Last week in Sedona Arizona, during a “spiritual warrior” retreat led by New Age, self-help expert James Arthur Ray, two people died in a “sweat lodge ceremony” and more than twenty were sickened.
Within hours after the news broke, the Web was alive with comments from Indians and non-Indians about the tragedy.
Sifting through the reactions I found a few themes that stood out.
Stealing the Religion?
First of all, there’s the question of the relationship of Indian religion to American culture. Non-Indians have been making a lucrative business out of the appropriation of Native ceremonies for years. Ray’s weeklong event in Sedona cost each participant more than $9,000. A search of any number of Web sites advertising these “Indian ceremonies” will turn up sweat lodges that average over $100 per event, and four-day “vision quests” going for around five hundred dollars, “all meals included” and “Visa and MasterCard accepted.”
Indians all across the country are upset, saying white people stole the land, killed the buffalo, and now want to steal the religion. The trouble is that most indigenous people in the Americas identify as Christian. Even the Native American Church, that features peyote as a “sacrament,” is incorporated as a church and uses the Bible as part of the altar display.
The origin of the peyote church can be traced to the late 19th century, the same time as the Ghost Dance, and shares a foundation from Christian eschatology. One of the central myths of the Native American Church is how a twenty-foot-tall Jesus came to Earth and saw the treatment of Indian people and began to cry. Wherever the tears hit the ground peyote grew, and so the buttons of the hallucinogenic plant are called the “tears of Jesus,” and visions generated by eating these tears allow participants to “see what Jesus saw.”
Understand, this is not a criticism of my own people and our myriad of religious beliefs; it’s just that no one religion has the corner on the borrowing and incongruity of sacred stories. New Agers who use the sweat lodge are not so much “stealing Indian religion” as they are weaving a new religion out of strands of what they believe to be old religions.
Various forms of the sweat ceremony were used by Indians from Canada into southern Mexico. In the south they’re called temescals and resemble a wet sauna or steam room; tribes in the American Southwest have dry sweats that feature heated rocks but no water, or a fire built inside the sweat with a smoke hole in the center of the lodge. The version that Ray and his followers used in Sedona is considered Plains style, where rocks are heated to glowing in a fire outside and brought into the lodge a dozen or so at a time. Water is poured on the hot rocks and the amount of steam and heat is controlled by the person conducting the ritual.
How this ritual made its way into the New Age religious movement can be traced to events in the early 1970s when the American Indian Movement made headlines across the country with occupations in South Dakota, Arizona, and Wisconsin. Among the participants were many American Indian spiritual leaders who were knowledgeable in the use of the sweat as a healing ritual—and they shared the ceremony with Indians and non-Indian supporters from around the country. Like the dried head of a dandelion, the sweat lodge drifted here and there and landed far from where it started.
Ceremony, Ritual, But Not Yet a Religion
Both the sweat lodge and the Native American Church peyote ceremony started as healing rituals for one or a few participants, people suffering from some kind of spiritual or physical ailment. Both grew into pan-tribal ceremonies because of the longstanding oppression of tribal religions by the United States government. Within a few decades of its origins, the peyote church grew into what is essentially an Indian-style Christian denomination. In order for the sweat lodge to grow into a denomination of Pan-Indian religious practice, there are some serious issues that have to be resolved within the sweat lodge movement.
In the interest of disclosure, I should say that I have been attending and running sweat lodges for almost forty years. I have been in lodges built for 3-4 people and those built to hold 20-30 people, sweated with elders in their 80s and infants only a few months old. People have had to leave because it was too hot, or they had other concerns, and more times than I can count have had to hug the ground due to the intensity of the heat. There are sweat lodge leaders with whom I would never sweat again, and those whose ceremonies were incredible learning experiences. The madodoigan is an integral part of my family, my tribe, and I hope to hand it down to the generations coming behind. But it is a ceremony, not a religion—not yet.
Tags: american indian movement, ceremony, indian, native american, peyote, religion, ritual, sweat lodge
The practice of induced sweating for physical, mental and spiritual well being has been around a very long time in practically every culture on earth. Here's a link to a site by the author of a book called "Sweat," who has visited sweating facilities around the world... http://cyberbohemia.com/Pages/saunahealth.htm
On a practical note pertaining to the incident in Arizona, it does seem rather uninformed to sit in a plastic sheeting-enclosed area with intense heat and thus low oxygen. Every plastic bag ever made in the past many years carries a warning not to place it over one's head.
was "Wow, that's completely crazy".
My experience with the steam house is from the Alaskan peninsula, where the Banya is simply the most practical way to clean up in an environment in which urban plumbing and water heaters are completely impractical; it's nice to bathe from time to time even in the dead of the Alaskan winter. The hot air can also be very effective in killing off the viruses that cause upper respiratory infections.
They do serve social and perhaps spiritual functions as well, but nobody would spend two hours in the "hot" side of a steam house unless he wanted to depart this life in a most unpleasant way.
The spiritual impoverishment of this culture is manifested in the amount of money people will spend looking for something that will provide meaning for them. The New Age culture that has grown up in the Sedona area is a perfect expression of the capitalist manipulation of this impoverishment. $9,000! Incredible.
We create gurus. Everybody reads Tolle and hangs on every word. We make millionaires of the Deepak Chopra's of the world -- all brilliant marketers of spiritual meaning.
We put our trust, and our money, in the hands of these people because we can't find the meaning within ourselves or our empty lives of consumption, our strivings for material comfort and security, our individualistic culture devoid of meaning beyond our poor selves.
Jesus, Buddha, and a host of others tried to tell us something different -- the 'reign' of God is within you. It is your own faith that will heal you. Lose yourself to find yourself. Meaning is found in the community of sharing, relinquishment, love of neighbor, compassion for others. And you don't have to pay by the hour to find this meaning, no speaker fees, no gurus, just wisdom from within.
However, to get to that inner core, we must live differently, with different values. Whoa! In that case, I'll pay for the guru, I'll pay for the spiritual experience, the quest, the warrior's journey.
What suckers we are.
Margaret
I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and get-well wishes to those who became ill in Sedona. While I have always objected to non-Native appropriation of Native ceremonies, I feel for those who experienced this tragedy.
