I watched a clip from In the Light of Reverence, in the
commentary filmmakers Christopher McLeod and
Malinda Maynor discuss the First Amendment Right of freedom of religion
and it pertains to the American Indian. The fill makers assert
the opinion that the most basic of all rights, freedom of religion, does not
apply to them. The wilderness for most Indians represents a holy place, a place
for them to worship and practice their spiritual customs.
There is a clash of
cultures when it comes to wilderness and spirituality. On the side you have the
dominant American culture that doesn’t understand the marriage between family
and spirituality a value the American Indians hold dear. One Indian woman
refers to prayer as the “backbone of everything we do.” Americans have long
thought the wilderness to be a product of their invention.
Maynor expresses
that these two worlds collide as a result of the sense of entitlement that Americans
have toward wilderness coupled with the lack of knowledge about Indian
spirituality. The resulting effect is the denial of the for American Indians to
practice a freedom that every American enjoys.
Reference:
http://www.pbs.org/pov/inthelightofreverence/video_interview.php#.VD884Esafy9
The native people spirituality was very strong as it still is today. I agree also that prayers are the "backbone to everything we do" and that is evident with the native people's philosophy and beliefs. Whenever two cultures collide, there are always negative effects.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who spends a great deal of time hiking and backpacking I feel that the woods offer a soul cleansing that you just can't get anywhere else. One issue here in America is that few people spend time in the woods and therefore don't understand the depth of the spirituality the wilderness can offer.
ReplyDeleteSpirituality is just one aspect of "wilderness." It is a long standing American concept dating back to the first colonial settlements that the wilderness needed to be tamed. The wilderness contained evils such as savages, and wild beasts and it needed to be tamed in order to perpetuate civilization. Frontiersmen saw the destruction of wilderness a necessity not knowing the long term effects nor giving thought to the indigenous people. It is the American Wilderness that gives us uniqueness and notional identity.
ReplyDeleteThough American scenery is destitute of many of those circumstances that give value to the European, still it has features, and glorious ones, unknown to Europe...the most distinctive, and perhaps the most impressive, characteristic of American scenery is its wilderness.
--Thomas Cole, 1836