Table of Contents

Hishuk-ish Ts'awalk: The Wisdom of Our Elders

 

INTRODUCTION

SCIENTIST WEEPS AS ANTARCTIC ICE SHELF DRIPS AWAY

 “The first thing I did was cry,” said the Argentine scientist upon seeing the cracking, the first time the continental ice cap had been exposed for twenty thousand years.  Reading this report, I saw a double image:  tears of the human falling on tears of the ice.  I felt the scientist having sentiment for the ancient ice shelf itself.  There has been enough academic research and debate about global warming, I think, but not enough tears.  When enough scientists weep, we may awaken to the evidence that our souls have been frozen.   (Hayden, 1996, p. 10)

            The Earth is balanced as if on the edge of a knife – on one side lie environmental disaster and the ruin of our world, on the other lie preservation of and respect for our little green and blue planet – and if we stray but a little, it will be to the ruin of all.  The inhabitants of this Earth have stripped and ravaged its environment, we have spilled pollutants into the air and into the Earth’s waterways; and we are destroying the Earth’s wildlife and the Earth’s protective ozone layer.  The global temperature is rising unnaturally as a result and even now the environment is growing drier, more inhospitable, and increasingly unstable.   Earth’s forests are declining, becoming unhealthy, diseased, and pest-ridden.  Scientists warn that within the next century the Earth’s temperature will rise high enough to completely destroy the fragile ecosystems of theArctic and Antarctic, and the tropical rainforests, so necessary for the survival of life on this planet, will disappear within our grandchildren’s lifetimes. (Villiger, 2004)  Increasingly, we are asking, “How did this happen,” and more importantly, “How can we turn this around?” 

            Many people argue that it is unlikely that we are facing global catastrophe; that this is a natural phenomenon and we should trust our scientific and technological institutions to have the capability and understanding to determine the truth of this matter.  However, the philosophical and religious mind-set which led to the development of our current scientific and technological institutions is directly responsible for the impending catastrophe, and thus, they can no longer be trusted to decide this issue for us. 

            To fully understand from a philosophical perspective the current environmental problems we face, it is necessary to first trace the evolution of the philosophical, scientific, and religious beliefs which led to the separation of mankind from nature; a separation that has created a world poised on the brink of disaster.

THE THEORY OF KANT:  THE DIVISION OF GRACE FROM NATURE

            When European settlers first arrived on the North American continent they found a paradise already waiting for them to occupy and nurture.[1] To their dismay they also found a primitive people occupying the land.  The settlers were appalled by how closely the native people lived with and upon the Earth; in the settlers’ sight the indigenous people were scarcely distinguishable from the wildlife in the forests.  In order to understand the settlers’ reaction to this new continent and its inhabitants, it is necessary to examine their belief systems.

            The settlers brought with them a longstanding tradition of European philosophical thought – a fundamental separation of faith from reason and man from nature. They had abandoned the holistic belief of their ancient Greek ancestors of a “metaphysics of all reality” in which all things in the natural world, God, mankind, and nature, were interconnected. (Janislawski, n.d., Lecture No. 4, Sect. III) The settlers believed instead in the concept of a creator who was separate from themselves and in a material world around them that existed separately from them and their creator

            According to their complicated worldview, faith could be applied only to the inner world of the soul; the outer material world was governed by a newly developing “philosophy of science” comprised of scientific principles heralded by the likes of philosopher/scientist Immanuel Kant.  (Janislawski, n.d., Lecture No. 10, Sect. IV)

            Kant advocated scientific thought -- a “quest for certainty” -- as the only rational and objective path to progress. (Hutcheon, 2001, ¶ 1)  Kant convinced his peers that since God’s existence could not be proved by any scientific method, God therefore did not exist.  Kant’s philosophy cemented the divide between faith and reason, “science and theology, between technical knowledge and moral knowledge . . .” (Janislawski, n.d., Lecture No. 10, Sect. II) Religious leaders acknowledged their defeat and acceded that the spiritual world must indeed be separate from the material world.  In addition, religious leaders and scientists alike acknowledged that although science and religion were separate, they were “mutually compatible,” (Hutcheon, 2001, ¶ 2) and that progress should be both “moral and material.” (Enlightenment, 2004, ¶ 18)  These “philosophers of science provided the human race with a systematic approach to knowing what was true and what was false. . . . Science helped the human race progress forward while faith provided a backbone.” (Lee, 2004)   They believed that progress would be made possible through the “conquest of nature by the use of scientific inquiry.”  (Enlightenment, 2004, ¶ 18)  Thus, according to their new gospel of separation of mankind from the natural world, science and religion would work together to ensure that the natural world benefited from their beneficent and supreme knowledge.  (Ravin, 1994)

THE THEORY OF TS’AWALK:  EVERYTHING IS ONE

Before the European settlers arrived in this country, thousands of tribes of indigenous people flourished, each with its own unique cultural and spiritual beliefs.  Since there were so many different spiritual traditions among the various tribes, it is futile to attempt to generalize their worldviews; however, they all share one significant feature in common – a belief that mankind is inseparable from nature. (Sullivan, 1989)

The main tenet of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe’s[2] worldview is Hishuk-ish ts’awalk (pronounced he-shook-ish sha-walk), which means “everything is one.” (Atleo, 2004, p. xi) They believe that all things in the universe are one -- interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent -- and they place human existence simultaneously within the “physical and metaphysical realms” alike.  (Atleo, 2004, p. xix)  The Nuu-chah-nulth have believed for thousands of years that “[i]n the same way that Plato assumed the primacy of perfect forms over the physical world, the theory of Ts’awalk . . . assumes a spiritual primacy to existence.”  (Atleo, 2004, p. xvi)  They believe that “the Spirit that first infused the world is still with us now . . . spirit which imbues all things.”  (Ladkin, n.d., ¶ 11)   A holistic circle encompasses the natural world and the Creator, and within this balanced circle all are equals.  (Mercredi, 2004)

The Nuu-chah-nulth contend that all living things possess a soul, equal in value to our own, thus all living things can be considered as conscious beings that are a revered and sacred part of their society.  (Vecsey, 1995)  “[T]he world is animate. . . .  Natural things are alive, they have a spirit.”  (Ladkin, n.d., ¶ 11)  In respect for their belief that Hishuk-ish ts’awalk, they take care to ensure the welfare of their living and nonliving neighbors.  (Vecsey, 1995)   “There is a mutual respectfulness required when interacting with trees, birds, and plants, and also natural forces such as the wind and the rain.”  (Ladkin, n.d., ¶ 9)

            According to the Nuu-chah-nulth, the dichotomies inherent in our Western worldview, which separate our spirit from the material world, our heaven from the Earth, and this life from the afterlife, are virtually unknown to them. (Streep, 1995) They believe we have created an “unnatural separation between the human mind and heart/soul/spirit,” and thus our sense of balance has been lost.  (Atleo, 2004, p. xvi)     

MANIFEST DESTINY:  THE RECONSTRUCTION OF PARADISE

            Assured by their belief in their manifest destiny of dominion over the Earth and over all other living creatures, the newly arrived settlers of the North American continent immediately embarked upon the ambitious and oftentimes difficult task of reconstructing the land and its peoples in their image. Their scientists assured them that the indigenous peoples were, indeed, not human and therefore not in possession of a soul.  Their governmental institutions enlisted the aid of religious organizations to assist them in their quest to remove the indigenous peoples and clear the way for colonization of their land.  Their “Ten Commandments prohibit[ed] adultery, but not pollution, demand[ed] that we honor our parents, but not the earth.”  (Hayden, 1996, p.2)   Over the next four centuries, the settlers’ science, aided and abetted by their God, conquered every part of this land, usurping and destroying the indigenous people, stripping the land of its minerals, its forests, its waterways, and its soil; and of its beauty, life, and dignity, all in the name of progress.

            Today, as a result of their caustic attitude towards the environment, the Earth’s own balance is threatened.  Global temperatures have risen unnaturally within the past three decades, a phenomenon which has not been observed within our recorded history.  The issue of global warming[3] is fiercely debated.  Many scientists, primarily those associated with large corporations and governmental entities that have a vested financial interest in this issue, claim this is a natural phenomenon and nothing to be alarmed about.  However, many environmentalists, scientists, and an increasing number of religious organizations warn us that this may not be a natural phenomenon and that we need to actively work to stop global warming now. 

            Although there is no “clear link” between global warming and human activities, there   unquestionably have been “climatic events unprecedented in human experience occurring in recent times.”  (Warming, 2004, ¶ 8)  Unfortunately, if human activities are indeed causing global warming, scientists will not have time to discover that fact before it is “too late” to save the Earth.  (Warming, 2004, ¶ 8)

Our society’s response to these warnings has undoubtedly been tainted by our cultural viewpoint of separation of faith from reason. On one front, religious leaders have responded by advocating environmentally friendly greener churches, (Motavalli, 2002) and on a separate front, scientists have begun to develop an environmental consciousness within the context of Kant’s Categorical Imperative.[4]  Although it cannot be denied that science has benefited mankind immeasurably while working within the framework of reason alone, Albert Einstein pointed out an obvious problem with this approach:

It is true that convictions can best be supported with experience and clear thinking. On this point one must agree unreservedly with the extreme rationalist. The weak point of [this] conception is, however, this, that those convictions which are necessary and determinant for our conduct and judgments cannot be found solely along this solid scientific way.  (Einstein, 1950) 

In other words “If you want to do evil, science provides the most powerful weapons to do evil, but equally, if you want to do good, science puts into your hands the most powerful tools to do so.  The trick is to want the right things. . . .”  (Dimbleby, 1996, ¶ 19)  

            According to the indigenous peoples of the Earth, our Western culture has never wanted the “right things.”  (Dimbleby, 1996) They believe that simply debating this issue while doing nothing is tantamount to wagering everything that is dear to them, a price much too high to pay for our indecision.

RETURN TO THE SACRED:  THE WISDOM OF OUR ELDERS

            Over two thousand years ago, the young Greek philosopher Plato devised a theory of the “Forms,” in which our minds “participate” with the material world of appearances and the immaterial world of ideas to create the reality of the world as we experience it, a reality in which both are equal and necessary partners.  These ideas, or thoughts, are the “actual elemental building blocks of reality . . . [that] make up the nature of reality itself, not just the way we describe it.” (Janislowski, n.d., Lecture No. 4, III, ¶ 10) Therefore, our own existence depends upon the participation of the natural world, and our participation creates the very existence of the natural world.  As a result, according to Plato’s theory, the idea that the material world is of no consequence would participate with the material world to create that reality.  Envision if you will, the world slowly dying before our very eyes, simply because we no longer believe that it is alive.   Almost as if in response to this vision Plato wrote: “By Heaven, can we be ready to believe that the absolutely real has no share in movement, life, soul or wisdom? That it does not live or think, but in solemn holiness, unpossessed of mind, stands entirely at rest? That would be a dreadful thing to admit.” (MacFarlane, 2004)

             Somewhere along the road of the evolution of our Western philosophical worldview, we lost or discarded this vital piece of knowledge and now the Earth itself is suffering due to our oversight. 

            A dualistic point of view has arisen over thousands of years among the “civilized” cultures of this world, a view that the material world is separate from the immaterial world.  An idea arose that perfection resides only in heaven and awaits us in the afterlife and thus is not attainable upon this Earth, which is only a mere shadow of heaven.  As a result, we have not respected the natural world nor do we hold it dear.  We have participated in a belief that the material world is merely a collection of things, mere scenery, and we have not acknowledged the sacredness of, nor given life to, the Earth by recognizing that the spirit and individuality of these things is equal to our own.  

            In contrast, long before our dualistic perspective arose, the ancient peoples -- our elders ­­­­­-- and many people still coexisting side by side with us today, believed that the Earth was sacred.  They believe that everything in the material world that surrounds us is imbued with “movement, life, soul, and wisdom.” (MacFarlane, 2004, ¶ 8)  They believed that the “higher power” itself is intrinsically connected to the material and immaterial worlds, that one cannot exist without the other, and that this existence is sacred and perfect in itself.  If, as Plato believed, our participation is necessary to create the reality of the world around us, it could even be concluded that our elders’ belief that the Earth and all things upon it are sacred, participated to create the reality of that sacredness, and therefore their belief directly imparted “movement, life, soul, and wisdom”  to the Earth.  (MacFarlane, 2004, ¶ 8)

 CONCLUSION

            The Nuu-Chah-Nulth people still live closely to the land, rejecting our science and our technology to the extent that it is possible to do so.  They are already experiencing what they consider to be unacceptable effects of the climate change as plants and animals that they hold sacred are disappearing and their remaining sacred lands are becoming dry and barren.  (Basic Call, 1991)  They have watched in horror as our Earth has been subjected to centuries of Western scientific and religious thought that have resulted in imminent global catastrophe, and they are calling on scientists, religious leaders, and corporate and governmental entities to reject their hallowed maxims “that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man.” (White, 1967, ¶ 7)   They earnestly believe that the material world itself has “suffered from the perception” that it does not possess a soul or sacredness. (Hayden 1996, p. 5)  Although they acknowledge that we can no longer return to the past as our elders knew it, they are pleading with us, at a very minimum, to stop wagering against losing what we have left -- what should be as precious to us as it is to them. (About, 2002)

            It is important that we heed their message; it is vital that we recognize and reaffirm our interdependence with the natural world, to acknowledge that we have much more in common with the Earth and the sky, and the plants and animals around us than we have with the scientific and technological society we have created.  The lone scientist who wept as the Antarctic ice cap disintegrated had awoken to the sacred connection between himself and the natural world.  Will enough of us awaken to this knowledge before it is too late?  The Earth is slipping away from us – and only when we BELIEVE that is sacred again, will it BE sacred again.

 EPILOGUE

 Nature can and does communicate to us humans.  With this communication via signs, omens, and mythic-religious symbols is a definite system of knowledge. . . . Some things that occur in Nature that affect our lives cannot be explained or verified by the rational mind, the academic intellect, or the scientific approach. (Lake-Thom 1997)

When I went to the Native American Research Center on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in Ledyard, Connecticut, to research this paper, I had not yet even begun to develop a thesis for this paper.   From my discussion with Professor Abbot the night before about Jerry Mander’s book, In the Absence of The Sacred, I knew vaguely that it had something to do with the conflict between technology and Native American beliefs, but that was all I knew.  I hoped to develop my thesis while at the Research Center.   Between the parking lot and the research center was a small wooded area; a small but dense copse of huge old trees with beautiful pine needle covered pathways running through it.  The sidewalk to the Research Center ran through this beautiful little wooded area.  With our class discussions of Parmenides and Thales, and questions of BEING still floating through my head from our chat with Dr. Stein the night before, I entered this wooded area.

After just a few steps, I immediately had the overwhelming feeling that something very strange was going on here – I had the strangest “feeling” that these woods were ALIVE – there was a palpable feeling of sacredness in the air that permeated the woods and me.  I was not seeking this experience, it just happened.   At the same time I noticed that for such a small area, these woods were literally BURSTING with life and sounds; squirrels scurrying, birds singing, and the sounds in the woods were unnaturally intense, as if the woods and the animals were trying to get my attention, actually demanding that I stop and pay attention to them.  I was actually a little frightened and confused by this very odd feeling.  Why would this little patch of woods feel so completely different than any other trees or squirrels I had seen that day?  The whole felt as aware and as alive as I am – or more, actually.  I had the very strange feeling that if I lingered here for a while, the animals and the trees and the earth would have something very important to tell me, if I only knew how to listen.  Instead, feeling overwhelmed and confused by these feelings, I scurried out of there as fast as possible and chalked the whole experience up to an over-active imagination.

However, upon further reflection, and after writing this paper, it seems that maybe, just maybe, the woods were trying to tell me something; the answer to the question I did not yet know I was going to ask – “how can we go back – how can we return the sacredness to nature again?”  The woods seemed to be telling me that it does not matter how SMALL they are or WHERE they are – that our return to the sacredness of nature does not require vast expanses of land, only the willingness of SOMEONE to believe.  I also inherently understood that “that SOMEONE” was not me.  I now believe that it is within the realm of possibility that that little copse of woods on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation is believed to be sacred by the native peoples living and working there and it was they who infused it with life because of their belief that it is alive and that it is sacred.  In turn, this sacredness was palpable even by me with my little awareness and my little willingness to believe.  In addition, I think that the location of this wood, juxtaposed between our cars (symbols of technology) and the Native American research center (a source of sacred Native American knowledge) was NO coincidence, and that not only did the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation provide the source materials for my term paper, they graciously provided the answer as well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Old Ones say

Outward is inward to the heart

       and inward is outward to the center

       because

for us

       there are no absolute boundaries

       no borders

       no environments

       no outside

       no inside

       no dualisms

       no single body

       no non-body

 

Some scientists think

they can study a world of

matter separate from themselves

but there is no

Universe Un-observed

(knowable to us at least)

nothing can be known

without being channeled through some creature’s senses,

the unobserved Universe

cannot be discussed

for we, the observers,

being its very description

are its very eyes and ears

its very making

is our seeing of it

    our sensing of it . . .

(Forbes 1992)

[1] To aid simplification of my position I shall examine the belief systems of the inhabitants of the North American continent.

[2]  In order to simplify my position I shall confine my examination of Native American belief systems to one tribe, the Nuu-chah-nulth, who live on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

[3]   Global warming is a natural phenomenon in which “greenhouse gases,” such as water vapor and carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere and create a greenhouse-like warming effect upon the surface of the Earth.  (Lindsay, 2001)

 [4] “Act as if the maxim of your action was to become through your will a universal law of nature.’  The Categorical Imperative is an ethical system based on reason alone, without any reliance on spirituality.  (Richards, 2003, ¶ 5)


 

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