Another Playing Indian Song

Alas, not Tamarack Song this time, but Tim McGraw, who pretends to be an Indian while repeating some of the worst, anachronistic cliches about indigenous Nations imaginable. You Tube the song if you think you can stomach this much racist phoniness in one listening. We can just see New Age nutter Tamarack dancing around in his greasy buckskins to this one.

TIM MCGRAW LYRICS

"Indian Outlaw"

I'm an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby she's a Chippewa
She's one of a kind

All my friends call me Bear Claw
The Village Cheaftin' is my paw-paw
He gets his orders from my maw-maw
She makes him walk the line

You can find me in my wigwam
I'll be beatin' on my tom-tom
Pull out the pipe and smoke you some
Hey and pass it around

'Cause I'm an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby she's a Chippewa
She's one of a kind

I ain't lookin' for trouble
We can ride my pony double
Make your little heart bubble
Lord, Like a glass of wine

I remember the medicine man
He caught runnin' water in my hands
Drug me around by my headband
Said I wasn't her kind

Cause I'm an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby she's a Chippewa
She's one of a kind

I can kill a deer or buffalo
With just my arrow and my hickory bow
From a hundred yards don't you know
I do it all the time

They all gather 'round my teepee
Late at night tryin' to catch a peek at me
In nothin' but my buffalo briefs
I got 'em standin' in line

Cause I'm an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby she's a Chippewa
She's one of a kind

Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live
So proud to die

A Note From A Warrior For The People

And one of our heroes. The Angry Indian is the editor of the finest indigenist newswire on the Internet. He kindly reposts our better work, and we thank him heartily for both his acknowledgement and his editorial leadership. The Struggle would be so much harder without the Angry Indian's truly international spirit.

Make the time to read indigenous-centered news from InteligentaIndigena Novajoservo (International Indigenist News). You will learn so much.

To: nemeses.united@yahoo.com
Subject: Good coverage
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008

Congrats for keeping the light on those that exploit the people.

The Angryindian

Confused Naming Dodems Lose Who Tamarack's Impregnated

Who's yer Daddy? Inquiring New Ager "dodems" wanna know!

The letter below comes courtesy of a contributor who forwarded the handwritten piece to us for publishing. The front of the document contains a note from Tamarack to one of the Teaching Drum cult's basecamps. The other side is a page of writing from a chapter titled "Gifting Path," and is covered with red editor's marks in Tamarack's own handwriting. We've done our best to translate how he intended the story to read, but who knows? He makes up so many things at once, that he can't even keep straight which Dodems (T.'s imaginary friends) are supposed to visit which impregnated earth mother when.

Eh??? No wonder all his editors quit.

Aaniin Folks,

Ken will take you out Spruce Root gathering. He's been doing it for years, & I've shown him how to do it well & right. He'll also show you, after you get back to camp, how to process it (strip the bark, split & coil) and store it.

Could one of you scoot over to the other side to get Niingaabian? If anyone is close to done working out a hide, perhaps you could finish it quickly, or take it off the rack & finish it by hand.

Have big fun!

Tamarack

Back of the note:

My son's name, for which I Quested, is given voice only on the most sacred and private of occasions. Zhingakwe and I normally call him Wabibineshi (Algonquian for Little Morning Bird) in Honor of the Bird who brought his spirit, and who sang every morning in the Moon before his birth from a Tree just to the Southeast of the Birthing Lodge. The song was unique; it was not heard before from a bird of his kind and it quieted immediately upon the birth.

On the waning of the fourth White Season following, the Morning Bird returns, resuming his perch and singing his unique song, but it is garbled. Why is he back and what is to be made of his distorted voice?

Upon reflection I grow fearful: He came with clear voice to bring Wabibineshi forth; might he now be here with muddled voice to call Wabibineshi back? In the next few days, I find that Zhingakwe, who I am no longer with, is to have a child in another place of another Dodem, yet she was still mated with me, under the guardianship of my Dodem.

[Huh? Bub's mum, Lisa, is under Konen's guardianship, but he doesn't know she's preggers and about to have a child?]