I also object to the author's use of the term 'sweatlodge movement.' The use of this term, in my view, rather legitimizes the appropriation of an ancient ceremony that my people have practiced since it was given to us by holy beings back in the beginning of time. I see no 'sweatlodge movement,' only the theft and exploitation of something holy.
I am also troubled by the following:
"Indians all across the country are upset, saying white people stole the land, killed the buffalo, and now want to steal the religion. The trouble is that most indigenous people in the Americas identify as Christian. Even the Native American Church, that features peyote as a 'sacrament,' is incorporated as a church and uses the Bible as part of the alter display."
I am troubled because the author, who calls himself Native, has failed to tell the rest of this story, namely that (a) many Native people identify themselves as Christians because Christianity was shoved down their throats and those of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, while laws were passed by the colonizers of their ancient homelands that made practicing their own spirituality a felony, and (b) the Native American Church is organized the way it is because that is the only way the practitioners of that spiritual way of life could practice their spirituality without going to jail on drug charges, since the US government would not recognize that their medicine was not an illegal drug, and it took several court cases to protect their right to worship as they were taught, here in their own homelands.
I find your analysis of this subject to be very shortsighted and irresponsible and not one that I would expect from someone who calls themselves Native or a Native practitioner of an indigenous spiritual lifeway. I also think that the author should take greater care when expressing himself about the spiritual practices of Native peoples; we don't like to see our ways or our history misrepresented. And his readers should take care to understand that he doesn't speak for all Native peoples - he certainly doesn't speak for me.
Finally, while it's true that there are other cultures all over the world who utilize a sweat or steam cleansing practice, whether secular or spiritual, it's my opinion that non-Native people should take the trouble to research their own cultures' use of these practices, and, well, USE those practices instead of helping themselves to ceremonies that were never meant for their use. That way they'll be safe and so will our ceremonies.
xawaduxte, I am the author of the article and let me say that I appreciate your comments. All religions go through a movement phase, and describing what I see is far from legitimation of the conduct of Mr. Ray. Like it or not, we as native people cannot deny religious freedom to others in view of the oppression and suppression of our own religions.
My interest in writing the article was to inform the general public that paying for a sweatlodge is a tip-off that it is not a legitimate. There are numerous "right ways" of doing this ceremony, hundreds of tribes use it as preparation for other ceremonies or as a healing ritual. There is also a horribly wrong way to do the ritual as is evidenced by the tragedy in Sedona.
And I am not sure if any Indian wants to be put into the position of being "sweat lodge police" because I can assure you that they would be busting more Indians than non-Indians. Check the web, most people who charge money for sweats are Indians and those who claim to be Indians. The only difference between Indians who charge and non-Indians who charge money is that the white folks are charging way more than I have seen Indians charge. Part of the reason is the ingrained racism that says Boy Scouts can be better dancers (Koshare and Order of the Arrow), white folks can be better shamans (Ray, Lynn Andrews, Rolling Thunder, etc. ad nauseum), and they know better than we how to run our own lives (Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Indian Gaming Commission, and other acronyms too numerous to mention). And, I never said I speak for all Indians, it is not in the text of the article.
Finally, it is no longer a matter of anyone stopping this practice, it is out there. There are not enough fingers on anyone's hands to stop the leaks in this dike. We can, however, point out that this is not tribal, not native, and not traditional. Beyond that, I am not sure it serves our purpose to attempt to deny religious freedom to those who denied it to us for so long.
First, I notice you didn't reply to my comments about how you failed to tell 'the rest of the story' about how/why many Natives practice Christianity.
Second, for every person who is Native and who charges for a sweat, there are hundreds more who don't, and I think it is really disrespectful of you to say that there are even any Native people who do this, particularly without citing any documented examples.
Third, check out the text of your article. There's a lot of 'we' and 'our' in there, and you most certainly do make statements that sound as if you represent all Native peoples' feelings on the matter. You're doing it again, in fact, in your reply to my comments: "And I am not sure if any Indian wants to be put into the position . . .", "Beyond that, I am not sure it serves OUR purpose . . ."
And as to denying anyone religious freedom, you sound more like a defensive New-Ager than a true Native person (who was born and raised in their culture) when you say that trying to keep our ceremonies to ourselves is the equivalent of denying someone else's religious freedom. The concept of religious freedom is based on US law, not Native laws, which are far older and based in our orignial teachings and instructions, our Native tradition, and which tell us that there are certain ones who have the right to do certain things, especially when it comes to our ceremonies. Again, short-sighted and irresponsible, to assert that we Native people have no right to protect what little we have left from those who came here and helped themselves to everything else.
And as to stopping this practice - why should we have to stop it? Am I worried about stopping this practice? The ones who are mis-using our ceremonies will put the stops to it themselves - as you can see they're already doing that. Or they'll get tired of it and move on to something else, the way they always do.
I only have so much room, and to answer every one of your unanticipated questions which I did not even dream of at the time I was writing was beyond my capability. That very admission on my part belies your contention that I could possibly be a "New Ager." And, how do we even know you are who you say you are? You are using the same pronouns of we and us to describe your point of view. How about this. You write a detailed response, or your own contentions about this issue and the points you raise and submit it to the editors? Finally, religious freedom? Do you have any idea where that idea came from? It came from people, like Jefferson, who made a study of native traditions and saw that Native people lived next to each other for thousands of years without killing each other over religion. Show me where European powers or the churches in 1500 were recognizing the rights of other peoples to believe differently from those whose guns and navies were the biggest.
Please see # 6 and # 7, below. (thanks to who ever posted it) Now you know why I chose to comment on your article. And I will repeat: we Native people don't like to see our ways or our history misrepresented; that's also why I chose to comment here today.
And I didn't contend that you could possibly be a New Ager - I said you sound like one when you accuse Native people of thwarting someone else's religious freedom just because we want to keep our ceremonies to ourselves. Playing the religious freedom card is many times the first line of defense on the part of the New Age community when it is criticized for appropriating Native ceremonies, just so you know.
Oh, and I did write a detailed response, a few of them in fact.
