APACHE PRESENTATION
My name is Al Carroll. I´m Mescalero
Apache (in our own language, Ndeh),
Mexican, and Irish. I´m a Teaching Associate (meaning I teach and am also
in the last stages of the PhD program as a Graduate Student) in the History
Department at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, in the southwest
part of the US. I´ve also been a Research Editor for the H-AmIndian academic
listserv, a Research Assistant at the Labriola American Indian Research Center,
and a Teaching Assistant at both Arizona State and Purdue University. Apaches
are probably best known as virtually the last Natives to war with the US
government. Goyathlay, better known as Geronimo, was the most famous Apache
warrior, and his descendants live today on the Mescalero reservation. It would
probably surprise most people to know that the Mescalero nation is fairly
prosperous, with a thriving lumber trade, ski resort, and sadly from my point
of a view, a nuclear waste dump/storage facility operating on the reservation.
Many other things about us might surprise outsiders. The most popular Apache
performing artists are Indian rappers such as Rolling Fox and Btaka, or blues/
traditional singers such as A Carlos Ortega. The most popular visual artist
Apaches have, Fritz Scholder, uses an Impressionist style of painting, even
while using Native themes.
I´ve been fortunate to have learned
from and been trained by some very respected
scholars, including Peter Iverson, Donald Parman, Robert Trennert, Donna Akers
(Choctaw), Angela Cavendar-Wilson (Dakota), and to be part of an institution
respected by both the academic community and the Native communities it strives
very hard to serve. We have many fine scholars here who are from the Navajo,
Kiowa, Comanche, Seminole, and Apache nations.
Before I was in academia, I spent most of my adult life working very menial
and
low-paying jobs, landscaping, factory work, security guard, delivery driver, and
janitorial work. There were also long periods where I was unemployed and at
times
homeless, living on the actual streets or in abandoned buildings and selling my
blood plasma for money for food. Like many Natives, I joined the military, the
US
Army. Virtually all the males in my family were veterans, of Vietnam, Korea, and
both World Wars. By incredible luck, I was discharged only six days before
Kuwait
was invaded. My old unit, the 217th Evacuation Hospital, was on standby during
the entire Gulf War. My nephew and one cousin served, and many of my friends and
acquaintances were also in the service. Some still are. I talk about all of this
as a way of trying to give you some idea of what Natives truly are like in these
times, not some great ultra-mystical fantasy that many outsiders seem to think,
but as real flesh and blood people with very immediate, even mundane, ways of
living that are probably not too different than your own. For me, my time in the
service stimulated my interest in writing my dissertation about Native veterans
and the reasons why we are in the military in such high numbers. I was
interested
in how Native warrior traditions have been transformed into veteran/military
traditions. But from need to do research came a great deal of frustration once I
got a look at all the sources out there, especially on the internet.
You see, the great majority of
sources out there on Native people are not accurate
or truthful. Many of the older historical sources were blatantly racist and
stereo-
typical. The historian´s profession has made great strides, and that is often no
longer the case today. Today, the number one source of lies and racist fantasies
about Native people is the New Age/Shamanism movement, more accurately and
humorously
called Nuage, plastic shaman, or pseudo-shamans by Native peoples.
I co-founded New Age Frauds Plastic Shamans (NAFPS) about four years ago. We
research
and put out warnings to the general public about the frauds, imposters,
exploiters,
and abusers out there who misrepresent themselves as Native medicine people or
healers
for profit, power, ego, and sex. We presently have over 130 members from all
over the
US and Canada from over a dozen tribes, such as Anishnaabe, Apache, Cherokee,
Lakota,
Menominee, Muscogee, O_odham, Pima, and even Maori from New Zealand, as well as
non-
Native supporters in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, Russia, and
Sweden. Our members are traditionalists, Christians, pagans, atheists, Native,
Black,
white, you name it.
I´m pleased to note all our successes over the years. So many people have had
kind
comments about how we´ve helped them. So many of the exploiters have also had
less
than kind words about us, and I take that as a mark of success too. We get
threats
from them sometimes on a daily basis, everything from empty claims they will
take
legal action to sue, to harassment, even sometimes threats of violence or death
threats.
(Keep this in mind if you still have an image in your head of Nuage people as
silly but
harmless.) We have emerged from all attempts to intimidate us or shut us down
stronger
than ever.