Morning Bird had been confused; at the behest of my Dodem, he came to his old perch near the Birthing Lodge to announce and guardian the coming of a new Clan member. Owl apparently knew of the new life within the woman, and assumed I was the father, so requested of Morning Bird that he come sing the new arrival. However, Morning Bird sensed some imbalance with his own presence, which was reflected in his song. Still he honored Owl's request, for that is the way of things in his realm.

Once fully aware of the situation, Morning Bird left, returned Owl's Petition, and Balance was restored.

Our name is our banner; it travels before us and lingers after us, acting as both introduction and legacy. With Native People it signifies their primary connection with the Greater Circle, or with a particular being. Sometimes a name identifies culture, Clan affiliation,

--- end of page ---

When Cornered, Blame The Dodems

In addition to writing about the sweat lodge ceremony for attention and profit, Tamarack Song also uses his hokey fakelore to excuse his sexist behavior. In the first letter to a former student who inquired about his romantic history, he tries to explain away his failed relationships by blaming something he calls "dodems."

A few years later, the same student confronted him on his e-list about his anti-Indian racism and hypocrisy. The result: banishment from the e-list. And more dodem-blaming.

From: "Tamarack Song"
Subject: the stuff of life
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2002 13:50:57 -0800

- edit -

Well, Rainy Day Woman, you asked if I would share with you what happened to me eight years ago. I will. I was in the middle of a year of celibacy, taken so that I could break my intimate relationship patterns and gain the wherewithal to begin anew under the auspices of my more balanced self. Lisa, with whom I just parted (and who is the mother of my son) was of Dodem Turtle - an extremely hard energy for me to be with. I knew that I was to be with a woman of Hawk Dodem, so that year also gave me time to gain perspective and clear the way for her. I did that, and four women of Dodem Hawk - four powerful illuminators of the dark side of my Moon - visited me in quick succession. It is because of them that I have the Balance I have today; I am so grateful for what they brought me. They were the last to know me the victim and me the enabler. They were the first to taste the ethereal me, the first to know me in a pluralistic sense. I am ever indebted to them for the life transition they helped me through.

But I was a fool: they were my teachers, not my peers. As each flew way I wanted to hold on to her, in order to hold on to the gift she gave. I didn't trust that I carried it within myself, that I could be self-sustaining. I feared that I would sink back into my treachery without them. At the same time I feared that they would torment my mother, and I did not deal well with that.

In the end I rejected each of them when they flew back and tentatively circled over. I did so because, in my faltering way, I recognized them as of a bygone era in my life.

Sortly thereafter it came to pass that I was told I could safely be with one of my own Dodem. I think that in knowing and accepting myself, as Hawk had guided me to do, I could then open to such closeness in relationship. I still don't know that I have the trust to do so, but I have the awareness - the first step.

Me

Anytime Dan Konen is called on his bullshit, he claims it's a personal vendetta, then blames some more dodems. No one here is trying to hurt poor Konen's feelings; we are trying to warn others to run like hell from this racist, sexist predator.

To: teaching_drum@yahoogroups.com
From: "Tamarack Song"
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005
Subject: [Teaching_Drum] Will the real Teresa please...

Greetings Folks,

In spite of how it might appear, "Teresa" is a kind and loving person. I care for her dearly, and I am glad that all of you are being respectful of her. Old Buzzard and David, I'm particularly grateful for your thoughtful and non-reactive responses. If anyone treats her disrespectfully, you'll be hearing from me.

"Teresa" has a deep and genuine concern for the issues she presents, and at the same time it appears to be quite difficult for her to carry on an open discussion around them. This is not the typical "Teresa;" if you were a part of our sharings of old, you would probably not recognize the bright, insightful, inquisitive woman she was then, as the same person you have now come to know.

What happened? "Teresa" has a personal vendetta against me that goes back a number of years. She is trying to hurt me by doing as much damage as she can to what is dear to my heart. She has been waiting for her time to strike, and the issues of Andesvirgo and others have given her a platform. Her anonymity allows her to feel safe, and her denial of the truths of others, enables her to keep clinging to her own truth in order to justify her vengeful deeds.

