Conference hydra::dejavu

Doug are there any other books or papers concerning this subject.  I am 
facinated by the ideas of Costenada and want to explore them.  I also don't
want to be taken for a ride by a creative person who just happens to write
good books. Thanx.

Mike Morgan, Colorado Springs.

Hi Mike,

As I mentioned, for the controversy and history of Castaneda himself, see
Richard DeMille's books, particularly The Don Juan Papers.

For an excellent introduction to shamanistic practices, written by someone
who was initiated by Jivaro shamans and has worked with many other tribes,
and trains "honkys" to shamanize also, see Michael Harner's The Way of the
Shaman.

The best-known reference on the subject is by Mircea Eliade, and is called
simply Shamanism.  It's more of a comparative anthropology than a hand-on
guide; a lot of interesting variations are discussed.  Harner checks out
well against this source.

A Russian named Shirokogoroff, in self-imposed exile in Siberia during the
Soviet Civil Wars of the twenties, met shamans among the Tungus tribe and
coined the term "shamanism" from a Tungus word.  Since they'd been wiped
out long since in Europe, there was no existing word that fit them!  He wrote
the classic work on shamanism, but I don't know whether it's available in
English translation.
                    
The Wassons' book Soma: <something or other> of Immortality, which discusses
the worldwide use of the fly agaric mushroom (careful, it's poisonous), dis-
cusses shamans in Arctic regions.

Good hunting,

Doug

Doug, Thanx for the info.

Mike.

Doug, Dave and all the rest.  Please see note 18.4 for more light shed on
the political and economic realities behind Carlos Castenada.

	    I have an anthology called _Seeing_Castaneda_, which is kind
	of a reader of things written about Castaneda.  It has letters
	from Oates, the _Newsweek_ article, etc.
			<_Jym_>

Re .5 How do we get this anthology?  My library has it but it is down at 
jailhouse.  I would verymuch like to look at this item.  Thanx.

	    [RE .6 [RE .5]]:  Well, you could always break into my house
	and steal it from my bookshelves.	 .-----.
						/  o o  \
						\ \___/ /
						 `-----'
	    Seriously, its author is Daniel Noel, and it was copyrighted
	in 1976, and published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.  I'd be happy to
	lend it to you.  This book is not known for pouncing on cats.
			<_Jym_>

	I have also found Castenada's books fascinating.I don't know if
what he writes is actual,semi-actual or phooey,but the important thing
is that he makes me believe that such things may indeed be possible and
t they actually did happen to him.Of course,most of the events happen
under influence of mushrooms and peyote,so who's to say that in his own
mind they did or didnt happen.
	By the way,I was in California recently and had a copy of
"The teachings of Don Juan:A Yaqui way of Knowledge" with me.An person
I met noticed the book and asked me what made me buy it.He struck me as
a person who had no interest in the books topic,but because he was
Spanish(possibly part Indian) might have recognized the author's name.
I said that I felt Castenada was a good writer and that his books were
interesting,and his reply was that Carlos Castenada was a very prominent
person at his own kitchen table.
	I wouldnt be surprised if there are no Spanish-Indians that give
Castenada even a shred of credibility.Yet I believe that either he actually
did see these things,but because he is more of a gringo that Spanish,
interpreted them in such a way as to appeal to us and our perspective,but
in the eyes of true Indians to miss the mark totally,which he probably did,
or that he invented everything or a good deal of it,in which case he is truly
a great imaginative writer.
	I have read about 5 of the books,in no particular order.The book I
mentioned earlier was dissapointing,as well as confusing when compared
to his other books.The book dealt with Casteneda being initiated by Don Juan
into D.J.'s "ally" which is mushrooms(Don Juan calls it "little smoke");
Don Juan's benefactor's ally which was jimsom weed ("devils weed");and
peyote.It took place between 1961-5,and ended with Casteneda ending
his aprrenticeship due to "loss of self" and fear.Why was there no mention
of the moth as an ally?Why no mention of Don Genaro?It is like the experiences
change from book to book.I have lost the other books so I havent tried to
use them as reference.The fact that there is little or no "overlap" of
experiences from book to book make me doubt the veracity of most of his
tale,unfortunately.

I've read all of Castenada's books and have found them quite interesting.
When I started reading The Eagle's Gift I decided to go back and re-read
all of the books up to that point before going on.  I became very involved
and believed them as they were written.  I found it difficult to tie them
all together in my own mind. Alot of the concepts that are discussed have
lended themselves to a portion of my view of reality.  I still don't know
if the books are factual or not, but that still doesn't matter to me. They're
exciting reading and as other books come out (if they do), I'll read them.
I've tried to read the Don Juan Papers but it's not nearly as interesting
as the books by Castenada.  We may never actually know whether they are true
or not.