And I wasn't talking about the 'idea' of religious freedom, I was talking about the man-made, non-Native, US paper law of religious freedom which you are citing as the reason Native people must allow non-Natives to take part (or take over on) our Native ceremonies. Which, when it was written, did not protect Native peoples' right to religious freedom, here in our own homelands, and it still doesn't, so uh, I'm not impressed, and you can stop waving it around now.
"And, how do we even know you are who you say you are?" We're on the Internet, yes? How we do we know anyone is who they say they are here, including you? I'm content to let my position speak for itself.
Sad. Very Sad. When the entrepreneur finds the gullible; When cash hopes to master the future by turning spirituality into magic, the poem ends. Sad. Very sad. "The tears of Jesus." He wept over Jerusalem. And, now?
I am a native american enrolled with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and have attended plenty of "sweats" in my time...its something that needs a detailed explanation...and this comment wont suffice...thus this is my opinion to the whole ordeal of the "guru". what exactly was he thinking taking so many people in a lodge that size? and people paying that kind of money to one of the most transparant people to ever perform a sweat lodge? in reality he like so many others has taken something from the natives and raped and exploited it like so many before. in the end we as native americans will have to pay for this idiots mistake...history repeats itself...
1. We hereby and henceforth declare war against all persons who persist in exploiting, abusing and misrepresenting the sacred traditions and spiritual practices of our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people.
2. We call upon all our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota brothers and sisters to actively and vocally oppose this alarming take over and systematic destruction of our sacred traditions.
3. We urge our people to coordinate with tribal members everywhere to identify instances in which our sacred traditions are being abused, and then to resist this abuse, utilizing whatever specific tactics are necessary; demonstrations, boycotts, press conferences etc.
4. We especially urge all our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people to take action to prevent our own people from contributing to, and enabling, the abuse of our sacred ceremonies and spiritual practices by outsiders. As we all know, there are ones among our own people who are prostituting our spiritual ways for their own selfish gain.
5. We assert a posture of zero-tolerance for any 'white man's shaman' who rises from within our own communities to 'authorize' the expropriation of our ceremonial ways by non-Indians. All such 'plastic medicine men' are our enemies.
6. We urge traditional people, tribal leaders, and governing councils of all other Indian nations, to join us in calling for an immediate end to this rampant exploitation of our respective American Indian sacred traditions by issuing statements denouncing such abuse. It is not only the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people whose spiritual practices are being violated by non-Indians.
7. We urge all our Indian brothers and sisters to act decisively and boldly in our present campaign to end the destruction of our sacred traditions, keeping in mind our highest duty as Indian people; to preserve the purity of our precious traditions for our children and the future generations so that they will survive and prosper in the sacred manner intended for each of our respective peoples by our Creator.
I don't know if this is welcome, but some of us non-Indian descendants of the white exploiters offer our wholehearted solidarity. I hope more of us will do our part to expose this spiritual exploitation and refuse our cooperation.
Margaret
Thanks Margaret,
As you can see, there are not a lot of northern plains tribal members from South Dakota on the internet. We are very few, there may be a couple from Crow Creek who post regularly but with poverty, they can only survive to take care of family.
At the Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of US and Canadian Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, about 500 representatives from 40 different tribes and bands of the Lakota unanimously passed a "Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality." The following declaration was unanimously passed on June 10, 1993.
The Declaration
Whereas we are the conveners of an ongoing series of comprehensive forums on the abuse and exploitation of Lakota spirituality; and whereas we represent the recognized traditional spiritual leaders, traditional elders, and grassroots advocates of the Lakota people; and whereas for too long we have suffered the unspeakable indignity of having our most precious Lakota ceremonies and spiritual practices desecrated, mocked and abused by non-Indian 'wannabes', hucksters, cultists, commercial profiteers and self-styled 'New Age shaman' and their followers; and whereas with horror and outrage we see this disgraceful expropriation of our sacred Lakota traditions has reached epidemic proportions; and whereas our precious Sacred Pipe is being desecrated through the sale of pipestone pipes at flea markets, powwows, and 'New Age' retail stores; and whereas pseudo-religious corporations have been formed to charge people money for admission into phoney 'sweatlodges' and 'vision quest' programmes; and whereas sacrilegious 'sundances' for non-Indians and cult leaders who promote abominable and obscene imitations of our sacred Lakota sundance rites; and whereas non-Indians have organised themselves into imitation tribes, assigning themselves make-believe Indian names to facilitate their wholesale expropriation and commercialisation of our Lakota traditions; and whereas academic disciples have sprung up at colleges and universities, institutionalizing the sacrilegious imitation of our spiritual practices by students and instructors under the guise of educational programs in 'shamanism'; and whereas non-Indian charlatans and 'wannabes' are selling books that promote the systematic colonization of our Lakota spirituality; and whereas the television and film industry continues to saturate the entertainment media with vulgar, sensationalist and grossly distorted representations of Lakota spirituality and culture which reinforce the public's negative stereotyping of Indian people and which gravely impair the self-esteem of our children; and whereas the absurd public posturing of this scandalous assortment of pseudo-Indian charlatans, cultists, 'wannabes', commercial profiteers, and 'New Age' shamans comprises a momentous obstacle in the struggle of traditional Lakota people for an adequate public appraisal of the legitimate political, legal and spiritual needs of real Lakota people; and whereas this exponential exploitation of our Lakota spiritual traditions requires we take immediate action to defend our most precious Lakota spirituality from further contamination, desecration and abuse; Therefore we resolve as follow:
Who is Johhny Flynn?
What is his clan?
Who are his people?
How is he related to indigenous people?
Who speaks for him?
My belief is that he speaks only for the interests of the WHITEMEN making money from the destruction of indigenous religion. He talks like a Whiteman who thinks he has learned everything about a people he isn’t a part of from books written by whitemen.
He acts as the trickster, pretending NOT to know the difference between cultural genocide and annihilation and “borrowing” between equals. When you “borrow” something the implication is that you respect it and intern it with all of its integrity. What the WHITEMAN does is equivalent to Grand Theft Auto, except he steals your car, kills a few people with it, trashes it, returns it to you and then blames you for all the chaos and destruction. Only the trickster pretends to be this foolish in order to teach the people a lesson.
