On the second day of a brand new year, there are continued messages from yesterday - wisdom from the (Native) elders - being presented for the Day 718 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog.
To help readers get into the right mind-set for listening to the Elders, Blake has positioned an appropriate vid in the top-most position on the blog post. This first vid is cool. The music starts heavy on the Native drum beat and chanting but transitions quickly to including modern drums while also adding flute/pipes. Have a listen and get into the right spirit for listening to the Elders in the videos which follow...
In the "part 4" video, the female Elder starts off with the topic of "Individual Missions." In short - each individual has a "mission" as they come to exist on the earth. The Elder clarifies that this mission isn't something gain by searching for it - but rather - it becomes known to us.
In the "part 5" vid, the male Elder speaks about mandates and responsibilities that each human being has on this Earth. For anyone who thinks that Native spirituality is about silly mythology of uncivilized people and such, they should really listen to the very heavy responsibilities this Native Elder speaks about - and realize that the accountability most Natives feel toward fellow humans and all living beings - including to the elements, Earth and everything, really - is anything but silly or uncivilized. Natives have a very intricately developed, complex and quite rational explanation for why we should all respect all living things.
The "part 6" video shows Natives honouring both old and new beliefs and organizational activities. Natives are attempting to sort through what modern governments are doing and are trying to incorporate acceptible government policies and blend into society in reasonable ways - but without losing key components of their culture. The speaker here is Ojibway, speaking of this group's doings and needs, but to my knowledge, most Peoples are attempting to heal from the abuses of the past and combine cultures in the best way. It is possible that many non-Natives do not realize what an undertaking this attempt at peaceable combining of cultures is...for Peoples who have been severely oppressed and damaged to the point of losing some parts of their culture as unrecoverable.
I hope people will respect the content in the videos Blake has selected for the Day 718 entry on THE 800 DAYS blog and I personally still feel that the Native messages are a fantastic way to begin the New Year with!
The Day 718 post is associated with Sunday January 2 2011.
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