On top of that, she and I have a unique dodemic relationship, which causes her to feel threatened by me, and me to be wary of her.

How is all this affecting me? My first concern is for "Teresa," because I know how long and hard this has been eating at her heart. I'm glad she is finally able to get something out, disguised and twisted as it might be. I've been praying that she could some day step out of the shadows and begin speaking her truth, and I'm elated at this beginning. My second concern is for all of you. I'm used to being on the firing line -- it goes with the turf; however, you folks have been drawn to this circle for other reasons, and I am concerned that you are not getting your needs met. Issues like this tend to take over and suck up the group energy.

Because this is ultimately about me, I'm hoping that "Teresa" will soon feel safe enough, and have the courage, to come to me with it. If some of you want to keep eavesdropping on this drama, that's OK with me, as I have no secrets. On the other hand, I know that some of you are getting fed up with it. Please let me/us know what you think.

In Balance,
Tamarack

----- Original Message -----
-snip-

Yes, they do practice Ojibway culture both materially
and spiritually at the Teaching Drum. They also
engage in sweat lodges, which is a sacred American
Indian religious practice. When I was visiting there,
a terrible storm came one night and blew a tree down
so close to one of these lodges that it almost
destroyed the structure. I recall Tamarack having
admitted that it was a sign that violations against
this sacred ceremony had been committed.

To do these things on Ojibway land without further
educating people about the abysmal conditions facing
Ojibway people in the Teaching Drum's area is an act
of cultural imperialism. It is racist at its core.
Once again, white folks are putting themselves above
the law. That land the Drum is on is bound by treaty
to the Ojibway people.

Somebody needs to "awaken" themselves to the domestic
and international laws that do indeed bind us to honor
any agreements our ancestors made with American Indian
people. To try to put yourself beyond those treaty
laws by claiming you have no particular ties to the
land you are standing on is a deeply political act.
Once again a white man says: the law does not apply to
me. It is especially offensive when coming from a
white man who owns and profits from a very particular
piece of land that was never his to buy and sell or
profit from in the first place.

Readings on Cultural Respect

This essay by Andy Smith challenges the anti-Indian racism that underlies cultural appropriation by white, feminist new agers - a category that fits the majority of Tamarack Song's female customers.

Readings on Cultural Respect

Andy Smith is a Cherokee woman, a co-founder of Women of All Red Nations (W.A.R.N.) and is active in the anti-sexual assault movement. This article appeared in the Winter 1991 issue of Women of Power. Other versions have appeared in various places. It is hoped that those of male gender reading this do not feel excused because it speaks only to "feminists" and white women. This version was written for a feminist publication; however, Ms. Smith did not intend to exclude anyone.

FOR ALL THOSE WHO WERE INDIAN IN A FORMER LIFE

By Andy Smith

The New Age Movement has sparked new interest in Native American Traditional spirituality among white women who claim to be feminists. Indian spirituality, with it's respect for nature and the interconnectedness of all things, is often presented as the panacea for all individual and global problems. Not surprisingly, many white "feminists" see the opportunity to make a great profit from this craze. They sell sweat lodges or sacred pipe ceremonies, which promise to bring individual and global healing. Or they sell books and records that supposedly describe Indian traditional practices so that you, too, can be Indian.

On the surface, it may appear that this new craze is based on a respect for Indian spirituality. In fact, the New Age movement is part of a very old story of white racism and genocide against the Indian people. The "Indian" ways that these white, New Age feminists are practicing have little grounding in Native American reality.

True spiritual leaders do not make a profit from their teachings, whether it's through selling books, workshops, sweat lodges, or otherwise. Spiritual leaders teach the people because it is their responsibility to pass what they have learned from their elders to the younger generation. They do not charge for their services.

