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Thank you effie....I am listening to the music you selected in the background as I am typing this to thank you!
"Tunkashila" is the word and god concept that enabled me to pray after a long drought. "Tunka" in Lakota means "stone" and tunkashila is a personification for the spirit of god contained in the stones, cliffs, boulders....it also means "grandfather" .... it was exactly what I needed and was looking for....a way to find god all around me....as loving as a kindly grandfather...and as wise...and as permanent and accessible as a granite outcropping....from age unto age.
For me it is a totally comfortable and comforting association.
great spirit! you can see and dry my tears... your answers have been direct and directed at my being. and communication with you has been good all the time.
mother earth ... needs to be free from possession and her children cannot freely contribute to her well-being anymore.
great spirit! hear my words and let them be understood that way!
How can I learn the native religious ways without offending?? I will be in Rosebud by the end of this month. When I looked for churches, all I get is the hipocritical christian churches that have no right to impose on my native brothers. I am frustrated but I will do better when I find exactly what I am looking for. I have yet to attend a powwow too. Any advice??
How can I learn the native religious ways without offending?? I will be in Rosebud by the end of this month. When I looked for churches, all I get is the hipocritical christian churches that have no right to impose on my native brothers. I am frustrated but I will do better when I find exactly what I am looking for. I have yet to attend a powwow too. Any advice??
I am not native american and have not been to Rosebud ..... so I cant respond to your question with certainty. I did have the privledge to be introduced to some of what you are looking for.....and based on my very limited knowledge can tell you:
I know that there was a medicine man at the Rosebud reservation, by the name of Albert White Hat...who had an interest in teaching the Lakota language and spirituality and who was open and was willing to include non native Americans. He worked in association with a man by the name of John Around Him.... who is now deceased. John Around Him ran a Sundance and allowed non Native Americans to participate.....that is an extreme trial and not a commitment for a novice. Sundance ceremonies are definately not open for observation, spectators.
PowWow's are a great way to begin to become familiar with Native culture and customs.....they are social and are not spiritual events or ceremonies....they have the atmosphere of a county fair and sponsor competitions in drumming and dance and an oppurtunity for native americans to make and to wear full regalia of their tribe...and to meet old friends and new people. Pow wows are fun and very open to the public. Go and wander around the grounds....sample the food booths.....sit in the grandstands and watch the dances....listen to the various drums.....enjoy yourself.
Religious ceremonies are more apt to be by invitation. They are not performed for the curious tourist... and there is an etiquette and custom....and respect that is a prerequisite....some of the customs may or may not fit with western civilizations idea of the way things should be. Go slow. This belongs to them. I found this web site that you would do well to visit and read....it teaches about Lakota spirituality and also introduces you to some of the controversy that accompanies non native people seeking to learn, participate or observe Native culture. http://www.tradecorridor.com/rosebud/spirit.htm (broken link) They are not seeking converts!
Be prepared to discover that reservations are what they are....both the repository of an ancient culture and value system but also the repository of years of exploitation and attempted cultural genocide; poverty, illness, alcoholism, family break down, crime and all the consequences of the cultural domination of the world around them. Reservations are not museums and are not intended to teach or put culture on display.....they are communities....places where people live.....at one time they were intended to be just a bit above a prison....a way to isolate and control, repress and even exterminate......now they are a refuge and a center of Native American self governance.
How can I learn the native religious ways without offending?? I will be in Rosebud by the end of this month. When I looked for churches, all I get is the hipocritical christian churches that have no right to impose on my native brothers. I am frustrated but I will do better when I find exactly what I am looking for. I have yet to attend a powwow too. Any advice??
wiccanwoodworker, the information that Elston has provided you with is very good and I would suggest that the sites that he has provided you with are very important and that you should read them very carefully so as not to do any offending and have a good journey and travel safe.osay
The Native American tribes did make war against each other at times for generations before the arrival in North America of Europeans. What were the grounds that were considered acceptable for going to war? Are there any generalizations across tribes that one can make about this?
The Native American tribes did make war against each other at times for generations before the arrival in North America of Europeans. What were the grounds that were considered acceptable for going to war? Are there any generalizations across tribes that one can make about this?
are you speaking from your history books version of tribal wars or do you want to know what the real versions were about? Not the European versions.
The Native American tribes did make war against each other at times for generations before the arrival in North America of Europeans. What were the grounds that were considered acceptable for going to war? Are there any generalizations across tribes that one can make about this?
if i may answer briefly:
they did (and do) have an infallible and to ousiders impenetrable communication system
unsurpassed in its LaW-ful sophistication.
poor europe, can't come up with enlightenment and reparations.
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Tunkashila
