To All Our People, Tribal Leaders, and Governments:
We have increasingly been adopting the ways of those who were our adversaries, oppressors, and deceivers. When Handsome Lake had his vision of the Four Mind-changers his vision proved accurate beyond all other prophets.
First, he saw the liquid mind-changer which we know is alcohol. There was a time when the federal and tribal governments refused to allow alcohol on the reservations; and we saw the white man build his liquor stores and bars right at the edge of our lands. Yes, it was inconvenient for many Indians to walk the many miles across their desolate lands just to get a drink of booze. But still, some did, but not in the way we see it today. Tribal governments decided they might as well get the profits instead of the outsiders. So now, alcohol is sold in many of the gas station mini-marts, and grocery stores on many of the reservations. But there are still a few reservations that still maintain a dry rez, and they are the wise ones.
The black book mind-changer of organized religions was the second part of the Prophet’s vision. He cautioned our people that, though there was much wisdom in these books, we had to be careful from whose hand and mind we received those teachings. Even then, the Prophet saw the empty words of hypocrisy within the leaves of all their books. And, at least in the Southwest, the organized religious buildings sit atop the highest hill within our villages talking of love and peace; but actually, bringing division and prejudice toward other tribes or half-breeds like me who resist assimilation.
The Prophet saw a card, a playing card. This gambling he said, would cause us to gamble away all our possessions and create a sort of plague, an addiction. How many casinos are on Indian lands today? And how many of those casinos sell alcohol? I have a vivid memory of a tiny, ancient pueblo grandmother who had gone to the 66 Casino when she received her dividend check. She went to the cage and cashed her check and proceeded to spin the slots. When we entered the casino for the buffet I saw her sitting on a stool weeping bitterly. I asked her, “Grandmother, what’s wrong?” She told me her grandson who worked at the casino said tonight she would win big. She believed him and spent her entire check hoping it would be the night she would become financially secure for the remainder of her life. There was nothing I could do but weep for her. And no one else seemed to notice or even care for our elder. Is this the way of our people; to cast the dice and nothing more?
The song was the fourth mind-changer. The Prophet saw how our people were becoming more and more like the white man who pursued wealth, fame, and prestige. This was materialism. It wooed us into temptation with all the glitter and gluttony. We just had to have these things the white man told us we “needed”. So, we forgot how to weave fabrics and baskets, we forgot how to fire utility pottery, we forgot how to hunt and fish, we sold our lands and allowed mega-corporations to come in and rape it and poison the land, the water, the air, and pretty soon, we forgot how to speak our languages or pass down our oral traditions. Our children started wearing hip-hop clothing, disrespecting their parents and elders, wearing gang colors and forming outlaw gangs that robbed our graves of artifacts to sell for drugs, and sprayed graffiti on our ancient adobe homes simply to be noticed and to pump up their egos.
All these things have been happening within my own lifetime. And I see it; how can our leaders not see it? Just as surely as the story of Adam, recognizing his nakedness, that is, his disobedience and greed, tried to hide this truth from his god, so also, do the people of this world attempt to deny their own nakedness. We have all been guilty of an addiction of one kind or another. And, given the time and opportunity, that addiction will consume us, cause us to do things we would not ordinarily do, and will ultimately destroy the very pleasure and happiness we sought in the pursuit of these things. The god-awful aspect of having to look into the mirror may seem too terrible. But once we do, we find the ‘aha!’ moment of clarity of mind and a change occurs within us. We stop demanding more, more, more of everything and begin to give to others. This is the change of which Buddha spoke.
Living in two-spirits, existing in two worlds, one white, one red, one male, one female, one straight, one gay, I have had the opportunity to see many things. And, I see with my heart, mind, and spirit, not only with my eyes. Are all our people asleep? Or deny the problems exist? Or, do they just no longer care? Have they just given up the fight for justice, equality and sovereignty?
I ask many questions, but I receive very few answers. I seek the truth, but rarely find it anymore. I desire an awakening of Native American visionaries who will illuminate the causes and conditions within our tribal communities that contribute to alcoholism, addiction, (including gambling), suicide, mental illness, and complacency! I pray to Hot`ye Nok’ta that the Great Spirit will reveal all that is necessary for the survival of our people, our lands, and every living thing on our planet. I also pray for the same awakening of every human around our globe.
I have also been told by a few members on DK that perhaps my posts are not relevant to this type of media page. But I disagree. I think my positions on the world matter and a different philosophical approach to the ills of socieities is needed now more than ever. Because, what we have been doing, and continue to do, has fallen very short of an ideal, altruistic democracy which should be representative of the great aspirations of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.
So, what is the nature of our addictions? For all citizens of the U.S.?
It is obvious to those of us with open minds, open eyes, and open hearts; Hedonism pursues anything that gives one pleasure. Some pursue wealth and find that billions of dollars is still not enough. Some pursue notoriety and fame but never get any rest from the pursuit of their worshippers. Some pursue physical beauty and go to great extremes to live up to the standards of societies which keep changing, so they can never attain an acceptable beauty as it is defined by mankind. Some seek the approval of others and they attempt to wear a miserable mask to put on the character they want the rest of the world to see. Some pursue power and control and are never fully convinced their minions are loyal. This, as their “liberators” turn into beasts of oppression. Some seek justification of their prejudices through religions which worship a god that has been designed and defined by man. And, which is also endowed with these same human evils residing in that god. And some, MANY MILLIONS, pursue the escape that only alcohol and drugs provide, and chase their oblivion all the way to the gates of Hell.
So, although I speak from the perspective of a Half-Breed Native American and the problems we experience tribally, I also actually speak as the voices of many. For many who have not found their voices, and for those who believe their voices are no longer heard. White, Yellow, Red, Black, the four colors of the Medicine Wheel is also indicative of any of those combinations of people who struggle and are oppressed. Stop chasing the winds of those elusive lies, told by those who would deceive you into following their paths to nowhere. It is a vain journey.
To all my relatives of every color, nation, religion, or philosophy, I encourage you ALL to: “Hold not your peace, nor remain silent, but stand and speak!” May the Creator of all that is, is not, and ever will be, the Hot`ye Nok’ta, guide you and direct your path to TRUTH, and bless you with abundant wisdom and love….Peace….Ush`ka Waso’