mind (!) this recycled idea has merit what with property values these days, and with retirement looming on the horizon, why not re-land oneself in the neo-romantic crucible of fen, beach and forest? After all, the Canadian wilderness goes on forever, and everyone is entitled to those magnificent vistas of sunrise and sunset. What are wide open spaces for - except to “be yourself,” let loose, and express your inner “lord or lady of the manor” that has been caged up for so long?

Now, taking into account your boredom with your own whitestream and your disdain for the hillbillies in "the back of beyond," why not purchase property right next to First Nations as a way to exotify yourself? Then, you can brag about being so urbane, sophisticated, multicultural, and “spiritual” that you have had the foresight to position yourself right next to the “tribal!”

And be sure to benefit from your romanticization of the “other” by making your business more interesting and palatable to other culturally-starved and spiritually-deprived white people. And then of course, your “gentrification” of the colonizer/colonized relationship allows you to claim there is “cultural diversity” in your neck of the woods, which makes everything just so much more inclusive, and colorblind, and “one tribe” and kumbaya!

Smooth move, neo-liberal.

Now, in the interest of wage slavery and your "zoomer-boomer" business plan, don't forget about the folks right next to you on the "Rez." Desperate to put food on the table (or make some sort of progress in the “white world”) you will find a willing person (“token”) from the native community to support you in your scheme. However, you might also need some personal assistants, wait staff, dishwashers or groundskeepers. No problem! There's no place for cognitive dissonance in capitalism, so feel free to draw on the interchangeable pool of indigenous labour right next door. And then, by all means let everyone know that your First Nations neighbours are on board with your project, so that makes it 100% alright!

Of course, (and in keeping with your fantasy) you and your clientele of cultural tourists would not think of helping the First Nations community as a whole, or fighting in the trenches, or conducting Allyship in solidarity with First Nations struggles, as that is too far beneath you. Rallies, marches, mobilizing and political actions are NO place for fashion statements, artistic expressions, great music or food! And for sure, getting your “hands dirty” with social activism will only tarnish the exotic representation of Native People you have so carefully constructed to bring in the business.

So my dear Zoomers - never mind that the First Nations community next door are still in the throes of recovery from 500 years of cultural genocide, oppression, displacement, racist microaggressions and land theft, that’s just “so in the past!” Let's just keep quiet about all that, for when it comes to obnoxious white-privileged Settler interloper-opportunists and snake-oil sellers, it’s truly about “me-me-me.”

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," a new book that explores strategies for neurodecolonization, rejecting Empire, social justice, ethnocultural identity, Apocalypse Studies, building land- emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.

>click image to enlarge<

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What is Cultural Appropriation?

4/23/2017

91 Comments

It's just fashion, why are you so upset?

PEGI EYERS

To understand how cultural appropriation shows up in our environmental movements and spiritual life, we need to look at the backstory, or how cultural appropriation came to be. About 50 years ago a strange phenomena began to happen. In mainstream society young white people were rebelling against the imperialist machine, while in a much less visible sphere, First Nations were just starting to recover from the dark ages of genocide, oppression, residential school displacement and segregation. In the dominant society of the mid-20th century, ties to a genuine spiritual life had been broken, organized religion was on the decline, and all of a sudden young white people were reconnecting with nature. This was a wonderful thing - but they had no role models to follow so they turned to First Nations, freely adopting their cultural tools and spiritual traditions, and some going so far as to create a whole new indigenous identity for themselves. Without proper boundaries, the whitewashed genre of "Native Spirituality" was born, and cultural appropriation became imbedded in the flourishing New Age Industry.

Of course we owe a huge debt to the original rebellion of the hippies and the counterculture that gave us the alternative choices, sexual freedom, new spiritualities, holistic self-care, and healthy life-sustaining practices we now enjoy. These are features of society we now take for granted, but unfortunately within the massive self-help, transformational and New Age marketplace the genres of “Native Spirituality” and “Shamanism” have been normalized. Being exposed to this material for so long, many New Agers and Pagans are shocked to find these genres being questioned, yet an interrogation is exactly what is needed. Not only are white practitioners of "Native Spirituality" on shaky moral ground, First Nations have made it abundantly clear that they are completely opposed to any theft of their cultural and spiritual property.