		Dave Stanley

	    [RE .8]:  I read most of them in chronological order, and
	they don't suffer much if you read them that way.  The first
	book (_A_Yaqui_Way_of_Knowledge_) was his thesis, which had to
	do with the drugs.  The second book (I forget the title - some-
	thing about seeing?) was kind of a sequel.  He was writing about
	the drug experiences.
	    Casteneda then decided that *everything* was important, not
	just the drugs, so he pulled out his notebooks and wrote _Tales_
	_Of_Power_, which was a recap of everything else that had hap-
	pened to him with Don Juan & Co.  Then he continued in his ad-
	ventures with Dons J. & G., in (I think?) _Journey_To_Ixtlan_.
	The next one, _Second_Ring_of_Power_, finds him Juanless, off on
	his own.  I haven't read _Eagle's_Gift_ and _Fire_From_Within_.
	    (I may have some of the titles mixed up.)
			<_Jym_>

	Thanks for telling me that "Yaqui way of kowledge" was the first
book.I too have read this and "A seperate reality" and "journey to ixtlan"
and "Tales of power".I have yet to read the last 3 he wrote ("2nd ring of power""eagles gift" and "fire from within".)
	Were all of the books written in the 60's and then released in later
years?

Re: .10
Actually, at least according to deMille, Ixtlan was the book whose text Casta-
neda presented (under alternate title) as his doctoral dissertation.

Doug

			I had a few things mixed up in Reply #10.  Here's the
		real book sequence:
			_The_Teachings_of_Don_Juan:_A_Yaqui_Way_of_Knowledge_.
		Castaneda meets don Juan in 1960, befriends him, and becomes
		his apprentice in June of 1961.  He takes drugs and explores a
		"nonordinary reality" (Castaneda's term), and learns a "way of
		knowledge" that involves these drugs.  He quit the apprentice-
		ship in September, 1965, because it freaked him out.  I'm sure
		this book is a dissertation of some sort, because it has a
		"structural analysis" at the end.
		    	_A_Separate_Reality_.  In April 1968 he visits don Juan
		and starts his apprenticeship again.  This time the emphasis is
		on "seeing" the other reality, which don Juan says is a prere-
		quisite to "knowing."
			_Journey_to_Ixtlan_.  In May 1971, Castaneda ended his
		apprenticeship because he learned to "stop the world" with the
		help of don Juan and don Genaro.  He did this without drugs, and
		this got him to reevaluate wqhat he learned (he had been assum-
		ing that only the drug-related stuff was important).  He went
		back to his notebooks and pulled out all kinds of lessons that
		had nothing to do with drugs.  The second part of the book,
		which is short, is when he "stopped the world."
			_Tales_of_Power_.  Here we learn about the "tonal" and
		the "naugal" and find that there are other apprentices learning
		sorcery too.
			_The_Second_Ring_Of_Power_.  Castaneda heads down to
		Mexico and learns that dons Juan and Genaro have left (gone to
		the world of nonordinary reality).  He gets in trouble with a
		few sorceresses.
			_The_Eagle's_Gift_ and _The_Fire_From_Within_.  I
		haven't read these yet.

				<_Jym_>

      The Eagles Gift is about Castenada continuing to remember what he
    was taught.  It presents the Toltec view that whatever created man
    (The Eagle {it is called the Eagle because that is what it looked
    like to the early seers}) consumes our consiousness at death.  It
    tells of the "gift" that the eagle bestowed upon man in the form
    of a plan to fool the eagle and retain consiousness by following
    a pattern and building a group of individuals into a team to work
    togather.  Carlos remembers his lessons in dreaming and stalking
    and puts alittle of it to use.
      The Fire From Within is about Carlos continuing to remember his
    lessons.  Most importantly is how he describes the Nagual's party
    breaking the bonds of life and death.  The idea is that the people
    in the nagual's party allowed the tumbler to penetrate the luminous
    egg (which causes instant death). From here they were supposed to
    enter inside of a tumbler and not have their consiousness consumed.
      What I think is important about these two books is that Don Juan
    and Don Genaro are not the real bosses.  Silvo Manuel is.  Silvo
    is described as a man that has achieved total intent.  These books
    describe the various members of the naguals party.  Some members
    are very strange indeed. Anyway taken as a whole the two books describe
    "stalking", "controlled folly", "dreaming", "will" and "intent".  