Celebration of the feminine? This is white racist feminist propaganda.It is NOT part of indigenous thought. We are BALANCED people.
What Indian uses such alien language? Ray used business language. It gave him away as an evil person. Flynn uses academic language. He is even trickier than Ray.
No person who knew the first thing about indigenous spiritual practices would choose the words that Flynn has chosen. Coyote reveals himself as the trickster by his choice of language here!
Flynn is just a mouthpiece for the New Age missionaries. The sell out who advocates acculturation in order to make himself richer. I’m sure we’ll soon discover how weak his ties are to any real indigenous community and how much his livelihood depends on spreading the Whiteman’s lies. Everything that comes out of his foolish mouth s is pure New Age apologetics. Obviously, this man was not raised with proper protocol in a legitimate indigenous spiritual tradition or he would not speak about spiritual things using the obscene and corrupt rhetoric of the Whiteman.
It never ceases to amaze me how the white dominated media can always find some apple or hand around the fort to act as their puppet and mouth exactly what suits his Colonial agenda and how they ignore our legitimate representatives when we’re not kissing their asses and acting subservient to them.
Where’s the interview with prominent AIM leaders? Why have you silenced the people that our legitimate hereditary elders have designated to speak for us? Why do white people always go out of their way to find that one “good Indian” who will make their slimy speeches for them? Our legitimate leaders have spoken on this matter. The people did not die because they wrong wood, stones, water or materials were used. These people died because the WRONG PEOPLE were in that lodge. The spirits are angered by the greed and ambition of all those who seek to become New Age gurus for selfish, greedy and ambitions reasons. The spirits were teaching the WHITE people who think that their cultural appropriation is not an absolute EVIL a lesson. This is a lesson they refuse to hear so there will be more and more deaths. The more you turn our sacred rites into factories, the more whites will die. It has nothing to do with legal white papers from the Whiteman or the forms that were used. What was in these people’s hearts was rotten and the spirits took care of it. Until the Whiteman learns humility, he has only his inner rottenness to look for guidance. The spirits don’t speak ENGLISH! The spirits don’t support the "entrepreneurial" mindset.
Flynn wrote this ONLY to placate the powerful white people and fool the gullible and ignorant ones, but the indigenous people have known of these lies for ages.
Trickster can't fool all of the people all of the time.
Flynn, why do you waste your gifts?
I have been googling this Twinkie cult and what has happened. & Like you, not seeing anything from A.I.M. leaders ( to bad ? but might be a reason. ( I won't ask why, I'll blame the media ) SO, Thanks for saying what needs to be said...
( In attempt to be fair, couple places did post the "Statement from Chief Arvol Looking Horse". )
I hope Feds or the States do not try to shut down NDN ceremonies using this as excuse.
Boarding schools tried but couldn't "Kill the Savage to Save the Man' So I'm betting the Inipi Ceremonies will go on... No need for BIA to say it's OK ... But the Twinkie cults might find it a little harder. Plus lots of Native ppl are righteously PISSED at that the NDN wars have now moved on to cultural theft. So they are probably going to get it from all sides... ( Custer had it coming )
---To my Northern cousins, other NDN ppl had lodge too, much like the Inipi,... for Tsalagi, it was used when sick.
I was BLESSED when GIVEN the opportunity to join in Lakota Inipi ceremonies.
I was invited by an Elder/Uncle who knew my heart. I would never dream of a "Do it Yourself Inipi". Should an Elder or Uncle that knows me tell me to stay out of the Inipi, I WOULD BE A FOOL NOT TO LISTEN.
It's duyuktv, "The Right Way" -- Wish we would have all joined Tecumseh,... quarreling has not been our friend.
Native American ???... Gee, Thanks for letting me be AMERICAN too... Do I need to be a greedy narcissistic consumer now ?
Ani Yvwiya - a real person.
I don't understand why you, Pottawatamiemommy, and Xawaduxte, are picking at nits, personally attacking the author and trying to cast doubt on his "native" credentials.
Flynn didn't coin the phrase "sweat lodge movement." And why does he have to explain to anyone, red, white, blue or black, why missionary Christianity has reared its ugly head everywhere? I doubt that you and X were so lucky to have been born into your ancestors' traditional religion.
Betcha got a personal bone to pick with Flynn, doncha? But all my suppositions about you are just guesses, like yours are of him.
Too bad you have to show how it's Red vs. Red and "I'm redder than you," when there should be agreement -- that the Sedona incident echos the words of the Ghost Dance: "Whites are crazy, whites are crazy."
Pottawatomie Mommy: Thanks for the allusion to me as the Trickster, it is an image I certainly cultivate. Search as far as I could, I could not find a single tribal leader who spoke out on this incident since it happened. With the exception of places like Dispatches, our voice has been frozen out of the discussion. I also apologize for not contacting you first for permission, but since you remain nameless, faceless, it was impossible to ask your permission first before writing. My point, the one you take exception to as does the other one posting anonymously, is that denial of religious freedom to others, so long denied to us, is not a solution. To quote Leslie Silko from her writings about nuclear weapons, "it is already coming, it can't be called back."
We have every right to deny our culture to any off the wall trickster or thief. These are our traditions that go back eons. Wade Crowe, enrolled with the Yanktonai Hunkpati Dakota Sioux nation of Crow Creek, South Dakota
Wade, we might think we do, but the law says otherwise. I understand and share the angst of Indian people over this issue, but short of resorting to violence, we do not have the power to stop this but through education. A far larger problem is the number of native people who are charging money for sweats and other ceremonies.
The law says otherwise? What a bunch of wasicu b.s. Who are your elders? What nation claims you?
The law does not say otherwise. Once again, the author's claim here is short-sighted and irresponsible. The law only says that the government will not adopt an 'official' religion and make everyone follow it, the way the European kings used to do. There is no law in the United States that requires Native people to make their spiritual practices available to everybody, nor is there a law that says we cannot keep our spiritual practices to ourselves.
My goodness.
I also want to thank all the Native posters on this thread for standing up and speaking up for Native traditional practitioners and for our precious ceremonies.