Indian religions are community-based, not proselytizing, religions. There is not one Indian religion, as many New Ager's would have you believe. Indian spiritual practices reflect the needs of a particular community. Indians do not generally believe that their way is "the" way, and consequently, they have no desire to tell outsiders about their practices. A medicine woman would be more likely to advise a white woman to look into her own culture and find what is liberating in it.

However, white women seem determined NOT to look into their own cultures for sources of strength. This is puzzling, since pre-Christian European cultures are also earth-based and contain many of the same elements that white are ostensibly looking for in Native American cultures. This phenomenon leads me to suspect that there is a more insidious motive for white "feminists" latching onto Indian spirituality.

When white "feminists" see how white people have historically oppressed others and how they are coming to very close to destroying the earth, they often want to dissociate themselves from their whiteness. They do this by opting to "become Indian." In this way, they can escape responsibility and accountability for white racism.

Of course, white "feminists" want to become only partly Indian. They do not want to be part of our struggles for survival against genocide; they do not want to fight for treaty rights or an end to substance abuse or sterilization abuse. They do not want to do anything that would tarnish their romanticized notions of what it means to become an Indian.

Moreover, white women want to become Indian without holding themselves accountable to Indian communities. If they did, they would have to listen to Indians telling them to stop carrying around sacred pipes, stop doing their own sweat lodges, and stop appropriating our spiritual practices. Rather, these New Agers see Indians as romanticized gurus who exist only to meet their consumerist needs. Consequently, they do not understand Indian people or our struggles for survival, and thus they can have no genuine understanding of Indian spiritual practices.

Read on....

The Anti New Ager Pledge

Going back through our old posts, we found this gem. It no longer appears to exist on the internet, and regretfully, we have lost the name of the person who wrote it. If any of you know the original source of this pledge, please forward it to us and we will add the author's name and a link.

1. I recognize that New Age Imposters and Exploiters posing as Native Medicine People and Native Elders is a huge problem and very damaging to Native Peoples and Causes.

I realize now I contributed to that problem, perhaps unknowingly.

2. I recognize that TRUE Native Peoples, Native Activists, Native Medicine People, and Native Elders are overwhelmingly OPPOSED to such Impersonation, Exploitation, and Abuse.

I realzie now I contributed to that problem by Ignoring Native Voices in favor of empty feel-good beliefs or false versions of Native Ceremonies.

3. I recognize that New Age Imposters and Exploiters posing as Native Medicine People and Native Elders DISRUPT Native Communities by trying to build their own power bases and in some cases cults.

I pledge to avoid being part of or contributing money or support to such cults.

4. I recognize New Age Imposters and Exploiters posing as Native Medicine People and Native Elders spread RACIST STEREOTYPES of Native Peoples that make it hard for others to see Native Peoples as they TRULY are, diverse, adaptive, and unbeaten.

I pledge to no longer believe in or pass along such stereotypes.

5. I recognize now that New Age Imposters and Exploiters posing as Native Medicine People and Native Elders are very disrespectful towards Native Beliefs when they sell Native Ceremonies, or False or Inaccurate Versions of them, for profit to outsiders.

I pledge to NEVER PAY TO PRAY AGAIN.

This includes any and all:

Ceremonies (including Sun Dances, Sweatlodges, and Naming Ceremonies)
Workshops
Seminars
Readings
Healing Sessions
Apprenticeships

6. I recognize that Ceremonies are VERY SACRED THINGS, and potentially, VERY DANGEROUS if done by those who are not Trained, Authorized, or Respectful.

I realize that Native Ceremonies have NO Place or Value outside of the Traditional Context of their Native Communities, or practiced by Outsiders with little understanding of their History or Place.

I PLEDGE TO NEVER SEEK TO TRY TO BECOME A WANNABE NATIVE OR SHAME- ON, or to pay someone seeking to exploit my misplaced desires.

7. I Do Hereby Pledge to Always Listen to Native Voices First, and to Show Respect and Honor for Native Peoples, Beliefs, Values, Traditions, and Cultures by Working WITH Them on This and Other Issues, and Not by Working AGAINST Them Based on Misplaced, Selfish, or Fantasy Images of What I Would Like Them To Be.

