Better Your Mind

"The Father of Canadian Karate"

It can be positively stated Karate in Canada owes its mass introduction and development to one person MASAMI TSURUOKA, 9th dan, Tsuruoka Karate-do Federation. Almost single handedly Masami Tsuruoka sensei had kept Karate before the Canadian public in the early beginnings, 1958 - 1968, through newspaper articles, magazine articles, frequent demonstrations as well as appearances on public television and numerous exhibitions across Canada.

Born in Cumberland, British Columbia, Canada on January 12, 1929 as a teenager Masami Tsuruoka moved to Kumamoto, Japan in 1945 with his father shortly after the conclusion of World War II. (The Tsuruoka family as with most Japanese families living in Canada at that time, was placed in 'Internment Camps' for a few years in Tashimi, B.C. and later at Roseberry.)

Shortly after moving to Kumamoto, a popular rumour has it that a gang of street punks subjected Masami to a severe beating. This episode led him to seek Karate instruction from a Karate master in the area.

Another rumour indicates that while on a brief trip to Tokyo with his father, Masami Tsuruoka witnessed a Karate demonstration and became so enthralled with what he saw, that he made it a point upon his return to Kumamoto, to find a Karate teacher and begin practice. Regardless of which rumour is believed the Karate master that he sought instruction from was Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose, 10th dan founder of the Chito-ryu system of Karate-do.

Master Tsuyoshi Chitose, 10th dan.
Founder of Chito Ryu style of Karate-do.

As Masami Tsuruoka advanced in his physical training his attitude and thought process matured. Instead of approaching manhood with a 'chip' on his shoulder, he attained with Chitose sensei's guidance, serenity and peace of mind through the study of Karate-do. These acquired capabilities gave Masami the confidence that helped him look above such attitudes as vindictiveness. He learned that if necessary he could face the taunts of the street gang members and only feel profound sympathy for them. He felt all students of Karate-do, if schooled correctly, should be able to reach this plateau over time.

During 1949, he received his first-degree black belt from Master Chitose.

As Masami kept improving his training, he began to advance progressively up the promotion ladder of rank. Before returning to Canada in 1956 and finally settling in Toronto, he would obtain the level of 3rd degree black belt. 

Convinced by many friends to share his knowledge of this mysterious art, Masami Tsuruoka sensei began teaching in 1957 at a small fitness gym called Mac's Gym (owned and operated by friend, Mac Mia.).

Tsuruoka sensei executing a flying side kick.

Tsuruoka sensei & Chitose sensei.

Encouraged by a group of members to permanently establish a separate training facility of his own, Masami Tsuruoka eventually secured space over Lakeside Bowling Alley in the Queen Street/ Lansdowne area in 1958 and began giving Karate instruction at the first Karate Club in Canada.

Tsuruoka sensei demonstrating the power of the elbow strike.

 

(L-R): Dr. Ned Paige, Masami Tsuruoka.

Since then, many from the original group of students continue to be an integral part of the Tsuruoka organization. Some however, have gone on to develop or introduce other systems. Among the most notable members were Benny Allen (Eastern Karate Schools - teacher of Wally Slocki, Tony Facetti, and Teddy Marton), Dr. Ned Page (Wen-Do creator), Shane Higashi (Canadian Chito-Kai Federation). Also, Qai Wong (Wong's Shorin-ryu Karate/Kung Fu Society), Kei Tsumura (Shito-ryu Itosu-kai Karate and Kobudo Association of Canada), Monty and Nathan Guest (Kaishin Kan Karate Organization). Fern Cleroux (Cleroux's Chito-ryu Karate), Joe Gilles (Shotokan-Nishiyama Group). Alcide Bourque (New Brunswick) could be included as well as Andre Langelier, George Sulvaine (Ottawa), Tug Wilson (Winnipeg) and Tran Quan Ba (University of Montreal).

Front Row (L-R): Alcide Bourque, Ron Forrester, David Tsuruoka, Jimmy Immamura, 
Kenny Paige, Masami Tsuruoka Sensei, unknown, Bill Melbourne (sweatband), 
Tony Facetti, Bill Doyle (sweatband), & Ned Paige.

Second Row (L-R): unknown, Dave Gellman, Ron Wilson (looking to his left), 
Dave Chong, Monty Guest, Doug Harder (glasses), unknown, Benny Allen (sweatband), 
behind & to left of Tsuruoka Sensei, & Shane Higashi last person in the row.

Back Row (L-R): John Matsumoto, Loney Pike, unknown, unknown, unknown, 
unknown, Nathan Guest (2nd person directly behind Tsuruoka sensei leaning forward), 
Henry Ueyda, (glasses).

(L-R): Shane Higashi, Masami Tsuruoka.

By late 1962, Tsuruoka sensei was officially appointed as Chief Representative for the Chito-ryu Karate system in Canada. An American colleague, Mr. William J. Dometrich of Kentucky, who also received personal instruction during the early 1950's at the Yoseikan Dojo in Kumamoto, Japan, was appointed the USA representative.

In 1962 the 1st Canadian Karate Open Championships was organized by Tsuruoka sensei and became the first Karate tounament ever held in Canada. It was in 1962 also that Tsuruoka sensei began teaching Karate classes at the University of Toronto and held the first summer camp called Kamp Kamikaze near in Northeastern Ontario which was open to all styles.

(L-R): Masami Tsuruoka, William Dometrich.

Approximately during this period Bruce Lee the world famous Chinese martial artist/movie star corresponded with Tsuruoka sensei requesting his opinion on 'How to better teach non-oriental students'. Bruce Lee also inquired about other related martial arts viewpoints including martial art philosophy. (Tsuruoka sensei still possesses the correspondents (2-3 hand written letters) from Bruce Lee in a very safe place).

Bruce Lee

Masami Tsuruoka sensei's wife Kei, was also teaching at the dojo. She taught for approximately 15 years and was certified a 3rd dan in Chito-ryu Karate-do.

(L-R): Phil Koeppel (United States Karate Assoc.), George E. Mattson (USA Uechi ryu), 
Masami Tsuruoka (Chito-ryu Canada), Robert Trias (USA Shuri-ryu), 
Ed Parker (USA Kenpo-Karate), Anthony Mirakian (USA-Okinawan Meibukan Goju-ryu). 
Photo taken in 1963. (Chicago, IL).

By 1963 one of the top students of Tsuruoka sensei Shane Higashi competed at the 2nd Canadian Karate Open Championships in Toronto and won 1st place in the fighting category.

The 1964 championships were renamed as the Canadian International Open Karate Championships that attracted competitors from across Canada, USA, Japan and Hawaii.

It was during 1964 the concept of a unified karate organization was first introduced in Canada by Tsuruoka sensei.

In 1965, Tsuruoka sensei received his 5th dan from Master Chitose.

Master Chitose & Tsuruoka sensei.

On October 3,1965 the Canadian International Open Karate Championships hosted by Tsuruoka sensei was won by a top fighter from Okinawan named Zenpo Shimabukuro. Also during 1965, the inaugural Canadian National Exhibition Karate Championships were held. The championship title was won by another one of Tsuruoka sensei's top fighters, Mr. Fred Boyko.

Tsuruoka sensei moved his dojo to a prime location in downtown Toronto on Yonge Street during 1965.

During 1966, Monty Guest became Head Instructor for Tsuruoka sensei's first branch dojo in Toronto.

In 1967, Canada's Centennial Year, Tsuruoka sensei invited Master Chitose and one of his senior students Yamamoto Mamoru sensei to visit Canada for it's grand Centennial celebration. The event was held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre's Nisei Karate Club under the direction of Sensei Kei C. Tsumura.

Front Row (L-R): Sam Hayashi (Nisei Karate Club), unknown, 
unknown, Yamamoto sensei (long hair), Grand Master Tsuyoshi Chitose, 
Tsuruoka sensei, Tom Saito (Nisei Karate Club), unknown, 
David Akutagawa, Mike Foster (Florida).

Second Row: (L-R) Sensei K. C. Tsumura in sun glasses (Nisei Karate Club), 
Hal Henschel (between Yamamoto sensei and Chitose sensei) and 
George Sulvaine (between unknown and David Akutagawa).

 (Photo taken in back garden of Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Don Mills, Ontario.)

Grand Master Tsuyoshi Chitose and top pupil Yamamoto sensei.

Over the next few years the finalization of the formation of an official 'Sports Governing Body' for Karate was realized. It became known as the National Karate Association of Canada (N.K.A.) with Tsuruoka sensei as it's first President.

By 1970, the first official World Karate-do Championships representing 'All-Styles' was held in Tokyo, Japan and hosted by the newly formed World Union of Karate-do Organizations, (W.U.K.O.). The NKA sent a fighting team with Tsuruoka sensei and Mr. John Carnio (from Toronto) won a silver medal.

During the 2nd WUKO World Karate-do Championships in Paris, France, a deep division developed in the World Organization. A split occurred and a second organization named International Amateur Karate-do Federation was formed also representing Karate.

Tsuruoka sensei's foresight allowed Canada through the NKA to support both Federations (IAKF & WUKO) by sending competitors to both official World Championships for many years after the split.

In November 16, 1973 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil official representation from amateur Karate in the Western Hemisphere unanimously agreed to form the Pan-American Karate Union and Masami Tsuruoka sensei was elected 1st Vice-President with the Executive Director being Hidetaka Nishiyama.

During 1974, he was instumental in the formation of the Provincial Sports Association responsible for governing all styles of karate-do in the Province of Ontatio, known as the Karate Ontario Association.

(L-R): Doreen Davies 1st President of Karate Ontario & Tsuruoka sensei. 
She was one of two women that were elected into office as 
President of the Amateur Athletic Union in the 90 odd year existence of the A.A.U. of Canada.

Throughout the mid to late 1970's Tsuruoka sensei became increasingly disillusioned with the direction the Chito-kai Federation was going. Then in 1979, Masami Tsuruoka sensei established his own organization, and his former senior student, Shane Higashi, became the leader of the Canadian Chito-kai (Chito-ryu Karate Association) under Chitose sensei.

The new organization was simply referred to as Tsuruoka Karate-do.

 
Tsuruoka sensei instructing kata.

Tsuruoka Karate-do.

 
Father and son.

During the 1980's and 90's he continued to further develop his organization with the help of his son David and other important key members such as Dartmouth, Nova Scotia's, Sensei Ron Fagan, 6th dan Chief Technical Director of the Canadian Tsuruoka Karate-do Federation. 

In 1986, the Government of the Province of Ontario, Canada established 'The Order of Ontario' to recognize those persons who have rendered service of the greatest distinction and of singular excellence in any field of endeavour benefiting society in Ontario or else where.

The Order is awarded annually to the most outstanding residents of Ontario possessing the above qualifications.

On Wednesday, May 27, 1998 Master Tsuruoka received the Order of Ontario presented by the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Ontario, the Honourable Hilary Weston.

Masami Tsuruoka was presented the Order of Ontario by the Honourable Hilary Weston, 
Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Ontario.

A recent photo of some of Tsuruoka sensei's original students and friends.

(L-R): Monty Guest (founder of Kai Shin Karate), 
John Hatashita (brother of the late Frank Hatashita - father of Canadian Judo), 
Quai Wong (formed Eastern Karate along with Benny Allen and later formed Wong's Karate and Kung Fu Society),
Sensei Tsuruoka, 
Ron Forrester (essential in forming Jiu Jitsu in Canada), 
Hal Batke (first director of C.J.A., and former student of Ron Forrester), 
Takeshi Kimeda (introduced Aikido to Canada in 1961), 
Sam Wong (first to promote Kung Fu in Toronto during 1960's), and 
Ken Hayashi (former student of Tsuruoka, sensei and present day Athletic Commissioner of Ontario).

At 70 years old, Tsuruoka sensei is still actively training and teaching to this day. He continues to be an inspiration to many martial artists from different organizations.

 
(L-R) Sam Moledzki, President Shito-kai Canada, Betty Mochizuki, 
O'Sensei Tsuruoka, Kyoshi Patrick Mc Carthy. 
June 1999, Toronto, Canada.

Black Belt Magazine, World's Largest Magazine of Self-Defense: Black Belt Inc. - Nov-Dec 1964.
Black Belt Magazine, World's Largest Magazine of Self-Defense: Black Belt Inc. - March 1965.
Samurai Magazine, Official Publication of All-American Karate Federation - November 1974.
Black Belt Journal, The Karate Ontario Newsletter: Article by Frank Foulkes - Summer 1993.
Martial Arts Features & Profiles Magazine - Vol. 3, Issue 6.
Karate Do, Karate Ontario Publication - Vol. 1, No. 1 - April 1975.
Bugeisha, Traditional Martial Artist: March 1997, Issue #2 - Article by John Sells.
Baehr Frank, Toronto, Canada - Personal data/photo collection.
Guest Monty, Kai Shin Karate Association - Personal data/photo collection.
Moledzki Sam, Toronto, Canada - Personal data/photo collection.
The Toronto Sun Newspaper - Friday, May 29, 1998 : Article by Steve Buffery - Olympic Sports.
Corcoran John/Farkis Emil, Martial Arts-Traditions, History, People. New York: Gallery Books, An Imprint of W.H. Smith Publishers, Inc., 1983.
Bowerbank Andrew - The Spirit of Karate-do, The Teachings of Masami Tsuruoka (ISBN 0-9682528-0-X) Morris Marketing and Media Services Inc. 1997.
Bowerbank Andrew - Spirit of the Sensei, A Study of Japanese Martial Arts (ISBN 0-9682528-1-8) Morris Marketing and Media Services Inc. 1998.

Courtesy of Sam Moledzki, President, Karate-do Shito-Kai, Canada (www.shitoryu.org)

On March 8th and 9^th (2003), Spiritual Leaders and Bundle Keepers of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation, Cheyenne Nation and Arapahoe Nation were called together to discuss the protection from the abuse and exploitation of our ceremonies. The meeting was held at the Cultural Center in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, hosted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. I would also like to acknowledge the financial donation from the Prairie Island Dakota Community.

Discussions in the meeting included the molestation taking place in ceremony, indecent mockery, mixing of new age beliefs, charging for ceremonies and death, which was never heard of before in our ancient ceremonial history. There was also discussion of the use of other “medicines” (drugs) in and around our ceremonies. When the White Buffalo Calf Woman brought the Sacred Bundle, she instructed that only those with a pure mind and heart should touch the C’anupa. The ceremonies in question, in reference to all the Plains Tribes, were the I-ni-pi (Purification Ceremony), Wi-wanyang-wa-c’i-pi (Sundance Ceremony) and Han-ble-c’i-ya (vision quest) Sacred Rites.

We put out notice in the newspapers, native radio stations and also contacted people through the phone. I offered prayers for the safe journey of the People to this very important historic meeting. Those that could not attend, I acknowledge their prayers for a good outcome for our concerns.

After long discussion and testimonies of the concerns and issues, it was decided that it would be up to me, as the Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe to make a decision. It was good to feel the beginning of a Unity amongst our People. This has been my concern for many decades, especially now, when we are facing an oncoming war. We need to stand strong with our ceremonies!

I will state what the decision is and also explain the reasons. I will state the protocols to our Seven Sacred Rites, which were passed down to me when I became the next Keeper at the age of 12 years old. These protocols are traditional knowledge passed down through our oral history and need to be brought back to strengthen our ‘Ho-c’o-ka’ (our sacred alters) once again.

I will also address the areas that I cannot be involved in. My responsibility is the Seven Sacred Rites.

It was decided, from March 9th, 2003 and forward, there will be no non-Natives allowed in our sacred Ho-c’o-ka (our sacred alters) where it involves our Seven Sacred Rites. The only protection with this decision in Government law; is that only enrolled members can carry an eagle feather. In all the Seven Sacred Rites, there has always been the understanding of earning and a requirement of an eagle feather while participating in these Rites. The eagle feather stands for Indigenous knowledge and guidance in our spiritual ways.

• The Wi-wanyang-wa-c’i-pi (Sundance Ceremony): The only participants allowed in the center will be Native People. The non-Native people need to understand and respect our decision. If there have been any unfinished commitments to the Sundance and non-Natives have concern for this decision; they must understand that we have been guided through prayer to reach this resolution. Our purpose for the Sundance is for the survival of the future generations to come, first and foremost. If the non-Natives truly understand this purpose, they will also understand this decision and know that by their departure from this Ho-c’o-ka (our sacred alter) is their sincere contribution to the survival of our future generations.