I also want to amend my condolences to include the family of the 49 year old woman who succumbed today, that makes three now who have died due to this tragedy. What's also shocking is how the perpetrator of this tragedy JUST TOOK OFF and went back home when this happened, then held one of his 'free' seminars in CA, which are designed to entice people into shelling out thousands of $$ for one of his workshops. He had the nerve to cry in front of this crowd and tell everyone how hard it was on him to have this happen.
Wonder if he'll cry in front of the Creator when it's his turn to go Home.
Wasicu holiday Columbus Day... Nasa Bombs the Moon (again with the wasicu way ) ... Twink wasicu mocks for money and people die. October is off to on heck of a start
Professor Flynn has written a terrific article here pointing out some basic fallacies on both sides of the aisle. I think one of his most important points is that the notion of the sweat lodge is already in the mainstream. The film Thunderheart starring Val Kilmer, Graham Green and John Trudell featured an Inipi ceremony. If you google the term "sweat lodge" well over 5 million pages are generated within .10 seconds. White people know about the sweat lodge and, let's face facts, no one is going to stop them from setting up sweats in their backyards and trying it out for themselves. That's reality. It's off the chain.
Now, what can you do about charlatans like Ray? Well, I think you can use situations like this one, as Professor Flynn has done, to illuminate the problems that are fixable.
When Columbus washed up half drowned on the beach in the Caribbean, after his journal dried out, he penned these words:
"They...brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned." Native people have always been known for their generosity. Why do some wish to be so stingy now? Is it because being "Indian" invited European theft?
I am a white guy who has participated in a couple sweat lodge ceremonies. The ceremonies were done in the traditional Plains manner but the ceremony became very universal once the flap was shut and the dark consumed all within. No races, no genders, not in that darkness. The languages spoken within the madodoigan range from primarily English to Lakotah to Potawatomi to Irish Gaelic. Women and men both participated together. Songs were sung, stories told, and many prayers were offered up and shared. The sweat lodge ceremony is truly a beautiful thing and I am eternally grateful that I was invited to participate. And, it was free! It is something that I want to share with my brothers and my parents and eventually my kids, when and if I am lucky enough to have them. In 50 years this could very well be a religion in the United States and beyond. Think of that! What a success story that would be, illegal up til 1978 and then becoming a major American religious practice. That's a victory for the Indians, not a theft or a besmirching of tradition.
I wish the immigrants to our homelands would stop telling us how to feel, and for once in your lives LISTEN to US tell you how we feel.
Our, us, us, we...you apparently speak for everyone. Thanks for completely dismissing everything I had to say simply because I am white. I will have you know, of course, that my kind weren't really considered white until the Kennedy administration but it's not like you're even gonna read this. I'm white so my opinion doesn't count.
But I'm not trying to get into an argument with you. I am simply trying to point out that Johnny has a more realistic approach to this than you seem to have. And I am listening, by the way, and I will continue to listen. But you're seething prejudice against me makes it difficult for me to take your advice, I must say.
A little background on me:
Although I am an English major and my school doesn't yet offer Native American Studies as a degree program, I have studied under Dr. Larry Zimmerman (a white archaeologist that stood up to his colleagues in support of NAGPRA) and have taken numerous classes at my school in regard to American Indian affairs. North American Archaeology, Indians of North America (an anthro course focusing on modern stereotypes and the harm that they cause such as the mascot issue at the University of Illinois), and I am currently taking Native American Religions from Dr. Flynn. I have been to the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina, the Seneca reservation in Salamanca, NY, the Yankton, Rosebud, and Pine Ridge reservations in South Dakota. I am a member of the Native American Student Alliance at my school and also play Stickball (we have a pole set up at school and about 20 sets of sticks). I don't pretend to know what it's like being Native, but I'm definitely doing more than most when it comes to listening.
It seems to me that a central part of what he wrote in the article was this question of where will the priesthood come from? I think that if you want to protect the sweat lodge and other ceremonies that are being exploited by people like Ray, you should step up to the plate and show some leadership. If non-Native folks are gonna sweat no matter what you have to say, then at least maybe you can play a role in making sure they do it the right way, with respect and reverence.
"I will have you know, of course, that my kind weren't really considered white until the Kennedy administration..."
Speaking as yet another "wild-ass Celt", commenting on an article written by a person with the surname "Flynn", I am struck by how short all of our memories are. "We" (Celts whose ancestors inhabited the archipelago just to the West of Northern Europe) experienced much the same things as indigenous North Americans experienced when Europeans arrived. Some of the Europeans that came here were "us", others were the same mainland tribes that had brought us grief. So it has gone over all the Earth for many ages.
Meanwhile, some of "us" aren't sure whether to be amused or outraged at all the fake "Druids" out there, making up our ancient traditions when they have been lost, parodying them when they haven't.
It is you who are missing the point, and you are so far off the point that you don't even know you are missing the point.
Despite the unasked-for boasts about your "Indian Creds,' it is obvious to me you are NOT listening when I or the other Native commenters on this post have said that we OBJECT to the non-Native use and appropriation of our ceremonies and that we are going to CONTINUE to object. Our views should MATTER when we are talking about our own sacred and cultural lifeways.
What I'm hearing you say is (a) look, white people have helped themselves to your ceremonies and there's nothing you can do about it so, (b)instead of being racist and stingy with your ceremonies, you should exercise real leadership and get in there and get that 'priesthood' in hand and give them REAL training on how to do your ceremonies, because you're not getting the point that they're going to do them ANYWAY, and (c) shame on you for being racist and stingy, your ancestors were not like that, and (d) you are quite qualified to tell us what we SHOULD be doing, feeling and believing, because (e) you have taken all kinds of anthro classes, you think Larry Zimmerman is or should be our hero, you play Stickball and are a member of the Native American Student Alliance at your school.
I did not comment here to start an argument. I did so in the hope of clarifying some of the statements made in the original article. I will say that I neglected to thank the author for writing it: I'm glad and grateful that Dr. Flynn took the time to weigh in on the issue. I took the trouble to exercise some 'leadership' and offer points of view that I have encountered among Native peoples all over this country. I did not expect to receive only defensiveness in reply, but that's due to my own projections: since this is a 'religious' blog, I wrongly anticipated that enlightenment, compassion, and respect for others might be a part of any dialogue on this subject.