Lety Speaks

And speaks and speaks and speaks, etc.

Ever wonder why all that happens at The Teaching Drum Outdoor School becomes a soap opera? Because these people have absolutely nothing better to do.

Lety writes so much like Tamarack we were tempted for a time to believe HE had written this new-agey junk. The student who sent us these letters assures us, though, that the letters came from Lety's personal email account, and we don't think Tamarack computer savvy enough to have broken into it.

In any event, Lety channels T's evasive self-absorbtion like no other.

First of all I want to thank you for sharing Tamarack's e-mails to you and for opening channels for this exchange to happen.

While waiting for your package to arrive, I asked to read the piece you included with your application for the year long program... I was delighted by the fluidity of your expression - I found myself hoping it would go on and turn into a novel. Your writing created vibrantly colorful images in my mind's eye. Your style is the kind I hate coming to the end of. How could Tamarack not fall in love with this Spirit?!

When your package arrived I felt very open and vulnerable, I wanted to be so, that I may truly receive what you were offering me, in a clear vessel, rather than one cluttered by my own preconceptions. When I read "I need to melt the ice, hold my breath and immerse myself." - Tamarack's passion, turned in your direction. I had to breathe and sit with my feelings.

Here I need to backtrack:

When I came to the yearlong program, I had been separated from Tom, my husband, for almost 2 years, celibate for the same amount of time, fulfilling a long ago promise to myself from which I had taken many detours: to Know MySelf, in my wholeness, the intrinsic and unchangeable, in balance with the moody, temperamental and ambunctious personality. All the aspects and levels which make me Me, connected to the volume of I AM.

My experience at Nishnajida allowed me to poignantly feel a wound up mechanism, which, though rapidly unwinding within the safety and relatively uncluttered mental space I was in, was nevertheless, always within me, acting as a barrier between me and Me.

During the darkness of the Solstice, alone at Wabanon while Seekers were away for the holidays, the wound-up mechanism inside me, unwinding at its own pace, finally came to its last turn - and with tear filled, shimmering eyes, I witnessed and Experienced Me!What I saw and felt filled me with the most reverent awe. How could I
not fall in Love, in love with the Beauty and Glory of the omnipotent immortality nestled in a fragile, soft, perishable shell that was me.

My Joy knew no bounds. The Fruits of my fulfilled Promise intoxicated me with their Nectar. Peace permeated my inner world just as the glimmering white snow quilt covered and warmed the Mother's bosom. I felt freedom from my own relentless judgements of myself; from my trying (though not wanting) to be 'someone' in one of society's domesticated molds, and from my compulsion to justify my every action, thought and feeling by the nebulous rule of good vs. evil.

The Relations from the Natural and Ethereal worlds Celebrated with me, nay,as me. And me as they; my lungs were the trees, breathing for the Mother. The lines of separation disappeared, and yet, I was still in a definite and finite body. Thus, I walk since those days, with a perception which is all inclusive though within the parameters of my own limitations. This is both my challenge and my Gift now.

Early January, Seekers began returning and I began the process of reintegrating to the human community. It was then, that I began noticing Tamarack with different 'eyes'. Up to this point there had been nothing to warn or prepare me for the outpour and intensity of feelings towards him that broke my carefully protected feeling dam. Neither he nor I expected what was to come, and it literally blew us out of the water.

The recognition that we were 'intended mates' felt like Something, other than us had selected us to be together - we were not even each other's 'type', and had not fathomed that we could be attracted to each other in the way that unfolded. I was terrified: "but I only came to Wisconsin for ONE year - NOT to spend the rest of my life!!!" I lamented, realizing how deep my roots had grown in New Mexico.

This would be a terrible blow for Zinnia, who just wanted her mom to return home (Zinnia had left the program around Dec. 11) and to have her old life back. And for my mother, who secretly hoped Tom and I could be reconciled. And all my friends, who are more like my chosen family...and all for what??? for a 'recognition' which I could not explain in words, but which was clearer than anything I had ever perceived. To deny it would be akin to refusing to inhale my next breath.

