File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1998/marxism-international.9803, message 78


Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 21:09:49 +0000
From: Mark Jones <Jones_M-AT-netcomuk.co.uk>
Subject: M-I: The Indigenous Way #1 of 2


Chapter 20 of   EARTHDANCE:   Living Systems in Evolution by  Elisabet
Sahtouris   copyright © 1995 by Elisabet Sahtouris


     In Chapter 17, we observed that industrial humanity is still
immature
     from an evolutionary perspective. We also expressed hope that it
will
     mature by learning from the organization of ecosystems and from
some
     of the non-technological--indigenous and traditional--cultures that
have
     survived the colonial process and the more recent impetus to
     modernization. In this chapter we will explore the worldviews and
     knowledge of indigenous peoples to see why cooperation between
     indigenous and industrial humanity is so important at this critical
time in
     our evolution as the body of humanity.

     Indigenous cultures are generally held to be non-industrial
cultures with
     ancient roots in their land, though some have been migratory and
others
     forcibly displaced. They range from very simple material lifestyles
to
     extensive historical urban/rural systems such as Inka and Aztec.
For all
     their great diversity, we will see that they do hold some common
     elements of worldview and values that unite them with each other
and
     distinguish them from modern or post-modern industrial cultures,
which
     are also diverse, yet united by their basic worldview and values.

     In today's world, there are very few even relatively intact
indigenous
     cultures. Yet we do have indigenous people to whom traditional
     knowledge and ways have been passed on and who live by this
     knowledge. This knowledge represents a relationship with the rest
of our
     living planet that has been essentially rejected by industrial
culture, yet is
     very relevant to our healthy future.

     Let us begin with the historical perspectives of two indigenous
cultures
     that have ancient teachings concerning their relationship with
industrial
     cultures: The Hopi Indians of North America have an ancient
prophecy
     predicting our present and future, reported, among other places, in

     Rudolf Kaiser's book Voice of the Great Spirit. Part of this
prophecy
     tells the history of the Red and White Brothers, sons of the Earth
Mother
     and the Great Spirit who gave them different missions. The Red
Brother
     was to stay at home and keep the land in sacred trust while the
White
     Brother went abroad to record things and make inventions. One day
the
     White Brother was to return and share his inventions in a spirit of
respect
     for the wisdom his Red Brother had gained. It was told that his
     inventions would include cobwebs through which people could speak
to
     each other from house to house across mountains, even with all
doors
     and windows closed. There would be carriages crossing the sky on
     invisible roads, and eventually a gourd of ashes that when dropped
     would scorch the earth, burning everything, even the fishes in the
sea. If
     the White Brother's ego grew so large in making these inventions
that he
     would not listen to the wisdom of the Red Brother, he would bring
this
     world to an end in the Great Purification of nature. Only a few
would
     survive to bring forth the next world in which there would again be

     abundance and harmony. (It should be mentioned that not all Hopi
     approve of having any part of this prophecy in print; the author
     apologizes to anyone who may be offended by this citation of other
     written sources.)

     The Kogi Indians of South America, have a similar historical
scenario in
     their creation story, told as part of the BBC film made by Alan
Ereira
     and called Message from the Heart of the World: the Elder Brother's

     Warning. According to the Kogi, the Great Mother Aluna is the
primeval
     waters and the source of all creation. Even before creating worlds,
she
     lived through all possibilities for all worlds and all times
through great
     mental anguish. For this she is known as Memory and Possibility.
The
     eight worlds she created previous to this one were not peopled, but
in
     this ninth world she put humans, including Elder and Younger
Brothers.
     From the beginning, Younger Brother caused so much trouble that
     eventually he was given knowledge of technology and sent far, far
away
     across the waters. Five hundred years ago, the Kogi say, he found
his
     way back across the waters and he has been causing trouble ever
since.
     If he does not listen to the Kogi, who see themselves as Elder
Brother,
     and stop destroying the Mother, stop digging out her heart with his

     mining and cutting up her liver with his deforestation, he will
bring this
     world to an end.

                     <  << <<< >>> >>  >

     From the Hopi and Kogi perspectives, we see that present human
     existence is dominated by the "white brother" or "younger brother"
of
     their ancient stories. He is industrial man as we have seen him in
earlier
     chapters, creating a technological society founded on a mechanical
     worldview and scientific discovery. We have seen that his
technological
     way of life, for all its benefits, has brought us to the brink of
disaster. In
     this chapter we will see that it stands in sharp contrast to many
     indigenous and traditional peoples' worldviews, value systems and
     lifestyles which are only now beginning to be recognized as valid
in their
     own right and possibly critical for our very survival as a species.

