The What Can White People Do?

So to summarize, White people finding themselves interested in Native Americans first have to deal with the stereotype image Indian, a projection of White fears and hopes which is an undercurrent to any understanding we seek. We have to reckon with the inheritance of White colonialism and a context of structural racism. In such a context sincere spiritual searchers face three traps which can short circuit ethical right relations between White people and Native people: denial, wanting to be Indian, and guilt seeking redemption. But what can we do? I believe there is a response which offers an ethic we can stand on. It has two parts: become an ally and do our own spiritual work.

BECOME AN ALLY

The first part is to become an ally, If you are familiar with the twelve step programs you may have heard of "making amends" This means that it is important to take stock of one's own past and take responsibility for righting the wrongs that one can. I believe this can also function on a cultural level. To take responsibility on a cultural level would be to identify one's cultural location and the realities of colonialism and structural racism. To take responsibility includes acknowledging the problem as bigger than individual guilt or innocence. In other words, we didn't individually cause the injustice, so we don't need to get stuck in individual guilt or shame. Rather, our responsibility is to work against racism, to be an ally to those who are oppressed.

It is important to point out that Indian people are not saying, "Don't learn about Indian culture or religion." Rather the appeal is that White people learn more deeply and accurately about Indian cultures and in a context which does not foster their destruction. Oren Lyons, a traditional chief of the Onondaga Nations says, "We've got real problems today, tremendous 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 is impossible so long as non-Indians remain deluded about things as basic as Indian spirituality." [Churchill, Fantasies of the Master Race, pp.2160217.]

Since there are so many distortions, information is important. We can educate ourselves and our children and friends about the issues and struggles facing Native peoples today. Help can be given beginning in forms as simple and concrete as money, or appealing to our congressional leaders to support Native religious freedom issues and land claims.

There are many community-rooted Indian writers, scholars, and cultural workers we can support, for example, by buying their books instead of the New Age impostor books. [For those who would like to learn more about the experience of Indian people and support Native women writers, I would