• Please understand the Wi-wanyang-wa-c’i-pi Ceremony is not only taking place in the center (Ho-c’o-ka) with the dancers. The ceremonial participation also depends on all the supporters on the outside of the arbor who should be in prayer. From the gate, to the cook shack, to the fire-keepers, to the supporters around the arbor, to even the moon camp, all people are still a part of this sacred ceremony.

• There should be a preparation of ‘Han-ble-c’i-ya’ (vision quest) before you become a participant of the Sundance.

• We shall go back into this ceremony with the proper protocols before and during the ceremony itself. Only those that have had the dream or direction through a ceremony, in concern of someone’s health, should be dancing. Dancers should be secluded from outside participants, as to not be contaminated by other people’s energy or thoughts. There should be absolutely no food or water during this four-day ceremony. If there are health problems, you should choose a person to finish your commitment. This ceremony is supposed to be for those that believe they can fulfill all required four days of the ceremony.

• Han-ble-c’i-ya (Vision Quest): The vision quest should be only for Native People that have had the dream or vision. This Rite is also for the young men and women that reach the age of 12 years of age.

• I-ni-pi (Purification Ceremony): Those that run this sacred rite should be able to communicate with Tun-ca-s’i-la (our Sacred Grandfathers) in their Native Plains tongue. They should also have earned this rite by completing Han-ble-c’i-ya and the four days and four years of the Wi-wanyang wa-c’i-pi.

• The other four sacred rites of the Hun-ka ka-g’a (Making of a Relative), the Ta-pa kah’-g’o-ya (Throwing of the Sacred Ball), Wi-yan is’-na ti (Womanhood Ceremony) and the Na-g’i glu-ha (Keeping of the Spirit Ceremony), should be only handled by legitimate Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Oyate (People).

• It was also decided only legitimate Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Oyate Medicine Bundle Keepers should handle any other ceremonies that are connected to our Ho-co-ka, such as the Lo-wa-pi and U-wi-pi ceremonies.

• There should be no price tag allowed to participate in any of our Sacred Ceremonies. The only protocol needed for a ceremony is to o-pa-g’i, meaning to offer your C’anupa or offer tobacco that has been prayed with, in which the Medicine Person accepts or not accept if he is not able to assist. Medicine People do need to survive, and if people wish to give a monetary or any other gifts after they receive their help from ceremony, giving it from their hearts, I see no problem with that. We have to have faith that the Grandfathers will provide for our needs to survive in this modern society; whether the gift is money, blankets, food or anything that represents how much they appreciate the help. Some people can afford big gifts, some people cannot. It all balances out.

• My position is only for the Seven Sacred Rites. I cannot dictate to our Medicine People who they allow to attend and support these Rites, in reference to non-Native People. I cannot dictate who they choose to doctor in their ceremonies. I cannot dictate where they travel to doctor.

• I have my own personal feelings on who should be Keepers of our Sacred C’anupa (Pipe). The C’anupa is very sacred and the Keeper should first be given a dream and be of Native decent. This issue should be further discussed in our future meetings. The reason for my feelings is that I am aware the C’anupa has gone out to the International community and has been for sale. I know that most non-Native People do not understand the important protocols or have had the Traditional background to carry this sacred item properly. I am aware of women in their moon and men with blood on their hands (to take ones life intentionally) have been allowed to touch and carry the C’anupa. These serious situations were never to be allowed. I offer thanks to the non-Native People that have returned the C’anupa to our People, after I privately shared my concerns with them. I acknowledge their true sincerity in assisting our Nation to protect the survival of our Traditional way of life on behalf of our future generations. They have helped us bring back honor and respect to our sacred Ho-co-ka and C’anupa.

• There was also discussion of only the Plains Tribal members to participate in the Ho-co-ka of the Wi-wanyang wa-c’i-pi and the Han-ble c’i-ya Ceremonies. In the early 70’s, Chief Fools Crow and my father Stanley Looking Horse decided to allow other Native Nations to participate in these Rites. Their reasons were based on the fact that most Nations have lost their ways through assimilation or lack of Teachers to teach their Indigenous ways. They honored and understood the unity of the First Nations People when different Tribes came to the aid of the Wounded Knee Occupation. I cannot undo their decision out of respect for our Chief and Elder. It has also been in our history that our Ancestors have respectfully shared our ceremonies with other Indigenous Nations.

• The original teachings were that the Pipe Carrier should make their own C’anupa. There was an understanding of the sincere spiritual energy and the traditional values passed down through our bloodlines. All the values of compassion, love, honor, respect and truth are molded into the spiritual life they are creating. I hope that one day the future generations will again pick up this important protocol.

I would like to invite all our Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nations to the next ceremony when I bring out the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Bundle. The dates in the fall will be announced. During this time we will place the 12 honorable compassionate men to assist in taking care of the concerns of the Sacred C’anupa. We will also discuss the protocols of the need to have a good mind and good heart to be a member of the Societies that will carry out these decisions in a respectful manner.

There will be another Protection of Ceremonies meeting to further discuss and address these serious issues in the future. This meeting will be sponsored by the Cheyenne Nation.

Once again, I thank all those that have offered prayers for these very serious issues to be discussed and handled in a good way.

In the Sacred Hoop of Life, where there is no ending and no beginning!

Mitakuye Oyasin,

Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe

Looking Horse:

Further thoughts on the protection of ceremonies

April 26, 2003

From Chief Arvol Looking Horse:

Mitakuye,

Since the statement of protecting our ceremonies, there have been many issues that have come out.  Many people reporting on one another, many people arguing for the participation of non-natives, many non-natives telling me that I am a dictator of these ways.  I see this as good and bad, because I now see since these reports, there is a much bigger problem then I ever knew in concern of the violations.  Even more reports of deaths, charging, molestation and mixing of other beliefs, this must stop!  These violations are affecting our children's health, many of our children ending their life with suicide.  They do not feel that ceremonial energy that was meant for them. The People in these hoc'okas need to become stronger and connected with our children's needs to survive.  This Bundle is our way the Creator gave us to help us survive with spirituality.  It is all about transferring spiritual energy for health for your loved ones and thinking of 7 generations to come.  These prayers also go out to the world, for all Mitakuye Oyasin

I don't like the division, but again when was the last time we really united.  I would rather see our people, even if there are only a few, unite strong and understand what this all about, to stand with me for these ways to be protected, so this Bundle can stay for our future generations.  These sacred protocols were always there. The teacher is the Grandfathers.  There was nothing new in my statement.  The only thing that changed was allowing other Native People whose Nations come from this same ma-co-c'e (land) to participate in Sundance and vision quest. Their Ancestors understood the values and traditions of ceremony in the connection to this Turtle Island.  I have known in our history that we shared our ways with other Nations with respect.  Our people would intermarry with other Native Nations, they would become a Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Oyate. It was the same when our woman married another Nation's man, because we have the same teachings and bloodline to this ma-co-c'e.

I have heard native and non-native people fully understand my statement, yet many are misinterpreting the statement, because they don't want to see the truth and how it affects them.  Many have wanted me to re-explain what all this means with the decision.  The decision was based on many years of the Elders coming to me with dreams and concerns of what is going on.  I waited to make another statement, to allow time to bring things out and open the eyes of the people to look at what is happening with our sacred ways.  Just how serious these things have become, has now been revealed.

I will explain the things that people have been questioning.  First, I understand that there have been people at the meeting that are talking about not agreeing with my decision. I announced my decision in Lakota that has a much larger meaning. During the meeting, that was taped, Sam Moves Camp stated that I make a decision after all the issues were discussed.  Yet I am getting word from non-natives that they have talked to some Men at the meeting and they were told that they did not agree.  Yet no one said anything after I spoke.  These Men are only a few.  I guess they have learned how this affects them after the statement went out, so they backed away.  Some of the people getting back to me are reporting the misuse of their friendship with these Men and other Men that call themselves Intercessors.  They have questioned how they could agree with this decision even when they do these violations themselves.  I still stand by these Lakota Men and have to work with them.  I don't feed that negative energy.  We are the Buffalo Nation and I will not report them, it is up to these people to correct these things themselves. The Buffalo teaching is to stand around one that has fallen and help them stand, these ways belong to them, even if they have become lost  The other need is to establish our strong Societies again to deal with these matters.  Those Society men who are compassionate and walk in a respectful manner, yet strong in their energy with spiritual guidance to correct these violations in an honorable way.

I stated the only Government protection of our ways is the Eagle Feather Law, because we are dealing with non-native participation that do not honor our spiritual laws that are in place. This only law is when only enrolled members can own this sacred item for ceremonial use.  The feather represents knowledge and you have to earn this for any part of our ceremonies.  I realize that during the 1900's many of our people were taken away from their families.  I have participated in providing a healing ceremony for adoptees.  Many are even full bloods and can not find their families. We can still find a way to provide our people in recognition of their right to their identity.  Those that know their lineage can still prove their bloodline, our intermarrying with other Nations is not that old that it can not be found.  In the mean time, we need to continue to focus on the protection that is available now.  That first teaching of bloodline came when the first Keeper was told by Pte Skan Win that the Bundle must stay in the bloodline and passed down through a vision or dream from the Keeper.  So it is the same teaching of our Native Bloodline with the ceremonies.

My position is the Keeper of the Bundle that consists of the 7 Sacred Rites  I am being responsible to remind the Oyate that these ways are being violated.  Even to a degree that in 1979, when we were bringing out the Sacred C'anupa, we received a warning in ceremony from the Grandfathers, that if these abuses continued, they would leave.  We decided to put away the Bundle for 7 years from 1980-87 and get the word out that we were warned.  We could be just another Nation, with no identity, no cultural language, no cultural way of life and we could probably loose our reservations and Sacred Sites. 

Pte-Ska Win told us her spirit would stand upon Mother Earth in the future, these signs have been coming every year since 1994, with the births of the white buffalo calves.  This is a blessing, to see the reminder that the Bundle she brought is still here for us, but yet it is also a warning.  If you remember she came the first time when we were having a hard time of starvation, the buffalo disappeared, because we forgot the buffalo teachings of honoring the Creator in the way we walk.  We have forgotten these important teachings once again.

I stated that I can not dictate to the Spiritual Leaders who they allow to attend and support ceremonies, who they feel they need to doctor or where they travel.  This was to only remind that the white brothers and sisters, they can still attend and pray with us at a ceremony, if the Spiritual Leader allows this.  Again it is the hoc'oka, the center, where our Oyate stand, that needs to be protected. This is also a reminder even with our own people, they need to prepare their life to stand in that alter and learn these protocols of a drug and alcohol free life.  They must have a calling that is be interpreted in ceremony, to at least begin to learn the language and not give in to English.  The language is very important in communicating with the Grandfathers.  When I attended the UN Indigenous Day with representatives from Indigenous Nations from around the world, they discussed the criteria to maintain our voice in the protection of our Sacred Sites and cultural identity.  All agreed it was to maintain the language.  Don't give up your ways because you don't know how to speak yet.  You can learn as you go along and this sacred language will come back for your Tiospaye.

We are the only Indigenous Nation in the world that has opened our sacred ceremonials, of the alter, out to the public.  Now we are seeing the abuse and violations.  Anyone can read a book or get close to our ceremonial people, then go out and practice our ways without proper protocols.

Racism is when a race is not given a right because of color of skin in American Society.  These sacred instructions were given to our People's Society, as many other Nations were given their own.  If that were the case, then all the other Indigenous Nations that protect their sacred ways would be racist.  Our Nation's protection of these sacred ways is prayers of strength for all Mitakuye Oyasin. Indigenous People understand these boundaries of protection.  Iktomi is always there to trick us.  It is our responsibility to protect the life of our Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, future generations.  This gift belongs to them, from the Creator.

I would like to remind you of a time when we can all gather at the Sacred Sites, with "all Nations, all faiths, one prayer", no matter how we believe in the Creator, of World Peace and Prayer Day, June 21st.  This is a time when you find your own individual connection to our Unc'I Maka (Grandmother earth), from your heart, your own sacred site.  We need to give thanks and offer our prayers for her to heal.

In a Sacred Hoop of life, where there is no beginning and no ending!

He-c'e-tu-ye-lo,

Mitakuye Oyasin,

Chief Arvol Looking Horse,

19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe 

Chief
Arvol Looking Horse

The following was taken from,
“White Buffalo Teachings”
by Chief Arvol Looking Horse.

Story of Pte-san win-yan

(White Buffalo Calf Woman)

Nineteen generations ago the beautiful spirit we now refer to as Pte-san win-yan (White Buffalo Calf Woman) brought the Sacred C’anupa to our People.  She taught the People the Seven Sacred Rites and how to walk on Mother Earth in a Sacred manner. She said, “Only the good shall see the Pipe…the bad shall not see it or touch it.”

She arrived among us in this way...

'Redneck' government wanted 'to kick ass,' Ipperwash inquiry hears Last updated May 19 2005 07:23 AM EDT
CBC News

FOREST, ONT. – Hours before police killed a native protester in a 1995 standoff, a senior officer described Ontario's government as gun-loving rednecks who couldn't care less about aboriginals.

The comments surfaced on recordings played Wednesday at the public inquiry into the death of Dudley George. The activist was shot during an occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park.

In one recording, Ontario Provincial Police Insp. Ron Fox briefs his boss after attending a meeting with then-premier Mike Harris and several cabinet ministers and deputy ministers from his Conservative government.

He shares his impressions of the politicians' thoughts on the standoff with Insp. John Carson, who was at the southwestern Ontario park.

"We're dealing with a real redneck government," Fox says in the telephone call with Carson, who is now deputy commissioner of the provincial police force.

"They're in love with guns. There's no question."

Carson responded by saying, "They just want us to kick ass. We're not prepared to do that yet."

• FROM MAY 18, 2005: Harris wanted protesters out of Ipperwash

George, 38, was among a group of native protesters who had been occupying the park, claiming the land was the site of an ancient burial ground.

The inquiry based in Forest, about 250 kilometres west of Toronto, has spent 11 months hearing testimony as it tries to find out why an OPP officer shot George, and whether any political direction led the police operation to turn violent.

The shooting led to allegations that Harris had approved the use of force to clear up a frustrating situation.

In another recording played Wednesday, Fox can be heard to say, "The premier is quite adamant: this is not an issue of native rights."

He said the premier said authorities had "tried to pacify and pander" to the protesters for too long, calling for "swift affirmative action."

Harris has steadfastly said he never pressured police to quell the protest quickly, using force.

The former premier's lawyer, Peter Downard, said the tapes only confirm that the government wanted the occupation to end as soon as possible.

He said politicians at the meeting Fox described were talking about seeking an injunction.

"That's the decision that's being made – to seek an injunction – and that's a perfectly appropriate government decision," he said.

George was the first aboriginal protester killed by Canadian police in a century.

The officer who shot him, acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane, was convicted of criminal negligence causing death and has since resigned from the OPP.

Ipperwash
CBC News Online | May 10, 2005

In September 1995, a half-century-old native land claim dispute exploded in Ontario's Provincial Park and left protester Dudley George dead.

The dispute goes back to 1942. It was wartime and the federal government expropriated land belonging to the Stony Point band under the War Measures Act in order to build a military camp - Camp Ipperwash. In the years following, the band tried to get the land back, claiming it contained a burial ground destroyed when the camp was built.

Shortly after the war ended, the Department of National Defense said it was willing to return most of the land as long as it could lease back what it still needed for the military base. The offer was later withdrawn.

By 1972, tensions were rising. According to the federal minister of Indian Affairs of the time – Jean Chrè tien – the Stony Point band had waited patiently for a resolution but was beginning to run out of patience. Chr è tien suggested in a memo to then defence minister, James Richardson, that if the land was not going to be returned, the band should be offered another piece of land as compensation.

Twenty years later, there was still no resolution. In 1993, Stony Point band members began moving back on to the land. The military withdrew in September 1995, when another group of Stony Point natives marched onto the base.