     The Hopi, with the help of many friends, made forty-five years of
effort
     trying to tell their prophecy orally in the United Nations,
succeeding at
     last in 1993, at the beginning of the UN Year of Indigenous
Peoples.
     Their prophecy does not suggest we would be better off without
     industrial society. It does suggest that the wisdom and knowledge
of
     indigenous peoples must provide the context in which we make, use
and
     dispose of industrial goods if we are to survive. This view of
things from
     their perspective is consistent with our own growing understanding
of the
     need for ecologically sustainable development, as discussed in the
next
     chapter.

     It is important to understand why the UN resisted Hopi efforts to
give
     their message for so long. One reason is that the European
     White/Younger Brother had seized the lands of the Hopi, the Kogi
and
     most other indigenous cultures around the world on grounds dating
back
     to a Papal Bull of 1493 stating that infidels had no land rights,
while
     Christians did. Indigenous peoples' territories have thus been
reduced to
     enclaves within the boundaries of United Nations' member nations
which
     do not recognize them as the nations they still claim, in many
cases, to
     be. Jerry Mander's In the Absence of the Sacred and Oren Lyons, et
al's
     Exiled in the Land of the Free have documented this history for
U.S.
     Indians. Only if they are granted sovereignty and recognized as
nations
     will they have UN member status. In the meantime, the UN struggles
to
     define their status and rights.

     The other reason is rooted in the colonialist identification of
indigenous
     peoples as part of the "brute nature" the Europeans were to conquer
and
     subdue. Since this colonial process began, the Euro-American
culture has
     perpetuated the dogma that indigenous people are backward, ignorant

     and impoverished without the white man's intervention.

     Historically, most human cultures, as we have seen, considered
     themselves superior to other human cultures. Technological culture
     defines itself as progressive and non-technological cultures by
contrast as
     backward and ignorant, thus taking the stance: What advice could
they
     possibly give us? Only now, when we begin to understand how
essential
     diversity is to the very survival of living systems, do we open
ourselves
     to respect for different worldviews and the choice of different
lifestyles.

                     <  << <<< >>> >>  >

     The Hopi and the Kogi are only two among many indigenous cultures
     that have ancient prophecies of man's destruction of nature as well
as
     present evaluations of our global crisis. These two in particular
foretold
     not only nature's destruction at this time, but specifically
identified, as we
     saw above, the inventive, technological branch of humanity as
     responsible because it fails to heed the sacred Earth knowledge and

     wisdom so vital to indigenous peoples. Yet neither the Hopi nor the
Kogi
     tell us that technology is bad in itself, that we should abandon it
and "go
     back to nature" living as they do. Both Hopi and Kogi validate
     technology as an important aspect of humanity, simply warning us
that it
     must be brought into harmony with the sacred natural world.

     How did these indigenous peoples know the crisis technology would
     bring on? Why is it that the science on which our technological
world is
     based--the science which so prides itself on its ability to
predict--failed to
     predict its own consequences while indigenous cultures saw where it

     would lead?

     The failure of industrial society's scientists to predict the
consequences
     of the technology they spawned is directly related to their
     mechanical/materialist worldview, so fundamentally different from
the
     organic worldviews of indigenous peoples. In the worldview shared
by
     indigenous peoples everywhere, despite many differences in its
     formulation, the universe, nature, is alive and sacred, all beings
in it are
     related and interdependent: the stars, the rocks, the waters, the
winds,
     the creatures, the people, the spirits and so on. The human role
within
     nature is to hold it sacred and to live in a balanced way within
it, to give
     back as much as is taken while pursuing social and spiritual
development.
     There is no concept of waste and no waste accumulation.

     In many cases there is deliberate avoidance of material
accumulation of
     any kind. The Northwest American potlatch ceremonies were designed
     as "giveaways" to distribute accumulated goods. Nomadic cultures
must
     avoid more possessions than can be carried about. The small group
of
     Australian Aboriginals still walking about freely make food
containers,
     musical instruments and other items on the spot and leave them
after a
     few hours' use, consciously avoiding attachment to things, focusing
on a
     deeply philosophical and spiritual lifestyle.

     In sharp contrast, the mechanical scientific worldview, as we have
seen,
     has held, at least until now, that the universe is fundamentally
lifeless,
     that life happened by accident on the surface of this planet, that
     everything in nature including humans and their societies can be
     understood as "natural mechanisms" composed of mechanical parts. In

     this view which we have deeply explored, the role of science is to
study
     nature objectively--as though from outside--and reduce its
machinery to
     basic parts in order to understand it. The purpose of this science
is to
     gain control over nature, to exploit it for human purposes by
converting it
     to food production and the manufacture of goods to improve life.
     Development is thus focused on material production.

