mitakuye owasin | we are all related | the West has much to learn from Native American tradition

wow! Here’s a short article about how the Native American ‘Shapokee Mdewakanton Sioux community’ tribe in Minnesota, have shared the wealth from the riches they’ve gained through their casinos (a kind of taxation – except that the people are sitting around smoking and drinking and gambling ‘-). They’ve contributed to all of these fantastic progressive environmental and health programs and given money to other unrelated tribes and educational institutions. As the writer says, this tribe is keeping with the tradition of the Dakota Indian tribe which says ‘mitakuye owasin’, “we are all related”. This is a concept unfortunately terribly alien to our carnivorous and narcissistic, competitive and consumer-driven capitalist societies; in which we learn how to ‘use’ the other person, animal, resources until they are depleted, instead of the Native American way of taking only what one needs and respecting the source; sharing the rest (with other people, animals, the land, earth). Not to be wanton in glamorizing the natives, but as quoted “the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community have granted and loaned more than half a billion dollars to other tribes for economic development, and donated $14.5 million to the University of Minnesota for scholarships and a new football stadium. Far from its days of destitution, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is setting an example any business would be wise to follow.” Just read about the various clever environmental programs they’ve developed and improvements in infrastructure. If other communities would follow suit, we would be creating jobs, educating the people and communities in instituting new programs, raising the level of health of people and the environments in which they live, to just create a higher quality of life. We, ‘Occidental European Western Culture’ have a lot to learn from the traditions of the Native Americans.

Read more: http://www.utne.com/arts-culture/shakopee-mdewakanton-sioux-community-zm0z12jazwar.aspx#ixzz21CAv2q27