It was then that a group of about 30 protesters built barricades at nearby Ipperwash Provincial Park to underline their land claim and to protest the destruction of the burial ground. Dudley George was one of the group's leaders.

There's no agreement on what happened next. The Ontario Provincial Police moved in on the protesters to remove them from the park. The police say they had no choice but to draw their guns because the protesters were armed; the protesters say the opposite, that they were unarmed and that police - dressed in riot gear - used unnecessary force. And they pointed the blame squarely at then-premier Mike Harris, claiming he issued the go-ahead order for the police to rush the barricades in a nighttime raid.

Either way, Dudley George did not survive the raid. He died on Sept. 6, 1995, after being shot by acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane of the OPP. In 1997, Deane was convicted of criminal negligence causing death after a court ruled he did not have a "reasonable belief" George was armed. Deane later resigned from the force.

Native groups called for an official inquiry into George's death, but the Progressive Conservative government of the time resisted, saying it had nothing to do with police actions that day.

On Nov. 12, 2003, just days after the Liberals swept to power in a general election, Dalton McGuinty announced his government would launch a public inquiry into the matter.

The original land claim - the reason protesters occupied Ipperwash Park in the first place - was settled in 1998. Under the $26-million agreement, the land occupied by the former military installation was to be cleaned up and returned to the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. As well, every member of the band was to receive between $150,000 and $400,000 in compensation.

On Oct. 2, 2003, George's family dropped a lawsuit against Harris after reaching a settlement with the Ontario Provincial Police. The agreement included a $100,000 payment for George's family.

In January 2004, CBC News obtained surveillance videotapes taken by police officers in September 1995, one of which contains racist remarks made by police officers the day before George's death.

Representatives of George's family say the attitude the officers had toward natives "makes it pretty easy to shoot an Indian."

The OPP said it didn't condone the remarks and that the two officers recorded on the tape had been disciplined. One was sent to sensitivity training; the contract of the other officer was not renewed.

On April 20, 2004 - more than eight years after the death of Dudley George - a public inquiry into the events surrounding his death opened. Seventeen groups and individuals were granted standing for the first part of the inquiry, giving them the right to call and cross-examine witnesses.

"For one thing, English has an extraordinary number of adjectives that are not so much descriptions of things, as they are conclusions about things...adjectives like horrible, uplifting, disgusting, inspiring, delightful, tedious and so on. When you really look at them, you discover that they dont tell us much about things-in-themselves, but only about the judgments speakers have made about them--and want the rest of us to accept." (Rupert Ross, 1996, p. 102)

Excerpt from THE TRUTH ABOUT STORIES – A Native Narrative by Thomas King

Ó 2003 Dead Dog Cafe Productions Inc.

We live in a strange world, do we not? We know that alcohol and tobacco are highly addictive drugs, yet we allow their use as part of our ongoing social activities. We encourage companies to ferment a variety of liquors and manufacture cigarettes and cigars of every shape and size, chewing tobacco and snuff. We make few objections to corporate suggestions that drinking and smoking are pleasurable, that these products will help you to be accepted. Even loved.

At the same time, because we understand alcohol and tobacco and their potential for disaster, we maintain boundaries around these highly profitable drugs. Loose ones to be sure. We don't say that you can't smoke or that you can't drink, we just put age limits on these activities and try to regulate where and when you can do them.

You can't smoke in public buildings; do it outside.

You can't drink and drive a car; call a taxi.

But with other drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine, we have no such understanding. These are banned addictive drugs even though they have much the same effects as alcohol and tobacco.

Sanctioned Addictive Drugs and Banned Addictive Drugs.

And the only real difference between them are the stories we tell.

The stories we tell about alcohol are romances. Wine is for lovers, single‑malt scotch for successful entrepreneurs, beer for young nubile women and virile young men who can't afford anything else.

The stories we tell about cigarettes are action adventures.

We smoke to look cool, to let the world know that we don't care. Screw you, we say, when we light up. You don't like it? Tough. You want a piece of me? Come and get it.

No one tells me what to do.

No one tells me what to do.

No one tells me what to do.

When I was younger, we drank beer to feel good and smoked to look good. We drove up and down the main streets of North America, with a six‑pack on the seat next to us in case we ran into a good time and our smokes rolled up in the sleeves of our T‑shirts so you could see our muscles.

Sanctioned Addictive Drugs. Banned Addictive Drugs.

But great stories. Very effective. Very enticing. Very hard to resist.

It would be simplistic to say that Sam's birth mother must have liked the story about alcohol, for there were probably other stories that she "liked" just as well ‑ the one about being poor, for example, or the one about being worthless ‑ but for Sam and her parents, the story was neither a romance nor an action adventure.

I know what you want to read next. You want to read how Amy and John dedicated their lives to helping Sam, how Family and Children's Services supported the Cardinals and provided them with assistance in coping with Sam's behaviour, how the school Sam went to set up a special program to help her succeed, how the health care community in the town where the Cardinals lived did research on FASD and discovered a methodology, a regimen of vitamins and exercises and special learning aids, perhaps, that allowed Sam to manage her condition, how the Cardinals' friends and neighbours came together, how the community helped to raise this troubled child.

What you want to read is how the distress of a child and a family engaged the compassionate and ethical responses for which North America is supposed to be famous.

Yeah.

That's a story I'd like to read, too.

Unfortunately, North America has no such ethics.

Really we don't. Now, I'm not saying that we don't have any ethics. I'm just suggesting that we don't have the ones we think we have.

For example, in North America, we talk about our environmental ethic. And we point to instances such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska that devastated miles of coastline and the response of the public to that disaster ‑ when hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people rushed in with mops and sponges and began cleaning seabirds, while crews with high‑powered steam units blasted the oil off rocks, and boats with oil‑retardant chemicals and oil‑containing booms surrounded the spill and sucked it up ‑ as proof that such an ethic exists. Certainly the outcry over the offence was loud and sustained.

And then there was Enron.

Remember that one? Business ethics. When it was discovered that the company's directors had cooked the books, that they had lied about Enron's economic health to make the stock's position in the market look much better than it was, that they had made substantial profits just prior to the collapse by selling off their personal holdings, investors and the public stood ready to lynch everyone involved in the scandal.

To listen to the noise generated by these two events, you would have thought that we cared.

But, in fact, we don't. Not in any ethical way.

Oh, sure, we don't like oil on our beaches, and we don't like to be robbed. In this day and age, oil tankers, we insist, are supposed to be safe. Financial institutions are supposed to be bastions of integrity.

But we do nothing to prevent such disasters from happening again. And if they do (as they most certainly will), our reaction will be the same, because the story we tell about moments such as these is that they shouldn't have happened, that they're someone else's fault, that they're the price we pay for our way of life, that there's no way to avoid them completely, that the environment and investor confidence will recover eventually.

John and I were friends. Good friends. We went out for coffee at least once a week, caught the occasional action film, played a little golf, told jokes, talked. We went to Barbados together with our families and to Costa Rica, shared a cottage at Lake Simcoe, flew to British Columbia and skied Panorama. My kids played with his kids. I knew that Sam's behaviour was a problem, but when she was around other people and had things to keep her occupied, she managed reasonably well. There would be flare‑ups, to be sure, moments when everything came to a stop while we sorted out emotions.

And, of course, I expected that, as time went on and as Sam matured, the difficulties would work themselves out.

But they didn't. By the time Sam was a teenager, the behavioural problems had intensified. I told John that all teenagers go through difficult periods, that eventually they come out the other side as reasonable human beings. It was a platitude, something you say because it's what you're supposed to say, not because it's true, and both of us knew it.

John did not manage any of this very well. He was angry much of the time. Angry that Sam was the way she was, angry that Amy had insisted on adopting because she had wanted a daughter, angry because he felt trapped in a world not of his making, angry that they couldn't get any meaningful help from health professionals.

Angry that he was angry.

For my part, I began to keep my distance. I stopped calling. I made excuses. I didn't return his calls. Not all at once. Gradually. Until it was as though we had never known each other.

Then one day, I decided I should call and see how he was doing. Amy answered the phone. In the background, I could hear Sam abusing her mother, calling her a bitch and slamming doors. At one point Sam grabbed the phone and yelled "Fuck off" into the receiver. After that I listened to Amy's breathing, while Sam raged through the house, the sound of breakage trailing in her wake.

Is this a bad time? I asked.

No, Amy told me, no problem.

I felt guilty. Maybe John hadn't exaggerated the situation. I had been his friend, and I had done nothing to help.

Is John around? I asked.

No, said Amy.  He's not here anymore.

A number of years ago, the Canadian government closed down the cod industry on the East Coast. It was, in many ways, a futile gesture. The cod were already gone, had been going for years. The reason was simple. Overfishing. The government knew about the potential problem long before it became a problem. So did the fishers. Yet when the fishery wound up on death's doorstep, everyone seemed surprised, shocked, angry that such a thing had happened. The fishers blamed the government, the government blamed the fishers, everyone blamed the large offshore foreign trawlers as well as seals, global warming, El Nino, Native people, the decline of religion, illegal immigrants, and homosexuality.

Could such a thing have been prevented?

Of course.

            Okay, so why didn't we prevent it?

The oil industry and our oil‑based economy, not just in Canada but in the world, depend on two things for their continued existence. The ability of geologists to find new fields of oil and our willingness to ignore the obvious, that, at some point, we're going to run out of oil. This would suggest that reducing energy consumption, curbing the proliferation of private cars and multilane highways, and converting to sustainable and reliable sources of energy such as solar, tidal surge, or wind power would be our first priorities. In fact, we have no such priorities. We have only the hope that the exhaustion of the oil supply will not happen in our lifetime.

It's not that we don't care about ethics or ethical behaviour. It's not that we don't care about the environment, about society, about morality. It's just that we care more about our comfort and the things that make us comfortable ‑ property, prestige, power, appearance, safety. And the things that insulate us from the vicissitudes of life. Money, for instance.

Money is wonderful insulation. The more money you have, the higher the R‑value. It won't buy you happiness, but it will keep out the chill of poverty. It won't provide you with complete privacy, but it will keep the neighbours and the social workers at bay.

One of my sweet dreams is to be able to buy a piece of property on the ocean with a panorama of the coastline and the mountains. Lot number six at Rosie Bay in Tofino. I'd build a modest cedar‑plank house with nine‑foot coffered ceilings, hardwood floors, double‑hung windows with muntins, and a terrific kitchen ‑ Sub‑Zero refrigerator, six‑burner Aga gas stove, Miele dishwasher, dark granite countertops.

Maybe a modest koi pond just off the deck.

Oh, and a tile shower enclosure in the master bedroom with etched‑glass doors, multiple heads, and pewter vents near the floor to let in steam.

I have a cartoon on the wall next to my computer. It shows a wagon train of pioneer frogs in the middle of a desert. They look around the endless waste of sand and cactus and one frog says to the other, "We'll put the swamp here."

Insulation. And comfort.

I know. It's an easy job to be critical, easy enough to look around the world, easy enough to find bad behaviour everywhere, easy to say that the proof of what we truly believe lies in what we do and not in what we say.

So I'll say it.

Perhaps we shouldn't be displeased with the "environmental ethics" we have or the "business ethics" or the "political ethics" or any of the myriad of other codes of conduct suggested by our actions. After all, we've created them. We've created the stories that allow them to exist and flourish. They didn't come out of nowhere. They didn't arrive from another planet.

Want a different ethic? Tell a different story.

We could tell ourselves stories about community and co‑operation. We do that, you know. From time to time. Every so often, we hear a good disaster story ‑ families caught out by a flood, a town leveled by an earthquake, whales beaching themselves ‑ and we respond with a ferocity and moral resolve that does us proud.

A lost little girl in the forest will get us off our couches as quickly as a fire in the kitchen.

I was in Oklahoma City a few years back and stopped by the site of the federal building that Timothy McVeigh bombed to rubble. The people of Oklahoma City have turned it into a memorial, complete with a reflection pool, a grassy area, and a series of lighted glass chairs, one for every person killed in the blast. On the west side of the memorial is a run of cyclone fencing on which people have hung cards and photographs and words of sympathy, inspiration, and condolence. Here and there, teddy bears have been stuffed into the wire in memory of the children who had been in the daycare when the bomb exploded.

So perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps we do have the kind of ethics we imagine we have. Maybe they're just not steady. Not dependable. Ethics of the moment. Potential ethics. Ethics we can draw on when we feel the need to do so. Ethics that can be wrapped in newspaper and stored in the freezer. Seasonal ethics.

Annuals rather than perennials.

About six months ago, I ran into John on the golf course where we used to play. He was pleased to see me, he said, as we relaxed in the clubhouse, as happy as he deserved to be. The boys were managing well. Amy was coping with Sam. At least she didn't have to deal with his anger anymore.

They're better off without me, he said. Leaving was the best thing I could have done.

He didn't accuse me of deserting him, of not helping. And I didn't apologize for not being there when he and Amy could have used my help. Not help, perhaps. Sympathy. Comfort. Understanding. Just being there.

Would it have made a difference?

This is the question we always ask after we have given up.

I don't tell this story out loud because it's not much of a story. No plot. No neat ending. No clever turns of phrase. And because I always end up weeping. Not for John and Amy. Not for Sam's brothers. And not for Sam.

But for myself.

And for the world I've helped to create. A world in which I allow my intelligence and goodwill to be constantly subverted by my pursuit of comfort and pleasure. And because knowing all of this, it is doubtful that given a second chance to make amends for my despicable behaviour, I would do anything different, for I find it easier to tell myself the story of my failure as a friend, as a human being, than to have to live the story of making the sustained effort to help.

So you can see, the story about John and Amy Cardinal is not a story I want to tell. It is, quite probably, a story that I should not tell. It is certainly not a story that I want anyone to hear.

I could have made this up, you know. A sad story to play on your sympathies. An anecdote to give my concerns a human face.

I didn't.

But you've no reason to trust me when I say that I know John's story as well as I know my own.

After all, I'm a storyteller.

You can have it if you want. John's story, that is. Do with it what you will. I'd just as soon you forget it, or, at least, not mention my name if you tell it to friends. Just don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story.

You've heard it now.

PLASTIC SHAMAN

Do you think you are “Indian by 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” a.k.a. 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?”
 
Please understand the following points about Native spiritual ways:

Native belief systems are COMMUNAL, not focused on the individual’s faith like Christianity.

Native beliefs are TRIBAL-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.  These 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 being anti-Semitic. Think about the lack of respect these operators show to native people and beliefs, not mention 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.

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.

Copyright 2001, Our Red Earth Organization  Reprinted with permission.
Contributed by bigi__@yahoo.com

Both the United States and Canada try desperately to ignore the problem Think of some of the most significant news in the past few years: the beating of Rodney King and the events at Waco would certainly be among the top ten. Now imagine these events occurred at the exact same time, and every newspaper, every radio or TV news show is competing to keep the nation abreast of the latest developments, and the nation hangs on every word. But a few miles down the road, you can read a newspaper or listen to a broadcast without hearing either event mentioned at all. The biggest stories of the day have just...disappeared.

Unbelievable? Not at all. This is exactly what happened last month, as important events in Canada were all but ignored by the American press. And it certainly wasn't the first time. We have a blind spot when it comes to our nearest neighbor; should Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa simultaneously burn to the ground, the New York Times would probably run a small story headlined, "Smoky Haze Expected Over Northeast."

Besides America's provincial attitude, there could be another reason why these recent events were neglected. At the heart of each story is the same troubling dispute, one that both the United States and Canada try desperately to ignore. The problem: the rights of the Native people from whom the land was stolen.

Clearcutting had all but destroyed traditional hunting and trapping territory          "The much-predicted Indian revolution in Canada has begun," wrote one Ottawa columnist in early September. At that time, tensions ran high in Canada. More than a thousand miles apart, different groups of Native people were in stand-offs with police, protecting their claims to small scraps of land. Both were surrounded by heavily-armed troops ready to open fire. Already a Native man was dead, and it appeared that there would soon be more fatalities; at least one man promised he would defend their land to his death. A few days after that column was written, three more were wounded in a gunfight with police.

At the same time, there were other confrontations that didn't make Canadian headlines. Some of these were fought in the forests, others on the rivers. Although these events were not as dramatic, they do more to explain the underlying problems.