     In one worldview nature is fundamentally alive and sacred, often
     represented by the symbol of a circle: the unbroken sacred hoop of
life.
     In this worldview the basic laws of nature were formulated in
accordance
     with what we now call sustainability: laws of balance, harmony,
mutual
     sustenance, of returning in equal measure for whatever you take. By

     contrast, in the mechanical worldview, one of the basic laws of
nature is
     the law of entropy discussed in Chapter 14, a law stating that
everything
     in nature is running down, a law of unsustainability. We will look
at this
     contrast again in the next chapter.

     Understanding the world as a single, interconnected and
interdependent
     living system, the Hopi and Kogi knew that the consequences of the
     White or Younger Brother's destructive ways would necessarily be
     disastrous. Within the linear (cause/effect) worldview, you take
     resources from your environment, produce things and throw away
     wastes. You do not notice the circularity of nature: that the
wastes
     actually close the loop, becoming part of your environment,
poisoning it
     if the wastes are poisonous. In the "sacred hoop" view, there is no

     concept of waste and whatever is put back into the environment is
useful
     to other species--an excellent life insurance policy for any
species; one
     followed by the species of mature ecosystems. No wonder indigenous
     people noticed the White Brother's failure to restore what he
destroyed,
     and were able to predict the consequences thereof.

     Indigenous people tend to be humble about their place in nature,
while
     industrial society was founded on the conviction that European man
was
     master of all nature and would bring about a Golden Age by
conquering,
     subduing and transforming material nature to his own ends. Its
founding
     philosopher John Locke clearly stated "the negation of nature is
the road
     to happiness" and indigenous people were negated like the rest of
nature.
     Only now, when we are in danger of our own species' extinction, do
we
     look back to understand the history of the White/Younger Brother's
     destruction of indigenous cultures as well as whole ecosystems to
build
     his technological world--a world in which nature has been seen only
as a
     supply base and a dumping ground, a polluted world which testifies
to
     the White Brother's failure to respect the Red Brother's sacred
Earth
     wisdom. A world we now recognize as unsustainable.

                     <  << <<< >>> >>  >

     Will the White Brother listen in time?

     The image of indigenous peoples as backward and ignorant stands in
the
     way. Their philosophies are largely ignored, though there are signs
of
     change, such as the Rockefeller Family's reevaluation of their
     philanthropy a few years ago, during which the president of the
     Rockefeller Foundation repeatedly cited Iroquois philosophy for its

     guiding principles to a better world.

     Unfortunately, indigenous histories are generally known not through
their
     peoples' own telling, but by anthropological reports. It has been
widely
     assumed that non-technological peoples, many of whom have no
written
     language, do not know their own histories and were not smart enough
to
     develop technologies. A case in point is that even the "relatively
     advanced" Mayans, Aztecs and Inkas were seen as backward on the
     grounds that they did not even invent the wheel. In fact these
cultures
     did understand the possibilities of wheels and used them on
children's
     toys, though never for transport. Perhaps burdened slaves were seen
as
     more appropriate to the task of transport. Perhaps the sacred hoop
of life
     was forbidden as a mundane technology. It is instructive to recall
that
     ancient Greeks, even when inventing technology under duress, as in
the
     case of Archimedes' war machines, did not write down the plans.
     Technology, based as it is on geometry, was considered to be God's
     sacred art and was forbidden to man, though the Greeks obviously
     exempted the wheel.

     It is difficult for people born into technological culture to
imagine anyone
     preferring a simple, non-technologically developed lifestyle in a
natural
     setting, with few possessions. Yet, most indigenous people, from
the
     stone age, as Marshall Sahlins points out in Stone Age Economics,
to
     now, work very few hours for a living. To prefer the leisure time
granted
     by choosing not to be a consumption oriented society is seen by our
own
     consumer society as laziness; to do without material wealth is seen
as
     deprivation.

     Sarah James, a Gwich'in Indian from the northernmost inhabited
village
     of Alaska made the trip to Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit of
1992.
     She described her caribou culture before contact with the white man
as
     rich--rich with family, warm homes and clothing, plentiful food,
much
     time for ceremony, music, dance and story telling, much reason for
     celebration. When the white man came to them, he saw only people
     living in 40 degrees below zero weather, with only caribou to
provide
     food, clothing and skin huts. He called them "savages." Sarah beat
her
     caribou skin drum, sang her welcoming skin hut dance song, and
smiled
     broadly as she shouted "Let's keep Alaska savage!"

