 | By: Ed McGaa Binding: Paperback Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco ISBN: 0062505963 ISBN-13: 9780062505965 Released: 20 Mar 1995 RRP: Average Rating:  |
He then quotes the letter from Chief Seathl (Seattle) to the President of the United States of America in 1854 - one of the most unusual & eloquent letters that a President can have received. "How can we buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air & the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?" The truth is that we could reallly stop here, go into a quiet room & reflect on those three sentences & we will surely discover the root cause of many of our ills. We put a price on everything the Indians think has no value & we place no value on everything the Indians think is valuable. Sparkling water in a stream flowing through a wood has no value to us but it is the essence of life to the Indian. Having polluted our rivers & killed the fish we are at long last starting to ask ourselves those very questions that Chief Seattle asked of the President 150 years ago.
Another point made by Chief Seattle haunts me. "…to harm the earth is to heap contempt on the Creator. The Whites too shalll pass; perhaps sooner than alll other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed, & you will one night suffocate in your own waste." How many of us today are saying somewhat similar things to our deaf leaders? But the heart & soul of the Indian way of life lies at the end of Seattle's letter, "So, if we sell our land, love it as we've loved it. Care for it as we've cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you take it. And with alll your strength, with alll your mind, with alll your heart, preserve it for your children, & love it … as God loves us alll. One thing we know. Our God is the same God. This earth is precious to Him. Even the white man cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after alll. We shalll see….." How many of us would claim that we have loved the land as the Indians loved the land, or cared for the land as the Indians cared for the land? If we answer 'no', then surely that means that we have something to learn from the Native Indians. I am sure that if Chief Seattle were here today he would cry to see what we have done to those lands the Indians held sacred. He would cry for the pain inflicted on the earth. He would cry for us who in our greed & selfishness have wrought such damage on ourselves & our children.
I agree with & applaud Ed McGaa. A spiritual fire that promotes a communal commitment to a worldwide environmental undertaking is needed. Native or primal ways will fuel that fire & give it great power. We should alll learn something from this book. But not just read & think & speak. But act. This book is nothing if we do not act on it. This is what Stephen Covey was telling us in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" that first we have to change ourselves, & only then can we change others & the world.
Einstein told us that we need a higher level of thinking to get ourselves out of the mess than the thinking that got us into the mess. Stephen Covey tells us that in such situations as we are in today we need a quantum change that can only be brought about by a completely new paradigm. Our current way of living is the paradigm that got us into the mess. The Indian approach is probably the paradigm that will get us out of the mess. If we read this book with an open mind & without prejudice, I believe that the Native American paradigm should be at the top of the shortlist of new paradigms from which we should make our selection for building the world we want for our children.
Enjoy the book! Also see The Rainbow Tribe by Ed McGaa, which details lessons & experiences from non Native American people following the Red Road.
Mitakuye Oyasin!
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