Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

A Declaration of War

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

http://www.aics.org/war.html

 

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

 

http://www.aics.org/war.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...