The beginning included a great deal of ritual and as always the native cultures are far less enamored with clock time than Europeans have been taught to be. The gathering starts when the people have assembled and are ready. The gathering, as well as individual talks, ends when the speakers are finished. If a person has not participated with the native population before they are often very stressed by the fluid time frame. There is something very northern European about timeliness that has been ingrained into the psyches of most European Americans as well as those who have been enculturated to believe that time is fixed and therefore all things must fit with the workings of a machine - the clock.
In the case of the event on Thursday, the room was ready and the attendees had gathered but some of the most important guest speakers and presenters were not ready. The invited dignitaries included the last traditionally trained tribal leader of a tribe that comes from the northern coast of British Columbia. It would have been a grave insult to begin without this elderly man whose spirituality not only glowed outward from his eyes, but has been infused into the many people he has taught over the years. He was whisked away by the elders of his tribe as a small child so that the officials from the Canadian government would not take this descendant of chiefs from time's beginning to a residential school to be indoctrinated with western ways that would prevent his learning what he needed to guide his people as an adult. Under the guidance of elders he learned their traditional way of life, a life in harmony with creatures and all of creation, a life of gratitude and joy. And so we waited until this 87 year old spiritual leader was present and ready to pray over us in his native tongue as he came in down the aisle with other leaders from his tribe. He brought grace to the gathering and added to the sense of the sacred.
Speakers focused on the 'legal and religious justifications' for the conquest of the Americas by European Christians. I heard enough about the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny to make me feel very sad -- but not enough to feel fully enlightened so I ordered several books including one by Robert Miller who was the first speaker: Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Manifest Destiny. (Winnipeg, Canada: Bison Books, Jul 1, 2008)
It was hard to hear stories of people ripped away from their land, forced to sign treaties that were never honored, denied the ability to teach their own children, and oppressed by the very nation that proclaims to be the land of the free. After a while I began to feel so down that I wanted the presentation to stop or else for the speakers to give me something to do to bring about healing or change. I found myself expressing this at lunch time and breaks. "Why won't the speakers give us something to hang onto? A door to go through to being fixing things or to make things better?" It has taken me some time to really process what I heard, and to know they did it just right.
Several times speakers said that it was not their desire to cause guilt, and that individual apologies were not wanted. After all, they were perfectly aware that the people gathered to hear them were not individually responsible for the past. What they did ask from us was to recognize that regardless of the "no fault" reality for present day people, present day European Americans and all who have been assimilated into the American way of life, really do benefit from the tragedy that befell the native people of this land - that is their reality.
As beneficiaries there are somethings that we must do. First of all we must learn a new language; the language of the place where we now live. This does not mean learning to speak fluently in a native tongue, rather it means to learn the names of the people who lived in this place before us and acknowledge the place names, rivers, mountains etc. that come from the native languages. For me that means recognizing and learning about the Clackamas Chinook people as well as the Calapooia tribe. I am grateful that I have already begun to do this in a small way, but recognizing how important it is I have ordered some books that will help me to grow in knowledge. I also am making some efforts to participate in other events and efforts that include the wisdom of the native populations.
I have several grandchildren who are registered tribal members. Through their parents, my daughters and sons in law, I am learning. Sometimes, I am learning as they learn since their heritage was not passed down. Together we are trying to put our roots down more deeply into the land, learning from the wisdom that is here, healing ourselves as we heal the land.
I know now that it is not the job of the native people to make me feel better about the past. It is my job to support the native people as they work to renegotiate treaties, reclaim their heritage and protect the land and the creatures that they so ardently desire to protect. In this way, working, together all the people currently in this land can make the future a kinder more loving place for everyone. At least that is my hope and prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment