American Indian Philosophy
by Karlton Douglas
October/November 2002
American Indian Philosophy offers Great Wisdom to modern human beings. It spotlights how we treat God’s Creation, our Mother Earth, and how we treat each other. The common sense example of Native Americans is that they treated the environment in the greatest way possible, recognizing that we draw our lives from this planet—it is foolish not to take care of it, just as it is foolish not to take care of our own body. To American Indians every tree and stone was alive, and Mother Earth was a living entity in need of respect and protection—never to be abused or misused. To take care of this planet, to have generosity rather than greed, plus respect for our brothers and sisters on this planet, with a worshipful life-style, and (not a Sunday only religion), that is the soul and core of American Indian beliefs.
Words of Black Elk:
I could see that the Wasichus (whites) did not care for each other the way our people did before the nation’s hoop was broken. They would take everything from each other if they could, and so there were some who had more of everything than they could use, while crowds of people had nothing at all and maybe were starving. They had forgotten that the earth was their mother. This could not be better than the old ways of my people.
(from Black Elk Speaks, told through John G. Neihardt.)
It should also be noted that American Indians almost universally were Theists. They generally believed in a Supreme Being, Great Mystery, or Great Spirit, who quite often had helpers or lesser spirits at His command A religious attitude toward the Creator certainly helped shape their love for the Creator’s handiwork, i.e. Mother Earth and all that is in her. It is also interesting that most tribes had a Flood Story of some type that was similar to the Genesis account in the Bible. Another similar instance is that Indians often had a bad or evil supernatural character, often labeled as a troublemaker, which was somewhat equivalent to the Devil in the Bible. Though Indians did not generally have a literal Hell in their beliefs, it was often thought that bad people might go to a bad place after death, or that a bad fate awaited them at death. There was some similar belief to a Heaven of the Bible. It was believed that good people would go to a Good Place after death. Sometimes it was described to whites in the early literature as Happy Hunting Grounds. Other Indians simply believed their spirit would go back to the Creator upon death, or that it would travel the Sky Road to Ancestor Land.
Indian beliefs in general were a responsibility to God, His Creation, and Our Fellow Human Beings; that was essential to American Indian thought. This is the essence and nature of a philosophy that we can apply to our own lives today, and is the heart of American Indian Philosophy that must be applied if mankind hopes to save a world damaged more each day due to neglect, greed, and indifference. It could also be said that this is a philosophy that goes back to the Garden of Eden. Back to when our original ancestors respectfully cared for God’s good work.
Built into the American Indian was an education from the school of nature. There was also moral and ethical conduct, and social wisdom instilled from the tribe as well as from watching the Creation and its workings. Patience came from viewing the long-standing silent hills, and from watching the slow approach of the panther toward its prey. Patience also came from the knowledge of the long sleep of brother bear’s hibernation. Alertness and sensitivity to their surroundings came from watching the actions of brother deer, and brother rabbit. Watchfulness came from the slow hovering and piercing eye of brother hawk. Steadfastness arose with the growing trees, and the continually flowing streams. Balance was seen in nature, especially the continuous four seasons, shifting from the elements of hot to cold and then back again. The planets and stars, and especially the moon ran in cycles that showed a continuous and balanced pattern. The Circle was a symbol of that completeness, and a very common figure in American Indian artwork. And it enveloped American Indian thought as the continuous arc of balance, having no beginning or end, but showing a continuum. And there was a recurrent use of the number four, a number that encompassed the four directions, the complete compass of direction. And to those directions were quite often applied supernatural personages to command those directions.
It is my own belief that certain American Indians may have a high sense of perception, or intuition, sometimes called Second Sight. This intuition may also be related to their high sensitivity to the workings of Nature and the workings of the Creator in general.
Again, Creation itself was the school of the Indians. It was the place where one learned philosophy, and the ways of the Creator. Maybe that fact alone helps to explain why the American Indian had such a strong reaction to the white man’s desecration of Mother Earth.
The American Indian’s sense of community—tribe—was of prime importance. Selfishness was frowned upon, generosity praised. The motivation of materialism was so foreign to the Indian mind as to be considered among the worst of vices. Children were taught at a young age to part with their most cherished possessions. Children were highly praised, and the praise continued into adulthood for those giving selflessly of their wealth, or even more so from their poverty. It was not unheard of for the Indian to become completely “broke” after ceremonies during which gifts were given. As for the community itself, it had more in common with a first century type of Christian community than 20th century type communism. The community revolved around the good of the tribe, but it did not negate individual importance or value.
This might be a good place to touch on the effect of Christianity on American Indians. As a mostly white American via DNA, but with American Indian ancestry, and one who also happens to be a Christian—the subject of Christianity in relation to the American Indian has been of great interest to me. I do not believe that Christianity, as taught by Jesus Christ Himself, is to blame for the many ills American Indians today, and in the historic past have suffered. To Be sure, Religion was used to destroy American Indian culture and traditions, as well as used for an excuse to steal their lands. But the True Spirit of Christianity is anathema to the abuses that have been done in its name. In fairness it must also be recognized that there were Christians, and Christian Missionaries that did appear to have a genuine love for the American Indian, and a great desire to help them. A few names come to mind, David Brainerd (1718-1747), David Zeisberger (1721-1808), John Heckewelder (1743-1823), and Samuel Austin Worcester (1798-1859). It is worth noting that American Indians did become Christians from the time of first contact with Europeans. I believe this is not surprising because I think they saw something of their own beliefs in the True Spirit of Christianity as taught in the Bible, even if not always evident in the culture and practices of the Europeans. In regards to Christianity it should also be noted that Christian beliefs certainly affected later American Indian beliefs, most notably the teachings of Handsome Lake (1735-1815), Tenskwatawa (1775-1836) who was the Shawnee Prophet and brother of Tecumseh. And we also must include Wovoka (c.1856-1932).
I would agree that Christianity was sometimes turned into a religious weapon used to control and manipulate Indians by power mongers and religious despots. When those abusers were the very people that needed the Message of Christ themselves. But they instead maligned that good Spirit through theft and religious abuse. In the end the True Message of Christ and Real Christianity became a victim alongside the American Indian, in that it was used as a weapon of hate, instead of delivered as a message of love, as its founder intended. I think many Indians could intuitively grasp that, I believe it is why in desperation and anger Tecumseh threw into the face of Anthony Wayne that whites had killed Jesus, and only then decided to worship him. Just as whites had robbed Indians, even as they had to admire their courage and honesty, the honesty that made stealing land from them all the more easy as a one-sided deal.
I believe many American Indians understood the white-paradox that here was a people given a great truth (Christianity), yet they could not abide by that truth. And here was a people (American Indians), that abided by that truth, even though they did not have it in hand (the Bible). So it was not a great leap for many Indians to become Christians, or to adopt what they saw as useful to them from Christian beliefs, even while they saw whites as, too often, poor examples of that religion. I want to add one final thing here because I do believe it is important to understand that Christianity has had some part to play in American Indian history and beliefs. Too few people realize that among the first, if not the only large group of Christian Martyrs here in America were American Indians. In 1782 at a place called Gnadenhutten, in Ohio, a soldier named Colonel David Williamson arrived with his troops, disarmed a band of friendly Christian Indians called Moravian Indians, a group of mostly Lenape-Delaware. These friendly people were bound, lined up, and systematically bashed in the head one at a time until dead. 96 innocent Indians were murdered by whites—I do not think there has ever been better Christians in America than those innocents that were killed. I will end this part on Christianity with the words of one of those Christian Indians; a man named Abraham. This is from Allan W. Eckert’s book: The Frontiersman:
“I call upon God as witness that my people are perfectly innocent of any crime against you. We are prepared and willing to suffer this death. Yet this much I ask of you: when we were converted from our heathen ways and baptized, we made a solemn promise to the Lord that we would live unto Him and endeavor to please Him alone in this world. But we know, too, that we have been wayward in many respects, and therefore wish to have the night granted to us to pour out our hearts before Him in prayer and beg His mercy and Pardon.”
Abraham the Moravian Indian, Gnadenhutten, Ohio 1782.
(The nobility and character of their nature shows their proud heritage. I cannot imagine the kind of courage that was in their noble hearts. And the faith it took to die for their newfound beliefs, to be sure they could have fought and died, but they instead died a martyrs death that should have shamed the “heathen” whites around them. K.D.)
In other aspects the American Indian community looked very hard upon gossip. And punishment of children was more one of general scorn for bad behavior than a beating—peer pressure was the motivation for good behavior. Women were held in high esteem, they had political clout in factors affecting the community. They also had personal clout in things affecting their family unit, if they chose to divorce their husband, he was without his home, children, and clan. So peer pressure was a factor in family units.
To the American Indian land ownership was nearly incomprehensible; this is probably why they were so terribly defrauded of it early on, and then later by continued false treaties. They held land in common as a tribe, but it was as if they were borrowing it from the Creator, and using it for the tribe’s benefit. In the same way hunting animals was in a sense, borrowing animals for their food from both the Creator, and the animal itself. They held animals in high regard generally—seeing them as fellow creatures. As Clan Totems, or personal Fetishes some Indians had a near worshipful attitude toward certain specific animals. Other Indians held that particular animals were their personal guardians, much like Christians consider themselves protected by guardian angels.
Again, to the Indian you could no more own the earth than you could the sky, or the ocean. It was on loan to the people to keep in trust for the following generations. They might recognize a particular area as their domain, or hunting grounds, but they would never think of chopping it up into little sections where other members of the tribe would be excluded. They abhorred fences, and the clearing of more land than was needed to provide for the tribe, it was not only unnecessary, it was greedy and sinful. Other creatures also had a right to the land.
So we have here a people who regard their personal tribe as highly important, and each member of it—even the aged who could hardly contribute were held in high regard. They respected the Creator, having different names for Him, often for different aspects of His Nature. Women were held in higher regard, and held political clout the frontier white woman could only dream of. The Roman Stoic would have fit right in with the concept of courage under fire, trusting your destiny to fate, suffering nobly any pain or torture—these being the requirements of the Indian Brave. Consider the following from Charles Eastman’s: The Soul of the Indian:
The truly brave man, we contend, yields neither to fear nor anger, desire nor agony; he is at all times master of himself; his courage rises to the heights of chivalry, patriotism, and real heroism.