My name is Pemina Yellow Bird, I am an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of the Ft. Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, and for the past 25 years I have worked for the repatriation and reburial of hundreds of thousands of Native dead that were stolen from their places of rest and which have languished in museums, universities, federal and state agency repositories and private 'collections' all over the world. I have also worked to protect and preserve the irreplaceable sacred and cultural places that our Native Nations need for the continuity and revitaliztion of Native spiritual and cultural practices, places that we need to continue living as distinct Nations of people. This work has taken me all over the country, where I have been richly blessed to be able to learn from my relatives in other Tribes, and that is how I know how many other Native people feel about the theft and appropriation of our most cherished and ancient lifeways.
Again, I didn't come here to argue, only to share what I know about how we have been treated since the newcomers came to our homes and our homelands. If you can hear that - GREAT. If not, it's your loss, because you can never be a friend to us until you let us speak for ourselves and truly listen to what we have to say.
I am listening and I respect your objection. I wasn't trying to earn any Indian credit, and I don't tell people who their heroes should be. I'm glad that you're sharing your experience and perspective, but know that that is all I was trying to do. We may not agree on this issue but thanks for taking the time to respond.
And I don't just play stickball...I'm really good at it.
Read my comments...i respect that you understand the inipi...and so you know i have a better enlightenment than most of my peers...but i do not agree with you when you say that it is a religion...religions have strict codes they go by...and are not as versatile as lakota spirituality...the problem with native americans is that there is no unity...no unity...look for instance on how divided pine ridge and rosebud are...i am native american and enrolled at rosebud for you critics out there...do not let ignorant statements like the one above get you down...people like that are to thick headed and ignorant to understand the importance of your statement.
Rosebud? What is your family name? I know the Iyottes. Who are you? I am Wade Crowe from Crow Creek, South Dakota
Yes, it is us. We are the keepers of our traditions not you. This is our culture and our way of life that was almost destroyed by the Longknives. The same Longknives who would slash our women and children right up the middle of their bodies with their swords. We don't dwell on the past but don't get in our way when we're alive for we will push back. Hoka hey!
So, out of genuine curiosity, do you think white people should prohibit Indians from practicing Christianity?
Oh, if only they'd done that in the first place, instead of forcing it down our ancestors' throats and passing laws that made our own ceremonies illegal, they would have saved us a world of hurt and trouble! Just think: no sexual abuse from the priests; no physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual and mental abuse from the Christians who ran the government-subsidized boarding schools. No shaming of Native people for just being who they were: distinct Nations of people who just wanted to be left alone to live as they had been taught!
But as it is, if that were to happen, I don't think it would cause anyone too much trouble: those who wished to continue practicing Christianity would probably just take it underground, the way our ancestors did to keep our own living spiritualities alive. We have a lot of experience in that, after all.
I agree with this, "I am troubled because the author, who calls himself Native, has failed to tell the rest of this story, namely that (b) the Native American Church is organized the way it is because that is the only way the practitioners of that spiritual way of life could practice their spirituality without going to jail on drug charges, since the US government would not recognize that their medicine was not an illegal drug, and it took several court cases to protect their right to worship as they were taught, here in their own homelands."
This Author is an idiot, might as well be with the new aged sweater', because its his ignorance and perception, nothing based on facts to how NAC members worship. NAC is not Christianity! Traditional beliefs from tribal ceremonies are incorporated from ancestral lineage, if you are Indian (Author) and understand this way of life I'd suggest you partake and take a closer look at yourself as being Indian.
I attended a lot of NAC ceremonies in my day. Learned a lot from my uncles and so on. What you say about the veneer of Christianity is true. But I also learned to respect other tribes and ways, to not argue, fuss and fight. And not call people names or question their backgrounds. Wondering, did you miss that part of the teachings?
I'm questioning you're (author's) Indianship/ blood. How much Indian are you to provide such ignorance/ perception and put NAC in a dull light of how it is practiced. Tradition and Christianity do not mix. I think you've missed more than you're aware of as well or did you miss that part too? Yes I'm aware of my teaching, but you don't speak for all American Indians.
Go to any NAC ceremony and you will see/hear Christian elements. The further south you go, the more you will see. In Oklahoma, Chritian elements are pervasive. On another related note, powwows are the number one celebration of intertribal Indian identity. These were the result of suppression of Native religious ceremonies and the preservation of social dancing by the Wild West shows. As for tradition and Christianity not mixing? Like it or not, Christianity is the number one religion among Native people. It is changing, more Natives are returning to their traditions, but they are bringing with them Christian ideas. There is nothing wrong with it, won't make your hair fall out, won't destroy your worldview, it is the way religions are formed. As for the amount of Indian blood and correlation of knowledge? Culture is transmitted by teaching not by blood. Last time I checked, all blood is red.
Yes, all blood is red, glad you understand that and I would agree that Indians are becoming more Christian (nothing wrong with that), but Christianity is not prevelant in all Indian traditions or customs. It's like your talking as if you've been all across the US at each tribal ceremony and making a bold statement on Christianity being pervasive. Its interpreted as if someone/Native Indian mentions some Christian word (i.e. Jesus, Amen, etc.) it means it's part of the ceremony by your explanation. That's not right, I'd suggest you re-evalute your judgement and perhaps take a trip to meet with the real experts and not always depend on theory or books by Tony Hillerman and other fictional authors about Indians. What you'll learn out there may surprise you, there are no libraries with statues of Socrates head in teepees or in hogans with a medicine man/woman. PowWow's are another story.
