White Shamans, Plastic Medicine

[amor_fati]

Part 1
Part 2

While I absolutely hate the new age thing, especially as it's represented in this documentary, I find both sides representing themselves a bit absurdly. Certainly co-opting a culture and heritage--especially not one of your own--is one of the most atrocious of crimes, but I don't feel that most of the reasons given here are necessarily the most valid. All I see is ethnocentricity vs. reverse racism or deluded multi-culturalism, and neither is constructive or wholly sincere.

Certainly the conventional contemporary segments of the Native American church perform important functions within their respective communities, but perhaps these new age groups do the same for yuppies and hippies, and perhaps neither is so different from most other churches of any other culture, but I feel all of them are incredibly far removed from their spiritual and personal and sincere origins--maybe to different degrees but not different enough for me.

I like to think that perhaps many of those on this forum and elsewhere are pioneering the middle-ground and exploring the depths and possibilities of a free perspective in the matter. Perhaps we are less characterized by being a middle ground than as a vast frontier, considering how moderate and mild the more conventional forms represented in this film seem.

Anyway, I found the whole thing quite hilarious, but also feel that those within this community should take care not to drift such a maelstrom of absurdity.

That said, I'll be studying Lakota soon! :lol:

 

[jamie]

I saw that video a long time ago..and its a joke..comeplete and utter cultural ignorance...I have heard this many times from native americans..but NEVER from the older ones who know better. Dont ever let anyone tell you that you cannot be a shaman becasue it's culture theft. That's bullshit. Tell them to get a life and get they're ass into a anthropology class and learn something about european first nations , this is 2009 not 1909..or inform where the word "shaman" actually comes from. Most real shamans, no matter the color would alreay know this though.

you know how long ago my tribes land was taken in the name of the cross?...us "white shamans" have been in this ideological battle so long we almost forgot..

 

[SWIMfriend]

A buddhist would say that the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.

It this case, the saying would have include: fingers of any color, fingers with faux jewelry...and fingers that don't get much exercise.

 

[jamie]

..at the same time, I kinda think that all the exmples of the "white" shamans they used were kinda on the cutting edge of new age cornyness..I mean..we dont all sound like that here. I dont pretend that i am native american.I dont want a native american spirit name. I am native european. My ancestors practiced a nature based shamanistic trance magic call seidr. Native european tribes still exist intact as well and are fighting for they're rights as we speak. They are called the sami. They ate muchrooms, they tripped, they played drums, traveld the ygdrasil world tree and healed. They were/are shamans.

 

[jamie]

I actually like what the native guy in the hat says in near the end about "getting down to where it hurts"...and building relationships upon respect etc..some of these guys really do make a lot of sense..but I just dont think that all "shamanic" modalities centre around or have anything to do with native american medicine traditions..dont get me wrong, there is def horrible damage being done to the native american traditions and culture..I know those immatative ones are out there, but in my experience, they are most always quite in-experienced and naive, caught up in head games. I dont see too much of this in the core entheogenic community, though it is there.

Create you're own culture, there's plenty of room!