Today, cultural appropriation occurs on a continuum from relatively harmless practices, to serious mental disorders such as identity theft found in the worlds of entertainment, literature, self-help and spirituality. Having moccasins, native jewellery, native art, or a drum in the privacy of your own home (acquired from native artisans) can be considered good Allyship by supporting the livelihood of First Nations. But on a larger scale, in mainstream industries like fashion, fine art, entertainment and home décor, items like dreamcatchers and headdresses are big business, and these cultural signifiers are casually and carelessly used by white people for fun and self-expression. Many of these symbols, often products made in China, are the sacred property of First Nations! We can just imagine how deeply hurtful this must be.

Native-themed fabrications in the marketplace and media rely on stereotypes, and infer that First Nations are a thing of the past or “frozen in time,” whereas the reality is that indigenous people are part of contemporary, living cultures. Indigenous people are also erased and made invisible by the use of sports team names and mascots, and dehumanized by decorative props used to sell goods, ideas and services. With all this "Columbusing" going on, the genuine voices, cultural markers, and indigenous knowledge of First Nations themselves are lost in the shuffle.

At the far end of the cultural appropriation continuum, identity theft is by far the most serious problem. White people who have a superficial understanding of traditions held by indigenous people for millennia create a fake native identity for themselves, and then offer spiritual services and ceremonies following the business model of consumer capitalism. Spiritual guidance is not part of the economic structure within traditional First Nation societies, so this is the first boundary (among others) to be breached. The phenomena of the self-styled "Shaman" charging big bucks for ceremonies and other quasi-native experiences is shockingly reprehensible and morally wrong.

Contemporary Shamanism was first adopted by the early anthropology and New Age communities, and as we unpack these movements today we see that the contemporary "Shamanism" genre is based on intrusive and homogeneous European interpretations. And yet the title of “Shaman” to describe one’s practice is now so widespread, it is no doubt impossible to send it back to the Pandora’s box from whence it came. The origins of the term “shaman” first appeared in the 1914 reports of American ethnologists to describe the practices of the Evenki-speaking Tungusian and Samoyedic tribes of eastern Siberia, and it can be argued that only practitioners from those specific societies have the right to use the term.

Why is cultural appropriation such a serious problem, and why is it so harmful to First Nations?

Fabricating a fake native identity is a continuation of Settler-Colonialism, which (1) seeks to eradicate indigenous people, (2) take the land and resources, and (3), erase the cultural identity of the indigenous people themselves. And when we consider the phenomena of cultural appropriation on a deep level, we see that the activity of white wannabees or pretendians is not harmless or “spiritual” – it is an act of the deepest racism. The cultural markers white folks are drawn to, like drums, pipes and sweatlodges, are the same things that were outlawed by the colonial powers. What white people freely use in their everyday lives are objects First Nations could be killed for using, not that long ago. What could be more macabre?

Cultural appropriation is an enormous widespread problem that interferes with First Nations resurgence and sovereignty. More than just the lifting of ideas, practices and physical objects, cultural appropriation dominates how oppressed groups present themselves to the world, and undermines their efforts to preserve their own traditions. Not to mention the disempowerment and loss of basic human dignity this suggests, indigenous people no longer have their own autonomy or control over how they are represented in the public domain, which is a fundamental right for every human being. When white academics, scholars, writers, New Agers and Pagan practitioners (those with advantage and power) appropriate, write or teach about the cultural and spiritual traditions of indigenous societies, they are in fact dominating the original indigenous knowledge (IK). Their versions of IK become the valid narratives, fabrications that are sold back to the white majority, and even to indigenous peoples themselves.

Fabricated Identities as "White Shamans"

Playing around with one’s personal identity is an indulgence for privileged white people, and critical responses by First Nations to the appropriation of their spiritual and cultural property is readily available in books, essays, blogs, Facebook groups and pages. Judging from their comments, they are shocked, horrified and insulted by any adoption of native identity in any sphere of popular culture or spiritual life. NDN’s stress over and over that there are absolutely no conditions that make it acceptable for a non-native person to assume a native identity and become a “cultural ambassador” of First Nations IK to other white people. Battling cultural appropriation has been at the forefront of indigenous resistance in the Americas for many decades now, and has been addressed with legal means, documents from leaders such as Chief Arvol Looking Horse, and up to the highest level with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIPS). White pseudo-shamans are also the object of ridicule and derision. This can easily be witnessed by following the work of indigenous activists and organizations that monitor cultural appropriation such as NAFPS: New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans; Native Appropriations: Examining Representations of Indigenous Peoples; or F.A.I.R. MEDIA for a couple of days.

