The word wisdom is used frequently every day, whether it is spoken and heard or written and read. Yet it is debatable, in my opinion, if most of us know what it is. In most dictionaries it is defined as "the quality or state of being wise, sagacious, discerning and insightful."
There are wise people in the world from all walks of life, from many nations and cultures. But there is one unalterable reality: No one who is truly wise is young. By the same token there are many old cultures on this planet of ours. Therefore, if we universally regard elders as repositories of wisdom, than those old cultures would have much to offer.
Many indigenous cultures were already populating every nook and cranny of what came to be called North America when the migration of Europeans began, roughly 500 years ago. Those peoples that greeted the newcomers with varied degrees of curiosity and apprehension had, by then, lived on and with this land for thousands upon thousands of years. Consequently they had evolved societal values and ways that enabled them to not merely survive, but thrive for all those millennia. Without going into the sad and difficult details and consequences of the interaction between Europeans and indigenous North Americans, it is important to note that the indigenous people were deeply and traumatically impacted; to the point where our cultures were diminished and, in some cases, entirely lost. The good news is that some of us have survived: just over 480 ethnically identifiable native tribes or nations in the United States.
A popular axiom says that "whatever does not kill you will make you stronger." If that is true, native societies have endured much to survive to the present day, so we should be among the strongest people in the world. That strength is not physical, however, and certainly has nothing to do with military might. That kind of strength has to do with the experiences we had and the insights we gained from it.
Furthermore, all of us, as indigenous cultures and nations, are older than any of the modern nations of North and Central America. As societies, therefore, as with individuals, we have acquired wisdom. It would be accurate to say that we are among the elders in the global village.
When I was a teenager, my paternal grandfather made an interesting observation. He said that native peoples of this country (meaning the United States) needed to hang on to their ways and their values, but not only for themselves. He said that we might have to save this country from itself with our ways and our wisdom as native peoples. Unfortunately, he did not elaborate beyond that. It would have been extremely helpful for him to have laid out a blueprint as how we should that. But as I get older the more I see the truth in his observation.
I know little of the specific traditions, customs, languages and values of other native tribes and nations. But I do know something of the Lakota third of our nation that also includes the Dakota and Nakota. What I have learned is that the foundation of our wisdom is all the realities of the physical world. Some are obvious: the sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west; there are four seasons in the yearly cycle -- winter, spring, summer and autumn -- and each has its own whims and characteristics. Others are a bit more subtle, but no less unrelenting, such as the knowledge that it is impossible to survive without knowing those realities, and living within them. That is why we did not place our villages on a known flood plain, therefore precluding having to blame the river when it flooded. Furthermore, because all our values, traditions and customs are based on reality, the wisdom derived from practicing them is real, and not based on myth and legend.
Therefore, what is wisdom? There are many answers. Here are a few:
Lakota people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/decalog.html
http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/loslunas.html
At his funeral, President Jimmie Carter eulogized, "We have known kings and queens, and we've known presidents and prime ministers, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known in my life is Mattie Stepanek. His life philosophy was 'Remember to play after every storm!' and his motto was: 'Think Gently, Speak Gently, Live Gently'. He wanted to be remembered as "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played".
What does that mean, "old culture"?
15,000 years ago, some humans came to America, while others stayed in Europe. 500 years ago some of the Europeans came to North America, bringing their culture.. Both groups had cultures for the entire 15,000 year period. So what makes Native American culture older than European culture?
Is culture geographical, so its age reset to zero when you move from your homeland? Then the native tribes that were forcibly relocated to reservations have younger cultures than the European immigrants who moved them.
Or is an old culture , "a culture which has changed very little for a very long time." By that standard Native American cultures 500 years ago were older than the European cultures that invaded them. But why is that cultural stasis is a *good* thing?
Native American culture had evolved to an optimum fit for a stone-age, low population density lifestyle in North America. When immigrants changed the land to suit European culture, the native cultures couldn't adjust to concepts like private land ownership, industrialized agriculture, and money. Part of the reason Native Americans suffered so terribly is that their "old cultures" weren't very applicable to the "new culture" of 17th-century European immigrants. And they're even less applicable tp the 21st century.
What native culture can teach us today comes *despite* its age, not *because* of it.
That is a huge difference from the history of europe, where one king or leader after another killed whole groups of people based on their religion. It makes for a different kind of people. You can learn about it if you study their religion.
If you are ignorant of their religion and religious ideas, then the wisdom of the age of it will completely escape you.
How can I miss a point the author never made? Marshall never mentioned religion. He spoke of cultural values, of which religion is only one aspect.
Despite your rephrasing, the question remains. What's "old" about Native American religion? Christianity is 2000 years old, and Judaism about 2500. Which Native American religions significantly predate those, and by how long?
"It wasn't until only 500 years ago that anyone in America was killed for their religion. "
What about the human sacrifices performed by the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas and others? The Aztecs alone are thought to have sacrificed at least 20,000 people annually. North American tribes weren't so murderous, though there was the Pawnee "Morning Star Ritual" where in some years, a young girl would be captured from a neighboring village and sacrificed to appease the Morning Star god.
You're right, I *am* ignorant of their religious ideas. I'm a good guy who likes to learn, but I'm skeptical of new-age claptrap and unsupported assertions. Thus, my challenge to the counter-intuitive claim, "older is better". There are a lot of silly, shallow people who adore Native American culture because it's trendy -- though they know practically nothing about it. You can educate me, if you're not one of them.
To start, why do you think Native American religions are older than European ones?
When someone claims that the culture and religion of stone-age hunter-gatherers has wisdom surpassing the beliefs of more advanced cultures, that assertion requires proof. What are some specific examples of this wisdom, and why do you think it's objectively superior to more modern concepts? Why did the old cultures come to understand this, while the younger ones missed it?
Or is this just a bunch of shallow new-age mysticism?
They have to have /something/ to work with, someone's blood who was confirmed Native.