But we couldn´t succeed without the help of others. If you or anyone you know
get involved
with these exploiters, if you feel trapped or abused by them, or simply if you
are curious
about someone who is making claims, please contact or come join us at NAFPS.
TEACHING COLLEGE
I've had a really great week teaching college for the first time. My classes are
first
semester freshmen American History, about 60 students each. Most of them had
never been
in college before. One class was apparently made up mostly of students in their
first
college class period. We'll be doing a lot more pre Columbian work than they've
ever
had before. We are scheduled to only get to Columbus right before the mid term.
And a
big part of this has been teaching them how to separate the good websites from
all the
garbage ones. Their second assignment was to look at one of five spot-the-fraud
sites.
And they responded really well, virtually all of them. Most of the comments I've
gotten
have been glowing, "this site was eye opening", "I never realized this was such
a problem",
"if I were Native I think I'd be just as angry and frustrated as they are" and
so on.
Out of 120+ students I've gotten a grand total of one negative reaction, and it
was about
the "tone" of the Cherokee elders site. But to her credit, she (like all of
them) are
grappling pretty hard with issues most of them have never faced before.
WOULD YOU BUY A PLASTIC EUCHARIST
FROM THIS MAN?
When curiousity about Natives
turns to abuse
Do you think you are "Indian at heart" or were an Indian in a past life? Do you
admire
native ways and want to incorporate them into your life and do your own version
of a
sweat lodge or a vision quest? Have you seen ads, books, and websites that offer
to
train you to be come a shaman in an easy number of steps, a few days on the
weekend,
or for a fee?
Have you really thought this all the way through? Have you thought about how
Native
people feel about what you might want to do?
Please think about these important points before you take that fateful step and
expend time, money, and emotional investment:
1. Native people do not believe it is ethical to charge money for any ceremony
or
teaching. Any who charge you even a penny are not authentic.
2. Native traditionalists believe the only acceptable way to transmit
traditional
teachings is orally and face-to-face. Any allegedly traditional teachings in
books
or on websites are not authentic.
3. Learning medicine ways takes decades and must be done with great caution and
patience out of respect for the sacred. Any offer to teach you all you need to
know
in a weekend seminar or two is wishful thinking at best, fraud at worst.
Women should be extremely wary of any " teacher" who claims sex is part of an
alleged
"ceremony." Most of these fraudulent operators have been caught making complete
fantasies of what many whites wish Natives were like. Another way to say it is
that
they are outright liars and hoaxers.
You probably are asking yourself, "Aren't any of these people for real and a
good
way for me to learn?"
Please understand the following points about Native spiritual ways:
1. Native belief systems are
communal, not focused on the individual's faith like
Christianity.
2. Native beliefs are tribal-specific. There is no "generic Indian" form of
spirituality. There are as many differences from tribe to tribe as there are
between Hinduism and the Church of England. No one would think of teaching those
two as the same and calling them "Indo-European," yet many of these fraudulent
operators teach a thrown together mishmash of bits and pieces of different
beliefs.
3. Traditional elders are very cautious about changing rituals and mixing
different
customs, it does happen, of course, but only after lengthy discussions that can
take
decades. Fraudulent operators are very casual and haphazard in what they do, in
a
manner that shows they have no understanding of or respect for the sacred.
4. Traditional elders do not believe that any ceremony can be done by anyone who
feels like it. It's that same caution and respect for the sacred. Yet these
fraudulent
operators will let anyone do their inaccurate version of a ceremony if they have
the
money.
Vision quests, for example, are intended for young boys age 12 to 14, but boys
don't have
much money, so these fraudulent operators sell "quests" for hundreds or
thousands to mostly
middle-aged men and women.
There is also the matter of telling
people they can be “Indian shamans” and charging them
for it. If you were interested in Judaism, would you pay money to someone who
said he could
make you a rabbi in just one weekend seminar? If someone did this and then
claimed Jewish
objections were foolish, we would recognize he was being anti-Semitic. Think
about the lack
of respect these operators show to native people and beliefs, not mention their
own followers,
by defrauding people. Native people do not use the label Shaman. Think about how
it makes it
harder for Natives and whites to get along when whites have been given an untrue
picture of
native cultures. We have to learn to get along and we can't do that as long as
whites give
support to operators who push a fraudulent version of what we are like.
We (Native people and our supporters) realize that most of you do not know any
better, at
least not yet, but we hope you learn about these matters from more reputable
sources and in
a more respectful manner. If it says New Age or Shamanism on the cover, it's not
a good
source for learning about Natives. Find out which authors can be trusted before
you pay money
to operators who harm us all.
