Introduction This proposal was written in 1992, the 500th year anniversary of Columbus discovery of the New World. There were three of us who wanted to form the kind of think tank organization proposed with the Tribal Truth Institute. This proposal was delivered at a large Pow Wow held at the Umatilla Reservation that year. Not much came of it except my T.T.I. proposal partner, Sharon Orona, was asked to work with another Indian aid program. Sharon is of Cherokee heritage, a former Pow Wow organizer and Indian health care worker and also a former California lottery market analyst. The Tribal Truth Institute Proposal It has been five hundred now since European civilization began its invasion of the lands of the native peoples of the New World. The invaders were terribly strong in numbers and weapons and community organization. They were "civilized" which meant they were alienated from Nature and had lost touch with the web of Life. They could kill without conscience because long ago they had learned to lie to themselves about their own religion which forbade killing, which was based on forgiveness and brotherly love. Everywhere they went they killed or enslaved native peoples as they stole their land away to strip it of anything of value and to later ruin it with their "civilized" poisons. What native people were left were so thoroughly demoralized that for a time it seemed like all native culture would be lost forever. The old gods were all overpowered and abandoned, all except one, the Great Spirit, which could not be touched by the invader's God because the God of All is Holy One no matter how named. It has been prophesied by the spiritual teachers in many tribal nations that all that has happened to the indigenous peoples of the New World was fated to come about. Civilization had to meet Nature, and they have met in the Americas. Let no one be fooled now into thinking civilization has "won". There is no winning over Nature because human beings are part and parcel of Nature while their spirits work through the lessons of the material world. Now the return wave happens, and now the spiritual truths of native peoples will sweep back over civilization because without the natural wisdom of native peoples, civilization in America, civilization throughout the world will not survive. The time for the true blending of wisdom from both traditions is now beginning to occur as everyone's life becomes endangered by the toxins and turmoil thrown off by industrialized civil life. The Tribal Truth Institute is born out of prophesy of the uniting of native people's wisdom with the wisdom of cultures which have gone through the stages of alienation from Nature that has given us "civilization" as we know it today, with all its richness and depravity for the good or evil of human life. There are two qualities of native wisdom that are desperately needed for the survival of human civilization at this critical stage in environmental and social decomposition. Those qualities are native people's religious respect for Nature, and native people/s religious respect for speaking the truth and acting honorably. Civilization is befouled on its own filth and lies. But native culture is still in eminent danger of being crushed to death as our sick civilization thrashes about on its way to the grave of history. These are times that call for walking a narrow path to salvation for both societies. What is needed is the infusion of the very best of native people's values with the very best values of civilization. What is needed is for the real New World destiny to occur, the birth of Natural Civilization, a sustainable, harmonious cooperative unity of diverse communities that reflect the whole living range of human uniqueness. The Tribal Truth Institute will be dedicated to this ideal. From native peoples will come the wisdom of human life unalienated from the natural world The sense of community with Nature, the cooperative community unity of tribal life, the justice and wisdom of truth speaking, are values civilized societies must adopt now if they are to survive. There is no more room for false pretenses in the face of economic and social collapse of industrial societies. But there is no turning back the clock of social evolution. We can't return to pre-industrial lifestyles, there isn't enough natural environment to support everyone. We can't go on building civilization as we know it, there isn't enough capital or resources to go around to everyone who demands today's material products of industrial society. A new social system must be formed that combines the best of both worlds. After five hundred years of arrogant cruelty towards the land and its native people, European-Americans are producing sons and daughters who have learned to love the environment, to love Mother Earth. Environmental consciousness is still a new growing thing for most European-Americans, but it bodes well for everyone's future. It was there all along in the European tradition but overlooked, covered up, or killed along with the whole feminine side of the God of the white invaders. In essence, there was a great deal of similarity in the cooperative community values and social structuring of religious communitarian societies of Europe and America, and Native American tribal nations. The children of the 60's in turning away from the violence and hypocrisy of their own culture turned to tribal communitarian models. The 80's and 90' are witnessing the strong emergence of environmental consciousness,, and with that consciousness, even more respect for tribal wisdom. The Tribal Truth Institute will be a meeting ground of native cultures, communitarian cultures, and spiritual and environmental value systems from around the world. The best of the best, East and West, is needed for everyone's survival in today's grim world, as well as being needed to build a future worth bringing children into. Tribal consciousness as environmental consciousness, as spiritual consciousness, and as harmonious cooperative social consciousness, will be emphasized and developed at T.T.I.. Development of social organizing skills, development of new environmentally compatible technologies and cooperative self-sufficiency networks will be given highest priority along with our commitment to truth speaking, because without truth, accurate analysis will not occur, workable solutions cannot be developed, and trust in one another will falter and die. The New World destiny is the development of Natural Civilization where truth, justice, and harmony are all one and the same. Please join us at the Tribal Truth Institute if you too believe in the salvation of tribal consciousness.
Back to Tribal-Communitarian Alliance Projects