This is a reprint of an article from 2007.

This morning I went from reading about the dark history of America's Thanksgiving, to seeing beautiful Thanksgiving sentiments on an e-card that my brother sent me. The contrast between the two meanings of the holiday was striking.

There are several versions of the origins of Thanksgiving in America, including celebrating the small pox decimation of the Wampanoag Indians who were described as barbarians, or holding a victory celebration of the Pequot massacre in 1637, or to Pilgrims and the Wampanoag sharing their harvest together in 1621.
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Steven Lane Taylor's exceptional article (Being in the Flow is "No Sweat") reminded me of a specific chapter in the classic book, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions. John (Fire) Lame Deer was a Lakota Sioux holy man who lived between 1900 – 1976, and his book depicts the rich history and culture of the Lakota people, as well as an autobiographical account of his remarkable life.

In his book, Lame Deer spoke of the old traditional tale of the inipi, or sweat bath — what we currently call the sweat lodge. The ancient purification ceremony in the inipi was the first sacred rite of the Lakotans and many times is used as the opening ceremony for many other traditional Lakotan rites.

Every part of the bringing together of materials for the construction of the inipi has a deep and holy significance for those holding the ceremony — from the selection of the willow branches to form the frame, the type of wood for the fire, the choice of rocks and the importance of their initial location and then their placement within the inipi, to the direction of the opening of the structure. For the sun-dance sweat lodge, the best blankets from the village were always chosen to cover the frame. Read the rest of this entry »

Uncovered frame of sweat lodge, Sioux Village; created/published between 1896-1905

Since it has been all over the national news lately, most of you are probably aware of the tragedy that recently occurred here in Sedona during a sweat lodge ceremony. During this event, two people died, about twenty others became seriously ill, and a third person died later from her injuries. (For more information about sweat lodges, click here.)

Usually, a sweat lodge is reasonably safe, because the person in charge of this sacred ritual continually monitors the well-being of the participants, and allows anyone to leave the lodge if they are experiencing severe, physical discomfort. Although the leader of this particular sweat lodge did not physically restrain anyone from leaving, one survivor of the ordeal claims that those who did attempt to leave—or complained about their distress—were encouraged to "push through it."  In other words, it sounds like the lodge leader encouraged them to endure their discomfort, to persevere, and to literally "sweat it out."  The results of that attitude proved disastrous. Read the rest of this entry »

Tohono O'odham Community Action Tackles Diabetes

Members of the Tohono O'odham Nation suffer from one of the highest type 2 diabetes rates ever recorded. The disease seemed inevitable in the community.

Now, the Tohono have turned to their traditional foods and recipes to combat diabetes and obesity, with striking results.

SLIDE SHOW: Harvesting the Wild Foods of the Sonoran Desert

Find out more at the Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA).

A lot of the media are saying that the Mayan Calendar predicts December 21, 2012 as the "end of the world." For those of you who are already in the know about the history of this ancient timetable, this is utter nonsense. But as we delve deeper into some of the facts and theories surrounding this date, we begin to understand the thinking behind such doomsday predictions.

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar started 3114 BC with an end-date of December 21 or 23, 2012, spanning a time of 5125.36 years. On this date, the Long Count calendar will reach 13.0.0.0.0, with 13 units being a 144,000-day cycle. Does this date signify the end of civilization and a resetting of the calendar, or can it even continue beyond this time?
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With less than four years to go, stories of what the Mayan Calendar means for us and what may happen on December 21, 2012 have created a lot of apocalyptic fear about the 'end of the world.' Global news about irreversible climate change, economic instability and impending collapse only heighten those fears of doom and peril.

To dispel fear and encourage a sense of optimism and greater understanding around this time of great global change and the coming of a new era, The Institute for Cultural Awareness (ICA) has organized a pilgrimage to bring together indigenous elders and future wisdom keepers from around the world for what's called The Return of the Ancestors' Gathering throughout Northern Arizona, beginning on Earth Day weekend, April 18th, 2009, through the 28th. This culmination of world elders will be the fourth official gathering of the Continental Council of Indigenous Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas.
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If you happen to live in an area of North America that has wide ranges of standing lodgepole pines, you know what the mountain pine beetle is. Its effects are starkly visible all throughout natural regions with ever-growing swaths of reddish-orange trees — trees already showing the fiery signs of death.

The mountain pine beetle dilemma has been labeled a symptom of climate change when overly warm winters have allowed the beetle to thrive and populate. Usually long-sustained winters and deep freezes help control the numbers, but those types of cold seasons have been lacking enough to allow the population explosion to take place. Other factors believed to be contributing to the problem are suppression of forest fires (allowing the majority of standing pines across America to mature, which are more susceptible to beetle infestation), and weakened immune systems due to long periods of drought.
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The Senoi aboriginals of Peninsular Malaysia are shy, nonviolent tribal people who rely on oral history among their tribes to pass on ancestral wisdom. Despite worldwide changes going on around them, the Senoi are described as the most peaceful people on the planet and extremely dedicated to preserving their traditions and survival methods orally. They are a subgroup of Malaysia's Orang Asli people (translated as "the Ancient Ones," because they are believed to have lived on the peninsula since ancient times), and are particularly famous because of other published works that described their extraordinary mental health through the use of dream interpretation and lucid dreaming.
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Lakota leaders announced earlier this week that they are unilaterally withdrawing from their 33 treaties with the United States, stating that the U.S. has continually violated them, and it is therefore within the tribe's legal right to withdraw.
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This morning I went from reading about the dark history of America's Thanksgiving, to seeing beautiful Thanksgiving sentiments on an e-card that my brother sent me. The contrast between the two meanings of the holiday was striking.

There are several versions of the origins of Thanksgiving in America, including celebrating the small pox decimation of the Wampanoag Indians who were described as barbarians, or holding a victory celebration of the Pequot massacre in 1637, or to Pilgrims and the Wampanoag sharing their harvest together in 1621.
Read the rest of this entry »