BY PEGI EYERS
Nature Spirituality is essential to my life journey, and the teachings of First Nations elders and community peoples have played an important role in my learning and personal transformation. In 2012 at an Elders Gathering hosted at Trent University, I heard revered Wisdom Keeper and Professor James Dumont (Anishnaabe) say that “everyone needs to get back to their own Indigenous Knowledge.” Like a lightning bolt from the blue, this simple statement activated a monumental set of questions about my own life, and issues in the wider society.
I found the implications of this statement fascinating, and began a research process that spanned three years of inquiry, writing and great discovery. Why was my white cohort creating "fake" native identities? What were some of the more obvious delusions in New Age Spirituality? What were the patterns of white privilege? How was cultural appropriation a continuation of Settler-Colonialism? What were healthy alternatives for the non-native spiritual seeker? Where was our own European Indigenous Knowledge located? Why were Americans and Canadians so disconnected from their Ancestors? How were Indigenous epistomologies superior to western ways of thinking? What could we do as social justice activists, and is reconciliation with First Nations even possible? What does it mean to step back from the trajectory of Empire, and to find sustainable solutions both for ourselves, our communities, and Mother Earth?
When James Dumont said that “everyone needs to get back to their own Indigenous Knowledge," he was, of course, making a statement on the appropriation of First Nations cultural and spiritual property by white people, but at the same time he was giving us a great blessing, by implying that it is possible for all people to access Indigenous Knowledge from their own traditions. In my writing I was driven to explore these important, timely, and often controversial themes, and to advance my own personal knowledge in the process. I will be forever indebted to James Dumont for inspiring me to write Ancient Spirit Rising and offer it to the world.
Nature Spirituality is essential to my life journey, and the teachings of First Nations elders and community peoples have played an important role in my learning and personal transformation. In 2012 at an Elders Gathering hosted at Trent University, I heard revered Wisdom Keeper and Professor James Dumont (Anishnaabe) say that “everyone needs to get back to their own Indigenous Knowledge.” Like a lightning bolt from the blue, this simple statement activated a monumental set of questions about my own life, and issues in the wider society.
I found the implications of this statement fascinating, and began a research process that spanned three years of inquiry, writing and great discovery. Why was my white cohort creating "fake" native identities? What were some of the more obvious delusions in New Age Spirituality? What were the patterns of white privilege? How was cultural appropriation a continuation of Settler-Colonialism? What were healthy alternatives for the non-native spiritual seeker? Where was our own European Indigenous Knowledge located? Why were Americans and Canadians so disconnected from their Ancestors? How were Indigenous epistomologies superior to western ways of thinking? What could we do as social justice activists, and is reconciliation with First Nations even possible? What does it mean to step back from the trajectory of Empire, and to find sustainable solutions both for ourselves, our communities, and Mother Earth?
When James Dumont said that “everyone needs to get back to their own Indigenous Knowledge," he was, of course, making a statement on the appropriation of First Nations cultural and spiritual property by white people, but at the same time he was giving us a great blessing, by implying that it is possible for all people to access Indigenous Knowledge from their own traditions. In my writing I was driven to explore these important, timely, and often controversial themes, and to advance my own personal knowledge in the process. I will be forever indebted to James Dumont for inspiring me to write Ancient Spirit Rising and offer it to the world.
For those of us of European descent, core questions continue to arise on locating authentic wisdom traditions and reclaiming our roots in Earth Community, and the themes in Ancient Spirit Rising are an attempt to further this critical conversation. For the first time in human history with travel, the internet and other resources, we have full access to the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) of any culture, including our own. Then why must we take bits and pieces from the First Nations of Turtle Island, when we have our own ancestral belief systems, sacred objects and ceremonies that are bursting with earth-connected wisdom, beauty and power? In these times of massive change, the reclaiming of our own ancestral traditions can provide us with spiritual and material tools for re-landing in our local ecosystems, challenging the toxic effects of capitalism, and creating a sustainable future.
As I was writing Ancient Spirit Rising I realized that having a spiritual focus in life includes both social and environmental justice, and if we do not engage in activism on behalf of oppressed peoples and the other-than-human world, we may fall short of our full potential. In the rich environment of cultural pluralism that exists in the Americas today, taking responsibility for our privilege and the history of Settler-Colonialism will go far in establishing mutual respect and peaceful co-existence between all people. By increasing our solidarity and allyship with Turtle Island First Nations (our “co-existence in co-resistance”) Ancient Spirit Rising offers diverse strategies for healing the historic divide between colonizer and colonized.
