ThirstyFish

This popular t-shirt was spotted in a store window in Philadelphia. "Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism Since 1492".

One of the most thought-provoking books I have recently read is: "In the Absence of the Sacred" by Jerry Mander. Unless you've read this book, pretty much all you "assume" about indigenous peoples and their culture, especially Native Americans is probably wrong.

Not many people know it, but there are over 3,000 native nations in the world today who live in the 200 hundred or so countries who are claiming sovereignty over them. All of these nations are under constant attack, some violently, others legally, and yet others culturally. Not only do we not understand native people, we assert our "superiority" over them and their ways of life. Most of these nations have lived sustainable lives for 12,000 years or more, and we have yet to prove our "level of progress" is a good thing. Think about it; The Industrial Revolution only began 200 years ago, and all the signs are suggesting that we are irreversibly destroying the environment. It's likely that we will destroy ourselves; The indigenous people are just waiting it out.

The way you view the world, is the way you treat the world. In modern culture, we see the world as something to be exploited for the pleasure and the progress of the human being. But this anthropocentric world-view, reinforced by our current econo-political systems and our selective interpretations of Abrahamic Religions, is likely going to bring humanity's end. Despite the fact that we are less happier and are exposed to greater risk with each so-called advancement, we continue to "worship technology", increasingly disconnect ourselves further from "mother nature" and live in fantasies. Indigenous people, through their religions and customs, understand how to live together, and with all other forms of life. In their beliefs, man isn't superior to nature, rather man is a part of living and life-giving "mother nature"; Nature isn't something to be conquered, it is something to be appreciated and respected.

The indigenous have been slaughtered and deceived, their cultures and traditions belittled, all with the goal of stealing their lands. The indigenous do not believe in land-ownership for good reasons - they believe in belonging to a land. They've been persecuted for their world-view for many generations. We - the so-called "civilized" - are nothing more than self-glorifying thieves eating up other peoples' lands, and we will not stop until nobody has anything left to eat. So long as we have our current world-view, we can't stop.