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Tribal Purpose according to
  • Vine Deloria,
  • Chief Oren Lyons,
  • George Tinker,
  • Ed McGaa/Eagle Man,
  • Chief Seattle, and
  • Chief Red Cloud

by Theodore Walker, Jr.




Vine Deloria, Jr. of the Sioux nations, in his book--CUSTER DIED FOR YOUR SINS: AN INDIAN MANIFESTO (Norman: Univeristy of Oklahoma Press, 1989/1969), describes a tribe as having a "primary purpose," and
according to Deloria's description, that primary purpose is an explicitly social ethical purpose--"to ensure as beneficial a life as possible for members of the tribe" (CUSTER, p. 230).

Similarly, Chief OrenLyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation, describes the main purpose of a rightly governing council---"a council of the good minds"---in terms of "counsel for the welfare of the people" (OL, p. 9).

[See "Oren Lyons The Faithkeeper with Bill Moyers," a Public Affairs Television interview of Chief Oren Lyons by Bill Moyers (Air Date: 3 July 1991, transcript #BMSP-16 by Journal Graphics, New York, 1991).]

Where there is no council for the welfare and benefit of the people, righteous tribalism is not present. The social ethical purpose of contributing to shared well-being and prosperity is essential to Native American definitions of tribalism.

Not only members of the tribe, but others also are embraced by the circle of tribal concerns. And others include other human life and other than human life, other living creatures and all creation.

George Tinker of the Osage Nation teaches us an expanded circle of concerns is characteristic of Native American tribal religions.

In his article "The Full Circle of Liberation: An American Indian Theology of Place" (SOJOURNERS, October 1992), George Tinker identifies the circle as a "fundamental symbol of Plains Indians' existence" (FCL, p. 17),
and
he teaches us according to many Native American interpretations, the circle symbolizes and embraces concern for "the family, the clan, the tribe, and eventually all of creation" (FCL, p.17).

Tinker says, "When the Lakota peoples of North America pray Mitakuye ouyasin, "For all my relatives," they understand relatives to include not just tribal members, but all of creation" (FCL, p.16).

According to Tinker, for Lakota, Dakota, Osage and other Native American peoples, the circle of tribal concerns embraces "an everexpanding community that begins with family and tribe, but is finally inclusive of all human beings and all of creation" (FCL, p.17).

In his article "For All My Relations': Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Christmas Trees" (SOJOURNERS, January 1991), George Tinker teaches us that the popular Native American prayer---"Matakuye Oyasin" or "For All My Relations"---exhibits a characteristically Native American religious concern for achieving proper relations ("respect" and "reciprocity") with all living things, all life, all creatures, all creation and the Creator---all relations.

Tinker says:
"The Lakota and Dakota peoples have a phrase used in all their prayers that aptly illustrates the Native American sense of the centrality of creation. The phrase, Mitakuye oyasin, "For all my relations," functions somewhat like the word "Amen" in European and American Christianity. As such, it is used to end every prayer, and often it is in itself a whole prayer, being the only phrase spoken.
Like most native symbols, Mitakuye oyasin is polyvalent in its meaning. Certainly, one is praying for one's close kin--aunts, cousins, children, grandparents. And "relations" can be understood as tribal members or even all Indian people.
At the same time, the phrase includes all human beings, all twoleggeds as relatives of one another, and the ever-expanding circle does not stop there. Every Lakota who prays this prayer knows that our relatives necessarily include the four-leggeds, the wingeds, and all the living-moving things on Mother Earth. One Lakota teacher has suggested that a better translation of Mitakuye oyasin would read: "For all the above-me and below-me and around-me things: That is for all my relations."
These examples illustrate the extensive image of interrelatedness and interdependence--symbolized by the circle--and the importance of reciprocity and respect for one another for maintaining the wholeness of the circle."
(FORALLMY, p.20)


Additionally, Tinker understands "proper relationship" with the Creator includes recognizing ourselves "as mere creatures" and "as a part of and integrally related to all of creation" (FORALLMY, p. 21).

Here Tinker teaches us that even among Native Americans converted to Christianity, there persists a characteristically tribal and uncharacteristically Christian concern for proper relations (respect and reciprocity) to other living things, including trees, and including Christmas trees.

Hence, unlike most other Christians, Native American Christians, like other religious Native Americans generally, pray for trees, including Christmas trees.

Concern for proper relations to other life is essential to tribal concerns, and to tribal religion.

To be sure, according to Deloria, achieving "proper relationship" "with other living things" is "the task of tribal religion" (GODISRED [first edition], p. 102).

[See GOD IS RED [first edition] (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1973) by Vine Deloria, Jr.]

Deloria says: "The task of the tribal religion, if such a religion can be said to have a task, is to determine the proper relationship that the people of the tribe must have with other living things." (GODISRED [first edition], p. 102).

Tribal religions' concern for proper relations to other life, including other than human life, helps to bring tribal peoples into harmony with nature.

Accordingly,
Deloria describes "tribal peoples" as "natural peoples."

[See chapter 9, "Natural and Hybrid Peoples" in GOD IS RED: A NATIVE VIEW OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION (Golden, Colorado: North American Press, 1992) by Vine Deloria, Jr.



And, in his book THE METAPHYSICS OF MODERN EXISTENCE (Harper and Row: New York, 1979), Deloria describes a tribe as "a society that corresponds to natural processes" (p. 118).