Discovering alternatives to common misconceptions, reversing the racism of cultural appropriation, and developing skills for intercultural competency are all positive and empowering practices. Working for peace and justice is essential to personal and planetary healing, as is the directive to re-enchant and rebalance the world with a massive dose of holistic principles promoting biophilia and spiritual ecology. Essential to re-rooting ourselves as ecocentric peoples is to fall in love with the Earth again, and to revere the elements, manifestations and creatures in the natural world as sacred.
“You cannot destroy that which you love.”
As I was writing Ancient Spirit Rising I realized that having a spiritual focus in life includes both social and environmental justice, and if we do not engage in activism on behalf of oppressed peoples and the other-than-human world, we may fall short of our full potential. In the rich environment of cultural pluralism that exists in the Americas today, taking responsibility for our privilege and the history of Settler-Colonialism will go far in establishing mutual respect and peaceful co-existence between all people. By increasing our solidarity and allyship with Turtle Island First Nations (our “co-existence in co-resistance”) Ancient Spirit Rising offers diverse strategies for healing the historic divide between colonizer and colonized.
Discovering alternatives to common misconceptions, reversing the racism of cultural appropriation, and developing skills for intercultural competency are all positive and empowering practices. Working for peace and justice is essential to personal and planetary healing, as is the directive to re-enchant and rebalance the world with a massive dose of holistic principles promoting biophilia and spiritual ecology. Essential to re-rooting ourselves as ecocentric peoples is to fall in love with the Earth again, and to revere the elements, manifestations and creatures in the natural world as sacred.
“You cannot destroy that which you love.”
The “Great Turning” to ecological civilization is happening in all sectors of society, and the various knowledge systems and movements are doing an excellent job! Countless folks are finding the value in embracing ethics and lifestyles that reflect our connectivity to the new “Earth Story.” But what is often missed in these practices is the spiritual expression that arises from a strong, grounded connection to the land, from the recovery of our own ancestral traditions, and from “getting back to our own Indigenous Knowledge.”
As we take on our cultural recovery project, there are a wide range of earth-connected spiritual traditions already in place that revive the European Old Ways. Although I advocate in Ancient Spirit Rising for specific ethnocultural paths such as Gaelic Traditionalism, Old Norse Traditions, Hellenic Polytheism, Religio Romana (ancient Rome) or Baltic/Romuva Spirituality (for example), the renaissance of reconstructionist paths such as Druidry, the Avalon Tradition and Matriarchal Studies is good news indeed. Also, contemporary nature-based spiritualities such as Animism and Ecomysticism hold elements of both ancient and modern practice.
Becoming part of a specific ancestral group can give us a firm foundation, and a place to turn for spiritual guidance, cultural values and familial connection. If we are able to seek out the details of our heritage, how honoring to our Ancestors to re-create our traditions, to the best of our ability!
As we take on our cultural recovery project, there are a wide range of earth-connected spiritual traditions already in place that revive the European Old Ways. Although I advocate in Ancient Spirit Rising for specific ethnocultural paths such as Gaelic Traditionalism, Old Norse Traditions, Hellenic Polytheism, Religio Romana (ancient Rome) or Baltic/Romuva Spirituality (for example), the renaissance of reconstructionist paths such as Druidry, the Avalon Tradition and Matriarchal Studies is good news indeed. Also, contemporary nature-based spiritualities such as Animism and Ecomysticism hold elements of both ancient and modern practice.
Becoming part of a specific ancestral group can give us a firm foundation, and a place to turn for spiritual guidance, cultural values and familial connection. If we are able to seek out the details of our heritage, how honoring to our Ancestors to re-create our traditions, to the best of our ability!
Wild nature is calling us all back home, and Ancient Spirit Rising offers diverse paths to reclaiming our essential bio-lineage, such as earthing, rewilding, ecopsychology and visiting sacred sites. This recovery process requires the re-inhabitation of place, or getting to know the unique features of our home landscape. And we also have a responsibility to embrace green sanctuary work and geo-justice, and to do the hard work of caring for and protecting the land. We all have a part to play in the paradigm shift, and Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community offers exciting guideposts for the journey of transformation. We are all People of the Earth, and I invite you to join me on this exciting path of personal and collective revitalization!
 | Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Amazon.com Stone Circle Press |
