1)
REVERENCE FOR NATURE
The Indian sees him or herself as part of a Great Chain of Being -- one that includes all things in nature, from animals and plants to the moon and stars. Unlike the property owning Europeans, the first Indian felt he was a child of the earth. When the early settlers tried to buy their land, the Iroquois replied: “The Sky is our Father and the Earth is our mother. We cannot sell our mother!”
The Indian sees him or herself as part of a Great Chain of Being -- one that includes all things in nature, from animals and plants to the moon and stars. Unlike the property owning Europeans, the first Indian felt he was a child of the earth. When the early settlers tried to buy their land, the Iroquois replied: “The Sky is our Father and the Earth is our mother. We cannot sell our mother!”
2)
GOVERNMENT BY CONSENSUS
The New England town meeting stems from early Indian councils where each individual had a voice in the community. Further, the American Constitution is based on Indian ideals of participatory government and the union of our Thirteen States was inspired by the Five Nations of the Iriquois.
3)
TEAM SPORTS AND COMPETITION
No team sports existed in Europe before their acquaintance with the New World! Indian ball games like Lacrosse became the models for our baseball and football games and today’s sports mania is an outgrowth of the Indian obsession with victory for the tribe.
Further, the competitive spirit of American business is similar to that of Indian fighters--and we also may have inherited from Indian warriors and athletes the idea that business is a game.
4)
RESPECT FOR THE FEMININE
The North American Indians were the first societies to honor women’s suffrage. Further, in many tribes the women hold the hereditary titles of the chief--and meet in council to chose his next successor.
5)
HOLISTIC HEALING
Indians have always understood that a disturbance of the mind lays the ground for physical illness. A most extreme example is in the Wintu dialect where there is no word for body. Instead a single word denotes “the whole person” and suggests the role of temperament and emotion in disease.
6)
A BELIEF IN DREAMS AND VISIONS
Indians have long relied on dreams and visions---and intuition---to help them in decision making. The word powwow literally means “he dreams.
7)
GENEROSITY
Because the land was bountiful the Native people shared their goods and crops with the white man. On feast days, they also held “giveaways” honoring one another with gifts. Eventually New England settlers adopted a similar feast day called Thanksgiving----but the average Indian had not one, but nine of these holidays each year!
8)
BELIEF IN TRANSFORMATION
Native Americans had rites and rituals whereby an individual could adopt a new identity, a new set of beliefs, and take a new name at any stage of life. These ceremonies reflect a profound respect for inner changes.
9) A SENSE OF HEROISM
The Indian has never accepted human life as ordinary, as something to be managed in a superficial manner. His rituals test the deepest qualities in himself: his courage is shown not only in heroic combat with others but in combat with himself and with the powers of the universe. During his lifetime, an individual Indian faces several trials to develop his physical and emotional endurance.
10)
AN INCLUSIVE VALUE SYSTEM
The Native American believes in multiple realities. Thus there can be no “outsiders” within the tribe. Unusual talent or behavior is assimilated and accepted. No one personal experience is given more validity than another. The American Indian lives in a world of many truths and intertwined cultural complexities.
GOVERNMENT BY CONSENSUS
The New England town meeting stems from early Indian councils where each individual had a voice in the community. Further, the American Constitution is based on Indian ideals of participatory government and the union of our Thirteen States was inspired by the Five Nations of the Iriquois.
3)
TEAM SPORTS AND COMPETITION
No team sports existed in Europe before their acquaintance with the New World! Indian ball games like Lacrosse became the models for our baseball and football games and today’s sports mania is an outgrowth of the Indian obsession with victory for the tribe.
Further, the competitive spirit of American business is similar to that of Indian fighters--and we also may have inherited from Indian warriors and athletes the idea that business is a game.
4)
RESPECT FOR THE FEMININE
The North American Indians were the first societies to honor women’s suffrage. Further, in many tribes the women hold the hereditary titles of the chief--and meet in council to chose his next successor.
5)
HOLISTIC HEALING
Indians have always understood that a disturbance of the mind lays the ground for physical illness. A most extreme example is in the Wintu dialect where there is no word for body. Instead a single word denotes “the whole person” and suggests the role of temperament and emotion in disease.
6)
A BELIEF IN DREAMS AND VISIONS
Indians have long relied on dreams and visions---and intuition---to help them in decision making. The word powwow literally means “he dreams.
7)
GENEROSITY
Because the land was bountiful the Native people shared their goods and crops with the white man. On feast days, they also held “giveaways” honoring one another with gifts. Eventually New England settlers adopted a similar feast day called Thanksgiving----but the average Indian had not one, but nine of these holidays each year!
8)
BELIEF IN TRANSFORMATION
Native Americans had rites and rituals whereby an individual could adopt a new identity, a new set of beliefs, and take a new name at any stage of life. These ceremonies reflect a profound respect for inner changes.
9) A SENSE OF HEROISM
The Indian has never accepted human life as ordinary, as something to be managed in a superficial manner. His rituals test the deepest qualities in himself: his courage is shown not only in heroic combat with others but in combat with himself and with the powers of the universe. During his lifetime, an individual Indian faces several trials to develop his physical and emotional endurance.
10)
AN INCLUSIVE VALUE SYSTEM
The Native American believes in multiple realities. Thus there can be no “outsiders” within the tribe. Unusual talent or behavior is assimilated and accepted. No one personal experience is given more validity than another. The American Indian lives in a world of many truths and intertwined cultural complexities.