According to Vine Deloria, Jr. and George Tinker,
concern for proper relations ("respect" and "reciprocity") to other living things is an essential feature of tribalism's social ethical purpose, and an essential feature of rightly tribal religion.

Tribal purpose (shared well-being and proper relations) encompasses a local circle of concern, a broadly inclusive circle of concern, and an all-inclusive circle of concern.

The local concern is
concern for the well-being of members of the tribe, and concern for acheiving proper relations to other local life.

The more inclusive concern is
concern for acheiving proper relations to other peoples, tribes, and nations, and concern for acheiving proper relations to the land, to Mother Earth and Her other creatures and to nature-creation generally.

The all-inclusive concern is
concern for acheiving proper relations to all creation and the Creator who includes and transcends all creation--the Great Spirit-God. Also, there are creatures and spirits, not divine and not human, visible and invisible, greater and lesser than ourselves, with whom it is important to be rightly related; and this too is well within the circle of tribal concerns.

Vine Deloria speaks to the local circle of tribal concerns when he says, "The primary purpose of the tribe, then and now, was to ensure as beneficial a life as possible for members of the tribe" (CUSTER, p. 230).


Deloria speaks to the more inclusive circle of tribal concerns when he says, "The task of the tribal religion, if such a religion can be said to have a task, is to determine the proper relationship that the people of the tribe must have with other living things" (GODISRED, 1st edition, p.102).

George Tinker also speaks to the more inclusive circle of tribal concerns when he emphasizes the religious importance of achieving proper relations--respect & reciprocity--with all our relations, including trees.

Even more inclusively, proper relations with other living things includes proper relations with the land and with the whole planet--Mother Earth.
In his book--MOTHER EARTH SPIRITUALITY: NATIVE AMERICAN PATHS TO HEALING OURSELVES AND OUR WORLD (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990), Ed McGaa/Eagle Man of the Sioux Nation offers traditional tribal ceremonial rites as a way of contributing to improved relations to Mother Earth. McGaa and other Native Americans characteristically conceive of our planet as a living spiritual entity, a "Mother Earth," to whom we owe reverance, respect, and protection (MES, p. vii).

And all inclusively, George Tinker speaks to the all inclusive circle of tribal concerns
in "The Full Circle of Liberation: An American Indian Theology of Place" (SOJOURNERS, October 1992), where he identifies the circle as a "fundamental symbol" embracing concern for all creation (FCL, p. 17),
and
in For All My Relations': Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Christmas Trees" (SOJOURNERS, January 1991), where he identifies a popular Native American prayer--"Matakuye Oyasin" or "For All My Relations"--as witness to a characteristically Native American religious concern for the whole living related creation.
Also, Deloria speaks to the all-inclusive circle of tribal concerns when he says, "The tribe is an all-purpose entity which is expected to serve in all areas of life" (CUSTER, p. 264-265).

According to Native American social wisdom, tribalism serves the purpose of shared well-being and proper relations in all areas of life--the local, the more-inclusive, and the all-inclusive.

Concerning past life,
Native Americans know, as Chief Seattle taught us, "the dead are not powerless." Their influence continues to make a difference.

[See Turner III, Frederick W., editor., THE PORTABLE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN READER (New York: Viking, 1974), p. 253; as quoted by Vincent Harding in his book HOPE AND HISTORY: WHY WE MUST SHARE THE STORY OF THE MOVEMENT (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1990), p. 227.]

Deceased members of a tribe remain members of the tribe, and each generation is obliged to venerate previous generations.

Concerning future life,
Native Americans characteristically hold that the present generation is obligated to contribute to the well-being of future generations, including most especially the well-being of the seventh generation.
Chief Red Cloud (Burning Sky) of the Sioux Nation, following upon his military triumph over U.S. military forces, negociated a peace treaty with the U.S. government in 1868. Red Cloud's treaty stipulated that the U.S. government provide his people with rations for seven generations. Red Cloud's treaty is a historical example of Native American concern for the well-being of the seventh generation to come.

[Red Cloud's treaty is given attention in a television series--"The Way West" (1995), part II of "The American Experience," written by Ric Burns, produced by WGBH-Boston, broadcast via KERA, channel 13 in Dallas, Texas, on the evening of 9 May 1995.]

Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation, places concern for the well-being of the seventh generation at the very center of tribal-national social ethical reflection when he identifies religiously given instructions for proper government and public policy reflection.
Concerning these religious instructions, Chief Lyons says:
"When we were given these instructions, among many of them, one was that when you sit in council for the welfare of the people, you counsel for the welfare of that seventh generation to come. They should be foremost in your mind--not even your generation, not even yourself, but those that are unborn so that when their time comes here, they may enjoy the same thing that you are enjoying now." (OL, p. 9)

According to these religiously given instructions, the welfare of the seventh generation to come should have priority over other concerns, including priority over the welfare of self and priority over the welfare of members of the present generation.

According to Native American social wisdom, righteous tribal purpose includes cross-generational obligations: obligation to achieve proper relations to past life, obligation to contribute to the well-being of contemporary life, and obligation to contribute to the well-being of future life, including most especially the seventh generation.

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most recent update: 24 March 1997
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NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT: copyright 1997 Theodore Walker, Jr. This copyright covers all content and formatting (browser-visible and HTML text) in this and attached documents created by Theodore Walker, Jr. c@Theodore Walker, Jr.
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