Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 15, 2008 11:13:52 GMT -5
Declaration of War
Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality
----------------------------------------------------------
----------
First of all; We (meaning A.I.C.S.) did not write this declaration.
It was written by Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Spiritual people.
We do however support, and we encourage others to support, each and
every word written here.
Elders don't get around the internet like we do, so they are only
partly aware of all the exploitation going on. Support those who
wrote these words making it known to the exploiters - we know who and
what they are, we do not approve, we are watching, and we are
notifying others. Above all else, BOYCOTT the fakes and make sure
your friends do not fall victim to them!
----------------------------------------------------------
----------
At the Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of US and Canadian
Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, about 500 representatives from 40
different tribes and bands of the Lakota unanimously passed
a "Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality." The
following declaration was unanimously passed on June 10, 1993
----------------------------------------------------------
----------
Declaration of War
WHEREAS we are the conveners of an ongoing series of comprehensive
forums on the abuse and exploitation of Lakota spirituality; and
WHEREAS we represent the recognized traditional spiritual leaders,
traditional elders, and grassroots advocates of the Lakota people;
and
WHEREAS for too long we have suffered the unspeakable indignity of
having our most precious Lakota ceremonies and spiritual practices
desecrated, mocked and abused by non-Indian "wannabes," hucksters,
cultists, commercial profiteers and self-styled "New Age shamans" and
their followers; and
WHEREAS with horror and outrage we see this disgraceful
expropriation of our sacred Lakota traditions has reached epidemic
proportions in urban areas throughout the country; and
WHEREAS our precious Sacred Pipe is being desecrated through the
sale of pipestone pipes at flea markets, powwows, and "New Age"
retail stores; and
WHEREAS pseudo-religious corporations have been formed to charge
people money for admission into phony "sweatlodges" and "vision
quest" programs; and
WHEREAS sacrilegious "sundances" for non-Indians are being
conducted by charlatans and cult leaders who promote abominable and
obscene imitations of our sacred Lakota sundance rites; and
WHEREAS non-Indians have organized themselves into
imitation "tribes," assigning themselves make-believe "Indian names"
to facilitate their wholesale expropriation and commercialization of
our Lakota traditions; and
WHEREAS academic disciplines have sprung up at colleges and
universities institutionalizing the sacrilegious imitation of our
spiritual practices by students and instructors under the guise of
educational programs in "shaminism;" and
WHEREAS non-Indian charlatans and "wannabes" are selling books that
promote the systematic colonization of our Lakota spirituality; and
WHEREAS the television and film industry continues to saturate the
entertainment media with vulgar, sensationalist and grossly distorted
representations of Lakota spirituality and culture which reinforce
the public's negative stereotyping of Indian people and which gravely
impair the self-esteem of our children; and
WHEREAS individuals and groups involved in "the New Age Movement,"
in "the men's movement," in "neo-paganism" cults and in "shamanism"
workshops all have exploited the spiritual traditions of our Lakota
people by imitating our ceremonial ways and by mixing such imitation
rituals with non-Indian occult practices in an offensive and harmful
pseudo-religious hodgepodge; and
WHEREAS the absurd public posturing of this scandalous assortment
of psuedo-Indian charlatans, "wannabes," commercial profiteers,
cultists and "New Age shamans" comprises a momentous obstacle in the
struggle of traditional Lakota people for an adequate public
appraisal of the legitimate political, legal and spiritual needs of
real Lakota people; and
WHEREAS this exponential exploitation of our Lakota spiritual
traditions requires that we take immediate action to defend our most
precious Lakota spirituality from further contamination, desecration
and abuse;
THEREFORE WE RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
1. We hereby and henceforth declare war against all persons who
persist in exploiting, abusing and misrepresenting the sacred
traditions and spiritual practices of our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota
people.
2. We call upon all our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota brothers and
sisters from reservations, reserves, and traditional communities in
the United States and Canada to actively and vocally oppose this
alarming take-over and systematic destruction of our sacred
traditions.
