National Day of Transformation
Native American Gifts to the World
Native American cultures are rich and ancient. The Methow in Washington claim a heritage of 40,000 years! While cultures of the 500 Indian nations vary widely, their worldviews share some common features important now to the survival of life on Earth.
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Native American healer Spencer Martin who led the Washington Reconciliation Process, said in a January 2013 Moon magazine interview: "A basic principle of the indigenous world view is that all things in the universe are connected.....That is the most fundamental difference between the Western and indigenous world view.
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An understanding of our dependence on the web of life leads Native American cultures to a profound level of respect, thanksgiving, and an awarenes of their responsibility to all life on Earth. These concepts are discussed on the following pages. Click here for a discussion of the importance of the famous Lakota prayer: "Mitakuye Oyasin".
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Jack Weatherford's book Indian Givers: How Native Americans Transformed the World shows how the peoples of the Americas transformed the world -- and the great debt the world owes Native America for foods, medicines, concepts of freedom, philosophy, etc.
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The Reconciliation Process recognizes that the world still has much to learn from these ancient wise cultures -- and now our lives depend on learning those lessons quickly!
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