A Powerful Message From The Native Americans

We still aren't listening, but maybe we can change.

I invite everyone hear on ATS to listen to some of the greatest slices of wisdom shared by Floyd Red Crow Westerman may he rest in peace, and his wisdom be shared and understood by everyone worldwide.

Also other NA speak out. These are humbling and thought provoking video's, if you don't have time for all of them the first one should be enough to move you.

From Red Crows lips to everyone's souls.





Part Two




Part Three




Part Four

Its a myth that the Native Americans lived in harmony with nature and they were as destructive as any Europeans were. They simply did not have the technological capacity to conduct their pilfering on as large a scale.

Many tribes had no problem burning down entire regions of forests to make their hunts easier. They also conducted mass kills of buffalo by the "buffalo jump", an unsettling practice of driving entire herds off of cliffs. Contrary to their lore, they did not peacefully hunt only what was needed, they hunted the way they found easiest.

When discussing Native Americans you sort of have to read between the lines between what history books tell you and what has been found out to be more truthful accounts of their practices.

reply to post by Realtruth


It was NOT all peace and unicorns and rainbows before the white man came. Indians had wars with each other. They took captives as slaves. They tortured them and raped them. Your picture of Native Americans as peaceful and wise is not quite how it was. There was constant warfare and bickering. And once the white man came, they could not sell and betray each other fast enough.

I love powerful messages and Native Americans. What joy!

I see its multi-video, give me something to watch tonight. Thanks for sharing.

groingrinder

It was NOT all peace and unicorns and rainbows before the white man came. Indians had wars with each other. They took captives as slaves. They tortured them and raped them. Your picture of Native Americans as peaceful and wise is not quite how it was. There was constant warfare and bickering.

I'm sure there were conflicts, but the general philosophy was to live symbiotically with mother earth, but since none of us lived back in that time, we'll have to take the stories that were passed down.

groingrinder

And once the white man came, they could not sell and betray each other fast enough

Only proving the point that the current MO will self-implode.

Spookybelle
Its a myth that the Native Americans lived in harmony with nature and they were as destructive as any Europeans were. They simply did not have the technological capacity to conduct their pilfering on as large a scale.

Many tribes had no problem burning down entire regions of forests to make their hunts easier. They also conducted mass kills of buffalo by the "buffalo jump", an unsettling practice of driving entire herds off of cliffs. Contrary to their lore, they did not peacefully hunt only what was needed, they hunted the way they found easiest.

When discussing Native Americans you sort of have to read between the lines between what history books tell you and what has been found out to be more truthful accounts of their practices.

better then what everyone else has done,and they all didnt do as you say.vomit

s&f

I'm in the middle of the 3rd video, but wanted to thank you for posting this.
There are some very wise words within these videos.

Ok, I am going back to watching.

Realtruth

groingrinder
reply to post by Realtruth

 

It was NOT all peace and unicorns and rainbows before the white man came. Indians had wars with each other. They took captives as slaves. They tortured them and raped them. Your picture of Native Americans as peaceful and wise is not quite how it was. There was constant warfare and bickering.

I'm sure there were conflicts, but the general philosophy was to live symbiotically with mother earth, but since none of us lived back in that time, we'll have to take the stories that were passed down.

That really is not accurate at all.

You'll notice, and this is well documented, that from the very day the Europeans landed on these shores, before that actually with the Spanish, the Native Americans absolutely coveted the new technology that was brought to them. New tools, firearms, gunpowder, all sorts of things that made them more efficient were in high demand.

Native Americans had no more love of the Earth than anyone else did. Look at the Beaver Wars where the Native Americans, in their quest for riches, absolutely decimated the beaver population in the Northeast. They didn't give any regard to the Earth in their desire for profit, if there was a market they went for it.

It wasn't until they were forced off the land and sent to reservations that this great love of Earth became exemplified into their lore.

reply to post by Spookybelle


I think we should always take into consideration that the victors write history....

reply to post by Spookybelle


And what happened to those whom weren't tempted and acquiesced to the new way of life?