                                   (*)
    

    	It's been three years...where's his next book?
    
    _stew-

    	It's now been four years.  I've just recently reread all his
    books, this time in their proper order.  What made me do it?  I
    checked recently with two different book stores and one said that
    they showed a new book this fall from Carlitos, another said the
    same as well as _Fire From Within_ in paperback.  Anybody have any
    new scoops?
    
    _stew-

    It'll be interesting to see what the next book will be like.
    
    _Fire from Within_ has been available in paperback for at least
    a year.  I read it last year when it came out (and all the other
    books within one month.  Phew!)
    
    I found a large difference in writing style and substance between
    the first books and the last.  While his writing style improved,
    he seemed to be saying less and less.  My favorite is still the
    first two books-- Don Juan's talk about the four enemies of man
    was right on target!
    
    Dave 

    RE: .17
    
    Three different people have told me that I should read Castenada
    because the some of my dreams parallel what goes on in his books.
    What is the name of the first one?  Thanks.
    
    John M.

    	I went into a bookstore last night and the teller, a friend
    of mine, took me to the new Carlos book! _The_Powers_Of_Silence_.
    	My wife picked up the book and bought it for me but said I
    can't have it till Christmas :-{   The store was the B Dalton Bookstore
    at Chapel Hills in Colorado Springs.  I can't wait!!!
    
    _stew-

    I also understand that there will be one or two more books out after
    this one. Excited?

    I replied in note 18.17 about the new book... I haven't gotten it
    yet, but can't wait!!!  I also commented in that note about the
    use of drugs (read it there if you want).  I think we need to
    consolidate the two notes...
    
    Larry  @.@
           \-/
    
    

    Reply to .23, Tweed,
    
    Ah, yes. Another cryptic message from the sorcereres of the Sonora
    desert. 
    
    I finally got a paperback copy of "Power of Silence." I think it's a
    good book per se. Lots of good information...
    
    I'll leave the meat for those who can digest the steak.

    Oh, BTW, Castaneda admits in the introduction of the book that his
    writing is his sorcery. Further it should be noted that Don Juan's
    benefactor was a stalker.
    
    What interesting coincidiences...

   > Oh, BTW, Castaneda admits in the introduction of the book that his
   > writing is his sorcery. Further it should be noted that Don Juan's
   > benefactor was a stalker.
    
   > What interesting coincidiences...
    
    I am just getting into the books lately in a serious way. i read the
    first 2 over a week. I was trying to understand what the above
    comments meant? I know it is contreversal but has Castenda ever been
    proven to have made up this stuff? The books that I am missing are
    Journey to Itxlan and the newest one. Would these be available in my
    local bookstore? How about the Castenda papers?
    
    Thanks,
    Sam
    

    Ok, so it's been 4 years since my last note.  I was logging in to see
    if anyone had heard of a new book.  I heard there was one in the book-
    stores.
    
    Anyone?
    
    _stew-

I haven't seen one in the bookstores recently ( and I have looked) and I 
haven't heard of one either. I would be interested.

Sam

    I Understand that Castaneda and Ann Rice and others will co-editor or
    be frequent co-contributors or something in some psychic-type magazine
    soon to hit your neighborhood newstand.
    
    T

    The base note speaks of  a book written by Richard de Mille. He has
    since come out with another book (c. 1980, 1990), entitled:
    
    The Don Juan Papers  Further Castaneda Controversies
    
    The forward to this book gives a flavor as to its premise:
    
    To kill an error, Darwin said, is as good a service to science as
    establishing a new fact or truth, and sometimes it is better. But
    you have to catch the error before you can kill it. The error
    we are hunting here is the foolish academic legitimation and
    irresponsible perennial promulgation of a social-science hoax.
    The hoax in question is ten years of reported desert field work,
    first published in three popular volumes, the third of which
    was accepted was accepted as a formal dissertation in anthropology
    at the University of California, Los Angeles [sic]. The hoaxer
    is Carlos Castandeda, prolific author of ingenious but suspect
    anthropological best-sellers. The hunters and catcher of the error give
    chase in this book, "The Don Juan Papers."
    
