Christ constantly called himself the son of God. After he left, the mentality that we are now the sons and daughters of God germinated throughout the converts which filtered through Roman Catholicism before being brought over to America. America was an opportunity for new growth, and especially, new converts.
The first people group we met were the enemies of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes. They had met the French first down south. So they knew enough of the language to get one point across. The Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribe were Sioux. Which is French for enemy.
The mentality that was brought to America through the settlers was that of entitlement and ownership. Immediate gratification. We are the Sons of God that are here to industrialize and commercialize everything for our own gain. Even the individuals that live on the land that we think we own.
Remember Andrew Jackson? That ring a bell from history class? Let’s see what he said in 1833. “My convictions upon this subject have been confirmed. That those tribes cannot exist surrounded by our settlements and in continual contact with our citizens is certain. They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their condition. Established in the midst of another and a superior race, and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority or seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear. Such has been their fate heretofore, and if it is to be averted it can only be done by a general removal beyond our boundary and by the reorganization of their political system upon principles adapted to the new relations in which they will be placed.”
So picture this for a minute from a Native’s perspective. Your family group and tribe have lived on this land for centuries. You have sacred songs and ceremonies that have been passed down by elders for generations. The ground is sacred and deserves a reverence as she is walked on. The tobacco is sacred and is smoked at specific times for focused intentions. The ecosystem has found balance with the give and take of plants and animals to keep your family alive.
Then one day a group of new settlers come in, call you an enemy, tell you that you are inferior to them and their hidden intentions and begin killing 6 million of your tribe in the name of industrialization, commerce, and degradation of the ground that you have been taught to walk on with respect.
The one thing some tribes had was plant medicine. But in the 60’s hippies looking for “immediate enlightenment” trashed the peyote farms in Texas and made it illegal for even Natives.
Let me repeat that. Our need for immediate gratification desecrated a sacred medicine that has been treated holy by the people it was given to and made it illegal for even them to use.
I’ve met a lot of people recently that are once again looking for that immediate gratification. Some in regards to enlightenment. What I have learned from the medicine that has been shared with me is that anything that is worth doing is worth giving time to the process instead of expecting immediate results. You don’t plant a tree and get fruit from it the next day. That’s what Walmart is for.
I’d like to see a world with less Walmarts and more people cultivating their our fruit trees and the fruit of their own lives for months or years instead of 5 minutes and then telling everyone they just went through one of the greatest changes in their lives. It has been a 7 ½ year process of a lot of really high ups, really low downs, and a lot of guidance and direction that I really didn’t want to listen to at the time. But someone treated me like something sacred and gave me their time in hopes to see good fruit over months, years, or even decades to come.
I’ll end with this. We already had a Son of God and he already died on a cross. We don’t need another one. What we need are Sons and Daughters of God that show some respect for his creation again. That cultivate the ground for years to bring lasting fruit instead of going to McDonalds for a burger right now because I’m hungry right now and someone should put food in my hand because I have enough money to justify it. True justice is found in the earth. When you hear the screams of 6 million dying so that you can be here right now. Looking for your immediate gratification. We need to respect the equality of all things. Not the entitlement of one race.
Jesus washed his disciples feet. Would you wash mine? Would I wash yours? What about the homeless drunk? What about the children dying on the Native reservations?
Are we really so enlightened and sacred that we can make a whole nation into the image of the enemy Sioux and justify it with ignorance?
What does it really mean to the be the Son of God? Because He was also the Son of Man. And my human family, of all races and colors and walks of life, have been begging for a savior of men from God a lot longer than I have. Do we put in the years of hard work, or do we go to Walmart for a quick fix?
I love you. I pray for us. May we learn from history. I never want to see this part of history repeated again.
Mitakuye Oyasin