One battle was fought in the deep woods of British Columbia, just a few miles from the southernmost tip of Alaska. The conflict had been simmering for years, as clearcutting had all but destroyed traditional hunting and trapping territory of a group of Gitksan people. When the timber company obtained a permit from the government in June to cut another 88 acres, the tribe drew the line. "Out of our entire territory, this is the last little piece of forest we have left. The rest is clearcut or alpine," one of the protesters told a reporter. "This particular area is the last remaining stand for our [tribal group]. Now it is threatened."

The group blockaded roads used for logging until the timber company obtained a court order. The province of British Columbia also sought an injunction against the tribe, the Attorney General stating that the government will not tolerate any public inconvenience on the roads.

The only public suffering an "inconvenience," of course, were the loggers, but no matter; the place to discuss the issue was at the bargaining table, the government said, not the barricades. "We are committed to the legitimate land-claims process at the treaty commission table," said the B.C. Attorney General. "As soon as this kind of blockade occurs, the negotiations are off."

Right-wingers claimed that Natives had "special rights" that screwed the hard-working white majority     But like their U.S. counterparts, Canadian Native people say the government doesn't keep its word. Treaties are honored when they serve business interests and conveniently ignored when they don't.

And these laws defining Native rights aren't all dusty 19th century agreements; one of the most controversial is a 1990 ruling by the Canadian Supreme Court. Known as the "Sparrow" decision, the court unanimously said that Native rights were not to be infringed -- unless there were no reasonable alternatives.

In theory, this meant that tribes no longer had to compete with corporations for the same resources. A group that traditionally fished, for example, would be guaranteed that mammoth trawlers wouldn't be allowed to scoop up the season's entire harvest.

But in practice, it was business as usual. On the rivers near Vancouver, five tribes were promised a catch of over 50,000 salmon by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Yet only a fraction of that number were caught by the tribes; many came away empty handed. What happened to those guarantees?

One problem was because 1995 proved a lousy year for salmon; another reason was because of political gamesmanship. Right-wingers in the Reform (conservative) Party claimed that Natives had "special rights" that screwed the hard-working white majority. One politician who hammered on that theme was Member of Parliment John Cummins, a founder of the "Fisheries Survival Coalition." Throughout the summer, Cummins and the Survival Coalition staged media events -- at taxpayer expense -- to press the government into backing away from promises made to the tribes.

Cummins and his group won; soon the tribal fishermen found their salmon allocation given to the commercial fisheries. All they could do was watch helplessly as the food for their children was dredged from the rivers with gill nets.

Clarence Pennier, Grand Chief of the Sto:lo Nation, wrote of the anger and resentment this decision caused in a letter to a Vancouver newspaper. "The Sto:lo chiefs are left trying to explain to our young people that they should still stay within the law. These same young people turn on their televison sets, and every night they see more Survival Coalition protests. In the newspapers, they read more complaints that the Sto:lo enjoy 'racially-segregated commercial fishing,' 'rights based on race' and 'native-only fisheries.' They stay glued to their radios listening for the latest news out of Gustafsen Lake."

It was the events at Gustafsen Lake in central British Columbia that gripped not only the Sto:lo youth, but the entire nation. At the same time of the salmon wars near Vancover, at the same time as the Gitksan logging blockade, at the same time as another conflict in Ontario left a Native man dead, the nation watched as the Canadian army prepared for a bloody siege.

Threats to "hang the red nigger" were allegedly made          Comparisons between Gustafsen Lake and the confrontation at Waco, Texas, are easy to make. In both cases, the police and military mobilized unprecedented forces, more appropriate to waging war. Both events were led by a religious man. But the small group of men and women at Gustafsen Lake were hardly a trained, well-armed bunch like the Branch Davidians. And Percy Rosette was certainly no David Koresh.

As a sundancer, Rosette approached a white rancher in 1988, asking if he could use a small portion of his 18,000 acres for midsummer religious ceremonies. A vision had led him there, telling him that it was a sacred spot. The rancher didn't mind, as long as no one bothered the sport fishermen and hunters who also used the lake and woods.

In the years that followed, Gustafsen Lake gradually became known as a spiritual place. Each July more sundancers gathered to practice their religion, making neighboring whites increasingly nervous.

Then this year, Rosette and his followers built a fence around the site to protect it from being defiled by the rancher's cattle. To the whites it broke the informal agreement between the sundancers and the landowner; this was the last straw.

The fence was more than a fence; the whites saw it as a landclaim. Like Cummins had stirred up hatred against the Native people over fishing rights, other members of the right-wing Reform Party had hinted darkly that there were secret treaty negotiations going on, that the Canadian government was about to sieze ranch land and hand it over to the Indians. A backlash group calling itself the Foundation for Individual Rights and Equality (FIRE) claimed more than 3,000 members, including the rancher who owned Gustafsen Lake. "The so-called land-claims settlements which these governments propose which to negotiate exceed all legal entitlements and will destroy the livelihoods of many citizens and communities," the group said in a recent release.

About a dozen cowboys employed by the rancher confronted the sundancers, ordering them off the land. Threats to "hang the red nigger" were allegedly made to Rosette. One of the cowboys returned later with a bullwhip, promising that a group of ranchers were gathering to burn them out.

So here is another parallel to Waco: none of these events had to happen. If the rancher had simply called the RCMP, the situation would likely have defused. But instead, the confrontation spun quickly out of control. The cowboys bragged of their courageous showdown, gaining support of local racists. At the same time, supporters of the Rosette and the other sundancers came to the defense of their sacred site, bringing guns.

And then the cars of police began to arrive. Then trucks of soldiers. Then tanks. The press rushed into the area, wiring breathless reports across the nation. British Columbia's Attorney General -- who just days before had made his "no public inconvenience" comments about the logging roadblock -- stated, "There is no point in more meetings. I will not negotiate with renegades. There is only one issue here: law and order. There will be no deals, no talk about land ownership. It is not about land. They can give themselves up to the police for protection or face the consequences. The police will use whatever force is necessary to dislodge them."

Tensions increased when two officers were bruised by gunfire aimed at their car, protected from serious injury by bulletproof vests. Things became worse when police and the sundancers engaged in a two hour gunbattle, the mounties firing thousands of rounds. One mountie later compared it to firefights in the Vietnam War. Three Native men were wounded. They did not have the protection of bulletproof vests.

The press eagerly followed the government's lead, calling the group at Gustafsen Lake "thugs," "militants," "radicals," "armed rebels," and "nutbars." A lawyer for the sundancers later complained, "The police have deliberately recruited the media to prejudice this case." Until the confrontation was over, none of the Canadian press noted the threats made by the cowboys that escalated the conflict.

These are the final comparisons to Waco: it became a media event and an plum assignment for hundreds of cops. Reporters and mounties filled the hotel rooms in the small resort town nearby; restaurants were busy night and day. T-shirts were sold to the idle mounties, reading "Camp Overtime." When the Natives at the site surrendered in mid-September, the bill became due: $6 million dollars -- over $250,000 per day, and that is not even counting military costs. All to capture twelve men and women.

Newspapers leaned hard on the "Indians on the warpath" angle but took little notice of legitimate grievances   It is easy to see why the latest news from Gustafsen Lake captivated Native youths. Here was a group standing up for what they believed, against impossible odds. No more standing on the roadside, watching the RCMP dismantle barricades protecting their woods, no more standing on the shore watching trawlers sweep their fish from the river. It was possible to fight back.

While the stand-off at Gustafsen Lake was ocurring in British Columbia, yet another confrontation was in the Ontario headlines. Like at Gustafsen Lake, it found a group of Native women and men defending land against heavily armed police. But unlike the other conflict, a Native man died from a police bullet.

These events took place on the shores of Lake Huron, about 50 miles northeast of Detroit. The lands in question were clearly property of the Chippewa; Canada had acknowledged this, and promised to return it to the tribe -- someday.

Behind the events is a classic example of how Natives have been swindled in this century. Some of their lakefront property went to real estate speculators in the 1920's. A major portion was temporarily leased to the Canadian military in the 1930's, and still more was taken by the government under emergency law when WWII began. It would be a temporary army camp, the government said, and returned at war's end.

The government lied. For more than half a century it remained Camp Ipperwash -- as the military base was called -- despite repeated demands for its return. With its scenic location on the shores of Lake Huron, it became a recreational facility for the army and a summer training camp for cadets.

For decades, resentments simmered at the theft of their homelands. Negotiations for the return of the army base stalled whenever elections brought new politicians into power, and later, the question of how the government would pay for the considerable environmental cleanup required.

Most galling was the treatment of their burial grounds, now part of a regional park. The Chippewa rightly wanted this land too, but the government refused to concede that it was their cemetery.

The Chippewas took matters into their own hands in early September and occupied the park. Within hours, riot police surrounded the area. Two days later in a confrontation with tribal members, Anthony "Dudley" George was killed and a 16 year-old boy was shot twice in the back. The Chippewa were unarmed. Like the press coverage of Gustafsen Lake, newspapers leaned hard on the "Indians on the warpath" angle but took little notice of the many legitimate grievances behind their anger.

Canada has now promised a speedy return of the army base, and after confronted with government documents, agrees that the park was indeed their burial ground. One sticking point: the ultra-conservative government of Ontario still refuses to acknowledge that the graves exist.

The most significant legacy might be an emerging militancy           

Besides Ipperwash, Gustafsen Lake, the Sto:lo and Gitksan struggles, there were still other conflicts between Native people and Canada, all during the months of August and September. One is the story of Bella Coola, which we'll feature in a December edition of the Albion Monitor.

In each case, the right-wing of Canada used the occasion to gain further ground, pointing to the incident as proof that Natives intend to steal their land or livelihood. Even the recent debate over Quebec sovereignty was tainted by racist appeals when one of the separatist leaders criticized Quebec women as responsible for the lowest birth-rate among "white races." To no one's surprise, the Cree tribe, which with the Inuit and others claim about two-thirds of Quebec territory, voted almost unanimously against the separatists.

But the most significant legacy of these events might be an emerging militancy on the part of younger Native men and women. "My predecessor, Georges Erasmus, warned in 1988 that if Canada failed to deal with our leadership now, the next generation of leaders would be much more militant," said Ovide Mercredi, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the officially-sanctioned agency which represents all Canadian tribes. "I am truly afraid that day is coming."

Mercredi, who helped negotiate settlements at both Gustafsen Lake and Ipperwash, is seen by some as part of the problem. Also in mid-September, a group of Native protesters occupied AFN offices, complaining that it has not given enough support to natives fighting for land rights. A spokesperson said that Mercredi and all government-sponsored chiefs are government employees whose job is to negotiate forever.

"These guys [at the barricades] don't see the AFN as a legitimate Indian voice," an expert in contemporary Native issues told a Canadian newspaper. "It is the creation of a foreign instrument of oppression."

Unless the events of August and September were a fluke, dangerous times are ahead for Canada. No longer are the Native peoples willing to negotiate for decades, only to have their small gains ignored. The government will have to acknowledge the wrongs of its past and make amends, which is likely to incite the right-wing to further anger and violence.

The Canadian press will have to reexamine its willingness to parrot the anti-Native rhetoric from government and police officials. They could begin by asking themselves a few simple questions: were the events at Gustafsen Lake and Ipperwash really just the actions of isolated "radicals" and "nutbars," or could they be part of an emerging civil rights movement?

One of the Natives involved with the peaceful surrender at Gustafsen Lake watched as the sundancers were taken into custody. "This isn't the end of the story -- it's the beginning," he said. Nearby on a fence hung a banner that promised what the future may hold. It read: "Mohawk Warrior Society." The same banner was reported at Ipperwash. None of the Canadian press seem to notice the connection. After all, there were no similarities between the two protests at all, in their eyes.

The Native Truth
A column dedicated to historical truth and human rights activism
of the American Indian

Editor/Historical Activist: Terri Jean
Director of The Red Roots Educational Project
Contact: the native_truth-owner@yahoogroups.com
Established year 2000
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Cultural Theft
When honoring and borrowing one's cultural identity
turns into thievery
by Terri Jean

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"Among the Indians there have been no written laws. Customs handed down from generation to generation have been the only laws to guide them. Every one might act different from what was considered right did he choose to do so, but such acts would bring upon him the censure of the Nation.... This fear of the Nation's censure acted as a mighty band, binding all in one social, honorable compact."
~ George Copway (Kah-ge-ga-bowh) ~ Ojibwa, 1818-1863
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Not too long ago, an acquaintance introduced me to his new "Indian pal" who moved just across the road. The first thing I noticed about this fella was his beaded war bonnet dangling from his rear view mirror and a hand-painted "Cherokee Proud" sign proudly mounted to his back bumper. When invited inside, the man's wife smiled and showed me into her family room and, when learning of who I was, proceeded to show off her DreamCatcher (hanging above the sofa,) Hamilton plate collection of various Native scenes, an "Indian" doll collection, her crystal "spirituality" necklace and even a Native American nativity set sitting upon the television. I politely left - handing them subscription information to my column - right around thetime they pulled out the plans for building their own backyard Sweat Lodge and kids teepee.

When we departed my acquaintance asked "What did you think?" And my only reply was... "So many are misguided... They want to become part of something they only know through books and movies - material stolen from Native people and then warped to meet an outsiders needs. I see it all the time..."

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"First they came to take our land and water, then our fish and game. ...Now they want our religions as well. All of a sudden, we have a lot of unscrupulous idiots running around saying they're medicine people. And they'll sell you a sweat lodge ceremony for fifty bucks. It's not only wrong, its obscene. Indians don't sell their spirituality to anybody, for any price. This is just another in a very long series of thefts from Indian people and, in some ways, this is the worst one yet."
Janet McCloud, Tulalip. Source: Z Magazine, Dec.`90
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Stolen? What do you mean it's stolen?

Indigenous activists from all over the world fight to retain their cultural and intellectual property - a battle fought with opponents who, for the most part, do not even realize they are committing an offensive act. And even if they do know their actions are questionable, they often justify it in one manner or another. In this month's Native Truth column, we'll examine the definition of Wannabe's, Twinkies, and Exploiters and perhaps shed some light on these controversial issues.

What is Cultural Property?
Culture is the expression of a group of people: their values, language, music, literature, healing practices, traditions, spiritual belief system, agriculture, art, names, holidays, folklore, and ceremonies.

Are you a Wannabe?
There is a difference between a person who seeks to learn more about Native Americans in general (or are in search of their Native American ancestry) - and a Wannabe Indian. Actually, a respectable admiration of tribal people is a compliment - as is a desire to locate long-lost bloodties and connect with distant relatives from all
over the planet.

On the other hand, a Wannabe Indian is a person who wants to be
involved in the culture - whether they have the bloodties or not. They mimic what they see on television - usually a romanticized or nature-oriented images - and read white-washed books that explain indigenous matter from a non-Native point of view. He gains knowledge from erroneous material and, often times, thinks he knows all he
needs to know to `be an Indian.' In reality, he knows little (or nothing at all) on the current plight and issues of the Native people, rather choosing to live his life within the boundaries of distorted images, fictionalized "wisdom" and circumstances of days gone by.

He speaks for "his people" and often times collects all that is "Indian." Trinkets from the gas station, Sitting Bull T-shirts made in Korea, and Dream Catchers purchased at the local craft mall. All of this is meant to make him feel more part of the Native
community - though he's probably never been to a Native community to begin with.

I'm sure that no one reading this column wishes to be placed in the Wannabe category. Here's a few tips to keep you from receiving such a label:

* Items such as the Native American Barbie, non-Native made Dream Catchers, little plastic headdresses (for the car), Hamilton plates and figurines, medicine bags, calendars, posters, greeting cards, Cowboy & Indian toys, and Indian blankets made in Korea are considered, by many, to be insulting. Rather, buy genuine products and support genuine Native American people and businesses.

* Research Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus day before you celebrate them.

* Purchase Native American books, movies and music from well-known American Indians.

* Know that movies like Dances with Wolves are not accurate history lessons or Native representation.

* Be leery of Native American/New Age crap. Tarot (Medicine) cards, crystal jewelry, "Native American Spirituality" books, Medicine Wheel readings and "Totem Quests" are - to be honest - a bunch of bull.