Thanks for making me laugh. Tony Hillerman was raised with my mom down near Sacred Heart, Oklahoma and my uncles used to swipe goodies from the Hillerman store in Georgetown. Both are now ghost towns but to think that I earned a PhD and teach at a major university based on reading novels is ludicrous and not worthy of more than a laugh. As for Christianity being part of all native religions, that is not even what I wrote or responded. There are approximately 400 million people who can trace ancestry to the indigenous people in the Americas and less than ten percent exclusively practice native ways. It is a tragedy and due to persistent, invasive policies of governments and churches. In order to survive, many indigenous people took on Christian traditions, some did it deliberately in order to preserve an undercurrent of native ways, others embraced Christianity wholeheartedly, others resisted. And yes, I have traveled the United States and Mexico and participated in many ceremonies through the years. I have been active in the preservation of native sacred sites and have lost more of those battles than won. Part of the battle is in my opinion, educating the public about native traditions. It is good that you disagree and I respect your opinions even if they have demeaned my education, experience and tribal relations.
I was very saddened to hear about the ones dying in the sweatlodge. You don't put 64 people in there with coverings like that. I learned from my elder, a WWII veteran who built his sweat after coming back from the war for his healing and sobriety. He touched a lot of non Indians with his simple and powerful native ways. I feel very angry about some one desecrating this ceremony that only belongs to us Native people. You never charge for something like this. It's not a religious thing, it is a spiritual experience. There were sweatlodges dotting the plains long before the churches come into being. I will continue to pray and remember the ones who lost their lives on account of someone's stupidity and ignorance.
Why is it that I notice that some posters say that they're native American? I would never say that I'm native American for I am Yanktonai Hunkpati Dakota Sioux first.
To quote a "native american" of some fame: "Anybody born on this continent is a 'native American'. Dammit, I'm an Indian'".
You and I were both born here, and are therefore both "native Americans". Neither of us had any choice in the matter (unless you somehow had some option in picking your parents before birth that I did not enjoy). Let's figure out how to make the best of the deal, rather than seek the endless cycles of revenge that plague much of the planet today.
My family arrived on this continent in 1654, and settled in Rhode Island, a colony founded by my ancestor who believed fervently that no land should be occupied by colonists that had not been equitably paid for, as defined by those being paid.
Back off, folks: we're all both victims and perpetrators in this drama.
Who did they pay?
The Narragansett.
And the Black Hills?
And the Black Hills?
What about the Black Hills? They don't appear to be a part of Rhode Island, unless your grasp of geography is considerably more sophisticated than mine.
In the early 1970's the wakan wicasa on the Rosebud got together and formed the Medicine Mens Association. This groups intentions were to put a stop to all misuse of the sacred ceremonies. should someone abuse them they were quickly set straight indian and non-indian alike. this association slowly faded away with the deaths of its members (all were well known wakan wicasa) and by the mid-80's it was completely gone, and is now forgotten.Today things have gotten completely out of hand...obviuously we do not have the means to set it right...i have heard countless stories and have witnessed once the abuse of the inipi ceremony. Going into detail i heard of a man on the west coast using the plains style lodge to sleep with women and he charged the attendee's as well. i heard of a man charged with rape on the reserve back home...and i seen a non-indian (lets refrain from using the word whiteman people) offer the man conduting the ceremony money...the money was declined of course and we were told that he normally pays to enter a lodge we told him that we never charge and that whoever charged him was wrong to do so. But lets get serious for a moment...we do not have the needs or means necessary to enforce the raping of our own culture...and with this idiot Ray's current ordeal it will become even more difficult to to perform our ceremonies without the possibility of being sued.we can delcare war all we want but acting on our statement is an entirely different matter.we need unity amongst ourselves first and foremost...the great sioux nation is divided and conquered... basically in order to stop this whole ordeal we must first unite until then its crazy talk...sincerely A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
While I appreciate the perspectives stated here of what happened in Sedona, and was interested in reading about varying viewpoints of this tragedy, I am wondering if any members of the Aboriginal Natives American Nations thought about the cause of these deaths? Have the authorities come to any definite decision(s) about the cause of death and sickening of these people? I saw that there were more than 60 people participating in this event, and that possible oxygen deprivation and heat was a cause. I was also wondering, however, if the heat within this plastic tent could also release dangerous fumes from the plastic?
Do Native Americans ever use plastic tents for a sweat lodge?. It first strikes me that to be enclosed in a plastic tent would be the most dangerous part of this ceremony. Has anyone come to any decision about poisoning by fumes?
By the way, I too am an Irish American and know that I am indeed not a Native American. The Aboriginal Natives Americans know they were here thousands of years before the colonist came to live here. I would, therefore, like a reply from a true Native American.
In the old days the oinikaga was covered with buffalo, deer, elk, etc. hides. this is northern plains style. there are several ways to construct the oinikaga but the general one used today is made of a variety of wood found in or around the surrounding area in the old days willow was strictly used.its now covered with a variety of garments also but it mainly depends on the person constructing it. i have seen it covered with blankets,rugs, old towels, tarps, etc. the main purpose of covering is to make the inside completely dark. i have heard of men using plastic to make it extremely hot, but these men were heyoka's. IN ANY CASE IF THE CEREMONY GETS TO HOT (you are told this before you go in)YOU CAN STOP IT AT ANY TIME by shouting or saying a phrase in our language. mitakuye oyasin. means all my relations...roughly. when a person shouts this the man watching the door will then open it and you are allowed to leave if you need to and enter again. but the entire experience can raise your heart rate, and in some cases it can trigger an anxiety attack. if both victims had previous health care (problems especially with their hearts) then the oninikaga was not for them. it is possible that the idiot in the article Ray might have used mesculine as well...but one never knows until the results come in. toxins from the tarp covering can be ruled out my friend.and no native americans never used plastic to cover their "sweat lodges" but they sometimes use it today in any case they never cover it entirely with plastic. in the end there should never have been that many people in that ill constructed lodge...looking at it makes me sick...and i know that backlash is coming...we always pay for anothers mistake...history repeats itself...
Sweat lodges,and similar rituals have been practiced ALL arround the world for thousands of years, it is a rich tradition in many ancient Pagan paths.
There are those of us who hail from Europe who practice the old ways and make use of the traditions of the sweat lodge. I also have Cherokee blood descendant of marriage between my french trappers and the Cherokee of the smokey mountains in Tennesee and North Carolina Appalachia, so i can see both sides of this debate.