The Dangers of Phony Sweatlodges Done
by Nuage/Pseudo-Shamans One of the most common
Native ceremonies exploited, commercialized, bastardized, and sold for profit by
Nuage
and pseudo-shaman people is the sweatlodge. It is not hard to see why. A number
of
exploitative books, websites, and operators have long been around alleging to
teach
how to teach or take part in a sweatlodge. It looks deceptively easy.
Many pagans from European backgrounds are trying to recreate their traditions,
not an
easy thing to do when any written records were lost long ago, or when the last
actual
followers of some pagan beliefs died off or went into hiding many centuries. The
cere-
mony also appeals to drug users who hope to recreate a trancelike state without
the
legal and addictive dangers of actual drugs. Finally, the ceremony seems like a
quick
fix and a way to appeal to romantic stereotypes of what some outsiders fantasize
Natives
to be. But the physical and psychological dangers are very real, and not nearly
as well
known as the hype most exploiters use to promote their fake versions of the
sweatlodge.
The damage outsiders do to Native peoples and beliefs also far outweigh any
alleged
benefits to people who pay for sweatlodges. Frankly, most Natives are greatly
offended
by such crass, disrespectful, and ignorant use and exploitation of the
sweatlodge. If
you have the opportunity to take part in a phony sweatlodge, please consider
these
points very carefully first:
5) It is also unfortunately quite
common for operators of pseudo-sweatlodges to try to
seduce, molest, or even outright rape women, men, even young children. The heat
of a
sweatlodge is very intense and it is quite easy to faint. The altered mental
state also
makes someone quite vulnerable to not knowing what is going on around them.
Women should
never, under any circumstances, trust any operator who insists on sweatlodges in
the
nude. Women should also never, under any circumstances, trust any operator who
tries to
get them to take part in a sweatlodge alone with the operator.
6) Many of these operators are frankly trying for as intense a drug-like
experience as
possible. This means they try to raise the heat to much higher and more intense
than it
would for an actual legitimate sweatlodge, or sweat for much longer periods.
This is
where most of the deaths, injuries, blindings, and scarrings occur. Many of
these operators
also insists on using drugs or alcohol during sweatlodges. The physical and
psychological
dangers of this should be obvious. Another danger is which rocks to use.
Sedimentary rock
can explode in these cases.
7) Even in the rare cases where these exploiters are not physically or harming
people,
what they are doing is very offensive to the religious sensibilities of Native
people.
The sweatlodge should not be commercialized, bought and sold, or used to build a
cult-like
following.
8) Some pagans falsely think the sweatlodge was also used by Europeans in the
ancient past.
This is not true. Europeans used (and still do) saunas. These had no religious
meaning or
ritual component. If you are a pagan, we hope you will be cautious and avoid
being exploited
by these operators. We also hope you will have enough respect for Native people
to leave our
traditions alone.
If you encounter these phony pseudo-sweatlodges, please:
Do not take part or give them any money.
Warn others what you have read here.
Ask questions about the safety of the pseudo-sweatlodges. If you think they are
dangerous,
ask the police or health authorities to intervene. Lives may be at stake.
If they misrepresent themselves, report these operators to the police for fraud.
Ceremonial Language
Ceremonies are always conducted in the language of the tribe. Some tribes have
very
complex ceremonial languages that are only known to certain elders. Some of the
simpler
things, like blessings or prayers, can be said in English. A blessing in an
intertribal
context, like a powwow, is often said in English. But if someone claiming to be
a medicine
man, shaman, elder, etc, does not know the Native language of the tribe
extremely well,
and does not conduct every ceremony besides the simplest blessings in that
language, then
they are a fake. This also holds true for every white would be shaman who claims
they got
a vision, had a dream, or are the reincarnation of so and so. Immediately put
them to the
test and get them to speak in an indigenous language. There are many subtleties
to sacred
words and formulas that just do not translate well into English or any other
Indo-European
language. Much of the meaning would be lost, and this would be contrary to the
way Native
traditions generally stress great care when doing ceremony. For example, many
Native
languages are verb-based while Indo-European ones are noun-based. Many Native
languages
are aggluttative, meaning one can keep on adding parts to a word. (Thus those
seemingly
very long Native names that are just one or two words in their Native tongue.)
Native Spokesman
Most tribes frankly don't have the money or other resources to have a paid
tribal spokesman.
