Alright folks. This week is about respecting the sacred practices of others.
*Crosses arms. Stares down a squirming classroom*
Sit down. We need to talk.
I was just on a tour of Taos Pueblo with a group of people on their worst behavior.
It started literally five minutes in. Our young native tour guide met us in the courtyard of the community church. He began explaining the cultural rituals of the church and he mentioned that there was a casket by the alter as a symbol for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A woman raised her hand.
Check your stopwatches folks. Four minutes, 59 seconds, and our first problematic behavior.
“Excuse me, but I was just talking to the guy in the church and he said some interesting things that I thought would be great to talk about. Like about your traditional burial methods.”
To his credit the guide didn’t visibly grimace. “I can’t talk about our traditional burial methods right now.”
“Well yes, but – “ She turned to the rest of us, happy to continue the conversation without him. “He was telling me that they don’t use caskets. People are put straight into the ground in traditional blankets! …Is that right?” She turned back to him, realizing she needed validation on this.
“Um, I really can’t talk about that, but some people use caskets and some people use ceremonial robes. It’s up to them, but again, I can’t talk about our traditional burials.” And he skillfully shepherded us out of the courtyard and on with the tour.
Alright class. Let’s unpack that shall we?
*Writes dramatically on a giant chalkboard*
Number One: The woman took over the tour to talk about what she wanted to, not respecting the guide’s knowledge and authority.
Number Two: She didn’t respect the guide’s unwillingness to talk about sacred traditions even as it became apparent that he was uncomfortable discussing burial rites.
*Loudly squeaks chalk*
*Underlines RESPECT*
Alright. Let’s move on.
The guide next showed us the remains of the original church building and explained it’s long and bloody history. After he was done, he asked for questions.
For those of you keeping score at home, we’re now 9 minutes in.
A man raises his hand and asks a question completely unrelated to anything on the tour so far. “Yes, what can you tell me about your cultural stories about the great flood?”
At this point the poor guide fumbles a bit.
“What? Oh… I’m sorry, I can’t really talk about –“
The man cuts in.
“You know, the stories about the flood that carved the Grand Canyon.”
You could actually see the relief on his face as the guide grabs on to that conversational life raft.
“Oh, yes! Yes, there’s a lot of geological evidence in the strata of the rock which points to water –“
But alas, the man slashes a giant hole into the side of the inflatable raft.
“No. I mean your cultural stories.”
The guide flounders in the deep water, as the life raft quickly starts to sink.
“I can’t talk about those. They are sacred to our people and we don’t discuss them.”
“But you can tell me. You know. The one about the flood.”
At this point a great white shark comes along and swallows everyone whole.
“No, I’m sorry. We keep our culture and religion safe by not discussing them with outsiders. I can’t talk about that with you.”
“You can’t talk about it at all?”
“No.”
“So, I’d have to go at talk to your elders then?”
“No. It’s a secret. We don’t discuss it. You wouldn’t even be able to – “
“You mean I’d have to be, like, indoctrinated or something?”
“No. It’s something you’re born into.”
And with that the guide firmly moved us further along the tour.
*Drags fingernails down the chalkboard*
Alright class, what have we learned so far?
*Hits chalkboard with a long, wooden pointer*
RESPECT.
We established in our first interaction that the guide was uncomfortable when the conversation moved beyond his standard talking points. We also established that he was unwilling/unable to speak to specific cultural practices.
*Turns to face class*
*Takes a deep breath*
You should NEVER pressure a native person into discussing their heritage if they are unwilling. For centuries – the length of America’s entire history and beyond, native people have been discriminated against, run out, and slaughtered for their way of life. Their culture, language, and religion have survived by literal blood, sweat, and tears.
We were standing in his home. The home of his people for centuries past. And all he asked was respect for his sacred practices. Instead, the members of that tour trampled around, refusing to respect his authority, comfort, or religion.
The tour was on a donation basis. The guide said all money would be put towards his culinary degree. I saw two fives and three $1 bills slipped to him at the end. I gave him 20 bucks as a paltry penance for putting up with my entire race. I told him as much, and he gave a long-suffering grimace and said, “All day, every day.”
I’ve endured a lot of hand-wringing and lamenting over the religious abandonment of my generation. But after the behavior I saw on display today, I’m going to kick back, eat some avocado toast, yell on twitter about equal rights and basic human dignity, and y’all don’t get to say a damn thing about it. Because I’m out here writing weekly blog posts on sacred space and that young man spent thirty minutes defending his religion tooth and nail. Many of us have walked away from organized religion, but we still know how to respect what is sacred in another’s beliefs.
Now. Before you say “But I wouldn’t do that!” and “I’m not a horrible person!” let me say, yes you would. We all have. As white people we benefit every day from land which was stolen from native people. Sacred land. We took it without a second though or respect for another’s religion or culture.
“But all of that was so long ago.” You argue. And “If I saw behavior like that, I’d say something!”
Great! Class, here’s your homework for today.
Mauana Kea in Hawaii is a renowned astronomy lab which I visited and photographed last year with incredible skies and breathtaking view of the Milky Way. I, as a space geek, was at first elated to hear that plans to build a new telescope had gone forward. But the next thing that I learned was that the mountain is also the most sacred spot for the native religion of the people of Hawaii. Sadly, but immediately, I knew I could no longer support the new telescope. In this case, sacred trumped science.
A few months ago, the world watched in horror as Notre Dame burned. This summer, around 83,000 fires burned across the Amazon in Brazil threatening 900,000 indigenous people. As one chief told Business Insider, the land for indigenous people is like the church, and now it’s being set on fire.
Respect for another’s religion means not utilizing their sacred space for your own personal gains. There are other places to build a telescope. There are sustainable farming practices which must be implemented, starting in the Amazon. The mantra “sacred and worth protecting” demands respect even when there is loss of economic gain or scientific opportunity. If something is sacred it is always sacred, and worthy of respect.
On our tour we next stopped in front of the remains of the original church built in Tao Pueblo by the Spanish. It had been destroyed twice – Once by the people of the pueblo during the Pueblo revolt as an act of rebellion against a religion which killed any who didn’t convert, and again a few hundred years later when the American cavalry bombed it to rubble, brutally murdering villagers taking shelter inside. America is built on a bloody history and a lack of respect for the rights and traditions of native people.
Today Taos Pueblo is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and a sovereign nation inside of the United States. It is independently governed by the Tribal Council, Governor and War Chief. Any federal actions which might impact the community, including their sacred mountains behind the pueblo building, must first receive permission from the Pueblo. That is what respect looks like when put into action.
If you live in America (or Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other colonial countries) you live on land where the story of indigenous rights ended differently. And most of us move through our daily life without ever thinking about it. My challenge to you is to change that. This map shows you the traditional territories of the people who originally called this land their sacred home. It’s searchable, plug in your hometown and poke around a bit. In most cases the indigenous people were forcefully removed or murdered, but many still live on today. Sacred respect can start with educating yourself about who they are and listening to what they have to say.
If you have the money to travel, go and visit places like Taos Pueblo and learn about the living history there. Just don’t forget to respect their boundaries and please, please, don’t make me come down there and write another blog post.
That’s it, class. Keep learning, none of us are ever done educating ourselves.
Kesia Lee 