How much hogwash is there about Native American traditions?

Sadly, I must agree.
The experience is much the same here in Australia.
The only difference is that due to Malaria, the whites didn't get the chance to conquer every Aboriginal tribe.
In the Far North and North-West the Aboriginals have a natural immunity to Malaria.
By the time whites had invented vaccines, their mores and laws had changed, so that they could no longer commit the same crimes with impunity.
There, in the most remote regions, about 50 nations still speak their native languages and keep all their traditions, knowledge, lore and laws intact. A Pidgeon or Creole is the closest they get to English. They have much to teach us about conservation and land management, as well as there particular take on love, responsibility, respect and wisdom. And, very slowly, some whites are beginning to listen and learn.

Elsewhere in Australia, it is not the same. Over two hundred language groups have been destroyed. Only remnants of about four hundred words were recorded in dictionaries by linguists before the extinctions. Since the language was integral to the stories, laws and knowledge of landscape and survival, all that was also lost. The devastation to their descendants still carries deep trauma. White education in schools used to be silent on the historical atrocities committed by our ancestors. Now it is part of the syllabus in education from primary to tertiary level. The damage has been so bad that it cannot be repaired, but there are some positive changes. Preferring to call themselves Aborigine or Indigenous Australian or by the name of their specific tribe, they are now demanding political and personal self-determination. They are asking for assistance in closing the gap between whites and blacks in matters of education, medicine, job opportunities, land rights and law. A first generation has already achieved much in these areas and paves the way for more who now follow.
Indigenous Australians number 3% of the Australian population - but a potent and extremely important 3% because, without healing, Australia is a country with a bad conscience and much shame.

No matter where you look in the world  it's still going on to some degree...Not thst long ago ,America took Hawaii from its people for its mid Pacific base..
The Japanesse don't teach their childred about the atrocities their forbearers did to any captured person during the Second World War...Japanesse women are also still second citizens ,they get raped and mostly the men walk free...
America infected a whole city of its own citizens with syphilis and left them untreated ,just to study the effects on people...  
I wonder which country in the world has done the most killing to get what they want...I would hazard a guess and say England must be near the top of the list....

Thank you for your concise answers.

Regarding D), I wondered whether Native American academics today have recorded the lore of the remaining traditional elders. If the Native American systems were similar to those of Indigenous Australians, there might have been ways of training prodigal feats of mnemonics to ensure that lore and laws could not change from one generation to the next. Some remnants might still exist. But with 400 hundred years since the invasion of Europeans, I couldn't guess how much might have survived.

If they did, said elders have not disseminated it very well. We can only imagine what hard won local wisdoms were lost to conquest and the passage of time. 

I feel disappointed, but I'd rather know the facts, so thank you.

That mention of Code Talkers is new to me. Thank you. I'll look it up.
I agree about First Nations People as great conservationists. It's the same in Australia. Archeology and paleontology have proved that Aboriginal cultures have existed unchanged in Australia for 40 - 60,000 years - the oldest surviving culture on Earth (though as I said above, only a small portion of it remains alive). Evidence shows they did change the ecology quite dramatically, but over time they learned and maintained a perfect balance. We whites are starting to learn from them, but have much further to go.
Illegal immigrants - ironic isn't it, that so many whites now object to desperate refugees in large numbers seeking asylum.

I suspect that not having the scientific knowledge that we have today, the early natives learned quickly that if they overused certain elements in nature, they would be depleted.  American Indian tribes had winter and summer camps which allowed the opposite lands to replenish.  They killed buffalo for food, clothing, tents, etc. and used just abut every part of the animal.  They did not kill for sport the way some hunters do today.  There is much we could learn from them.  I agree with your comment on immigration.  

I agree with the Yaqui man in that video that we are all relatives (humanity - one big family) and that we need to live in peace.

I accept the standard definition of New Age - a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an interest in spirituality, mysticism, holism, and environmentalism.

I've lived among predominantly New Age people most of my adult life and am acutely aware of the diversity.
The majority of New Agers walk their talk with integrity - and offer a range of solutions on living which could literally heal the planet. 

There are also more than a few quacks who are fraudsters only into the money.
It is these latter that conventional people use to try to sully the reputation of the larger movement.
But honesty requires that we acknowledge the truth.
If we don't, it risks the straight propaganda succeeds - achieves no good at all.

I count myself as a New Ager: atheist and Buddhist, Vipassana meditator, vegetarian, living a thoroughly green life, working to towards environmental repair, small l-liberal and green in politics, pro-feminist and queer rights, and anti-racist.
I'm also alternative in my tastes for world-fusion dance, music, performance, art etc.

It is because I have these values that I like you, Sharonna - and why this long answer is worth the time to write it.

Some New Age businesses are beneficial.
Others, like Blackmores Vitamins (that most of us don't need if we're eating a healthy diet), are merely benign.
The products are designed so they can't do any harm. The Vit A is so low it's unlikely anyone could overdose.

But a less benign example was Jesmahine, a guru of breatharianism. Her gig - if one can master meditation to a sufficiently high level no one needs food  - we can live on breath alone. She was staying with a friend of ours who was much taken with the idea. During the night our friend heard noises in the kitchen. When she got up to investigate, she found Jesmahine raiding a packet of chocolate cookies.
A family in Brisbane took her to caught because their daughter died following her advice. Jes spend three years in gaol. 
A few years later Jesmahine died of anorexia.

Examples of the New Age at its worst include gurus like Adi Da Sam Raj, who stripped devotees of their inheritances by fraud, made others into slaves, and systematised long term real estate scams.
Male swamis appointed as heads of ashrams by Satyananda and Swami Prabhupada. The male heads of the ashrams around the world have been convicted of the rape and persecution of large numbers of primary school-aged children - because their now adult victims have come out.

I don't accept that the New Age is a pseudo-science that falsifies and makes new old stuff. But it does contain a fair few people within its spectrum who do. The Hundredth Monkey Effect is a perfect example.

Unfortunately, a small proportion of humans everywhere are prone to scams. The occasional scientist in academia and more than a few working for multinationals have been caught at cons. Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, judges, public servants, doctors, politicians - you name it - there's no corner left untainted.

~

In our local village, we have two Americans who've immigrated - good people: honest, intelligent, friendly, creative and kind.
One was a secretary to Tony Robbins for twenty years. Her partner is Navaho.

He told me there are plenty New Age guru types love to run Native American spirit quests using sweat lodges, fasting and three days of solo reflection in the wilderness - but they have nothing to do with the authentic traditions of any native Americans - they are bastardised versions which cannot produce the intended results.

I've met five Australians and a New Zealander who've done these courses, a few thousand dollars each, either here or in America. What they said about their experiences didn't match with the way they behaved.

I thought aM might be able to give me a broad spectrum of answers reflecting different experiences and opinions - and it has done exactly that - for which I am grateful. Thanks to J.A.'s answer, I now have a few clues as to where and how to look online.

As to questions "not friendly to this site's format", I acknowledge that the last six or so of my questions invited long and well thought out answers.
Some of those questions resulted in an interesting range of responses and made a few conversations possible. For me, they were successful.

I would have imagined that a site like this would have room for each Mugger to express their personality in their unique way.

What kinds of questions would you prefer that I ask?







This post was edited by inky at July 4, 2019 9:39 PM MDT

Thank you, J.A.
I feel heartened and happy to know that the traditions are being preserved in some places, probably many.

You've given me hope and a few clues about where I could look for authentic info.

I am aware that every year there are international conferences where indigenous people share their similarities and differences of tradition, history, activism for equal rights and political goals.