3. We urge our people to coordinate with their tribal members living
in urban areas to identify instances in which our sacred traditions
are being abused, and then to resist this abuse, utilizing whatever
specific tactics are necessary and sufficient --for example
demonstrations, boycotts, press conferences, and acts of direct
intervention.
4. We especially urge all our Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people to
take action to prevent our own people from contributing to and
enabling the abuse of our sacred ceremonies and spiritual practices
by outsiders; for, as we all know, there are certain ones among our
own people who are prostituting our spiritual ways for their own
selfish gain, with no regard for the spiritual well-being of the
people as a whole.
5. We assert a posture of zero-tolerance for any "white man's shaman"
who rises from within our own communities to "authorize" the
expropriation of our ceremonial ways by non-Indians; all
such "plastic medicine men" are enemies of the Lakota, Dakota and
Nakota people.
6. We urge traditional people, tribal leaders, and governing councils
of all other Indian nations, to join us in calling for an immediate
end to this rampant exploitation of our respective American Indian
sacred traditions by issuing statements denouncing such abuse; for it
is not the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people alone whose spiritual
practices are being systematically violated by non-Indians.
7. We urge all our Indian brothers and sisters to act decisively and
boldly in our present campaign to end the destruction of our sacred
traditions, keeping in mind our highest duty as Indian people: to
preserve the purity of our precious traditions for our future
generations, so that our children and our children's children will
survive and prosper in the sacred manner intended for each of our
respective peoples by our Creator.
Wilmer Stampede Mesteth; (Oglala Lakota); Traditional Spiritual
Leader & Lakota Culture Instructor; Oglala Lakota College, Pine
Ridge, South Dakota
Darrell Standing Elk; (Sicangu Lakota); President, Center for the
SPIRIT, San Fancisco, California, & Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Phyllis Swift Hawk; (Kul Wicasa Lakota); Tiospaye Wounspe Waokiye;
Wanblee, South Dakota
Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality
----------------------------------------------------------
----------
First of all; We (meaning A.I.C.S.) did not write this declaration.
It was written by Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Spiritual people.
We do however support, and we encourage others to support, each and
every word written here.
Elders don't get around the internet like we do, so they are only
partly aware of all the exploitation going on. Support those who
wrote these words making it known to the exploiters - we know who and
what they are, we do not approve, we are watching, and we are
notifying others. Above all else, BOYCOTT the fakes and make sure
your friends do not fall victim to them!
----------------------------------------------------------
----------
At the Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of US and Canadian
Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, about 500 representatives from 40
different tribes and bands of the Lakota unanimously passed
a "Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality." The
following declaration was unanimously passed on June 10, 1993
----------------------------------------------------------
----------
Declaration of War
WHEREAS we are the conveners of an ongoing series of comprehensive
forums on the abuse and exploitation of Lakota spirituality; and
WHEREAS we represent the recognized traditional spiritual leaders,
traditional elders, and grassroots advocates of the Lakota people;
and
WHEREAS for too long we have suffered the unspeakable indignity of
having our most precious Lakota ceremonies and spiritual practices
desecrated, mocked and abused by non-Indian "wannabes," hucksters,
cultists, commercial profiteers and self-styled "New Age shamans" and
their followers; and
WHEREAS with horror and outrage we see this disgraceful
expropriation of our sacred Lakota traditions has reached epidemic
proportions in urban areas throughout the country; and
WHEREAS our precious Sacred Pipe is being desecrated through the
sale of pipestone pipes at flea markets, powwows, and "New Age"
retail stores; and
WHEREAS pseudo-religious corporations have been formed to charge
people money for admission into phony "sweatlodges" and "vision
quest" programs; and
WHEREAS sacrilegious "sundances" for non-Indians are being
conducted by charlatans and cult leaders who promote abominable and