In response to the white seeker's claim of having "permission" from one First Nations person to use their spiritual or cultural property, it doesn't follow that the rest of that FN community agrees. By going ahead and using FN spiritual or cultural property as a non-native person, you are (a) still going to look ridiculous, (b) appear to be "tokenizing" by separating out one FN's opinion from their wider community, (c) are still indulging in racist and colonizing behavior, and (d) are showing that you have no clue what your own cultural identity is. Beyond the universal tools found in nature to make fire, shelter, and regional wild foods that are going to be similar whatever culture you belong to, it is best to recover the indigenous practices of your OWN ancestry.

So what is the difference between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation?

There is one simple Rule – ask yourself if the cultures are on a level footing, and if one culture is freely sharing with another, or is there an oppressor/oppressed relationship, and is the oppressor taking from the oppressed? With the history of settler colonialism on Turtle Island, identity theft is the final link in the chain of cultural genocide. Cultural appropriation is made possible by white supremacy and systemic racism.

What does cultural appropriation say about our own identity as white people?

In the massive Empire-building project on Turtle Island, we had our ethnocultural identity stripped from us as we joined the homogeneous nation-states of Canada and USA with whiteness as the default. Colonized for centuries now, white people have forgotten why having an ethnoculture is important, yet we yearn for it at the same time. This collective soul loss is at the root of our attraction to indigenous societies and the exotic "other." We may exist in the cultural vacuum known as Settler-Colonialism, but Turtle Island Indigenous Knowledge is not our culture!

The popularity of New Age Capitalism has allowed us to use the spiritual property of indigenous people without realizing that it is cultural appropriation. These boundaries should have been in place years ago, but the timetable of healing from genocide and slavery did not enable people of colour to be empowered to speak out on this serious issue until recent times. Now that white people are aware of the problem, we are obligated to educate each other and stop these harmful practices.

Even if the false “shamanic” identity has been perpetuated for years and the practitioner has an established business, they need to stop aligning with the racist policies of colonialism and white knowledge domination. Shifting to the authentic earth-connected wisdom traditions of one’s own ancestors and offering that European Indigenous Knowledge (EIK) to one’s cultural group is not all that difficult, and would be a blessing to all involved. So-called “shamans” have re-created themselves once, and can do it again (!) this time using their own true identity and ethnicity, and their followers will love them for it. In fact, with the millions of spiritually-starved and culturally-alienated diasporans in the Americas, it is inconceivable that those focused on spiritual and cultural renewal would not see the value in offering their own authentic EIK teachings to others!

When First Nations people are telling us over and over that cultural appropriation is demeaning and disempowering (as well as a continuation of colonialism), we really need to rearrange our ethical maps and stop this offensive behavior. In grappling for the shiny treasures we lack in our own lives, we have forgotten the basic values of honour and respect.

               Cultural Appropriation
      MEGA-RESOURCES FROM A-Z

Aldred, Lisa. “Plastic Shamans and Astroturf Sun Dances: New Age Commercialization of Native American Spirituality.” The American Indian Quarterly, University of Nebraska, 2001

Battiste, Marie and James Youngblood Henderson.   Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage: A Global Challenge. Purich Publishing, 2000

Bell, Diane. Some Readings on Cultural Appropriations, Native America, and the New Age. Holy Cross College, 1996 www.hanksville.org

Berkhofer, Robert F. The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. Vintage, 1979

Bird, S. Elizabeth (editor).   Dressing in Feathers: The Construction of the Indian in American Popular Culture. Westview Press, 1996

Brant, Beth. “Anodynes and Amulets.” Writing as Witness: Essay and Talk. Three O'Clock Press, 1995

Brascoupe, Simon and Howard Mann, PhD. A Community Guide to Protecting Indigenous Knowledge. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, June 2001
www.publications.gc.ca

