Lesley, University
March, 2005
CWIS Symposium 3.25.05
I was a little late for the CWIS
symposium on Protected Knowledge, but they were running on serious Indian Time,
so I walked Flip, the Black Lab and hung out. I had read Tsawalk
and knew Richard Atleo had some very profound things
to say. He has been doing his homework and his explication of Nuu-chah-nulth cosmology was quite thorough and easy to
read. The stories were compelling and he was able to break them down in such
exquisite detail, the most detailed breakdown on Native myths I have ever
heard. The fact that this is his heritage, that he is heriditary
Chief and that the Nuu-chah-nulth region is where I
have had some of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life were also
factors deepening my appreciation for Richard and his work. I was looking
forward to his presentation.
The symposium, and the Center itself,
was about the effort to bring traditional healing back
to the forefront. Rudy Ryser wanted to know two
things:
1) How does protected knowledge benefit
the culture from which it sprang? And
2) How can this knowledge be extended
through inquiry? (Tribally-directed research.)
The panel participants were Umeeek, or Dr. E. Richard Atleo,
who was the first aboriginal person to receive a Doctorate in
One point
Richard Atleo made about research on traditional
healing modalities was that: “If someone else asks the question – you have no
need for the answer.” In other words, the inquiries of outsiders are
usually fraught with too much ignorance of tribal ways to be of any use for the
tribe. He also talked about the Nuu-chah-nulth
version of the Vision Quest, which he says is a Democratic Secret Knowledge
System. He says science is completely elitest, but
the Oosumich is available to everyone despite their
level of education, or other factors that prohibit people from doing scientific
research. He mentioned that Oosumich was used in the
rehabilitation of a troubled youth and that a young man did Oosumich
and was able to retrieve ancient songs, some that elders had not heard in 60
years. This was not surprising to me, as I have long felt that the trees and
rocks hold memories that are accessible. Dr. Atleo
simply confirmed this.
In response
to Leslie Korn’s question about how to wake people
up, Dr. Atleo said CONSENT is a critical part of any
healing experience. “Let those sleeping continue to sleep.” It is a matter of respect he said. He also mentioned that once
something is disclosed it is disempowered. A mythological character known as
Son of Mucas was twisted by a researcher, to Snot Boy.
One other
statement Dr. Atleo made in his presentation is that:
“The spirit world does not act unilaterally.” For those of us who have been
raised in American Christian Culture, this was an especially important
distinction of which to be reminded. A comment Dr. Pavel
made was that Colonialism has “dismembered our communities and recover is about
re-membering.”
Next was
Jewell James. He spoke quite rapidly, in an attempt to communicate what looked
like decades of research that was represented in a form that he called a
Spider’s Web. The web had one side made up of healthy, traditional elements for
Lummi people, including categories like Native
DNA/Gene Pool, which had their counterparts in the Modern Culture such as BLOOD
(Quantum and Mixed DNA). Other poles were represented by the Traditional
categories of Circular Time, Spirituality, Relationships, Language, Health
& Food, Healing Systems, Tribal Governance and Work, as opposed to their
opposite categories in Modern Culture, such as Linear Time, Christianity,
Individualism & Nuclear Families, Dominance over
Nature, American English, Modern Foods/Diseases, HUD Housing, Delegated
Constitutional Governments and Modern Jobs/Greed.
He explained
the graph and showed others when people tend to bounce between the two systems.
He mentioned that 60-80 percent of Lummi Youth engage
in high-risk behavior. I wondered if that was from a lack of initiation, as I
believe it is in the dominant culture, and asked that question at the end of
the event. He said that coming-of-age initiations are available to tribal
youth, but the pressures of media and the remnants of colonialism continue to
negatively impact those traditions. A comment Leslie made at this point was
that “Modern Culture fosters dependency.”
Of course we see this in the advertisements and in the tenor of the media which
enables a state of fear and disrespect.
After lunch,
Debra Parker, who had been late to arrive, discussed her heritage of Lummi, Snohomish, Yaqui
and Apache Tribes. She told a story of a vision in which she saw herself
spiritually sickened by being in
The final
speaker was Dr. Richard Pavel. He spoke in a soft,
measured voice about the need for integrity, authenticity and sincerity of
research. He said the prospective research should know the basic protocol of
dealing with indigenous peoples. He said the Teachings of the Tree People
include Flexibility and Patience, as well as Harmony. I found the content of
Dr. Pavel’s discussion less remarkable or noteworthy
than the other speakers, but I saw a white aura around his body like an
outline. I have had this experience before, but it is rare. In talking with
Rudy’s son Christian after the event, he said: “yeah, his aura was going crazy.”
After
preparing for the interview with Dr. Atleo, I was
able to get some sushi and head to KAOS-Radio where I saw my old radio pal John
Ford. The interview went very well, except for a few bumbles in the
introduction. One question that did help in my own inquiry was the notion of
how healing songs need the context of place to be fully effective. This
confirms my theory that the Open Forms indigenous to American poetry have more
energy than those imported from
Bibliography:
Atleo,
Richard. Tsawalk: A Nuu-chah-nulth Worldview.