    In 1975, Richard de Mille, psychologist, academician, writer, and 
    editor, was reading Castandeda's second volume, about "don Juan,"
    the now legendary Mexican Indian [sic] teacher of universal wisdom,
    when he was struck by a stupendous scientifico-literary revelation:
    Castaneda's sage of the sagebrush was an invented Indian, and those
    eclectic metaphysical conversations in the desert were scholastic
    allegories. For the next six years de Mille pursued Castaneda up and
    down the stacks and across the realms of discourse, until he had
    produced "Castaneda's Journey: The Power and the Allegory" and
    "The Don Juan Papers". These books, well-received by scholars and
    public alike [sic], drill the didactic bones of Uclanthropus
    Piltdunides Castanedae and everywhere strike baloney - though, of
    course, many of Castaneda's fans, with or without Ph.D., still like to
    believe that Carlos and don Juan roamed Sonoran sands together,
    catching wild rabbits with bare hands while discussing Husserl
    and Wittgenstein.
    
    Going beyond Darwin's maxim, the 44 "Don Juan Papers" not only nail an
    academic error but ask how this quite detectable hoax could succeed so
    long and so well in the halls of higher learning and what that says
    about the morale and competence of our guardians of scholarly truth
    and teachers of the next generation.
    
                          James A. Clifton
                          Frankenthal Professor of Anthropology and History
                          University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
    
    
    I read about half this book, before I couldn't stomach anymore.
    de Mille is attempting to prove that Castaneda has perpetrated
    scientific fraud. Yet, his media to do this is to publish a popular
    book written in a style designed for the delight of the masses,
    rather than to publish a factual, non-emotional article or articles
    in scientific journals. As a result, I suspect his motives. He
    certainly isn't a scholar seeking scientific truth.
    
    I also suspect the veracity of the book in general. The forword,
    by some obscure professor contains two errors:
    
    - He states that Castaneda's third volume ("Journey to Ixtlan")
      was submitted as his doctural dissertation. This is false. It
      was his first book ("The Teachings of don Juan") that came
      from his dissertation. (As a matter of fact, I have a 2nd edition
      of this book published in 1968 by the University of California
      Press. All his other books (at least the hard-covered ones that
      I have) are published by Simon and Schuster.)
    
    - He labels don Juan a "Mexican Indian". There is no such thing as
      a "Mexican Indian". don Juan was a Yaqui Indian, a tribe persecuted
      by the Mexicans. 
    
    
      The only thing that disturbs me is the calim by de Mille that
    Castaneda never turned his field notes over to his doctural committee.
    That almost seems impossible to believe, though. That's like a
    chemistry graduate student not turning over the research notebook
    which contains the proof of that student's work. I can't believe
    the Anthropology field is that lax.
    
    

    
    
    RE: Hoax claims
    
    Does anyone know of anything that Carlos Castaneda has written
    that rebuffs the hoax claims that have been made over the years?
    It would be interesting to read what he has to say.
    
    Carole

I saw one interview with Carlos over the years and I think it is duplicated 
in one of DeMille's books. I have not seen anything by him that directly 
rebuffs DeMille's charges.
	The Native Americans think it is all a bunch of crap. I am attaching 
to this note, two articles on "Plastic Medicine Men", which contain many good 
points.

Sam

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Note: 146.0                     Spirituality for sale              20 replies
SMEGIT::BALLAM                                     101 lines  12-JUL-1989 
12:52
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
taken without permission from UTNE READER (July/August 1989)

SHAMANS OR SHARLATANS?

Do some teachers of Native American spirituality distort Indians' culture?

American Indian spiritual practices and shamanism constitute one of the
hottest areas in the personal growth movement, with book sales skyrocketing
and seminars commanding hundreds of dollars from participants.  While it
would be hard to find fault in the basic element of the trend--philosophies
of being in harmony with one another and the earth surely make sense these
days--an increasing number of critics, Indians and non-Indians alike,
object to what they see as an exploitation of Indian religions for profit.
And although there are numerous sincere and low-cost teachers, several
prominent figures are coming under criticism for inauthentic Native
American teachings and credentials.

Lynn Andrews, author of several popular books on Native American
spirituality (Medicine Woman, Flight of the Seventh Moon, Crystal Woman),
promotes herself in her books and "initiation" workshops as "a bridge
between the primal mind and white consciousness."  In the NEW AGE JOURNAL
article "Beverly Hills Shaman" (March/April 1989), Jonathan Adolph and
Richard Smoley write that to many Native Americans and others familiar with
her work, "all this talk of Indian shamans, initiation rituals, and healing
Mother Earth is bitter medicine."  Andrews' books, they assert, contain
errors of fact, geography, and custom that make them read more like fiction
than the true stories the author insists they are.  Moreover, some Native
Americans take offense at her portrayal of the supposedly ancient rituals
performed by native people in the books.  From an ethical point of view,
they say, Andrews' writing and workshop enterprises are a good example of
insensitively selling Native American spirituality.