I decided to fast for five days to gain the strength and perspective that I needed to walk the path unfolding before me. I fasted in the earth lodge at Winter Camp with the support of my group + Jill and Jonas, who heated rocks morning and night to keep the lodge warm. It was early February and temperatures were below zero. With the end of my fast I released my celibacy vows and embraced my future as I had come to embrace my Present during my lone Solstice days.

To put things into chronological perspective: I started to feel drawn to Tamarack the first couple of weeks in January. By around the third week I had realized this was not a simple attraction. After much trepidation on my part and with much encouragement from my inner Voices, I wrote him a letter basically letting him know that if he felt the same signs I did, I wanted to walk our Vision together. We were spending more time together including some nighttimes. I was committed to my time at Nishnajida - so he would sometimes stay at camp with me. We slept together, but he respected my desire to remain celibate. (I am using the word celibate to mean not
engaging in sexual intercourse.)

When things started to feel clearer regarding our intendedness, he told me that he and you had been exploring an important connection between you, the purpose of which had not yet been clarified.

- CUT -

I know Tamarack feels deep caring for you and admiration for the beautiful womin that you are, as well as sadness that you be in pain. Anger and hatred can hurt the people acted upon with these intense feelings, but the damage inflicted on the hated cannot begin to compare with the destruction that the feelings in themselves wreak on the person holding them within.

In the time I have shared with Tamarack platonically and intimately, I have known him to be a kind person of integrity and high moral values. He encouraged me to 'interview' his past mates regarding him, his character, his healing history, etc. when we first got together, so that I may know him from a wider perspective. Even though I do speak with both Jill and Lisa, two of his latest relationships, I have not 'interviewed' them, but I believe I will do so now in honor of the situation that has ensued between you and Tamarack and which is gifting me with a reminder of the importance of full and open communication, of a flow that connects us with all aspects of being, and not only the positive ones. Tamarack's cherishing of my 'flaws' and 'weaknesses' together with my 'joy' and 'wisdom' encourages me to reciprocate the Gift toward him and others...

Besides, I too, care about you as the brilliant person that you are and want to help in any way I can, to alleviate affront or injury, if there be such; to serve as a sounding board, if one be needed, and to also hold your shadow side in respect and honor for the important role that it plays in the grand scheme of life. I am open to talking on the phone or in person and extend an invitation to you to visit in person if you should desire it. Our home is your home and our hearts are open to you. Not one of us can truly return Home until we are all healed and restored to our intrinsic balance.

Even though I may not understand exactly where or why the rift began between the honorable feelings you and Tamarack shared, I feel unconditional love towards you as well as towards him. Perhaps because I have come to love myself in this way.

Everything in my reality mirrors to me how I truly feel about myself. If someone or something shows me ways in which I still despise or judge myself without mercy; that person or situation does me great honor by opening my eyes to a place within me which needs integrating and cherishing. I therefore owe that person or situation a great debt of gratitude. The beauty of this reality is that by paying my debt, I restore the balance that was missing and which blesses not only me, but the whole.

I sincerely hope that your wish, which is my wish also, comes true and that we may always be blessings to one another. Lety

Good Morning ____, Back after another night rich in dreams and Guidance. Wasn't able to send this letter last night and this morning realized why. Wanting to integrate the following awarenesses into the body of the previous letter, I recognized the need to share them in the order in which they are becoming apparent to me.

First of all, I most sincerely hope that my words do not feel like a condescending shpiell. My intent is to communicate that this exercise of examining my feelings and motives is timely and takes me to explore my own perceptions and hidden agendas once again. Every time I hear myself giving 'advice' to someone, or thinking that I'm helping someone else figure something out, I surely find down the line that those words fit me to a tea and help me to expand my awareness and knowing of myself. Of course, if these words happen to help clarify or heal, then the blessing is multiplied.

On my life journey, I found that I held a very deep and strong belief that I was intrinsically evil, and that my least possible denominator surely was dark and low - I stalked myself as I extended that perception about myself to everything and everyone about me. I was even suspicious of the most enlightened people I met, for they too carried within them that 'original sin', and like myself, were so fallible.

