"Today there is the term 'Wakan Tanka,' which translates as 'powerful being.' It's widely used, and I think it's a recent term that came out of the church, a description of the Christian God. Our 'Mitakuye Oyas'in' phrase means something much different; it describes our relationship with all of creation, that we are all relatives. When the church arrived, we were taught that Mitakuye Oyas'in was evil, a pagan belief, so over the past few hundred years we began to rely on Wakan Tanka. Some might disagree with me on this, but I hope you'll think about it. So the difference between religion and spirituality is very central to these teachings. We do not have religion, at least as I understand it. We have spirituality. See what you think of this . . . We don't worship a higher power. There is not a Supreme Being above us as there is in the Christian church. The spirit(s) that come into our ceremonies, it's the same as if you came to visit me. If you did that, we would sit and talk and share, and I do the same thing with that spirit. He comes in as a relative. He didn't come in to control my life. He came in to say, 'What do you need?' And you tell him. You say, "Here's my need, and this is what I will do in return' . . . In Lakota thought, when you put all creation on the earth and in the universe together and include yourself, then that is Wakan Tanka."
Albert White Hat,
Lakota chief
Photo: Camass Lilies swaying in the breeze; Badlands National Park, SD; May 17, 2013. I wonder if Chief White Hat - and others like him - don't worship a higher power because that power (Inyan) completely emptied Itself out in the world in the act of creating?
No comments:
Post a Comment