* Do not try to look "Indian" by dying your hair and braiding them, wearing feathered headbands, or wearing "Native American" clothing.

* Learn more about Native issues such as Leonard Peltier's freedom, mascot, treaty rights, sovereignty, casino's, and so on. Support them when you can.

* Don't give yourself a Native American name.

* If you want to be part of the Native culture, you must first know their history and meet their people. And if you have Native bloodties, take the time to try and fill in your family tree. Then you'll know where you truly belong.

* Do not participate in - or reconstruct for yourself - a ceremony or ritual that is not of your people (such as the sweat lodge, vision quest, etc) unless invited by an reputable person. And never pay to participate in one.

* LISTEN! You can only gain wisdom by learning from others.

BEWARE of TWINKIES!
A Twinkie goes a bit further than a Wannabe. While most Wannabe's are harmless admirers of Native cultures, Twinkies are people who claim to be Indian just so they can swindle you out of money and rob you spiritually. They are usually attention seekers masquerading as enlightened Shamans, spiritual teachers, healers or leaders. An example would be those who charge $100 a pop to put you through the paces of a Vision Quest or a Sweat Lodge (true spiritual leaders never charge for their services.) I've seen some people charge up to $3000 for a week-long "Native American" Spiritual Workshop, or $50.00 for a crystal healing ceremony. Twinkies to watch out for include: Grace Spotted Eagle and Wallace Black Elk (Sweat Lodge Workshops), Osheana Fast, Bear Tribe Medicine Society, WolfVision Quest, Inc., Quanda the "Healing Woman", and Cyfus McDonald

Twinkie authors are quite common and often have a following. Jamie Sams, Ted Andrews, Mary Summer Rain, Sun Bear, and Brook Medicine Eagle are just a few that need to be avoided.

Many of the Twinkies are peddling Native American Spirituality - targeting people searching for a deeper sense of self and a connection with a deity, and with the earth. These Twinkies borrow from various beliefs and practices - combining them into a New Age religion that can be sold over the Internet via books, chants, candles, crystals and so on. This New Age trend is actually a distorted image of various Native practices and rituals and in no way reflects the true belief systems of Native people and communities.
These Twinkies are indeed stealing from the Native people, and to do so is not only wrong (supposedly going against all that they preach to begin with) but it is also patronizing, and insulting.

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"Each one must learn for himself the highest wisdom. It cannot be taught in words."
~ Smowhala ~ Wanapum
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And then there's the EXPLOITERS And now we get to the bottom of the barrel. Most exploiters are profit-hungry companies mass-producing various cultural knockoff's - selling everything from Medicine Bags, blankets and turquoise jewelry to "peace pipes," Jeep Cherokee vehicles, and Crazy Horse Beer. Even Disney falls into this category - making millions from their inaccurate and stereotypical children's movie and merchandise, Pocahontas.

Just last month I involved myself in an intriguing email "discussion" pertaining to the issue of cultural theft with a California man who calls himself "Aboriginal Steve." Now... aboriginal Steve proudly sells boomerangs and even teaches people how
to use them. But what Steve does for a living isn't necessarily the issue - the problem lies with his chosen name and the image he portrays to the public.

When Steve and I started "chatting," the first question I needed answered was whether he was "Aboriginal." After all, when I heard the name "Aboriginal Steve" I immediately assumed he was a Native Australian Aborigine. Steve responded: "You are aware that I do not speak for Indigenous People of Australia" and that he was born in California. He also stated that his using the word "Aboriginal" was not, in his opinion, offensive and that there are more important issues facing the worlds indigenous people that should be addressed. My response was as follows:

~ Though I agree with you that health care, education, etc. are important issues, so is cultural theft. Today aboriginal people are stereotyped in the media, in the news, in literature and in history books. When for-profits use Native names, images and cultural practices as ways and means of making money, it adds to those stereotypes... which then escalates the other problems such as health care and education. It turns Native people into characters rather than a group of people, thusly encouraging society to think of them in terms of images and clichés - which makes it easier to deny them rights, historical accuracy and respect. After all, if their not really people, and their race is not respected, it's easy to disregard their needs. This, in my opinion, is the heart of all Native issues.... Cultural theft definitely needs to be addressed. Once people realize that it IS a big deal, then the other problems can be dealt with. To call yourself something that you are not - and to do it as a market ploy to sell a product  -perpetrates the problem. It's that simple. ~

"Aboriginal Steve" responded by saying that "Acceptance and sharing is the only thing that will reduce [hate and fear]" - in which I responded that Native people have "shared" everything (via force, "conquest," friendship, agreement, and so on) and have only their culture to hold on to. Now non-Natives such as Steve wants to "share" in that also. Participating in the identity of a group that wishes you not to "share" in their culture is, indeed, cultural theft.

And Steve is doing exactly that. Many within the Aboriginal Australian community are strongly opposed to the use of the name "Aboriginal"... especially to sell boomerangs. The term is a part of their identity and he is using that identity to sell a product from their culture - marketing it as though he, himself, was a member of that group. I have spoken to many Aboriginals in Australia currently fighting against business owners like Steve and I feel sympathetic to their cause - a cause very similar to the Cultural Theft issue fought by Native American Indians here in the states.

Unfortunately, capitalists such as Steve litter the globe - offending and insulting as they go. A few examples: Cherokee line of clothing, a baseball team called "The Redskins," butter with an Indian Princess on the label, and how can we forget the Eskimo pie?

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I think it's safe to say that nobody wants to be a Twinkie. Unfortunately, the Wannabe people of the IWISHIWAS tribe is increasing - and so is the concern from the Native people who wish to protect their folklore, art, literature, music, spiritual beliefs,
ceremonies and basic cultural practices. It may soon be a matter for the courts; a cultural copyright issue sure to spark controversy and raise opposition from pseudo-Indians, Twinkies and big-businesses alike.

What is comes down to is this: The Native people have had nearly everything stolen from them. Land, homes, children, burial grounds, and more. Do we really need to say to them "And now we want everything else. And we're not waiting for an invitation."

The irony is: most Native principals are based on RESPECT. Stealing one's cultural identity and metamorphosing it into your own belief system is not only narcissistic, it's the epitome of DISRESPECT. You cannot be a Wannabe, a Twinkie or an Exploiter and honor the people that you are exploiting. It's that simple.

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What to Read and What to Avoid

There are many talented, reputable Native American authors. A few of my favorite are: Vine Deloria, Jr., Paula Gunn Allen, Janet Campbell Hale, Joseph Bruchac, Anna Lee Walters, Twylah Hurd Nitsch, and N. Scott Momaday.

You should avoid the following books:

Alice Dalgliesh, The Courage of Sarah Noble. New York: Macmillan
(1954, 1991)

Ann Rinaldi, My Heart Is On the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl. Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880. New York: Scholastic (1999)

The Indian in the Cupboard and The Return of the Indian. Both use stereotypical imagery including broken speech: "I help... I go... Big hole. I go through... Want fire. Want make dance. Call spirits."

The Education of Little Tree - written under the pseudonym, Forrest Carter who claimed to be an orphaned Cherokee. In reality, the author was Earl Carter, a former member of the KKK and speechwriter for George Wallace.

Susan Jeffers, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, Illustrated by the author. New York: Dial (1991).

Ann Turner, The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl. New Mexico, 1864. New York: Scholastic (1999), Dear America Series

Albert Marrin, Sitting Bull and His World. New York: Dutton (2000)

Elizabeth George Speare, The Sign of the Beaver. New York: Dell (1983)

Michael L. Cooper, Indian School: Teaching the White Man's Way. New York: Clarion (1999). Possibly one of the worst books I've read on the Indian Boarding School experience. He gave a presentation on Book-TV once and a child asked him if he spoke to any Native people when writing the book. He said no, because it was a bad experience for them and they didn't like to talk about it. Of all the books
I've reviewed, this one was my least favorite.

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PLASTIC MEDICINE MEN

A Resolution of the 5th Annual Meeting of the Traditional Elders

Circle

     ED. NOTE: This resolution was made at the Meeting of the Elders Circle at Northern Cheyenne Nation, Two Moons Camp, Rosebud Creek, Montana, on October 5, 1980. It represents an early response of many by traditional elders as well as by the American Indian Movement and others to clarify that the Native American spiritual tradition is not for sale, is not legitimately sold, and that the components of the religion must be kept in balance by highly trained leaders who are legitimate representatives of the tribes. The elders feel that in many cases the appropriation of Native spirituality by non-Indians is another attempt by

the dominant culture to take from the Indians, and shows considerable disrespect for the Native tradition and culture.

It has been brought to the attention of the Elders and their representatives in council that various individuals are moving about this Great Turtle Island and across the great waters to foreign soil, purporting to be spiritual leaders. They carry pipes and other objects sacred to the Red Nations, the indigenous people of the western hemisphere.

These individuals are gathering non-Indian people as followers who believe they are receiving instructions of the original people. We the Elders and our representatives sitting in Council give warning to these non-Indian followers that it is our understanding that this is not a proper process and the authority to carry these sacred objects is given by the people, and the purpose and procedure is specific to time and the needs of the people.

The medicine people are chosen by the medicine, and long instruction and discipline are necessary before ceremonies and healing can be done. These procedures are always in the Native tongue; there are no exceptions and

profit is not the motivation.

There are many Nations with many and varied procedures specifically for the welfare of their people. These processes and ceremonies are of the most Sacred Nature. The Council finds the open display of these ceremonies contrary to these Sacred instructions.

Therefore, be warned that these individuals are moving about preying upon the spiritual needs and ignorance of our non-Indian brothers and sisters. The value of these instructions and ceremonies is questionable, maybe meaningless, and hurtful to the individual carrying false messages. There are questions that should be asked of these individuals:

     What Nation do they represent?

     What is their Clan and Society?

     Who instructed them and where did they learn?

     What is their home address?

We concern ourselves only with those people who use spiritual ceremonies with non-Indian people for profit. There are many things to be shared with the Four Colors of humanity in our common destiny as one with our Mother the Earth. It is this sharing that must be considered with great care by the Elders and the medicine people who carry the Sacred Trusts, so that no harm may come to people through ignorance and misuse of these powerful forces.

     Signed,

Austin Two Moons, Northern Cheyenne Nation; Larry Anderson, Navajo Nation;

Thomas Banyacya, Hopi Independent Nation; Frank Cardinal, Sr., Chateh, Alberta; Phillip Deer, Muskogee (Creek) Nation; Walter Denny, Chippewa-Cree Nation; Chief Fools Crow, Lakota Nation; Peter O'Chiese, Entrance, Alberta; Izador Thorn, Washington; Tadadaho, Haudenassaunee; Tom Yellowtail, Wyola MT.

NOTE: The Elders charged the American Indian Movement and others with responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the Indian traditions. AIM then made a resolution in 1984 naming some of those whom the Elders have in mind, and asserting, among other things, that "attempted theft of Indian ceremonies is a direct attack and theft from Indian people themselves." Some of those named are non-Indian authors and ritual leaders; others may be native Americans, but may also be distanced from their tribes and not designated as representatives of the people.

Consuming Native American Spirituality

Commercial exploitation of Native American spiritual traditions has permeated the New Age movement since its emergence in the 1980s. Euro-Americans professing to be medicine people have profited from publications and workshops. Mass quantities of products promoted as "Native American sacred objects" have been successfully sold by white entrepreneurs to a largely non-Indian market. This essay begins with an overview of these acts of commercialization as well as Native Americans' objections to such practices. Its real focus, however, is the motivation behind the New Agers' obsession and consumption of Native American spirituality. Why do New Agers persist in consuming commercialized Native American spirituality? What kinds of self-articulated defenses do New Agers offer for these commercial practices? To answer these questions, analysis from a larger social and economic perspective is needed to further understand the motivations behind New Age consumption.

In the so-called postmodern culture of late consumer capitalism, a significant number of white affluent suburban and urban middle-aged baby-boomers complain of feeling uprooted from cultural traditions, community belonging, and spiritual meaning. The New Age movement is one such response to these feelings. New Agers romanticize an "authentic" and "traditional" Native American culture whose spirituality can save them from their own sense of malaise. However, as products of the very consumer culture they seek to escape, these New Agers pursue spiritual meaning and cultural identification through acts of purchase. Although New Agers identify as a countercultural group, their commercial actions mesh quite well with mainstream capitalism. Ultimately, their search for spiritual and cultural meaning through material acquisition leaves them feeling unsatisfied. The community they seek is only imagined, a world conjured up by the promises of advertised products, but with no history, social relations, or contextualized culture that would make for a sense of real [End Page 329] belonging. Meanwhile, their fetishization of Native American spirituality not only masks the social oppression of real Indian peoples but also perpetuates it.


The Rainbow Tribe: New Agers Identifying with Native American Spiritual Traditions

 The term New Age is often used to refer to a movement that emerged in the 1980s. Its adherents ascribe to an eclectic amalgam of beliefs and practices, often hybridized from various cultures. New Agers tend to focus on what they refer to as personal transformation and spiritual growth. Many of them envision a literal New Age, which is described as a period of massive change in the future when people will live in harmony with nature and each other. Only in this New Age will they realize the full extent of human potential, including spiritual growth, the development of psychic abilities, and optimum physical health through alternative healing. Most New Agers contend that this transformation will not take place through concerted political change directed at existing structures and institutions. Rather, it will be achieved through individual personal transformation.

The New Age is only a movement in the loosest sense of the term. There is no circumscribed creed or defined tenets in the New Age movement. Nor are there any requirements for membership, although studies show most tend to be white, middle-aged, and college educated, with a middle- to upper-middle-class income. Estimates of people identifying with the New Age movement tend to run from ten to twenty million. Exact numbers are difficult to ascertain, however, because many New Age books have seeped into the mainstream and have influenced the views of people not consciously identified with the movement. The New Age is thus not a strictly defined community headed by formally recognized leaders with an articulated dogma. Rather, it is a term that is applied to a heterogeneous collection of philosophies and practices. There is a wide and burgeoning number of practices associated with the New Age, including interests in shamanism, goddess worship, Eastern religions, crystals, pagan rituals, extraterrestrials, and channeling spirit beings. "Native American spirituality" is among the most popular interests. 1

It is my contention that the New Age is primarily a consumerist movement. There are a minority of adherents who live together and try to incorporate New Age philosophies and practices into all aspects of their lives. Some incorporate these practices into part of their lives by taking workshops and engaging in New Age practices in their spare time. However, the majority of those who identify themselves as New Age (or who could be reasonably labeled as such by others) participate primarily through the purchase of texts and products [End Page 330] targeted for the New Age market. Native American spirituality is one of the most popular and profitable sectors of this New Age commercialism. 2

In this essay, the term New Agers is used to refer to the sector that is interested in Native American spiritual traditions. Certainly, not everyone involved in the New Age movement is interested in Native American spirituality. Moreover, there is diversity among those interested New Agers. A small percentage constructs their essential identity around Native American religion. A number of those who identify themselves as members of "the Rainbow Tribe" arguably fit into this category. Some Rainbow Tribe members spend time in communities they form, engaged in their own version of Native American rituals. However, many New Agers interested in Native American spirituality participate only through commercially run seminars or the purchase of texts and products. This article is primarily concerned with New Agers whose interest in Native American spirituality is expressed through commercial pursuits. Although entrepreneurs will be discussed in the overview of New Age commercialization of Native American spirituality, their motivations are not the subject of this analysis (arguably, they are shrewd businessmen and women who know how to tap into lucrative markets). Rather, this essay seeks to explain why New Age consumers seek spiritual meaning through purchase.

Plastic Medicine Men for Hire

A number of "Plastic Medicine People" have surfaced in the New Age movement, typically Euro-Americans claiming mentorship by "authentic Native American medicine people." These "Shake and Bake Shamans," as some Native American activists have dubbed them, write best-selling books and lead expensive workshops claiming to teach their consumers "how to practice Native American spirituality."