In BLOOMSBURY REVIEW (Sept./Oct. 1988), author Ward Churchill points to
several writers who falsely claim Indian knowledge, complaining that their
work has over the years been accepted as truth, even in academia.  He
charges that Carlos Castaneda (a.k.a. Carlos Aranja) is "the greatest
anthropological hoax since Piltdown Man"; that alleged Cherokee-Blackfeet
Dr. Jamake Highwater is a former non-Indian dance promoter and Mick Jagger
biographer whose work is now required reading in many college courses; and
that Ruth Beebe Hill's book HANTA YO (Doubleday, 1979), made into a TV
miniseries, brought howls from the Lakota community because of its
inaccurate version of 19th century Lakota spirituality.  Churchill says
Indians, too, can be guilty of exploiting religion--Sun Bear (Napoleon
LaDuke, a Chippewa) has enriched himself by charging Americans and
Europeans sizable membership fees to the "Bear Tribe" and selling "ersatz
sweat lodge and medicine wheel ceremonies to anyone who wants to play
Indian for a day and can afford the price of admission."

In Europe, Harley Swift Deer has popularized Indian religions through
workshops held in such places as a luxurious chateau outside Paris.
Indians and Europeans claim that Swift, who charges hefty fees for
instruction in sweat lodge and sacred pipe rituals, may not be of Indian
ancestry and is getting rich on gullible individuals looking for a
spiritual path.

Moreover, Austrian doctor Roman Schweidlenka, in an open letter to Sun Bear
in the Indian Newspaper AKWESANE NOTES (Early Summer 1988), charges that
Swift Deer has allied himself with extreme right-wing occultists who show
great interest in the New Age teachings of Sun Bear and Swift Deer.
Schweidlenka also notes that Swift Deer has said that "traditional Indians
have race hatred and have to die out according to the Great Spirit's plan,
because they do not fit into the new time, the New Age.  I believe that
this is not what Indian nations need."

Angry Indians, who liken the distortion and exploitation of their beliefs
to the genocide and appropriation of land and resources of the past two
centuries, warn of grave consequences for both Indians and non-Indians.
Churchill quotes Sioux scholar Vine Deloria Jr.: "The realities of Indian
belief and existence have become so misunderstood and distorted at this
point that when a real Indian stands up and speaks the truth at any given
moment, he or she is not only unlikely to be believed, but will probably be
publicly contradicted and 'corrected' by the citation of some non-Indian
and totally inaccurate 'expert.'"  To Deloria, this is "not only a travesty
of scholarship, but it is absolutely devastating to Indian societies."

Oneida Indian academic Pam Colorado told Churchill that the process "is
ultimately intended to supplant Indians, even in areas of their own customs
and spirituality.  In the end, non-Indians will have complete power to
define what is and is not Indian, even for Indians."

Indeed, given the multiplicity of books and seminars about Indian
spirituality, there's much confusion over who is qualified to be a leader,
and what, if anything, is appropriate payment.  The editorial and letters
pages of the quarterly SHAMAN'S DRUM has hosted a hearty debate on the
topic, appropriate for a magazine that carries much advertising for related
products.  One reader lashed out against those "charging prices affordable
only to the rich for supposedly 'spiritual' retreats and services'; another
implored leaders to offer sliding-scale fees.  SHAMAN'S DRUM columnist
Steve Coyote, a northern Cheyenne, writes of people who "have had no more
training than a week-long workshop suddenly charging folks for weekend
shamanic training workshops."  Yet he questions whether there could ever be
fair measure for spiritual practitioners, and instead makes a case for
humility and respect: "Native American traditions teach that we are not the
most important thing in the Universe, but just one small part of it.
Accepting this teaching requires us to give up a part of our ego that seems
particularly difficult to let go of....Humility elevates and honors the
inner self connected to all living things."

        --Mordecai Specktor

 

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Note: 146.2                     Spirituality for sale                 2 of 20
ISLNDS::GAGNON "On the path of a true human bein   255 lines  31-JAN-1992 
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                           -< Native Spirituality >-
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--
>From:    Alton Baldwin
Subject: Plastic Medicine People

                             INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE
                                 NOT FOR SALE

                             SPIRITUAL HUCKERISM
                                      BY
                               WARD CHURCHILL

        "I know of Sun Bear, He's a plastic medicine man."
                      Matthew King...Oglala Lakota Elder