     Such a lifestyle was truly rewarding as long as its natural
simplicity was
     an integral part of a spiritually rich culture. For most remaining
     indigenous communities, the old values and communal lifestyles are
no
     longer intact and the allure of modern culture pulls strongly,
especially to
     the young. The conflicts within indigenous communities over this
issue
     are heated as efforts to revive traditional lifestyles compete with
the
     trend to assimilation and modernization. One can only hope the
     traditional values will be incorporated into whatever lifestyles
result.

                     <  << <<< >>> >>  >

     After colonialism disrupted and often destroyed the indigenous
cultures
     of Africa, the Americas, Australia, Asia and the Arctic, their
remnants
     were judged as though they represented the original cultures. This
has
     led to much misunderstanding. When communities are broken up and/or

     dislocated, their social integrity, traditions, ecological
practices and health
     are disrupted as well.

     One popular belief we hold about native peoples is that they all
had short
     lifespans due to their backward existence. Indigenous people's
lifespans
     "B.C."--a native term meaning Before Contact--as reported by these
     cultures, were ignored. Instead, statistics on life expectancy were
taken
     after respiratory and other diseases brought in by colonists
decimated
     infants and children, and often older people. The average life span
of
     Tewa Indians in the U.S. Southwest was given by the Spanish
settlers
     after contact as 40. Along with this Spanish missionary statistic,
it was
     reported that half the children died of respiratory diseases before
the age
     of four. That leaves the average life span of the survivors of
imported
     disease as 78!

     Kogi bury people who have not reached the age of 96 with strings
     coming out of their graves so the spirits can leave when their
allotted
     lives are complete. Hopi elders are expected to reach one hundred
years
     and more, and they still do. Shuar Indians say 120 is a normal
death age.
     People from northern white cultures now travel to the Amazon to
learn
     the secrets of longevity.

     Unfortunately they are going late; from the Amazon to Australia
     indigenous people continue to be decimated before their lifespans
are up
     and in both of these continents whole tribes are now committing
suicide
     as they are driven from their lands, rich in mineral, oil and
forest
     resources.

     In North America, as in other parts of the world, the indigenous
     survivors of colonial policies were forced onto reservations and
deprived
     of their natural economic bases. In Canada, some Indians could get
title
     to their lands, but only if they "improved" it by stripping it of
trees. In
     the United States, bulldozers ripped out the pinion trees that
provided the
     sustenance of the Shoshone and the animals of Dine'h (Navajo)
     shepherds are destroyed even today in efforts at forced relocation
of
     people in order to mine their lands. Native peoples' religious
practices
     were outlawed until 1978 in a country founded on religious freedom;

     their traditional governments were dismantled, outlawed and
replaced by
     Tribal Councils designed by the U.S. government. In consequence,
many
     native nations are divided by conflicts between such councils and
     traditional, if "illegitimate," leadership.

     1992, the Quincentennial Celebration year of Columbus' first voyage
to
     the Americas and the year of the Rio Earth Summit with its
worldwide
     meeting of indigenous peoples in addition to the world's
governments and
     non-governmental organizations, brought indigenous issues into the
     public eye as never before. The systematic destruction of native
people
     and cultures is now well documented, though not yet widely known.
     Precisely because it is still not common knowledge, confusion still
exists
     about what real indigenous cultures were. It is as inappropriate to
judge
     indigenous cultures by the worst behavior we find among their
abused
     and impoverished survivors as it is to glamorize them, to sell
their
     ceremonies, their portraits and their art for profit, with few
exceptions
     giving little or no return to their creators. The point is not to
romanticize
     indigenous people, who have been and are as human as all others,
but to
     acknowledge and learn from their traditional best--from their
deeply
     spiritual respect for and scientific knowledge of nature.

                     <  << <<< >>> >>  >

     To be respected by the dominant culture of the White Brother,
     knowledge must be scientific. For this reason it is important to
show that
     indigenous people indeed have scientific knowledge.

     Science is defined by Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th

     edition, 1993) as "the state of knowing" or "a department of
     systematized knowledge as an object of study." This definition
certainly
     includes indigenous knowledge. The American Heritage Unabridged
     Dictionary of the English Language (3rd edition, 1992) defines
science as
     "the observation, identification, description, experimental
investigation
     and theoretical explanation of phenomena." A bit more precise, yet
a
     good description of what indigenous people do that is appropriately

     dignified with the label "science." As defined by the Oxford
English
     Dictionary, science is "the state of knowing", or "knowledge as
opposed
     to belief or opinion," knowledge, that is, "acquired by study." The
OED
     continues explaining that science is "in a more restricted sense: a
branch
     of study which is concerned either with a connected body of
     demonstrated truths or with observed facts systematically
classified and
     more or less colligated by being brought under general laws, and
which
     include trustworthy methods for the discovery of new truth within
its
     own domain." Detailed as this definition is, there is nothing in it
to
     exclude indigenous science.





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