Brown, Michael F. Who Owns Native Culture? Harvard University Press, 2004    Also, online resource for debates on the legal status of indigenous art, music, folklore, biological knowledge and sacred sites.   http://web.williams.edu

Carroll, Al.   “Tribe of Many Colors or Tribe of Many Dollars?” Racial Justice, IMC Network, January 11, 2011   www.indybay.org

Champagne, Duane (editor). Contemporary Native American Cultural Issues. AltaMira Press, 2013

Cook-Lynn, Elizabeth. "Who Gets to Tell the Stories?"    Wicazo Sa Review: Native American Literature on the Edge of a New Century, Volume 9, Number 1, 1993

Dashú, Max. “Respect and Responsibility.”    La Gazette, Santa Cruz, October 1994. www.suppressedhistories.net

Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality. 500 representatives from 40 different tribes and bands unanimously passed this declaration at the Lakota Summit V, a gathering of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations from the U.S.A. and Canada, June 10, 1993    www.aics.org

Deloria, Philip J.   Playing Indian. Yale University Press, 1999

Donaldson, Laura E. “On Medicine Women and White Shame-ans: New Age Native Americanism and Commodity Fetishism as Pop Culture Feminism.” Signa: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 1999

Doxtator, Deborah.   Fluffs and Feathers: An Exhibit on the Symbols of Indianness. Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, ON, 1992

Egan, Timothy.   Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

EONM (Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry). Grassroots organization dedicated to awareness and mobilization to combat the public misappropriation of Native American imagery, and calling out entities complacent with, or profiting directly from this racism. Education and action on history, current events, public relations and social media tactics, 2015    http://eonm.org

Eyers, Pegi.   “Beyond the Pale: Lifting IK and Inventing Identity.” Bringing Race to the Table: An Exploration of Racism in the Pagan Community. Brandy Williams, Taylor Ellwood and Crystal Blanton (editors), Megalithica Books, 2015

F.A.I.R. MEDIA (For Accurate Indigenous Representation). “Indigenous Peoples reserve the right to define how and where we are represented in popular culture. F.A.I.R. provides a safe, secure venue by and for Indigenous Peoples to confront stereotypes, while at the same time promoting accurate representations of ourselves in popular culture,” 2015 www.facebook.com

Francis, Daniel.    The Imaginary Indian: The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture. Arsenal Pulp Press, 1992

Gehl, Lynn, PhD (Gii-Zhigaate-Mnidoo-Kwe). The Indigenous Knowledge Protection Act. Community resources and links, website, 2015
www.lynngehl.com/my-indigenous-knowledge-protection-act.html

Geismar, Haidy. Treasured Possessions: Indigenous Interventions into Cultural and Intellectual Property. Duke University Press Books, 2013

Graber, Christoph Beat and Mira Burri-Nenova (editors).   Intellectual Property and Traditional Cultural Expressions in a Digital Environment.   Edward Elgar Publishers, 2008

Green, Rayna. “The Tribe Called Wannabee: Playing Indian in America and Europe.” Folklore 99, No. 1, 1988

Hagan, Helene E.   “The Plastic Medicine People Circle,”   Institute of Archetypal Ethnology Newsletter, September, l992

Harney, Corbin. “Spiritual Phonies.”   The Way It Is: One Water, One Air, One Mother Earth.    Blue Dolphin Publishing, 2009

Hemachandra, Ray A.   “Selling the Sacred? American Indians and the New Age.”   New Age Retailer, November/December 2003

Hobson, Geary.   “The Rise of the White Shaman as a New Version of Cultural Imperialism.”    The Remembered Earth: An Anthology of Contemporary Native American Literature.   Geary Hobson (editor), University of New Mexico Press, 1981

Huhndorf, Shari M. Going Native: Indians in the American Cultural Imagination.   Cornell University Press, 2010

IPinCH: Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage - Theory, Practice, Policy, Ethics. “The IPinCH research project is an international collaboration of archaeologists, indigenous organizations, lawyers, anthropologists, ethicists, policy makers and others concerned with the theoretical, ethical, and practical implications of commodification, appropriation, and other flows of knowledge about the past, and how these affect communities, researchers and other stakeholders.”   Simon Fraser University, 2015
www.sfu.ca/ipinch