If you looked at a tribal government organization chart, you would see not these
very high
sounding ultra-mystical titles used by imposters such as "pipe carrier" or
"ascended master
keeper of the sacred whatever". Instead you'd find very mundane titles like
daycare counselor
or fire department supervisor. Also, keep in mind that there is frankly no good
reason for
any tribe to send out "tribal spokesmen" to sell ceremonies to Europeans. What
possible good
could that do for Native people back in their communities? The only exceptions I
know of are
cases where tribes sent people to the larger nation-states they are part of
(e.g. the US,
Mexico) to petition government leaders. In those cases, think of them as
lobbyists more than
spokespeople. And since no European nations have any governmental jurisdiction
over Native
peoples anymore, it is pure nonsense to imagine alleged "tribal spokesmen" in
Europe.
If someone claims to be a spokeseman, immediately contact the tribe they claim.
If they are
actually enrolled, their community will have more than a few angry words for
them. And if
they are imposters "playing Indian" they might face legal action.
Pipecarrier
It sometimes seems that virtually anyone who knows how to build a website or
charge for a
weekend seminar claims to be a "pipecarrier." The number of alleged "sacred
pipes" being
marketed as symbols of spiritual authority or authenticity by New Agers and
would be shamans
has reached epidemic proportions, and may soon literally outnumber the actual
number of
living Lakota people.The number of genuine sacred pipes is actually quite few,
perhaps a
couple or a single one per band or tribe. Perhaps the most famous Lakota scholar
of all
time, Vine Deloria Jr, says there never was any such position as "pipecarrier"
among the
Lakotas or any other people. There were, however, elders or holy men who had
other duties
as well. But the title of "pipecarrier" is fictitious, invented and used by
outsiders. Why
on Earth would anyone just give up or hand out like candy at Christmas time
objects which
are highly revered with a great deal of sacred meaning?
Can you imagine someone claiming to be a rabbi going around handing out Torahs
like they
were party favors, or to anyone who paid a fee? Can you imagine how ridiculous
it would
be if someone said "Yes, I'm not Jewish, but trust me, I'm a rabbi. Here's the
proof, a
Torah that was given to me after I paid $999.95 for a seminar from Chief Silly
Name."
Anyone confronted with an operator who claims to have a sacred pipe should
immediately
ask themselves:
1) What tribe are they claiming, and what do the members of that tribe think of
them?
(Do not hesitate to contact the tribal offices if you have concerns, or Native
activists.)
2) If they claim to be of a tribe, why aren't they serving the needs of that
tribe instead
of making money off of white Americans and Europeans?
3) Why would anyone entrusted with sacred items be using them to make money?
Shouldn't
they have more respect for traditions?
Anyone calling themselves a "pipecarrier" and using an alleged sacred pipe to
sell
ceremonies or appear legitimate is someone to be scrupulously avoided.
Immediately
contact tribal offices or Native activists. If you suspect any laws are being
broken,
contact the police as well !!
Drum Journeys
I don't know of any Native culture that uses the phrase "drum journeys". The
term, as
best I can tell, was solely used by outsiders in academia, particularly
anthropologists,
to try and describe the altered state that long periods of drumming can bring.
Then the
would-be shamans jumped on the term and now use it for marketing, to impress the
gullible.
Native Name
1) Naming is a serious thing with a deeply spiritual process in every Indian
tradition
I know of. It's not casual or done for entertainment.
2) You can not just choose a name yourself. It must always be done by others and
you must
have earned the right to that name according to the specific traditions.
3) The person giving you that name must be an Elder or other person who has been
assigned
that duty by long tradition.
4) There is a naming ceremony which goes with being given the name in every
tradition I
know of.
5) In many traditions, your Indian name can be taken away if you fail to live up
to the
obligations that name carries.
6) In many traditions, your Indian name should not be revealed to others.
Stereotypes.
“Teach me spirituality and I'll put out for you" "Are you 'heap big' down
there?" Yep,
we really do hear these things. Stedman's Images of the Indian talks about how
the appeal
of the image of an Indian male for many white women is that he's seen as
extremely
vulnerable, threatened because we are supposedly "vanishing" or "near
extinction". So
we have to be "saved" by white women, supposedly, whose descendants will then
have
legitimacy in this land (the US) to take over without any feelings of guilt.
That
explains why the Indian male is always shirtless or near nude and often actually
wounded
or threatened by violence on those romance novel covers.