   The past twenty years have seen the birth of a new growth industry in
   the United States.  Known as "American Indian Spiritualism," this
   profitable enterprise apparently began with a number of literary hoaxes
   undertaken by non-Indians such as Carlos Castaneda, Jay Marks ( aka
   Jamake Highwater, author of the Primal  Mind, etc.), Ruth Beebe Hill
   ( of Hanta Yo notoriety), and Lynn Andrews ( Medicine Woman, Jaguar Woman,
   Chrystal Woman, Spirit Woman, etc.). A few Indians such as Alonzo
   Blacksmith ( aka "Chunksa Yuha", the "Indian authenticator" of Hanta Yo),
   " Chief Red Fox" (Memories of Chief Red Fox), and Hyemeyohsts Storm (Seven
   Arrows, etc.) also cashed in, writing bad distortions and outright lies
   about indigenous spirituality for consumption in the mass market.  The
   authors grew rich peddling their trash, while real Indians starved to
   death, out of sight and mind of America.

   This situation has been long and bitterly attacked by legitimate Indian
   scholars from Professor Vine Deloria,Jr. to Bea Medicine and by activists
   such as American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Russell Means, Survival Of
   American Indians,Inc. (SAIL) director Henry Adams and the late Gerald
   Wilkerson, head of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC).  Nonetheless,
   the list of phoney books claiming alternately to "debunk" or "expose" the
   innermost meanings of Indian spirituality continues to grow as publishers
   recognize sure-fire money-makers when they see one.  Most lately,
   ostensibly scholarly publishers like the  University of Chicago Press have
   joined the parade, generating travesties such as University of Colorado
   Professor S. Gill's  "Mother Earth:An American Story".

   The insistence of mainstream America upon buying such nonsense has led
   Deloria to conclude that, "White people in this country are so alienated
   from their own lives and so hungry for some sort of real-life that they
   grasp at any straw to save themselves.  But high tech society has given
   them a taste for the "quick fix".  They want their spirituality
   prepackaged in such a way as to provide instant insight, the sensational
   and preposterous the better.  They'll pay big bucks to anyone dishonest
   enough to offer them spiritual salvation after reading the right book or
   sitting still for the right fifteen minute session.  And, of course, this
   opens them up to every kind of mercenary hustler imaginable.   It's all
   very pathetic, really."

   Oren Lyons, a traditional chief of the Onondaga Nation, concedes Deloria's
   point but says the problem goes much deeper.  "Non-Indians have become so
   used to all the hype on the part of imposters and liars that when a real
   Indian spiritual leader tries to offer them useful advice, he is rejected.
   He isn't "Indian" enough for all these non-Indian experts on Indian
   religion.  Now, this is not only degrading to Indian people, it's 
downright
   delusional behavior on the part of the instant experts who think they've
   got all the answers before they even hear the questions."

   "The bottom line here," says Lyons, "is that we have more need for
   intercultural respect today than at any time in human history.  And 
nothing
   blocks respect and communication faster and more effectively than 
delusions
   by one party about another.  We've got real problems which threaten the
   survival of the planet. Indians and non-Indians must confront these 
problems
   together, and this means we must have honest dialogue, but this dialogue 
is
   impossible as long as non-Indians remain deluded about things as basic as
   Indian spirituality."

   Things would be bad enough if American Indian realities were being
   distorted only through books and movies.  But since 1970 there has also
   been a rapid increase in the number of individuals selling "Indian Wisdom"
   in a more practical way.  Following the example of people such as the 
"Yogi
   Ramacharaka" and "Marharaji Ji," who have built lucrative careers 
marketing
   bastardizations of East Asian mysticism, these new entrepeneurs have begun
   cleaning up selling "Native American Ceremonies" for a fee.

   As Janet McCloud, a longtime fishing rights activist and elder of the
   Nisqually Nation puts it, "First they came to take our land and water, 
then
   our fish and game.  Then they wanted our mineral resources and, to get 
them
   they tried to take our governments.  Now they want our religion as well.
   All of a sudden,  we have a lot of unscrupulous idiots running around
   saying they're medicine people. And they'll sell you a sweat lodge 
ceremony
   for fifty bucks.  It's not only wrong, it's obscene.  Indians don't sell
   their spirituality to anybody, for any price.  This is just another in a
   very long series of thefts from Indian people and in some ways this is the
   worst yet."

   McCloud is scornful of the many non-Indian individuals who have taken up
   such practice professionally." These people run off to reservations acting
   all kind and hopeless, really pathetic.  So, some elders nice enough,
   considerate enough to be kind to them, and how do they repay this
   generosity?  After fifteen minutes with a spiritual leader, they consider
   themselves "certified" medicine people and then run amok, "spreading the
   word" for a fee.  Some of them even proclaim themselves to be "official
   spiritual representatives" of various Indian peoples.  I'm talking about
   people like Dyhnani Ywahoo and Lynn Andrews. It's absolutely disgusting."