By far, the biggest business in New Age appropriation of indigenous spirituality transpires in the publishing industry where plastic medicine authors are big sellers. Perhaps the most successful, not to mention notorious, is Lynn Andrews. Andrews has been dubbed the "Beverly Hills Shaman" by some of her New Age supporters and the less flattering epithet "Beverly Hills Witch" by a number of Native Americans criticizing her commercial exploitation of indigenous spiritual traditions. Controversy aside, she is a best-selling author, having made The New York Times and Los Angeles Times best-seller lists on numerous occasions. Andrews claims that her books are true accounts of her mentoring experiences with two Canadian Cree medicine women--Agnes Whistling Elk and Ruby Plenty Chiefs. In the first two books, these two elderly women supposedly teach Andrews Native American shaman techniques to help [End Page 331] her battle an evil sorcerer. In subsequent books, the trio encounters a flying horse capable of turning into rainbow colors and dolphins, who transmit Australian aboriginal dream visions via a eucalyptus tree antenna.

Another plastic shaman author, Mary Summer Rain, has a lucrative career, having published over fifteen books based on Native American spiritual themes and her mentor, a blind Indian woman she calls No-Eyes. 3 Interestingly, one of Lynn Andrews's mentors, Ruby Plenty Chiefs, is also blind. In Phantoms Afoot: Helping the Spirits Among Us, Summer Rain claims that No-Eyes entrusts her with a mission to help lost spirits find their way to the afterworld. In a stereotyped Tonto Speak, No-Eyes tells Summer Rain, "No-Eyes gonna be speakin' 'bout spirits who be stupid-dumb." 4

Native American activists have greatly castigated these works for their trivialization and commercialization of Native American spirituality. Nevertheless, the number of plastic shaman authors, not to mention their commercial success, continues to swell. Jamie Samms is a former country-western singer who claims to channel Leah, an entity supposedly living on Venus six hundred years in the future. Samms later seized on Native American spiritual themes. Samms claims that she was taught by the "thirteen clan mothers" who took human form during the Ice Age and then disappeared, leaving the "thirteen crystal skulls," one of which Samms claims to have seen. Samms teaches her readers how to call up the thirteen clan mothers by focusing on them, each of whom has her own shield and her own special abilities. 5 Don Le Vie Jr., who writes about Iron Thunderhorse, is supposedly of Algonquin heritage. Thunderhorse's teachings are a mishmash of Native American religion and other New Age favorites, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, and Ancient Druidism. 6 Mary Elizabeth Marlow writes about Beautiful Painted Arrow, a Picuris Pueblo-Ute who tells Marlow he has seen two kachinas landing in a space machine and explains his philosophy through allusions to Dances with Wolves. 7 Doug Boyd has written on two Native American medicine men, Rolling Thunder and Mad Bear, both affiliated with the New Age. 8 Taisha Abelar is a former anthropologist who encountered a Mexican sorceress while wandering through the mountains of Tucson in the 1960s. She traveled to the woman's home in Sonora, Mexico, to live with this woman who turned out to be from the same family of sorcerers that instructed Carlos Castaneda. 9

Not all those designated as "plastic" by Native American activists publish books. There are quite a number who run workshops, seminars, or centers claiming to teach Native American spiritual practice. For example, one non-Native American woman who calls herself Mary Thunder runs a New Age center in Texas where she conducts sweats, pipe ceremonies, and talks with space aliens through Max, the crystal skull. Another woman referred to as Oceana, or sometimes O'Shinna, claims to have been born in a crystal spectrum in Colorado; [End Page 332] she mixes Native American teachings with references to Atlantis, Tibetan Buddhism, and theosophy. Some "plastics" produce videos explaining their philosophies and offering "do-it-yourself" instructions for Native American ceremonies such as sweats. 10 There are also a number of New Age "channelers" who claim to channel Native American spiritual entities. If paid the requisite sizable fee, these channelers access the wisdom of their Indian guides for their clients. One woman claims to channel a Hopi Indian named Barking Tree (as well as Bell Bell, a giggling six-year-old from Atlantis, and a being named Aeffra from Western Europe). A New Ager in Tampa, Florida, claims to channel an entity named Olah, who is supposed to be a reincarnation of both Edgar Cayce and the revered Lakota spiritual entity White Buffalo Calf Woman.

Many Native Americans have been offended by the mockery these bastardized versions make of their sacred ceremonies. Some of the incidents denounced as most offensive include Sun Dances held on Astroturf, sweats held on cruise ships with wine and cheese served, and sex orgies advertised as part of "traditional Cherokee ceremonies." A typical advertisement for such a workshop promises an introduction to "core shamanism--the universal and basic methods used by the shaman to enter non-ordinary reality for problem solving, well-being and healing." 11 Others make even more specific promises; for example, one workshop guarantees that you will retrieve your own personal power animal in a trance. 12 These workshops are also incorporated into theme adult camps, wilderness training programs, and New Age travel packages. 13 Native American activists have been greatly angered by the commercial exploitation of their spirituality represented by these workshops. A weekend vision-quest workshop, for instance, can currently run anywhere between $250 to $550 (accommodations and meals not included). In 1988, Singing Pipe Woman of Springdale, Washington, advertised a two-week pilgrimage that included study with a Huichol woman and was priced at $2,450. Native Americans have commented on the bitter irony of these plastic shamans profiting from the degrading, twisted versions of Native American rituals while many indigenous people still live below the poverty level. 14 New Age interest in Native American cultures appears more concerned with exoticized images and romanticized rituals revolving around a distorted view of Native American spirituality than with the indigenous peoples themselves and the very real (and often ugly) socioeconomic and political problems they face as colonized peoples.

Purchasing Spiritual Power Through Products

New Age interest in Native American spirituality has spawned numerous products over the years. Some products claim to assist the dabbler in Native American spiritual practices. For example, those who do not want to take the time [End Page 333] and trouble of building their own sweat lodges can call 1-800-36-SWEAT to order a "sweat tent." Or the following kit can be ordered to obtain a more "total experience" of Native American spirituality:

YOUR PERSONAL NATIVE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE . . . Sage and cedar smudge sticks come with holy herb tea. The Spirit of Native America book, and the Desert CD or tape--all collected in a specially designed green box, made from recycled materials, honoring Mother Earth and providing you the opportunity to experience Native American ritual and wisdom. 15

Note that the catalog description promises the consumer "the experience" of Native American ritual and wisdom through multisensory consumption. The purchaser can drink up the sacredness of Native American spirituality while creating the right ambiance with the scent of sage smudge sticks and the proper New Age music evoking the proper locale. Meanwhile, he or she can read the kit's book The Spirit of Native America, which the catalog asserts is amplified by Anna's authoritative text so that the "'spirit voices' of her people speak clearly to you." The catalog promises that, through purchase and consumption of this product, the consumer can have a direct experience of Native American ritual and wisdom without ever leaving their armchair. Moreover, they are relieved of any guilt over their indulgent feast since the box is made from recycled materials and "honors Mother Earth."

Entrepreneurs have found ways to blend American Indian spiritual themes with other New Age objects, such as "Native American Tarot Cards." They have even tapped into new markets, such as "care crystals" for domestic pets. Medicine shields have been turned into earrings and the sacred figure of Kokopelli now serves as a wall clock. The advertisement asserts that "Southwest Native America's playful 'Spirit Guide to the Fourth World' adds a touch of almost-eerie immortality to home or office!" 16 Perhaps the eeriness stems from the unsettling irony of imperialist nostalgia. In "Interrupted Journeys: The Cultural Politics of Indian Reburial," Pemina Yellowbird and Kathryn Milun refer to these types of objects and attitudes toward them as "imperialist nostalgia," which they define as a romanticization that assumes a pose of innocent yearning thus concealing its complicity with often brutal domination. 17

Native American Resistance, New Age Defenses

Many Native Americans are outraged at the commercialization of their spiritual traditions. At least two intertribal groups of Native American elders have issued proclamations warning the public that the teachings of these commercial profiteers may harm them. 18 As stated in the Resolution of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Traditional Elder Circle, "[M]edicine people are chosen by [End Page 334] the medicine and long instruction and discipline is necessary before ceremonies and healing can be done . . . profit is not the motivation." 19 Some Native Americans have taken a harder stand. Leaflets denouncing the commercialization of Native American religion have been distributed at lectures given by "plastics" and their workshops disrupted by confrontations instigated by Native American activists. 20 The Southwestern American Indian Movement (AIM) Leadership Conference held in Window Rock in the Navajo Nation condemned those who profited from American Indian spirituality. The document noted the "dramatic increase in the incidence of selling sacred ceremonies, such as the sweat lodge, and the vision quest, and of sacred articles, such as religious pipes, feathers and stones." These acts were denounced as "constituting . . . insult and disrespect for the wisdom of the ancients." They characterized the commercialization of Native American spiritual traditions as follows: "[T]he attempted theft of Indian ceremonies is a direct attack and theft from Indian people themselves." In this denunciation, a number of "plastics" were listed by name. The document concludes: "[W]e condemn those who seek to profit from Indian spirituality. We put them on notice that our patience grows thin with them and they continue their disrespect at their own risk. 21 The National Congress of American Indians went a step further, issuing what they term "a declaration of war against 'wannabees,' hucksters, cultists, commercial profiteers, and self-styled New Age shamans." 22

Although some New Agers interested in Native American spirituality may not be aware of Native American protests, a significant number have heard the objections. Why would New Agers continue to consume Native American spirituality when so many Indian people have expressed their reprehension of this commercialization? 23 I set out in my fieldwork to find out how New Agers rationalized their misappropriations and consumption of Native American spiritual traditions. A brief note on my research methods might prove elucidating here. I first encountered New Agers while working as an attorney on the Manybeads case for the Big Mountain Diné in 1986. This initial encounter raised a number of questions that could not be answered by the usual ethnographic methods delineating a specific cultural group in a particular locale. It became increasingly clear to me that the New Age was a national movement whose membership and participation was largely defined by consumption. Therefore, the usual ethnography conducted among a sociocultural group of people in a given area would not be enough to unpack the myriad manifestations of the New Age Movement. My ethnographic research then led me into places I had not anticipated, such as New Age bookstores across the country, weekend workshops led by New Age "gurus," and even to cyberspace New Age chat rooms. My investigative methods extended well beyond the usual participant-observation and interview techniques. My "informants" were no longer limited [End Page 335] to New Age individuals, but extended to New Age publications, such as self-help books, advertising catalogs, and products.

In my ethnographic fieldwork, as well as other resources, the most frequent defense New Agers made to Native Americans' objections against misappropriation of indigenous traditions was couched in First Amendment terms. New Agers consistently argued that their right to religious freedom gave them the "right" to Native American religion. 24 Andy Smith, Native American scholar, activist, and former president of Women of All Red Nations (WARN) refutes the New Age claims that they have a "right" to Native American religion through their "right to freedom of speech." In "For All Those Who Were Indian in a Former Life," Smith aims her attack specifically at New Age practices and misappropriation of Native American spirituality among white feminists arguing:

Many white feminists have claimed that Indians are not respecting "freedom of speech" by demanding that whites stop promoting and selling books that exploit Indian spirituality. However, promotion of this material is destroying freedom of speech for Native Americans by ensuring that our voices will never be heard. . . . Feminists must make a choice, will they respect Indian political and spiritual autonomy or will they promote materials that are fundamentally racist under the guise of "freedom of speech"? 25
Smith's argument is compelling. Given a history and continued social structure in which Native Americans' voices are often overpowered by dominant white discourse, is "freedom of religion" as egalitarian as New Agers suggest? Moreover, white New Agers' claim to freedom of religion must exasperate Native Americans in light of the history of suppression of Native American spiritual practices by the U.S. government. Even recent Supreme Court decisions interpreting the First Amendment and the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act have made it clear that protection of Native American religious freedoms and practices is a low priority in this country. 26

Some New Agers have based their claim of a right to Native American religion on the reasoning that spirituality and truth cannot be owned. "No one has the right to own the Truth," stated one of the New Agers I interviewed. Gary Snyder, who has won literary awards for poetry written from the self-proclaimed persona of a Native American shaman, makes a similar argument: "Spirituality is not something which can be 'owned' like a car or a house. Spiritual knowledge belongs to all humans equally." 27 Snyder's argument implies that something has to be a "property right" before someone's request that it be respected as private can be recognized. More ironically, it overlooks the fact that through Snyder's profiting from a claimed Native American shaman persona, work that is copyrighted, he is "owning" at least a piece of Native American [End Page 336] spirituality. The commercialization of Native American spirituality in both books and products also suggests that consumers "own" Native American spirituality in some sense. This point is made even clearer by the fact that some entrepreneurs have incorporated Native American ceremonies, copyrighted material on Native American spirituality, and sought trademark protection of Native American spiritual themes. The Southwest AIM Resolution observed that a group of non-Indians operating under the name Vision Quest, Inc. were "stealing the name and attempting to steal the concept of one of our most spiritual ceremonies." 28

New Agers have other defenses against Native American objections to consumption of their spirituality. Some deny this commercialization altogether. Others mask it. For example, in an introduction to a book he coauthored, one plastic shaman claims, "We offer you this book to you now as our giveaway." 29 A giveaway is a practice in tribes where material goods are given away to others; there is no exchange, only the gift. However, this "giveaway book" is a commercial publication for profit. Other New Agers defend their commercial exploitation by arguing that they are "good people" who "give to Native American charities and support their causes." Consider, for example, the following excerpt from the owner of a New Age Native American bookstore:

Eight years ago, I started a "New Age" bookstore with very limited funds and an enormous amount of faith in God. A little over a year ago, adjacent to the store, I opened a Native American book and gift store. Both fit very well together, just as we people can work well together. . . . I have donated large amounts of food and money to Native Americans and hold continuous clothes drives through my New Age store. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have food and toy drives which are distributed to four different reservations. I subscribe to Native American newspapers and pray so your struggles will cease. I support Native Americans by buying and selling your crafts, so you are able to help yourselves. 30

This defense seems to rely on the old Puritanical standby that "good intentions" and "charitable acts" somehow absolve someone from the political implications of their actions for an oppressed group.

In addition, a significant number of people defend the commercialization of Native American religious practices with an argument that is characteristic of many New Agers' views toward money. They argue that it is "good medicine" to make money or that "money is just spiritual energy anyway." A good example of this kind of argument is found in the following excerpt from Sun Bear. Of Native American descent, Sun Bear, now deceased, wrote a number of plastic shaman texts and attracted a large following of white New Agers who have legally incorporated themselves into a "tribe" with stock offerings. Shawnodese, [End Page 337] referred to in the following passage, is a white New Age entrepreneur in the Sun Bear tribe.


Shawnodese, who is now my subchief, and director of the Apprentice Program, came here in 1979, with a background in about every new-age philosophy available. He had some progressive ideas that have helped us in many ways. For one thing, even though I had, at various times in my life, been an operator (such as selling real estate or men's clothes) in order to survive, I still had some reservations about being tainted by having a little extra cash. I felt that money was somehow bad. Shawnodese had the idea that money was just energy, and it was how you used it that counted. He took over the bookkeeping for a while and started writing affirmations on everything having to do with money. 31
New Agers' own statements defending objections against commercialization of Native American spirituality shed light on the rationalizations in their own psyches. However, to understand more fully the consumerist nature of their obsession with Native American spirituality, an analysis of their actions in a larger social and economic framework is needed.

Searching For Spiritual Satisfaction in the Shopping Mall

The New Age movement is part of the larger context of consumer culture. A number of social theorists have proposed that, increasingly, lifestyles, identity, cultural, and even spiritual meaning have become commodities for purchase. As Frederic Jameson argued in his influential essay "Postmodernism: or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism," images, styles, and representations are no longer mere promotional accessories to economically useful products; they have become the products themselves. Thus, in contemporary consumer culture, a romanticized representation of Native American spirituality can become a product to be purchased and consumed. Grant McCracken explains why consumers find these products capitalizing on an exoticized Other so appealing. McCracken argues that individuals in a consumer society use consumer goods to try to recover displaced cultural meaning. He defines displaced meaning as cultural meaning deliberately removed from the daily life of a community and displaced onto a distant cultural domain by romanticizing another culture. 32 Mike Featherstone elaborates that, in modern consumer society, religion is placed squarely in the market place along with other meaning systems. 33 He alludes to the supermarket of lifestyles where individuals are able to select from packaged bodies of meaning systems such as religions. Featherstone concludes that there is a tendency in Western societies for religion to become [End Page 338] a private leisuretime pursuit purchased in the market like any other consumer-culture lifestyle. Indeed, New Agers "practice" their version of Native American religion through commercial purchase. Unfortunately, Native Americans' spiritual traditions then become products to be playfully sampled through consumption, ignoring Native Americans themselves as three-dimensional people set within historical, socioeconomic, and political relations of oppression.