“Let neither cold, hunger, nor pain, nor the fear of them, neither the bristling teeth of danger nor the very jaws of death itself, prevent you from doing a good deed,” said an old chief to a scout who was about to seek the buffalo in midwinter for the relief of a starving people. This was his childlike conception of courage.
(The Roman Stoic could have said it no better. K.D.)
The first true Environmentalists, American Indians excelled at not abusing their environment, taking only what was needed—not hoarding wealth. At least until the coming of the white man.
Spiritually the American Indian approached life differently than the whites. Where White people were materially motivated by the promise of wealth and personal gain, Native Americans saw their role as one of stewardship of Mother Earth’s wealth for the tribe. To the Indian every tree, rock, and stream was a living being. The Earth was a living breathing entity, with the American Indian as a merely a branch on that great tree supporting all of life.
To them the spirit world was real. Just as real, and maybe even more real than the physical world. Dreams had special meaning. Only centuries later would psychologists recognize the importance of dreams and mental health, (in the early Church Christians also placed importance upon dreams, this was not carried on into later white culture though).
American Indians could be fierce in war, and they would also fiercely defend their friends. They formed Leagues and Associations that they honored between tribes. So is it a wonder they were appalled at the way whites discarded every treaty made with the Indians?
American Indians did not make war on women and children, they adopted them into the tribe when captives came home with the warriors, at least in the days before the whites came. Later when whites tried to get tribes like the Cherokee to practice their form of slavery, the whites were disgusted at how differently (good) Indians treated their slaves.
We have much to learn from Native American Philosophy; maybe most importantly in this 21st century is learning how to treat Mother Earth. There is a passage in the book of Revelation in the Bible that says:
Re:11:18: And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.(KJV)
When I read that about God destroying them that destroy the Earth, I couldn’t help but realize how the present generations have been, and are destroying the earth. I think too many Americans, and even Christians do not perceive that being good stewards of the earth is important. Native Americans have never questioned the importance of being good stewards of the earth, or of that importance to the Creator.
Humility and a willingness to learn from those Native American ancestors— from their words and lifestyles—would go a long way in making this world a better and healthier place to live. Wouldn’t it be something if we could leave a legacy of good stewardship regarding the way we manage and protect the earth? How might our descendants benefit if we do so?
I suppose it is possible to over-romanticize the American Indian regarding their ecological friendliness, to glamorize them as the ideal Ecological Philosophers, but that is not the motivation for this article. I need not defend the truth that the American Indian was a fine example of how to become friends instead of adversaries to our environment—history is filled with their words and thoughts, as well as their actions proving that truth. My hope and desire is that we will learn the common sense truths needed to help this earth survive as long as the Creator sees fit to let us live upon His World, and my friends, it is His world—we would do well to remember that truth! I pray we become much better respectful users, and less active abusers of the good earth given to us to enjoy. And to prosper upon it, not so much in material goods, but rather in soul and spirit, staying in harmony with others and ourselves, but especially with Mother Earth and her diverse creatures.
There is much value in learning the Philosophy and Wisdom of the American Indian. Below are some core beliefs of American Indians:
1. AMERICAN INDIANS RESPECTED THE CREATOR ABOVE, AND THE EARTH BELOW.
2. TREATED ANIMALS AS FELLOW CREATURES, NOT LOWLY THINGS.
3. PUT THE COMMUNITY FIRST PLACE, ABOVE SELFISH INDIVIDUALISM OR AMBITION.
4. THERE WAS A BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN.
5. CHILDREN WERE DEVELOPED THROUGH TEACHING AND PEER PRESSURE. THE AGED RESPECTED.
6. EVERYONE HAD A PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY. THE MENTALLY DISABLED AND HANDICAPPED WERE TREATED WELL, EVEN RESPECTED.
7. CRIMINALS WERE SEEN AS “SICK” PEOPLE, NOT ABHORED AS VILLIANS.
8. SELF-SACRIFICE, STOIC COURAGE, WERE HELD AS THE IDEAL IN MANHOOD.
9. YOUR WORD WAS YOUR BOND TO THE AMERICAN INDIAN. TO BREAK THAT MADE YOU BELOW CONTEMPT.
10. THE SPIRIT LIFE, THE GOOD HEART, LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AS YOUR BROTHER, SISTER, MOTHER, FATHER, GRANDPARENTS—WERE INDEED THE GOLDEN RULE EXAMPLE OF CHRISTIANITY, AND AT THE HEART OF AMERICAN INDIAN BELIEFS.
11. GENEROUSITY WAS THE GREAT AMERICAN INDIAN VIRTUE.
12. IT WAS AN ALMOST UNSPOKEN FACT THAT MOTHER EARTH WAS TO BE WELL-CARED FOR IN THE AMERICAN INDIAN MIND.
YOUNG EAGLE
AWOHA-LI A-DA
by Karlton Douglas
Copyright © 2001 Karlton Douglas. All rights reserved.