   But her real disdain is for those Indians who have taken up the practice 
of
   marketing their heritage to the highest bidder.  "We've also got Indians
   who are doing these things," McCloud continues, "We've got our Sun Bears
   and our Wallace Black Elks and others who'd sell their own mother if they
   thought it would turn a quick buck.  What they're selling isn't theirs to
   sell, and they know that too.  That's why you never see them around Indian
   people anymore.  When we have our traditional meetings and gatherings, you
   never see the Sun Bears and those sorts showing up."

   Thomas Banyacya, a spiritual elder of the Hopi, says the reason for this 
is
   because " these people have nothing to say on the matters they claim to be
   so expert about.  To whites, they claim they're messengers, but from whom?
   They are not the messengers of Indian people.  I am a messenger, and I do
   not charge for my ceremonies."

   Some of the more sophisticated marketeers, such as Sun Bear, have argued
   that the criticism of McCloud and Banyacaya are misguided.  Sun Bear has
   claimed that the ceremonies and "wisdom" he peddles are not Indian,
   although they are "based on" Indian traditions.  Still, his promotional
   literature still refers to  "Native American Spiritual Wisdom" and offers
   ceremonies such as the sweat lodge for $50.00 per session, and "vision
   quests" at $150.00.

   "Since when is the sweat not an Indian ceremony?" demands Russell Means, 
an
   outspoken critic off Sun Bear and his colleagues.  "It's not based on an
   Indian ceremony, it is an Indian ceremony.  So is his so-called "vision
   quest", the pipe, sage and all the rest of it.  Sun Bear is a liar, and
   so are all the rest of them who are doing what he's doing.  All of them
   know good and well that the only reason anybody is buying their product is
   because of the image of "Indian-ness" they project.  The most non-Indian
   thing about Sun Bear's ceremonies is that he's personally prostituted
   the whole thing by turning it into a money-making venture."

   Sun Bear has also contended that criticism of his activities is 
ill-founded
   because he has arrived at a spiritual stew of several traditions-his
   medicine wheel is Shoshoni and his herbal and other healing remedies 
accrue
   from numerous peoples, while many of his other ceremonies are Lakota in
   origin-and because he's started his own "tribe,' of which he's pronounced
   himself "medicine chief".  Of course, membership in this odd new entity,
   composed almost exclusively of Euroamericans, comes with a hefty price tag
   attached.  The idea has caught on among spiritual hucksters, as is
   witnessed by the formation of a similar fees-paid group in Florida, headed
   by an non-Indian calling himself "Chief Piercing Eyes."

   "This is exactly the problem," says Nilak Butler, an Inuit activist 
working
   in San Francisco.  "Sun Bear says he's not revealing some sort of secret
   Indian ways whenever there are Indians around to hear him.  The rest of 
the
   time, he's the most "Indian" guy around, to hear him tell it.  Whatever
   he's doing his spiel, anyway.  But, you see, if there were any truth to 
his
   rap, he wouldn't have to be running around starting "new tribes" and 
naming
   himself head honcho and dues collector.  He'd be a leader among his own
   people."

   "The thing is," says Rick Williams, a Cheyenne/Lakota working at the
   University of Colorado, "Sun Bear isn't recognized as any sort of leader,
   spiritual or  otherwise, among his own Chippewa people.  He's not 
qualified.
   It takes a lifetime to become the sort of spiritual leader Sun Bear claims
   to be, and he never went through any of that.  He's just a guy who hasn't
   been home to the White Earth Reservation in 25 years, pretending to be
   something he's not, feeding his own ego and making his living misleading a
   lot of sincere, but very silly people.  In a lot of ways he reminds you of
   a low grade Jimmy Swaggart or Pat Robertson type of individual."

   "And another thing," Williams goes on, "Sun Bear hasn't started a new 
tribe.
   Nobody can just up and start a new tribe.  What he's done is start a cult.
   And this cult he's started is playing with some very powerful things, like
   the pipe. That's not only stupid and malicious, it dangerous."

   The danger Williams refers to has to do with the very power which makes
   American Indian spirituality so appealing to non-Indians in the first 
place.
   According to the late Matthew King, elder spiritual leader among his 
people.
   "Each ceremony has its power and its purpose.  Each people has their own
   ways.  You cannot mix these ways together, because each people's ways are
   balanced.  Destroying balance is a disrespect and very dangerous.  This is
   why it is forbidden."

   "Many things are forbidden in our religion," King continued.  "The 
forbidden
   things are acts of disrespect, things which unbalance power.  These things
   must be learned, and the learning is very difficult.  This is why there 
are
   very few real medicine men among us; only few are chosen.  For someone who
   has not learned how our balance is maintained, to pretend to be a medicine
   man is very very dangerous.  It is a big disrespect to the powers and can
   cause great harm to whoever is doing it, to those he claims to be 
teaching,
   to nature, to everything.  It is very bad."

   For all the above reasons, the Circle of Elders of the Indigenous Nations
   of North America, the representative body of traditional indigenous
   leadership on this continent, requested that the American Indian Movement
   undertake to end the activities of those described as "plastic medicine
   men."  The possible sexist description refers to individuals of both
   genders trading in the commercialization of indigenous spirituality.  At
   its National Leadership Conference in 1984, AIM passed a resolution
   indicating the will of the elders would be implemented.  Specifically
   mentioned in the AIM resolution were "Sun Bear and the so-called Bear 
Tribe
   Medicine Society" and "Wallace Black Elk and (the late) Grace Spotted 
Eagle
   of Denver, Colorado" as well as others like Cyfus McDonald, Brook Medicine
   Eagle (spelled "Ego" in the resolution), Osheana Fast Wolf and a
   corporation dubbed "Vision Quest."  Others, such as Dyhani Ywahoo, Rolling
   Thunder, and Beautiful Painted Arrow have been subsequently added to the
   list.

   As Russell Means put it at the time, "These people have insisted upon
   making themselves pariahs within their own communities, and they will have
   to bear the consequences of that.  As to white people who think it's cute,
   or neat or groovey or keen to hook up with plastic medicine men, to
   subsidize and promote them, and claim you and they have some fundamental
   "right" to desecrate our spiritual tradition, I've got a piece of news for
   them.  The ceremonies of our religions are ours. PERIOD.  We have very
   strong reasons for keeping certain things private, whether you understand
   them or not.  And we have every human right to deny them to you, whether
   you like it or not.

   "You can either respect our basic rights or not respect them," Means went
   on.  "If you do, your're an ally and we're ready and willing to join hands
   with you on other issues.  If you do not, you are a best a thief.  More
   importantly, you are a thief of the sort who is willing to risk 
undermining
   our sense of the integrity of our culture for you own perceived
   self-interest.  That means you are complicit in a process of cultural
   genocide, or at least attempted cultural genocide, aimed at American 
Indian
   people.  That makes you an enemy, to say  the least.  And believe me when 
I
   say we're prepared to deal with you as such."

   Almost immediately, the Colorado AIM chapter undertook a confrontation 
with
   Sun Bear in the midst of a $500.00 per head, weeklong "Spiritual retreat"
   being conducted near the mountain town of Granby.  The action provided the
   following endorsement from the normally more staid NIYC:

        The National Indian Youth Council fully supports your efforts to
        denounce, embarrass, disrupt, or otherwise run out of Colorado,
        the Medicine Wheel gathering...For too long the Bear Tribe
        Medicine Society has been considered repugnant but harmless to
        Indian people.  We believe they not only line their pockets but
        do great damage to all of us.  Anything you can do to them will
        not be enough.

   The Colorado AIM action and the strength of indigenous support it 
received,
   resulted in a marked diminishment of Sun Bear's reliance upon the state as
   a source of revenue.

   Since then, AIM has aligned itself solidly and consistantly with 
indigenous
   traditionalism, criticizing Sun Bear and others of his ilk in public
   fashion, and occasionally physically disrupting their activities in
   locations diverse as Denver and Atlanta.  Those who wish to assist in this
   endeavor should do so by denouncing plastic medicine folk wherever they
   appear, organizing pro-active boycotts against books/films and make the
   merchants quit selling the products of plastic medicine people like Sun
   Bear and his non-Indian sidekick "Wabun", but also charlatans like
   Castaneda, Janake Highwater, Lynn Andrews and Hyemeyohsts Storm as well.
   Use your imagination on as to how to get the job done in your area, but
   make it stick.  You should also be aware that Sun Bear and others have
   increasingly aligned themselves with such non-Indian support groups as
   local police departments, calling upon them to protect him from "Indian
   interference" with his unauthorized sale of Indian spirituality.


... LAKOTA AND PROUD....-(:-)
 

    Sad and true.  These days, anything even remotely smacking of Native
    America sells and sells well.
    
    karl
    
    p.s. including music