As my walk continued, understanding dawned that without forgiveness, I could not experience my own Divinity, that I would be unable to see the Divine within me unless I was able to forgive that which I believed not to be Divine. Forgiveness expanded my perception: my Shadow, as a vital player in my creation - gave texture, dimension and perspective to an otherwise flat landscape. As I was able to forgive myself for that which I was not (the shadow my light cast), then I was able to experience my truest Essence, my Divinity, and consequently, the Divinity of all.

No longer needing to charge an 'eye for an eye', because that 'other eye' is also mine. Relief floods me, there IS justice.

Cherishing this opportunity to recognize the perfection that we already are, I thank You and hold you in my Heart.

Somehow They Always Find Each Other

Isn't it amazing how REALLY bad writers (and dressers) always find each other?

Lety, the woman Tamarack was getting his "intended to be mated" on with while sending "love" letters to a female student, was later sent copies of the letters. She asked the student for further explanation about what really transpired. The student complied. This is an excerpt from Lety's return response.

She do sing a twinkie song, don't she?

Thank you so much for your sharing, for extending your Trust to my listening.

You have strong Wind Medicine in You. The tempest of your turmoil has shaken me to my roots. Branches from my tree have been ripped and shattered at my feet. Green leaves as well as brown ones form a carpet on the sacred ground I stand on. I have put myself in your shoes and reveled in the rich texture of your complexity, and bled with the anguish of your Secret Voices, the ones that haven't found true resonance.

I looked in the mirror and realized it was really me I was looking at. The clamorous din pervaded my being, each Voice weighing heavier than the other, my back sagged, my knees buckled. My eyes flooded over with the thought fueled emotions. There was no hope, the Secret Voices were being drowned by the shrieks of love forsaken ghosts screaming for retribution, for restitution. I realized they were after my flesh, so I gifted them with it, grateful that there was something I could give for their pain. With a prayerful sigh, I capitulated. Death washed over me with its healing balm.

The Present moment was the only reality left, New Life coursed through my veins, and renewed hope filled my awareness.
...........

Caveat Emptor: Key Issues to Consider When Encountering New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans

From New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans

Do you think you are "Indian at heart" or were an Indian in a past life? Do you admire native ways and want to incorporate them into your life and do your own version of a sweat lodge or a vision quest? Have you seen ads, books, and websites that offer to train you to be come a shaman in an easy number of steps, a few days on the weekend, or for a fee?

Have you really thought this all the way through? Have you thought about how native people feel about what you might want to do?

Please think about these important points before you take that fateful step and expend time, money, and emotional investment:

Native people DO NOT believe it is ethical to charge money for any ceremony or teaching. Any who charge you even a penny are NOT authentic.

Native traditionalists believe the ONLY acceptable way to transmit traditional teachings is orally and face-to-face. Any allegedly traditional teachings in books or on websites are NOT authentic.

Learning medicine ways takes decades and must be done with great caution and patience out of respect for the sacred. Any offer to teach you all you need to know in a weekend seminar or two is wishful thinking at best, fraud at worst.

Most of these FRAUDULENT operators are not the slightest bit reputable. Some, such as Robert "Ghostwolf" AKA Robert Franzone and Forrest Carter, have actually been convicted of fraud. Some are sexual predators who prey upon their followers. "Sun Bear" AKA Vincent La Duke was a serial rapist who was facing numerous charges when he died, including the rape of girls as young as fourteen.

Women should be extremely wary of any " teacher" who claims sex is part of an alleged "ceremony." Most of these FRAUDULENT operators have been caught making complete fantasies of what many whites WISH natives were like. Another way to say it is that they are outright liars and hoaxers. Some, like Carlos Castaneda, were exposed as long as three decades ago.

You probably are asking yourself, "Aren't any of these people for real and a good way for me to learn?"

We (native people and our supporters) realize that most of you do not know any better, at least not yet, but we hope you learn about these matters from more reputable sources and in a more respectful manner.