And then there's the whole sexual
appeal of a supposed "savage". Up to the mid 70s there
used to be a subgenre of novels in the US, Indian rape stories where white women
were
kidnapped and repeatedly raped by Indian "savages" and grow to love their
rapists.
Anything weird you can imagine has probably been projected upon Native people by
some
whites at some point.
How do you find out if someone is a fraud?
Oh, it's amazingly easy to prove who is a fraud most of the time. Just ask their
community.
Someone waving crystals and claiming women have to put out to be healed is
pretty obviously
not legit. The only ones that might be difficult to prove are what you might
call "former
elders" or "lapsed elders".
Here are some more things that could
tell you that a person is not what he claims to be:
1) Real elders, spiritual leaders, or whatver they are claiming to be do not
engage in
petty personal attacks on their critics.
2) They do not get their inner circle to threaten lawsuits or legal action at
the slightest
criticism. If their character and actions are good, this alone will win out and
be a shield
for them from their critics.
4) For that matter, they don't immediately send out members of their inner
circle to
infiltrate and try to disrupt places on the net where they are criticized.
5) Real elders don't claim to be trained in other tribal traditions than their
own.
6) They also would not mix and match Indian and pagan traditions and then turn
around and
deny it.
7) They would not use their (alleged) Indian blood to win acceptance or as a
badge of
legitimacy.
Why can't they be prosecuted with current laws? If they are fraudently taking
money from
people, it would seem that the current laws would work for that. I tried asking
that to
a lawyer. He told me that it's a catch-22. if you know or suspect they are a
fraud, then
it's your own fault for giving them money. And like in a lot of confidence
games, victims
are often too embarassed after the fact to come forward.
The laws against frauds do exist, to an extent. You can successfully prosecute a
fraud for
some things unrelated to the actual fraud, such as extortion, assault,etc. But
prosecuting
someone for falsely presenting themselves as a medicine person is rare.Mostly
because of
ignorance on the part of cops and DAs that prosecuting them would violate the
1st Amendment.
And a lot of Indians don't want the feds or states involved.
What we're talking about are laws aimed at the frauds or Nuage leaders, not at
the followers,
no matter how gullible, naive, or well intentioned the followers might be. I
don't think
going after Nuage followers is the right approach. They're usually victims
themselves.
Incidentally, on some sacred sites on public lands, the Forest Service does ask
that non-
Indians stay away during ceremony times.
I don't want to see them regulate anyone's belief
either. That's theoretically prohibited
by the 1st Amendment. But the Free Exercise clause does allow for regulation of
practices.
They can and do bar animal sacrifices and polygamy for example. (On a sidenote,
I don't
agree with the ban of either of those, unless the sacrifice is unusually cruel
or the
polygamy is forcible or involves the underage.)
All of this is a longer way of saying there shouldn't be 1st Amendment
protection for
fraud. I'd just like to see the feds treat these frauds the same way they'd
treat a
con man who claimed to be a rabbi or minister.
What can be done if you know someone is a
fraud?
You can hand out flyers at his little event, explaining your objections to
people and
urge them to be respectful and not pay money to a fraud. I've found that it's
pretty
easy for just one person to hit them in the pocketbook and cut their take by a
third
or more. Sometimes the protests get to them so much they even eventually leave
the
pray-for-bucks game.
You can write letters to the editor of the local papers urging people to stay
away. You
can also talk to whoever is hosting him and ask them to reconsider. If you write
up a
flyer, we'd be glad to help you put it together or give you tips, critiques,
etc. It is
always possible to approach the tribal council of each tribe to check if the
person
conducting a ceremony is legit or not.
Please report all fraudulent operators to Native activist groups such as NAFPS.
***************************************
They call us 'Indians'
This part above is Al his
contribution to the book "They call us Indians"
which is written by several Indian activists; Mike Two Horses (Lakota) who
unfortunately died tragically during the work with this book, Deanna Beacham,
(Weapomeoc), Larry Lilly Branham ( Monacan ), Trisha Jacobs ( Cherokee ),
Steve Russell ( Cherokee ), Andrew Thomas ( Navajo ), Hastiin Niz Begay
( Navajo Elder), Nabahe Keediniihii ( Navajo ), Judith Armbuster (Karuk)
and Martha Ture who is non-Native.
More info on this book and how to order it you'll find on Annika Banfield
her website:
http://www.world-foundation.nu/
And these are addresses of NAFPS website: