Connecting to Spirit

I have a lot to say about our culture. The disconnection I see in most places. The disconnection I see many people face with themselves. Have we lost our Spirit? How do we recover this within us and our community? With our land?

So, I have a fascination with Native American culture and have since college. Native American culture connects to the Earth and to the Spirit world. I want to connect with the sounds of drumming ceremonies, dance underneath the night sky, and have a spiritual family that understands our true nature. 

**Soul & Spirit  affects our Mind & Body**

Here is an essay I wrote in college a few years ago in my Native American culture class:  

Indians tribes are continually losing their freedom. It all began during the American Revolution when treaties were being used to take away their land. Tribes are not considered to be fully sovereign to most people, but are seen as people who maintain a sense of dependence. The United States has control over tribes which is not allowing them to be fully sovereign. The Indian culture has been abused by the United States government and much of their land has been taken away with treaties. Treaties were just a way to make it seem as though it was a reciprocal gain for both parties when it really was not. The indigenous people were just being taken advantage of and were starting to be controlled on their own territory. Vine Deloria discusses the various issues that indigenous people had to face to fight for their independence. For instance, the mythical Indian is still what most people believe to be true when they think of the culture. Indians still can hold onto their past traditions and be part of the modern world. Still, most people can not grasp this fact and consider accommodated Indians not really Indians at all. Deloria has a cynical yet humorous tone throughout most of the book and he feels as though Indian tribes were and are still being used. They are being used for more than just their land because they are very much so misrepresented. Deloria thinks that Indians are “invisible” because everything known or written about them is mostly misinformation.

Vine Deloria was very passionate about changing the way Indians were viewed to white society and much of that has to do with his past. In 1933, he was born near a Sioux Indian Reservation during the great depression. Deloria eventually received a degree in theology, which is also what his father has studied. Still, religion was an important practice for many generations in his family. One of his ancestors was the first of the Sioux tribe to convert to Christianity when the missionaries were flooding tribes with their practices. Mr. Deloria was a very outspoken individual and fought for the rights of the Indian people by participating in social movements. He stood up to Congress when the identity of tribes was being shattered. The first book he wrote on these issues is named, “Custer Died for Your Sins”, which received a lot of recognition. This book was not just spitting out historical information, but it was Mr. Deloria’s own take on the issues. He wanted to change the way Indians were viewed and by doing so he created a realistic picture of their treatment from the past and present. He did not want Indians to be “invisible” anymore and he was fed up with all of the lies told about them. The most prominent Native American organization in the United States, the NCIA, fought for the equal rights of the Native people. Mr. Deloria was the executive director of this organization and he fought for the sovereignty of these tribes. He was an important leader for the indigenous people and he helped to bring awareness of issues that were being concealed by the United States. Deloria eventually handed down his knowledge and wisdom by becoming a professor and he sought to understand the religious factors of the tribes. He has always been very interested in religion, which can be due to be raised by a father who was an Indian Episcopalian clergyman. After he became a professor he changed the education of Native Americans in schools and how it would be taught.

The first book written by Vine Deloria named, “Custer Died for Your Sins”, is not a typical book on historical facts about Native Americans, but is about Delorias own views on the culture. He speaks about the tribes and their struggle for identity and sovereignty since the beginning when Columbus claimed their territory. He is blunt about the real facts of Native Americans and wants to make white society aware of how they are naïve to the reality. He speaks about how Indians have become invisible because of how they have been misrepresented. Native Americans have been hidden away because the American people feel comfortable with keeping them there. Deloria believes that the white man sees the Indian as un-American because of the mythological view of the “lazy Indian”, which a perception is created by the whites themselves. Native Americans are hardly lazy because they have struggled and fought ever since their identities and land were stolen. He especially does not favor how many Native Americans are “observed” by anthropologists and that they are just wasting their money, which could have better use for the tribes. Anthropologists have even convinced Indian tribes themselves to behave differently because everyone believes that anthropologists are correct with all of their information. The Native American culture is not only brainwashed by the anthropologists but also by the United States government and even religion. The Indians were fighting for their civil rights just like African American people were. The whites saw African Americans and Indians in a different light. They saw Indians as people that they could easily conform to their own beliefs and that they had to be controlled.

A main issue of concern with Native Americans is their special bond to their land. Land is what makes them a tribe and a community and without their land they would be scattered and not unified any longer. They are fought for their right to their land more than anything in the past and present. The United States is trying to take away their land with statements in treaties from the past. Architects and designers can help play a role with helping the Native American cultures. Architects and designers can help Native American communities have traditional buildings in their communities, but also help them modernize with their needs. There is a way in which you can combine the traditional use of their land and at the same time modernize it. A better designed community can help them with their everyday work and lifestyle. Architecture can be used to connect the Indians better to nature and their natural surroundings. Since nature is an important aspect of the Native American culture, bringing more of this into their personal or communal areas of living could be very inspiring. Using green design concepts could be important for Native American tribes since they do want to help take care of the natural world. Green design is a growing field and tribes would only benefit from using these concepts. It is essential that the government would fund some of these projects for the tribes.

In Conclusion, Vine Deloria was an important leader for the Native American people, an activist, a teacher, but most importantly a person who stood up for his beliefs. He was never afraid to speak up and tell the truth about the treatment of Indians. He did it in a very smart and humorous manner, which is why he has touched so many people in his lifetime. He has helped to uncover the real identity if Indians, which was not something many people wanted to ever understand. Still he managed to make his voice heard in the community and even after his death remains one of the most important Native American activists. Native Americans still have not obtained full sovereignty, but with the encouragement of figures like Vine Deloria it has become something that may be possible in the future.