The problem is most people are only slightly aware of the native traditions of their Pagan European ancestors, or do not know of their Pagan heritage at all. This is sad, indo-european Paganism was never even discussed in the World History classes I took while in Highschool, although good summaries were made of the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Budhists traditions. This left traditional beliefs out of the loop, also I don't remember hearing anything in depth on Native American belief, or on African tribal belief for that matter. This is just disappointing.
As for the sweat lodge, why would somebody pay thousands of dollars to go do this thing when you can build your own sweat lodge in your back yard? I severly do not recommend going to these new age guru's selling spirituality for profit. Any serious spiritual teacher will instruct for free or minimum costs associated with materials, some snacks food etc. Paganism is the fastest growing sect of faiths in America (I can't wait till the new census data comes in). There are teachers everywhere who can instruct and supervise the experience.
I've attended many sweat lodges with different kinds of people, in wiccan covens, with druids, norse pagans with just different types of seekers at Rainbow Family gatherings, and I have never ever heard of there being deaths or serious injury occuring. Something seems out of place here bad. This guy didn't know what he was doing or he was very very careless.
As for the white man red man debate, it is not one of white vs. red, it's Christian worldview vs. pagan. Then again, had Christianity not arose, there may have been a full scale viking invasion and settlement in mass of the Americas. I hate what happened to my native american ancestors of America. However this is due to the rulers and religious leaders and not white people in general. When you approach a traditional follower of native american religion as a traditional follower of a native non christian european tradition, say Asatru for instance, you will find they are very much the same view of existance and our place in the world in relation to creation.
People need to get back to their roots, I cannot stress this enough. It will make the world a better place. I personaly recommend that anyone wanting a serious spiritual experience consider the sweat lodge and it's use. Be prepared for maybe being overwhelmed, and it's ok, make sure you're able to withdrawal, take a friend or two with you. Check out the credentials of who's conducting the ceremony, feel them out, i can sense the contents of somebodies thoughts etc. If i feel that the person is a phony I'm not going to engage. Again, look out for anyone who's trying to charge outrageous ammounts of money to engage in the religious experience. Anyone seriously offering a spiritual teaching is not worried about making money.
I'm new to this blog--Wing Tips because I fly between cultures and touch both.
Hard to get back to your roots when there's no way to know what they are OR your grandparents came from 4 different tribes, or continents...How far back do you go? People speak unknown languages in their sleep. Crank up another level of reality, this is not all there is. Plenty of rez kids dress like ganstas and act that way. Some techno virus called greed steals spirits, all the way to Mongolia and back. Euros get trashed for wearing suede...pity that their medicine people were killed centuries ago when the Church bulldozed THEM, and right onto Turtle Island. It rolls on...Tibetans share their teachings globally despite ONGOING genocide.
If more Euros were in ceremony with native people they might shock out to awaken to Everything is Sacred and work on restoring the Earth now so damaged by suicidal policies of colonization, infecting other countries too. The Earth is One Big Inipi, we are all feeling the heat of polarity --a reminder that we should be praying with our hearts to mend the sacred hoop...it ain't blood, it ain't skin, it's heart and mind. no enrollment # needed...Ho."All my relations means even the people you hate"--D.Banks
How much hatred and name-calling has Flynn's though-provoking article engendered among all of you? Thank you, D.Banks, whoever you are (only kidding). mitakuye oyasin. Ho.
New Age Author Teena Booth couldn't of said it any better. Taken from her blog 10/28/09:
The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy: Is the New Age Movement to Blame?
When I first heard about what happened up in Sedona on October 8th, my heart went out to the people that died, and their families. I felt disgust for the man who lured them into the lodge for profit, the so-called New Age guru James Arthur Ray. And I felt sad for the New Age itself, which will be stained by the tragedy and this event, which has been talked about as “typical” of the excesses of the New Age movement.
Some have said that such a tragedy could only have happened in the New Age movement, that New Age adherents are somehow more gullible than others. Not true. People of all faiths and spiritual persuasions have been turning themselves over, body and soul, to the care of priests and ministers and gurus for centuries, many times to their own benefit, but many times not. We’ve learned that abuse is always possible, always a risk.
There is, however, a certain irony when it happens in the New Age, which is based on the principle that the ultimate spiritual authority is the self, and that you don’t need intermediaries to help you reach spirit. The New Age teaches that we should rely on ourselves, rather than outside authorities, and seek a direct experience of God.
Still, while we are no more gullible than anyone else, neither are we less gullible. Like all human beings, we are unsure of ourselves, and we look for help, a voice to assure us. And like all human beings, we sometimes trust the wrong people, heed the wrong voice.
I never heard of James Ray before; I understand he is a Law of Attraction guy and I long ago came to understand manifestation talk as spiritual junk food, unhealthy for the soul. Much has been made of the $9,600 fee he charges to put his adherents through dangerous spiritual ordeals, and that figure does and should give us head-scratching pause. I’ve always been dismayed at how the New Age has developed into a hobby for the well-to-do. But then, I am always confounded by how the well-to-do spend their money.
Of course, value is in the eye of the beholder, and in some ways, it is encouraging that spiritual endeavors are understood as valuable, worth paying a high price. The terrain between self and God is notoriously rocky and difficult, our longing to get across is profound, and as noted already, we human beings have always sought guides to help us along. It shouldn’t be surprising that someone with means would seek out those guides who are supposed to be the best money can buy.
Yet, anyone who charges money for such things should be considered a likely huckster. Charlatans grow like weeds in that particular terrain, finding plentiful opportunity for cash-making among those with spiritual longings. I think the only way to avoid them would to abandon the terrain altogether, but that would be even more of a tragedy, for I believe that the calling toward God is one of the things that most enriches our lives, one of the things that most makes us human. Rather than abandon the terrain, we should carry in with us a strong shield of skepticism when approached by those with grandiose promises and hands outstretched for cash. Guidebooks are plentiful, do we really need a questionable guide?
I hope James Ray is charged with manslaughter or whatever version of negligent homicide is legally applicable. The blame for this tragedy belongs to him, not the New Age movement itself. However, I could certainly go on about the dangers of Law of Attraction style thinking, in which we assume that if we only think positive thoughts, then only positive things can happen. Also, clearly not true. But that’s another subject.
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