obscene imitations of our sacred Lakota sundance rites; and
WHEREAS non-Indians have organized themselves into
imitation "tribes," assigning themselves make-believe "Indian names"
to facilitate their wholesale expropriation and commercialization of
our Lakota traditions; and
WHEREAS academic disciplines have sprung up at colleges and
universities institutionalizing the sacrilegious imitation of our
spiritual practices by students and instructors under the guise of
educational programs in "shaminism;" and
WHEREAS non-Indian charlatans and "wannabes" are selling books that
promote the systematic colonization of our Lakota spirituality; and
WHEREAS the television and film industry continues to saturate the
entertainment media with vulgar, sensationalist and grossly distorted
representations of Lakota spirituality and culture which reinforce
the public's negative stereotyping of Indian people and which gravely
impair the self-esteem of our children; and
WHEREAS individuals and groups involved in "the New Age Movement,"
in "the men's movement," in "neo-paganism" cults and in "shamanism"
workshops all have exploited the spiritual traditions of our Lakota
people by imitating our ceremonial ways and by mixing such imitation
rituals with non-Indian occult practices in an offensive and harmful
pseudo-religious hodgepodge; and
WHEREAS the absurd public posturing of this scandalous assortment
of psuedo-Indian charlatans, "wannabes," commercial profiteers,
cultists and "New Age shamans" comprises a momentous obstacle in the
struggle of traditional Lakota people for an adequate public
appraisal of the legitimate political, legal and spiritual needs of
real Lakota people; and
WHEREAS this exponential exploitation of our Lakota spiritual
traditions requires that we take immediate action to defend our most
precious Lakota spirituality from further contamination, desecration
and abuse;
THEREFORE WE RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
1. We hereby and henceforth declare war against all persons who
persist in exploiting, abusing and misrepresenting the sacred
traditions and spiritual practices of our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota
people.
2. We call upon all our Lakota, Dakota and Nakota brothers and
sisters from reservations, reserves, and traditional communities in
the United States and Canada to actively and vocally oppose this
alarming take-over and systematic destruction of our sacred
traditions.
3. We urge our people to coordinate with their tribal members living
in urban areas to identify instances in which our sacred traditions
are being abused, and then to resist this abuse, utilizing whatever
specific tactics are necessary and sufficient --for example
demonstrations, boycotts, press conferences, and acts of direct
intervention.
4. We especially urge all our Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people to
take action to prevent our own people from contributing to and
enabling the abuse of our sacred ceremonies and spiritual practices
by outsiders; for, as we all know, there are certain ones among our
own people who are prostituting our spiritual ways for their own
selfish gain, with no regard for the spiritual well-being of the
people as a whole.
5. We assert a posture of zero-tolerance for any "white man's shaman"
who rises from within our own communities to "authorize" the
expropriation of our ceremonial ways by non-Indians; all
such "plastic medicine men" are enemies of the Lakota, Dakota and
Nakota people.
6. We urge traditional people, tribal leaders, and governing councils
of all other Indian nations, to join us in calling for an immediate
end to this rampant exploitation of our respective American Indian
sacred traditions by issuing statements denouncing such abuse; for it
is not the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people alone whose spiritual
practices are being systematically violated by non-Indians.
7. We urge all our Indian brothers and sisters to act decisively and
boldly in our present campaign to end the destruction of our sacred
traditions, keeping in mind our highest duty as Indian people: to
preserve the purity of our precious traditions for our future
generations, so that our children and our children's children will
survive and prosper in the sacred manner intended for each of our
respective peoples by our Creator.
Wilmer Stampede Mesteth; (Oglala Lakota); Traditional Spiritual
Leader & Lakota Culture Instructor; Oglala Lakota College, Pine
Ridge, South Dakota
Darrell Standing Elk; (Sicangu Lakota); President, Center for the
SPIRIT, San Fancisco, California, & Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Phyllis Swift Hawk; (Kul Wicasa Lakota); Tiospaye Wounspe Waokiye;
Wanblee, South Dakota