Jean, Terri. “Selling Native Spirituality.”   Blue Corn Comics: New Age Mystics, Healers and Ceremonies, 2007   www.bluecorncomics.com/newage.htm

Jenkins, Philip.   Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality. Oxford University Press, 2004

Johnson, Myke. “Wanting To Be Indian: When Spiritual Searching Turns into Cultural Theft.” Unsettling America: Decolonization in Theory & Practice, September 20, 2011   http://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com

Keene, Adrienne. Native Appropriations: Examining Representations of Indigenous Peoples. Online resources and blog focusing on issues of cultural appropriation and stereotyping, 2015     http://nativeappropriations.com
www.facebook.com/nativeappropriations

Kehoe, Alice. Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking.   Waveland Press, 2000

Kehoe, Alice. "Primal Gaia: Primitivists and Plastic Medicine Men." The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Policies. James Clifton (editor), Transaction Publishers, 1990

Lischke, Ute and David T. McNab (editors). Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and Their Representations. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2005

Meyer, Carter Jones and Diana Royer (editors).   Selling the Indian: Commercializing and Appropriating American Indian Cultures. University of Arizona Press, 2001

My Culture is Not a Trend: A Dialogue About Cultural Appropriation (blog), 2013
>link<

NAFPS (New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans). Anti-racism forum, resource and watchdog site for investigating, outing and warning the public about impostors, exploiters, cultural appropriators and pseudo "shamans." Maintained by First Nations scholars, activists and their allies, 2015   www.newagefraud.org

Our Red Earth.   Death Among Us: Observations On Internet Exploiters Of American Indian Spirituality.   Our Red Earth Organization, 2000   www.oocities.com/ourredearth/index.html

Owen, Suzanne. Appropriation of Native American Spirituality.   Continuum, 2011

Root, Deborah. Cannibal Culture: Art, Appropriation & the Commodification of Difference. Westview Press, 1996

Rose, Wendy. "The Great Pretenders: Further Reflections on White Shamanism." The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonisation and Resistance.   M. Annette Jaimes (editor), South End Press, 1999

Scafidi, Susan. Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law.   Rutgers University Press, 2005

Shanley, Kathryn W. “The Indians America Loves to Love and Read: American Indian Identity and Cultural Appropriation.” American Indian Quarterly, Volume 21, Number 4, 1997

Specktor, Mordecai. “Shamans or Charlatans? Do Some Teachers of Native American Spirituality Distort Indians’ Culture?”   Utne Reader, July/August 1989

Strom, Karen M.   A Line in the Sand. Online resource for cultural appropriation, cultural property issues, stereotypes and cultural sovereignty, 1996 – 2015    www.hanksville.org/sand

Strong, Pauline Turner. American Indians and the American Imaginary: Cultural Representation Across the Centuries. Paradigm Publishers, 2013

Sunder, Madhavi. From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice.   Yale University Press, 2012

United Nations. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Adopted by the General Assembly September 13, 2007. View or download the full declaration at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues website. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf

Waegner, Cathy Covell (editor).    Mediating Indianness. Michigan State University Press, 2015

Wallis, Robert J. Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Ecstasies, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans. Routledge, 2003

We Are a People: Not Your Mascots. Non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the misappropriation of indigenous identity and imagery through the acceptance of mascots, stereotypes and racist behavior, 2015
www.notyourmascots.org

Wernitznig, Dagmar. Going Native or Going Naive? White Shamanism and the Neo-Noble Savage.   University Press of America, 2003

Win, Wambli Sina (Lakota),   “The Red Road is Not For Sale,”   The Native Times, March 2011.

York, Michael. “New Age Commodification and Appropriation of Spirituality.” Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2001

Young, James O. and Conrad G. Brunk (editors).   The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation. Wiley-Blackwell, 2012

Ziff, Bruce and Pratima V. Rao (editors). Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation.   Rutgers University Press, 1997

Excerpt from Ancient Spirit Rising (Stone Circle Press, 2016),
sections workshopped on Canadian Ecopsychology Network
(CEN ~ March 23, 2017), and shared to
Unsettling America on April 26, 2017

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