Ever since I was a little kid, nature has spoken to me in a way that most things cannot. I could sit out in the forest for hours just listening to the sounds of the birds, looking at the different colors and movements of the trees and smelling the pine drip from the bark nearest me. In nature, there is a sense of peace and calmness. You can free yourself of your worries and meditate on your surroundings with no worry in the world. It's almost as if for that moment, you forget about everything and just focus on the present. There used to be a vine deep in the forest in my back yard. I would be able to sit there for hours and just observe everything around me. I had a strong sense of tranquility while observing nature. I believe everyone needs a "sacred spot" in order to find their inner peace. Without it, our inner calmness can be compromised. The Native American's were directly affected by this as their sacred lands were stripped from them with no way to fight back. Without these lands, there culture, beliefs and identity were destroyed. "Every society needs these kinds of sacred places because they help to instill a sense of social cohesion in the people and remind them of the passage of generations that have brought them to the present. A society that cannot remember and honor its past is in peril of losing its soul" (Deloria Jr, 276). Your sacred land creates a sense of belonging in you. Without it, you feel as though you have nothing. The Native Americans had been performing rituals on these lands for hundreds if not thousands of years and in the blink of an eye, they were gone. Their identity as a culture and society has been destroyed. Without these lands, how can they practice the rituals and cultural ceremonies that there ancestors did years before them? A sacred land should be something that is yours and only yours. A place that you retreat to when in need. Without this fallback, I can see how the Native Americans are struggling. Without their land, there is no identity.
Nick, I feel the same way when you say " Your sacred land creates a sense of belonging in you", like you in my sacred place I feel like I belong to something important and that makes me feel peace on the inside. I also agree when you say that Native Americans identity as a culture and society has been destroyed when they are not allowed in their own sacred places. Westerns have deprived Native Americans of living by their ways since we got to America and by today society should have learned how to be fair and respect them just like society learned how to respect Africans by setting them free from slavery.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautifully written blog Nick. I was actually going to use that same quote but did not know how to quite integrate it. But I do love your interpretation of it; that was how I interpreted it as well. My favorite statement made in this blog was the last sentence "Without their land, there is no identity." That is a profound statement in my opinion. And to add too that, it makes me sad that Americans do not see that they are stripping away a nation's identity.
ReplyDeleteNick, This is beautifully written. I love the images you evoke: "I could sit out in the forest for hours just listening to the sounds of the birds, looking at the different colors and movements of the trees and smelling the pine drip from the bark nearest me." You really integrate the Native American importance of sacred lands seamlessly into your own experience.
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