-=> Quoting Sondra Ball to Robin Arnhold <=-
Hi, Sondra,
 
 RA> SB> There are the white groups of Indian *tribes* that refuse to even
 > SB> allow Indians to join.  They see themselves as containing the *true*
 > SB> spirit of the Indians.
 
 RA>Sort of like they think they know more about being an Indian than Indians
 >do.  I wonder if it was one of those groups that tried to reinvent the
 >sweatlodge.  Truth is, I can laugh about the sweatlodge, but those fake
 >groups tend to make me nauseated.
 SB> 
 SB> I tend to feel more sad about it than anything, except for my feelings
 SB> about the leaders who get wealthy from it.  The leaders often *know*
 SB> what they are doing.  They willingly lead the people astray.  
Yes, it's those leaders who know what they are doing who make me
nauseated, not so much the followers who have been deluded into thinking
that what they are doing is acceptable.  Although some of them have an
in-your-face approach that turns me off, I'd say that on the whole I feel
sorrow for the followers and a tremendous sense of waste.  They tend to
have more positive attitudes toward Native people than many in the
dominant culture, and if those attitudes were channeled into something
constructive, it could help bring about some needed changes in the way
the dominant culture thinks about/acts toward Native people.  When the
positive attitudes get sidetracked by changing one stereotype for
another, nothing that needs changing gets changed.
 SB> The
 SB> people who are led astray are really usually just vulnerable seekers. 
 SB> I've been both vulnerable and a seeker in my lifetime.  
As have I.  In a way, if one doesn't know about something, one is
vulnerable in that area.  That can include being vulnerable to con
artist 'spiritual' leaders.  And we are all seeking something, whether it
is a better world for our children or to make it til the end of the
month.
Take care,
Robin
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20
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