Chief Joseph
In 1492, Columbus and his crew, lost, battered, and sick with dysentery, were helped ashore by a people he described as "neither black nor white...fairly tall, good looking and well proportioned." He believed he had landed in the East Indies, thus calling these people Indians. In fact, they were part of a great population that had made their homes on this continent for many centuries.
The inhabitants of this mighty land were not one people. Their customs differed. Their languages differed. Their lifestyles differed. Some tilled the earth; others hunted and picked the abundance of the land around them. They lived in different kinds of housing. They governed themselves by differing rules.
But they shared a common belief that the earth is a spiritual presence that must be honored, not mastered. The Western Europeans that came to the shores of this new country shared a very different belief, however. To them, the entire American continent was a beautiful, but savage land. A land, that it was not only their right, but their duty, to tame and use as they saw fit.
Unlike many other traditions, the spiritual wisdom of the Native American Indian is not found in a set of "scriptural materials." It is, and has always been, a part of the everyday fabric of the Indian's daily life and experience. These people speak quietly. Their words are simple and their voices are soft. We have not heard them because we have not taken the time to listen. Perhaps now is the time for us to open our ears and hearts to the words they have to say.
As the twentieth century draws to a close, the Western civilization is facing the inevitable results of their philosophy of dominance. We have gotten out of balance with our earth, and the very future of our existence depends on our ability to restore that balance.
Come my friend, let us explore the wisdom of the noble tribes of the Native American Indian. They have much to teach. Take the time to listen to the echoes from our land...the wisdom and the teachings of the Native American Indian.
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