In "Neon Cages," Lauren Langman argues that private consumption results in an increased withdrawal of the individual from public realms. As the public sphere becomes increasingly fragmented and less gratifying, individuals are more likely to withdraw into their own private realms to seek self-confirmation, gratification, and even express countercultural practices and desires. 34 According to Langman, this search for self-identity is especially problematic in a society in which the stable social networks of kinship and community have broken down. Thus, people flock to the shopping malls seeking an identity to relieve the horrors and loneliness of modernity. There, "proto-communities" of strangers seek clothes, cultural products, and gadgets that promise gratification and recognition through possession and display. This subjectivity produced by consumer culture, what Langman calls "the shopping mall self," seeks gratification and arguably even "salvation" in consumption by trying to buy more gratifying markers of subjectivity. Yet Langman's "shopping mall self" is trapped in a lonely maze of desire and expenditure. 35 Commercialized gratification only momentarily masks underlying terrors of emptiness and loneliness in consumer society. 36

Z. Bauman's concept of "neo-tribes" may elucidate more specifically how individual quests for identity through purchase can result in consumerist movements such as the New Age. 37 This idea of a neo-tribe suggests an anonymous collection of individuals who identify with a subcultural group through conception of a certain style. These are not formally organized "tribes"; in fact, most of their self-identified members have never met one another. Yet the individual gains a sense of identity and belonging through identification with this subcultural consumer group. The concept of a neo-tribe has potential analytic value for analyzing the New Age as a consumerist movement. The New Age movement is a loose collection of individuals. Although small groups may informally meet regionally, the movement as a whole is arguably a consumerist movement on a national scale. A person often identifies with the New Age solely through purchase of commodities marketed under its rubric. Perhaps the most valuable part of the neo-tribe concept is its explanation of why individuals in mass consumer society seek identity through purchase, a theorization that can help explain New Agers' preoccupation with Native American spirituality. [End Page 339]

Bauman argues that individuals feel increasingly isolated and lonely as social relations in consumer culture continue to break down. People seek neo-tribes in a desperate search for community. Ultimately these neo-tribes do not provide the sense of community sought by New Agers because the purchase of identity through private acts of consumption does not establish the desired social relations. Yet, according to Bauman, these neo-tribes are essential in the formation of identities in consumer societies. Individuals construct their identities based on their individual choice (or, perhaps more accurately, purchase) of lifestyle. 38 Bauman's observations on the self-fashioning of identity have relevance for New Age appropriation of Native American spirituality.

New Agers are fashioning an identity for themselves based on a romanticized image of Native Americans and their spirituality. This self-fashioning of identity provides a type of social solidarity with others working from a similar image, no matter how temporary, tenuous, or even anonymous these social relations may be. Frequently, when I visited the Native American section of New Age stores, individuals struck up conversations with me on the basis of our presumed shared interests. I believe individuals engaged in such self-fashioning view themselves as part of an imagined community of like-minded people. Moreover, these imaginings are probably a source of pleasure and entail a feeling of social belonging. And yet, I agree with Langman and Bauman that these imagined communities can never really satisfy such individuals' yearnings for community belonging. These are not communities with shared histories, social ties involving interdependence, and daily interaction. Individuals in these imagined communities seem to grow quickly dissatisfied and imagine new ones.

Jay Rosen applies similar observations specifically to the New Age movement. He claims that the New Age marketers target the desires of people dissatisfied with their lives; he characterizes them as "struggling with the contradiction in contemporary life between the emptiness of daily existence and the desire for a meaningful life." 39 Rosen argues that there is also compatibility between the New Age idea of personal transformation through spiritual enlightenment and the "Buy this product and change your life" message underlying most advertising. 40 As Rosen phrases this similarity: "Whether the product is a book, a tape, a seminar, or a magic crystal, the typical New Age commodity is promoted in exactly the same way as a new car or a new pair of jeans: as an instant, total, and enchantingly easy solution to a deeply-felt personal problem." 41 Rosen concludes that the dissatisfactions produced by consumer culture propel people toward New Age ideas. He alludes to the dislocations of modern capitalism, the scarcity of meaningful work, the strain on marriage and childbearing, and the emptiness at the heart of a culture that values movement and change. Rosen argues that in this uprootedness, identity can only be [End Page 340] gained in the marketplace. However, Rosen believes that the New Age movement offers no relief from this societal malaise. Calling the New Age movement "the unwitting partner of the culture it claims to reject," he argues that it can only carry the uprooting a little further. 42 These theorists have done much to shed light on the general subjectivity involved in consumer culture, but what is the New Age preoccupation with Native Americans?


The Noble Savage in New Age Garb

Although these theorists elucidate the exoticization of the Other in the abstract, why are certain New Agers obsessed specifically with Native Americans and their spirituality in particular? What is it about Native American spiritual beliefs and practices that hold such a fascination for a certain sector of the New Age? There has been a long history of obsession in this society with images of Native Americans. These images have served as Rorschach blots onto which prevailing sentiments, anxieties, and political moods have been projected. The images of Native Americans have changed with the times and in response to historical events and attitudes, but these images have always reflected more about non-Natives' desires than Native Americans' lives or cultures. Lakota scholar and activist Vine Deloria Jr. sheds insight into these projections in his article "Pretend Indians."

Throughout the decades, for every stereotype of "the savage Indian," there has coexisted a Noble Savage image as well. The Noble Savage provides a fantasy for Euro-Americans wishing to escape dilemmas of their own culture. Imitation of Native Americans and other appropriations of their identity have often accompanied this romanticization. In "The Tribe Called Wannabee: Playing Indian in America and Europe," Cherokee scholar Rayna Green does an excellent job of tracing this historical phenomenon of "playing Indian" from the Boston Tea Party to YWCA sponsored "Indian princess" programs. 44 [End Page 341] Along with these mainstream pretend Indianisms, a number of subcultural groups have appropriated aspects of Native American peoples' identity, from bohemian artists in the thirties to hippies in the sixties. 45

Prior to the New Age movement, other countercultural groups seeking alternative spiritual experiences sought to appropriate Native American religion. In particular, representations of Indian images played a significant role in nineteenth-century spiritualism. The turn-of-the-century spiritualist movement involved the consultation of mediums who called upon spirit guides from the other world. Rayna Green documents the widespread use of Indian spiritual guides in this nineteenth-century spiritualist movement, especially as evidenced in the diaries, autobiographies, and interviews with practicing spiritualists. Although Green's observations raise interesting questions about possible historical roots of the New Age obsession with Native American spirituality, there is an important difference, as Green herself notes. The New Age movement's appropriation of Native American identities differs from the nineteenth-century spiritualist movement in its widespread mass commercialism of Native American spirituality. Admittedly, the spiritualist mediums charged their clients fees; some would argue that they created hoaxes to con money from gullible subjects. However, nineteenth-century spiritualism did not involve the widespread commercialism readily apparent in the New Age movement. 46 Green alludes to the increased commercialism of New Agers "playing Indian" in the following descriptive analysis:

Fed by hobbyism, general cultisms (e.g., the "human potential movement"), and by a continuing revitalization of interest in Indians as spiritual healers of European ills, the commercial exploitation by Indian gurus has taken on a new life. In these roles of playing Indian, some who are genetically and culturally Indian, but more who are quite marginal, and others who are neither, have developed a "market" for Indian religious experience. 47

Although "playing Indian" and the fetishization of the Noble Savage have existed since Europeans first came to this continent, what accounts for this increased commercial consumption of Native American spirituality since the 1980s? Recent consumer capitalism has increasingly appropriated ethnic cultural traditions in the marketing of images of an exoticized Other. Pierre Bourdieu argues that the increasing importance of symbolic goods in contemporary capitalism has increased the demand for "cultural specialists." These cultural specialists ransack various traditions and cultures in order to produce new interpretations and uses that can be consumed. 48 Certainly plastic shamans, as well as other New Age entrepreneurs, could be viewed as "ransackers" of Native American spiritual traditions in search of ways to market them to consumers. [End Page 342] They produce new interpretations by fusing bastardized versions of these traditions with self-help pop psychology, as well as exotic blends appropriated from other cultural traditions.

Baudrillard adds to the understanding of the marketing of non-Euro-American ethnicity. He argues that capitalist institutions are increasingly dependent on the marketing of images and are thus greedy for new and diverse images. Ethnicity thus becomes a source of profit for capitalists in consumer culture. 49 Baudrillard's analysis yields insight into why publishing companies and other corporations have increasingly tapped into images of Native Americans and their traditions. In addition Baudrillard, and Vizenor's reading of him in relation to Native Americans, can also elucidate the particular romanticized commercialism of Native Americans in the New Age movement.

In Simulations, Baudrillard argues that late industrial capitalism is dominated by the reproduction of images, which he calls "simulation." Gerald Vizenor, in his book Manifest Manners, extends Baudrillard's notion of "simulation" to representations and images of "the Indian" in dominant discourse, characterizing New Age plastic shamans as "simulations" of the Indian. 50 Baudrillard believes that the proliferation of reproductions intensifies the desire for the original. Vizenor labels this desire "nostalgia," arguing that the proliferation of plastic shamans grows out of a nostalgic longing for an "authentic" spirituality. 51 I would characterize this phenomenon as follows. Real Native Americans are not a part of most Euro-Americans' lives. Yet non-Indians feel that their own lives are increasingly "unreal" and "inauthentic," so they imagine a preindustrial, pre-European America where things were "real" and "authentic," not representations but originals. Thus they simulate the original "authentic Native American spirituality" and consume it. Meanwhile, their simulations allow them to ignore real indigenous peoples and the historical and socioeconomic relations that tie them together.

Vizenor criticizes these simulated New Age shamans on two fronts. First, he suggests they pose a certain danger because they are stuck in the image of a romanticized Noble Savage that promises an unattainable salvation from boredom and melancholy. 52 Vizenor appears to be even more bothered by the fact that these plastic shamans and their simulations undermine indigenous peoples' struggles for survival. He believes that the simulated shamans' obsession with the "real" and the "authentic" undermine those he calls "postindian warriors." Vizenor uses the term "postindian warriors" to refer to those who help indigenous peoples survive. He suggests that postindian warriors must embrace the complexities of postmodern culture to help indigenous peoples survive, rather than play into notions of "authenticity." 53 Vizenor believes that the dominant discourse has maintained its own racist notions of "authentic" representations [End Page 343] of Native American cultures in its scholarly archives and elsewhere that have proved oppressive of indigenous peoples. 54 Thus simulated shamanism, preoccupied with the "authentic" Indian, takes its place in this racist dominant discourse of oppression.

Philip J. Deloria provides a different analysis of the New Age obsession with Native Americans. The notion of "playing Indian" is central to Deloria's book of the same name, which traces this Euro-American practice to this nation's earliest years. Deloria appears to believe that the notion of Indianness, including all of the contradictory images from brutal savage to Noble Savage, was central to Americans' quests for identities. Deloria ponders whether the New Age movement set within postmodern culture represents a continuum of this historical "playing Indian" or suggests a unique historical movement. 55 Overall, Deloria appears to lean more heavily in favor of there being something unique in the New Age "playing Indian" that suggests a break with the continuum. In particular, Deloria notes a change in focus from collective concerns with social justice toward a strong focus on individual freedoms. 56 Deloria insightfully recognizes that this shift inward coupled with the idealization of Indian spirituality in the abstract has erased the complex history of Indians. As Deloria poignantly phrases it:

The tendency of New Age devotees to find in Indianness personal solutions to the question of living the good life meant that Indian Others were imagined in almost exclusively positive terms--communitarian, environmentally wise, spiritually insightful. This happy multiculturalism blunted the edge of earlier calls for social change by focusing on pleasant cultural exchanges that erased the complex history of Indians and others. 57

Philip Deloria recognizes that Indianness has been an open idea imbued with a number of meanings, often contradictory, that Americans seeking identities have reconfigured for their own ends for hundreds of years. He astutely points out, however, that "for many, postmodern Indianness had become so detached from anything real that it was in danger of lapsing into a bland irrelevance." 58 Deloria is bothered by the fact that authenticity in the New Age is considered a matter of personal interpretation, with very few material or social forms. 59 Moreover, he believes that the disjointed signifiers used by the New Age weaken the potential power of playing Indian. 60 As Deloria observes, "it was the social reality of authentic, aboriginal Indians that gave Indian play significance and power." 61 I must note here that I have doubts about Vizenor's notion of the power of "playing Indian" in general. Given the power imbalance between dominant society and indigenous peoples, any appropriation of Native American culture strikes me as rife with the potential of oppression. I would tend to agree more with Rayna Green's critique of "playing Indian." Nevertheless, [End Page 344] Deloria's analysis lends insight into the New Age phenomenon of "playing Indian."

Whereas Vizenor characterizes the New Age as obsessed with "real" and "authentic" Indianness, Deloria is worried about its lack of concern with "authenticity." Vizenor believes "authenticity" to be an oppressive concept as applied to indigenous peoples; Deloria sees "authenticity" as positive and powerful for Native Americans, because it ties into a material world where real indigenous people must be acknowledged. Yet both scholars seem to agree that the New Age movement set within the larger postmodern cultural context represents a distinct rupture from prior Indian simulations as well as "playing Indian," one that is more dangerous to indigenous peoples in terms of cultural survival. I do not find the real danger in either the claim to authenticity that worries Vizenor or the lack of attention paid to it that worries Deloria. To me, the greatest danger in New Age misappropriation of Native American spirituality lies in its commercialization. Commercialization has a way of trivializing that is particularly unsettling with regard to the purchase of spiritual meaning. Once Native American spiritual traditions become part of the entrepreneurial machinery, they are put on a par with every other kind of product. There is something grossly insulting about advertising copy that lures the consumer into buying "Your Own Personal Native American Spiritual Experience" in the same fashion that it promotes the latest food dehydrator. Native American spirituality becomes another fad to be sampled (and ultimately discarded) among a smorgasbord of entertainment options for consumers in a culture that cultivates an insatiable appetite.

I believe that New Agers are fascinated with Native Americans in particular for the same reasons that Euro-Americans have been obsessed with their indigenous predecessors for hundreds of years. Milun and Yellowbird's notion of imperialist nostalgia aptly describes this yearning on the part of Euro-Americans for what their culture has oppressed. I believe this imperialist nostalgia is also fueled by a deeply embedded, unconscious sense of guilt. The Native American, as an exoticized Other, an abstracted image, has become an open image onto which Euro-Americans could project their anxieties and desires. Both the image of the brutal savage and the Noble Savage have fluctuated over the years, responding to changing politics and social moods in this nation. The Noble Savage in New Age garb is a recent incarnation responding to a significant minority of the dominant population who have found mainstream culture lacking in meaning. What has changed is that this particular Noble Savage has been quickly snapped up by consumer capitalism and mass-marketed. Moreover, this "spiritually wise Noble Savage" intrudes on a new area of cultural genocide; this plastic shaman is selling off Native Americans' spiritual traditions. [End Page 345]


The Vicious Cycle of Purchased Spirituality

The subjectivities of human experience produced under capitalism leads to feelings of alienation. Yet people increasingly think of themselves and others as akin to commodities. Purchasable lifestyles are mistaken for communities. So, driven by the quest for some kind of community and historical tradition, New Agers fetishize Native Americans and their religio-cultural practices. Yet the only way they know how to achieve the attributes that they project onto Native Americans is through commercialization and purchase. This cycle does not end their alienation. They are still so removed from any recognition of social relations (much less historical conflict) that they cannot understand why Native American peoples themselves would object to their appropriations. The individualism that has become characteristic of both capitalism and American political ideology cannot fathom political and social accountability. Yet the kind of community New Agers so desperately seek to relieve their feelings of isolation would, in my view, not be defined by superficial trappings, but by collective accountability.

Despite the New Agers' professions that they are working toward social and cultural change, their commercialization of Native American spirituality articulates well within late-twentieth-century consumer capitalism. There is strong historical and social evidence that the commercialization of ideas and values, as well as the fetishized image of a social body perceived to be ethnically Other, stems in part from thought and practices produced within the context of recent consumer capitalism. Although the New Age spiritualists identify themselves as countercultural, their uncritical ideas about commercialization and marketing practices appear to have been shaped by the larger capitalist market economy. Moreover, their imperialistically nostalgic fetishization of Native American spirituality hinders any recognition of their own historical and social complicity in the oppression of indigenous peoples.

Lisa Aldred received her J.D. from unc School of Law in 1985 and her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1999. She is currently an assistant professor in the Center for Native American Studies at Montana State University.

Notes
1. According to James R. Lewis in his 1992 study, there had been a recent shift in New Agers' focus from channeling and crystals to American Indian spirituality and shamanism, along with "inner child" work (James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton, eds., Perspectives on the New Age [Albany: State University of New York, 1992], 10).

2. According to Melody Baker's survey (A New Consciousness: The True Spirit of New Age [Duluth GA: New Thought, 1991], 196), a significant number of respondents listed "Native American teachings" as a New Age topic they would like to see more written about. Similarly, when asked to list what New Age products and services they were interested in, a significant number of respondents indicated that they would like to see an increase in products and services related to "Native American teachings."

3. These books include Earthway: A Native American Visionary's Path to Total Mind, Body, and Spirit Health (New York: Pocketbooks, 1999); Phoenix Rising: No-Eyes' Vision of the Changes to Come (Norfolk VA: Hampton Roads, 1993); and Dreamwalker: Path of Sacred Power (Norfolk VA: Hampton Roads, 1993) among others.

4. Shortly thereafter, Summer Rain encounters a group of restless spirits from the nineteenth century. These Indian women and children were on their way to meet the men of their tribe when they perished from small pox (spread by intentionally infected blankets given to them by the U.S. Cavalry). Summer Rain tells them to admit they are dead and say they want to get home. The men of their tribe then appear with outstretched arms and the tribe is reunited and returns to the spirit world (Mary Summer Rain, Phantoms Afoot: Helping the Spirits Among Us [Norfolk VA: Hampton Roads, 1993]).

5. Jamie Samms, The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers: Your Sacred Path to Discovering the Gifts, Talents, and Abilities of the Feminine through the Ancient Teachings of the Sisterhood (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993).

6. Iron Thunderhorse and Don Le Vie Jr., Return of the Thunderbeings: A New Paradigm of Ancient Shamanism (Santa Fe: Bear & Co., 1990).

7. Joseph Rael with Mary Elizabeth Marlow, Being and Vibration (Tulsa, OK: Council Oak Books, 1993).

8. Doug Boyd, Mad Bear: Spirit, Healing, and the Sacred in the Life of a Native American Medicine Man (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994) and Rolling Thunder (New York: Random House, 1974). Incidentally the Grateful Dead threw a benefit concert for Rolling Thunder.

9. Taisha Abelar, The Sorcerer's Crossing (New York: Penguin, 1993). Castaneda has written the preface to her book.

10. See the Bill Elwell Jr. videotape entitled "Native American Indian Sacred Purification Sweat Lodge Ceremony."

11. Michael Harner workshop advertised in Omega: Institute for Holistic Studies catalog for summer 1994. Harner was formerly a professor of anthropology at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

12. Workshop entitled "Healing the Light Body: The Art of Incan Shamanism" led by Lynne Stewart-White advertised in a brochure for Morning Star: Institute for Holistic Studies in Atlanta, Georgia, and scheduled for summer 1994.

13. In an advertisement flyer, for example, "Camp Four Winds" bills itself as "A contemporary experience in Native American harmony, a family resort and summer camp for children and families. We share the light given by Ea Wah Tah (Hiawatha) 5,800 years ago." An example of the incorporation of Native American rituals in wilderness training camps is found in the advertisement for "Earth-Heart" in Montana run by Malcolm H. Ringwalt. Ringwalt leads wilderness-training programs, combined with vision quests, and also conducts psychotherapy as part of these "spiritual retreats." Keepers of the Earth: Tours of the American Southwest--a tour company--lures consumers with the following advertisement: "Awaken connections with your past. Transform the future, join us to honor and explore the earth. Red Rocks, deep-winding canyons, Native American sacred sites, rituals, and ruins heighten your journey. Guided Meditations Optional."

14. Andy Smith, "For All Those Who Were Indian in a Former Life," Ms. Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 1991, 44(2).

15. Red Rose Collection Catalog, 1996.

16. The Pyramid Collection: A Catalog of Personal Growth and Exploration (Indian Summer, [sic] 1994).

17. Pemina Yellow Bird and Kathryn Milun, "Interrupted Journeys: The Cultural Politics of Indian Reburial," in Displacements: Cultural Identities in Question, ed. Angelika Bammer (Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1994).

18. Resolution of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Traditional Elders Circle (Northern Cheyenne Nation, Two Moons' Camp, Rosebud Creek, Montana, 5 October 1980) [reprinted in Ward Churchill, Fantasies of the Master Race (Monroe ME: Common Courage Press, 1996), 223-225]. Traditional Circle of Indian Elders, Twelfth Annual Conference at Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (quoted in Jon Magnuson, "Selling Native American Soul," The Christian Century, 22 November 1989, 1086).

19. Resolution of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Traditional Elders Circle, 223.

20. Native American activists distributed fliers at Hyemeyohsts Storm's lecture at a San Francisco worship service that boldly proclaimed, "Our sacred spiritual practices are not for sale, and if you try to steal them from us, you are guilty of spiritual genocide" (Christopher Shaw, "A Theft of Spirit?" New Age Journal, July/August 1995, 84-92). Colorado's AIM chapter undertook a confrontation with Sun Bear in the midst of a $500-per-head, weekend-long "spiritual retreat" being conducted in Granby, Colorado.

21. Southwest AIM Leadership Conference, AIM Resolution, 11 May 1984, Window Rock AZ, Diné Reservation (reprinted in Churchill, Fantasies of the Master Race, 228).

22. National Congress of American Indians, 1993, reprinted in Shaw, "A Theft of Spirit?" 86.

23. In Playing Indian, Phillip J. Deloria notes that the Indian-published paper Indian Country Today ran a series of articles in 1992 denouncing many New Age "medicine people" as frauds and inviting these plastic shamans' responses. Most failed to respond to the critiques or give them any validity. Deloria seems even more intrigued with the lack of effect of these articles on the New Age movement as a whole. He observes: "[T]he newspaper's detailed investigative reporting had no appreciable effect on New Age audiences. Indian presence was noted. Complaints, however, were ignored and suggestions rejected" (Phillip J. Deloria, Playing Indian [New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1998]).

24. It might be noted that the "freedom of religion" clause in the First Amendment protects individuals from government infringement of their right to hold their religious beliefs. It does not guarantee them a right of access to a particular group's spiritual traditions. Given that Native American reservations are recognized as "domestic dependent nations" by the U.S. government (and some have never conceded U.S. sovereignty at all), this "right of access" is even more unfounded from a legal standpoint.

25. Smith, "For All Those Who Were Indian in a Former Life," 44(2).

26. For example, in Lyng v Northwest Cemetery Protective Association, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment rights of members of three Indian tribes to religious freedom were not violated by the construction of a state forest road in close proximity to important sacred sites (Lyng v Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association, 485 US 439 [1988]). In the majority opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor noted: "The Constitution does not, and courts cannot, offer to reconcile the various competing demands on government, many of them rooted in sincere religious belief, that inevitably arise in so diverse a society as ours" (Lyng v Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association, 485 US 452 [1988]). The Lyng decision also concluded that the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 did not protect tribal sacred sites; they also determined that AIRFA was merely a statement of policy without any means of judicial enforcement.

27. Quoted in Churchill, Fantasies of the Master Race, 219.

28. Southwest AIM Leadership Conference, AIM Resolution, 11 May 1984, Window Rock AZ, Diné Reservation (reprinted in Churchill, Fantasies of the Master Race, 228).

29. Sun Bear, Wabun Wind, and Edward B. Weinstock, The Path to Power (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1987), 30.

30. Letter from a reader to editors of Wildfire (Sun Bear Tribe's magazine) 6, no. 4 (Fall/Winter 1996).

31. Sun Bear, Wabun, and Weinstock, The Path to Power, 260.

32. Grant McCracken, Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988), 106-7.

33. Mike Featherstone, Consumer Culture and Postmodernism (London: Sage, 1991).

34. Lauren Langman, "Neon Cages: Shopping for Subjectivity" in Lifestyle Shopping: The Subject of Consumption, ed. Rob Shields (London: Routledge, 1992).

35. Ibid., 68.

36. Ibid., 68.

37. Z. Bauman, "Survival as a Social Construct," Theory, Culture, and Society 9 (1992): 1-36.

38. Ibid., 25.

39. Jay Rosen, "Optimism and Dread: T.V. and the New Age" in Not Necessarily the New Age: Critical Essays, ed. Robert Basil (Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books, 1988), 275.

40. Jay Rosen, "Consumer Culture and the New Age," Skeptical Inquirer 13, no. 4 (1989): 401-4.

41. Rosen, "Optimism and Dread," 271.

42. Ibid., 288.

43. In God Is Red, Vine Deloria Jr. backs up his proposition that Americans attempt to find authenticity and some kind of historical roots in American Indians by citing a bizarre fragment of a William Carlos Williams poem: "The land! Doesn't it make you want to go out and lift dead Indians tenderly from their graves, to steal from them--as if it must be clinging even to their corpses--some authenticity" (Vine Deloria Jr., God Is Red [New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1977], xi).

44. Rayna Green, "The Tribe Called Wannabee: Playing Indian in America and Europe," Folklore 99, no. 1 (1988): 30-55.

45. Green discusses the "Taos cult of the thirties, with Mabel Dodge Luhan, her 'guru' Indian husband Tony, her covey of displaced, hedonistic New Yorkers, and obeisance to the cult goddess, Georgia O'Keefe" ("The Tribe Called Wannabee," 43). Green argues that the Southwest became more than a canvas or scene for the camera lens with this thirties cult; it became a style. Green also points out that countercultural hippies in the sixties often donned headbands, beads, fringed jackets, and purses adorned with feathers. Philip Deloria gives an insightful analysis of counterculture's fascination with "playing Indian" in chap. 6, "Counterculture Indians and the New Age," in Philip Deloria, Playing Indian (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), 154-80.

46. Although I believe that New Age commercialization of Native American spirituality is on a much wider scale than the nineteenth-century spiritualist movement, I do not want to overlook the history of commercialization of the "Indian" image since the late 1800s. Daniel Francis traces the use of the Indian in advertising and products from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century (Daniel Francis, "Marketing the Imaginary Indian," chap. 8 in The Imaginary Indian [Vancouver BC: Arsenal Pulp Press, 1992]).

47. Green, "The Tribe Called Wannabee," 45.

48. Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, trans. R. Nice (London: Routledge & Kegan, 1984).

49. Jean Baudrillard, Simulations (New York: Semiotext(e), 1983).

50. As Vizenor phrases it, "The simulation of the indian is the absence of real natives--the contrivance of the other in the course of dominance. Truly, natives are the stories of an imagic presence, and indians are the actual absence--the simulations of the tragic primitive (Gerald Vizenor, Manifest Manners: Narratives on Postindian Survivance [Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999], vii).

51. As Vizenor analyzes the rise of plastic shamans: "'When the real is no longer what it used to be, nostalgia assumes its full meaning,' wrote Baudrillard in Simulacra and Simulations. There is a proliferation of myths of origin and signs of reality; of second hand truth, objectivity, and authenticity. Nostalgia, and the melancholia of dominance, are common sources of simulations in manifest manners; mother earth and the shamans of the other are summoned to surrender their peace and harmonies in spiritual movements" (Vizenor, Manifest Manners, 25).

52. This idea of New Age simulations of Indians is evident in Vizenor's analysis of the Rainbow Tribe. As he argues: "The simulations of his rainbow tribe [referring to Ed McGaa] are treacherous, in one sense, because nostalgia is the absence of the real, not the presence of imagination and the wild seasons of peace. The rainbow tribe is a diversion, it would seem, a simulation marooned in the romance of the noble savage and the unattainable salvation of absolute boredom and melancholy" (Vizenor, Manifest Manners, 25).

53. As Vizenor phrases it: "The postindian warriors and posers are not the new shaman healers of the unreal. Simulations and the absence of the real are curative by chance . . . postindian warriors are wounded by the real" (Vizenor, Manifest Manners, 23).

54. This idea of Euro-American definitions of "authentic" representations of Native American cultures is suggested by Vizenor's definition of "manifest manners," the term he chooses as the title of his book. Vizenor defines manifest manners as "the course of dominance, the racialist notions and misnomers sustained in archives and lexicons as 'authentic' representations of indian cultures" (Vizenor, Manifest Manners, x).

55. As Deloria phrases his quandary: "What concerns me even more, however, are the ways in which a contradictory notion of Indianness, so central to American quests for identities, changed shape yet again in the context of these postmodern crises of meaning. On the one hand, the refigurings of Indianness produced by the counterculture and the New Age reflect a historical moment unique from those we have already examined. On the other hand, the diverse practices we often subsume under the word postmodern may simply echo the familiar toying with meaning and identity we have seen in a long tradition of Indian play. Or maybe both notions are true" (Deloria, Playing Indian, 157).

56. As Deloria elucidates: "And yet, placed in the context of a postmodernism that emphasized relativism and openness, it was easy to read cosmopolitan multiculturalism as a license for anyone to choose an ethnic identity--Indian, for example--regardless of family, history, or tribal recognition. When non-Indian New Age followers appropriated and altered a cosmopolitan understanding of Indianness, they laid bare a slow rebalancing away from the collective concerns with social justice that had emerged in the 1960s and toward the renewed focus on individual freedom that has characterized America since the 1980s" (Philip Deloria, Playing Indian, 173). Later, Deloria astutely observes: "Indeed, the New Age's greatest intellectual temptation lies in the wistful fallacy that one can engage in social struggle by working on oneself" (Deloria, Playing Indian, 177).

57. Deloria, Playing Indian, 174.

58. Ibid., 175.

59. As Deloria notes, "In the New Age, authenticity had few material or social forms. Rather it resided--like all good, unknowable essentials--in a person's interpretive heart and soul" (Deloria, Playing Indian, 176). In particular, (and fitting with the title of this section ("The Noble Savage in New Age Garb"), Deloria seems particularly bothered by the clothes chosen by New Agers in playing Indian. As he notes, "It was perhaps indicative of the nature of the movement (New Age) that its followers tended to play Indian in ways that were very low-grade. A bandana, an assumed name, a personal fetish--any one would suffice. . . . The concrete nature of clothing has always insured that, even in the midst of creative play, a thread of social connection bound real Indians to those who mimed them" (Deloria, Playing Indian, 175).

60. As Deloria phrases it, "When the New Age turned to disjointed signifiers--a headband rife with associations, a stylized pipe influenced (one would almost swear) by J. R. R. Tolkien, a set of tropes from one's personal library--adherents allowed some of the true creative power of Indianness to slip away" (Deloria, Playing Indian, 176).

61. Deloria, Playing Indian, 176. Deloria believes that Native American activists who oppose New Agers "playing Indian" wield power. These activists combat the New Age (and postmodern) discourse that tries to subsume everything in a language of open cultural meanings by offering a pluralist discourse that highlights power, struggle, and inequality. As Deloria poignantly states:

It was . . . important that they (the oppositional warriors) speak--and speak critically, for in doing so, they offered one of the only indicators of authentic difference functioning in the world of texts, interpretations, and unchained meanings. Whereas Sun Bear and Medicine Woman Lynn Andrews inhabited a cultural world easily shared by Indians and non-Indians, oppositional native people focused on social and political worlds, where the differences between the reservation, the urban ghetto, and the Beverly Hills Hotel . . . stood in stark relief. When they tried to force non-Indians to translate from the cosmopolitan language of open cultural meanings to the pluralist languages of power, struggle, and inequality, they rethreaded the material connections that made Indianness so real (Deloria, Playing Indian, 177).