They were slaughtered!

While I agree somewhat with past posts about native americans having the same exact problems us europeans aisians africans and all, I do wonder if they looked at this Mnt. Rainier in a different awe and wonder that I do.

To me it is beauty and natural perfection. To them the mountain might have been something cooler

the indians managed to last at least 12000 years, maybe if some archealogists are correct even 50 or a hundred thousand years, without bringing the continent ( the whole world really ) right to the brink of destruction the way the white man has just 400 years

Here is video #4 (OP, your video #4 is #3 so I am gonna post it for you along with #5)

#4


#5



Awesome videos!

Danbones
the indians managed to last at least 12000 years, maybe if some archealogists are correct even 50 or a hundred thousand years, without bringing the continent ( the whole world really ) right to the brink of destruction the way the white man has just 400 years

edit on 9-11-2013 by Danbones because: (no reason given)

Shhh .....

Rosinitiate
reply to post by Spookybelle

 

I think we should always take into consideration that the victors write history....

edit on 9-11-2013 by Rosinitiate because: (no reason given)

We should also take into account that people will choose whatever facts help them with their argument. There are facts and stories for both sides.
The 50 million or so Native Americans includes ALL the Americas...not just the US.
Smallpox blankets could be a myth.
Native Americans were more "in tune" with the land because the weren't as technologically advanced as the Europeans that came over.
The Native Americans overhunted, killed eachother, cut down swaths of forest for living space/hunting areas, basically everything the Europeans did, just not as efficiently. That is where technology comes in again.
As in all history, when a technologically inferior group of people meet a group of people that are technologically advanced...guess who loses? It happens/happened time and time again throughout history.
They were treated horribly! But they also treated eachother horribly. Does it make what happened to them right? No, but it happened and we have shown that we haven't learned from it even one bit. Oh sure, the POTUS, the PM of Canada and the Church have all apologized...but we just do it to different people now for different reasons.

Rosinitiate
reply to post by Spookybelle

 

I think we should always take into consideration that the victors write history....

edit on 9-11-2013 by Rosinitiate because: (no reason given)

There is plenty of research from Native American tribes themselves that delve into all of this and its accessible by anyone who wishes to look for it. I know the Navajo people have researched their historic culture independently as I'm sure many other tribal communities have.

It the written history produced by Europeans themselves that we read in school that are the main culprits of perpetuating the myth of Native Americans as peaceable, nature loving people. Of course they were but they also had their dark sides the same way that every social construct anywhere in the world has.

They were not different than tribes in Asia or Africa or early Europe. We need to realize that societies are formed around basic principles and only slight deviations change depending on location. This is a constant and we can see this in regards to the religious issue. There is a reason why a culture in North America has almost the exact same religious iconology that a group in New Zealand would have.

Humans are humans and no group is superior or more in touch than another group.

People professing how the Native Americans were so in tune with the Earth and were non-violent, and did not partake in greed or desire have no interest in knowing the truth.

Pontiac, the Chief of the Ottowa tribe, whom I consider one of the wisest and best leaders in human history, actually saw what was going on, how the Native Americans, in their greed and lust, were trying to play the different European factions off of each other for personal gain and trying to get a one-up on their neighboring tribes.

He was able to see what was going to happen and led a rebellion, which very well may have been successful, if the majority of Native Americans would have joined instead of fighting for their own self-interests. Instead, we see the ultimate destruction of Native American culture as the human quest for greed went to the people who were better equipped and organized.

It wasn't the Europeans simply taking from the Native Americans, it was two sides both fighting for personal greed and using the tools they had available to them. No side was better than the other and neither side was a victim. It was a horrible game being played different societies with the same end goal.

Every time Native American's come up in a thread people argue all or nothing - one side believing they were saints while another saying they were just as bad as those who committed the crimes against them so throw the good stuff out and get over your illusions. America was a more peaceful place before their demise. This does not mean they were perfect people - rather more races thrown into the mix created a more violent atmosphere. Just like any other place.