If it says New Age or Shamanism on the cover, it's not a good source for learning about natives. Find out which authors can be trusted before you pay money to operators who harm us all.

Please understand the following points about native spiritual ways:

Native belief systems are COMMUNAL, not focused on the individual's faith like Christianity, and are TRIBE-SPECIFIC. There is NO "generic Indian" form of spirituality. There are as many differences from tribe to tribe as there are between Hinduism and the Church of England. No one would think of teaching those two as the same and calling them "Indo-European," yet many of these FRAUDULENT operators teach a thrown together mishmash of bits and pieces of different beliefs.

TRADITIONAL elders are very cautious about changing rituals and mixing different customs, it does happen, of course, but only after lengthy discussions that can take decades. FRAUDULENT operators are very casual and haphazard in what they do, in a manner that shows they have no understanding of or respect for the sacred.

TRADITIONAL elders DO NOT believe that any ceremony can be done by anyone who feels like it. It's that same caution and respect for the sacred. Yet these FRAUDULENT operators will let anyone do their inaccurate version of a ceremony if they have the money. Vision quests, for example, are intended for young boys age 12 to 14, but boys don't have much money, so these FRAUDULENT operators sell "quests" for hundreds or thousands to mostly middle-aged men and women.

There is also the matter of telling people they can be shamans and charging them for it. If you were interested in Judaism, would you pay money to someone who said he could make you a rabbi in just one weekend seminar? If someone did this and then claimed Jewish objections were foolish, we would recognize he was anti-Semitic. Think about the lack of respect these operators show to native people and beliefs, and to their own followers, by defrauding people.

Native people DO NOT use the label "Shaman."

Think also about how it makes it harder for natives and whites to get along when whites have been given an untrue picture of native cultures. We have to learn to get along and we can't do that as long as whites give support to operators who push a fraudulent version of what we are like.

[originally posted 12.30.05]

A Recommendation From a Reader

From time to time, we get requests from readers for recommendations on outdoor schools that are either run by indigenous people or are respectful of them. A year and a half ago, we received one such recommendation from a reader who preferred to remain anonymous. The link for Nuuhchimi Wiinuu Cultural Tours is also on our blogroll.

How to go about finding good instruction on living respectfully with your landbase/bioregion is a perennial question. A lot of people work through a patchwork process until they reach a critical mass of understanding. Your city's urban garden program can show you how to grow a tomato between the concrete, local indigenous activists can awaken you to the realities of the Anglo-occupation they face - and struggle against daily, a hiking club can teach you map and compass and link you up with other outdoor types, volunteering at an animal rescue ranch/farm can teach you compassion and support for non-human ways, midwives can teach you medicine, herbologists can lead you to plants, a running club will introduce you to the miracle of your body moving in rhythm with the ground, and the land herself - if you will take the time to approach her respectfully and with sincere interest - will provide you a homeschooling like no other.

The key is to hang in there and don't give up if one approach doesn't have everything you are looking for. An investment of time will lead to rootedness in your local landbase. While you are busy learning, volunteering, or just being - the land is working on you, slowly weaving her spirit into your soul. Often the best approach is just to ask - what does my landbase need? How can I support First Nations' peoples in their struggle for sovereignty?

And yes, reputable outdoor schools and intentional communities in your area can show you basic primitive skills or back-to-the-land techniques. Just be sure to do your homework by visiting with them or asking around about their reputation. The point is relationships, and the sooner you get to making some, the better.

Lastly, don't overlook your friends and family. They know you like no one else, and might be able to point you in a direction best suited for your own personality and temperment.

Readers who have further suggestions are welcome to contribute their ideas and experiences.

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The reason I'm writing to you is to let you know about David and Anna Bosum. They're native Canadians who run cultural trips from their village of Oujé-Bougoumou, Quebec. Maybe you could put a link to them, or mention them on your blog? People who want to learn about the bush might be interested in learning from folks who were born in, and have spent their lives in the bush.
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Here is the link to David and Anna Bosum's site.