There is the capacity for good and bad in every person and every group. Why is a group less wise or less valid because their people committed unethical acts? Why are they suddenly not peaceful overall because of non-peaceful behavior?

I am not aware of any history lesson that teaches us they were all good. We hear of their histories from our perspective - them being wiped out (victims of genocide therefore evoking much deserved sympathy). We learn about their history through them - which does not hide the fact that they kidnapped, raped, murdered, and killed buffalo in large numbers for efficiency sake.

They also did drugs and some beat their wives but their religions and beliefs are no less valid or critical to our history because they are associated with these things. Their ability to read the energy of the land and all around them is no less real because they engaged in cruelties.

Taking a step back to look at the strengths of these people is what I'm taking from the OP. The wisdom of those speaking is born out of tradition but also colored by the mass murder of their people. Therefore it deserves attention without all of the throwing the baby out with the bath water talk. From my experience with these people they still hold to their collectivist values as much as possible, and are continually trying to heal - bring back tradition and the values of their ancestry. Much of that lost through the distraction of mass casualties and reforming of their "savage" ways - forced onto them.

reply to post by superman2012


Let's not forget that the first mass attack between the two cultures were the Native Americans starving out the colonists.

That in no way is meant as a justification of what happened later so please do not take it that way. It merely is a point to show that a group in control will often use that control to varying degrees of negativity. What this shows is that the Native Americans were fully capable of brutal tactics and not merely the peace loving people they are made out to be in the history books.

They could just as easily slaughter a village for little reason as the Europeans could or the Spanish.

reply to post by superman2012

Smallpox blankets could be a myth.

The Straight Dope:did whites ever give native Americans blankets infected with smallpox

Fact is, on at least one occasion a high-ranking European considered infecting the Indians with smallpox as a tactic of war. I'm talking about Lord Jeffrey Amherst, commander of British forces in North America during the French and Indian War (1756-'63). Amherst and a subordinate discussed, apparently seriously, sending infected blankets to hostile tribes. What's more, we've got the documents to prove it, thanks to the enterprising research of Peter d'Errico, legal studies professor at the University of Massachusetts at (fittingly) Amherst. D'Errico slogged through hundreds of reels of microfilmed correspondence looking for the smoking gun, and he found it.

The exchange took place during Pontiac's Rebellion, which broke out after the war, in 1763. Forces led by Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawa who had been allied with the French, laid siege to the English at Fort Pitt. According to historian Francis Parkman, Amherst first raised the possibility of giving the Indians infected blankets in a letter to Colonel Henry Bouquet, who would lead reinforcements to Fort Pitt. No copy of this letter has come to light, but we do know that Bouquet discussed the matter in a postscript to a letter to Amherst on July 13, 1763:

P.S. I will try to inocculate the Indians by means of Blankets that may fall in their hands, taking care however not to get the disease myself. As it is pity to oppose good men against them, I wish we could make use of the Spaniard's Method, and hunt them with English Dogs. Supported by Rangers, and some Light Horse, who would I think effectively extirpate or remove that Vermine. On July 16 Amherst replied, also in a postscript:

P.S. You will Do well to try to Innoculate the Indians by means of Blanketts, as well as to try Every other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race. I should be very glad your Scheme for Hunting them Down by Dogs could take Effect, but England is at too great a Distance to think of that at present.

On July 26 Bouquet wrote back:

I received yesterday your Excellency's letters of 16th with their Inclosures. The signal for Indian Messengers, and all your directions will be observed. We don't know if Bouquet actually put the plan into effect, or if so with what result. We do know that a supply of smallpox-infected blankets was available, since the disease had broken out at Fort Pitt some weeks previously. We also know that the following spring smallpox was reported to be raging among the Indians in the vicinity.

That seems pretty clear.

I think they did. There were also dogs used, and lots of other very dark ways of killing off the native population.

Sorry for the long external quote, but I don't know if posting one paragraph gets the point across about what really could of happened and the coincidence of small pox in the native population.

reply to post by Dianec


You are exactly right!

The Native Americans were just as peaceable as the Europeans at that time and throughout history.