Vine Deloria Jr. on Spiritual Yearning in the West 

Deloria's books should be required reading in public high schools & colleges, particularly God Is Red: A Native View of Religion and Red Earth, White Lies. God Is Red is the best study of Native spirituality & of western Christian religion that I've ever read. And Red Earth, White Lies is an excellent study of western science & of how scientific conjecture & theory become socially accepted as proven fact, particularly in the fields involved in the study of Indian peoples. Deloria was one of the best thinkers & writers of our time.

Beautifully laid out explanation of Western confusion over loss of community. So clear.

This man conveys so much wisdom and always a lot of humor. Definitely one of the most thoughtful people I know (never personally unfortunately).

The lack of authenticity he describes is a void that was caused by the arrival of Christianity to our tribal lands back in Europe. Before, we were different tribes, each living with an ancestral and animistic worldview, living in balance with the Earth whom we also saw as our Mother; knowing that the rivers, mountains, trees, etc.. ALL had a spirit and consciousness. Many of us have returned to those tribal ways as best we can, although much was lost and destroyed - remnants survived in various folk lore and mythology. The animism is still there within Nature for us to reclaim and then rebuild upon that. Just going out in the forests and listening and experiencing has opened up huge doors in my own spirituality. The problem with New Age is many are on the right track but they are ultimately an offshoot of Abrahamism, holding to some of the same baggage as the three Abrahamic religions. For example, many of them will pay lip-service about Nature and ecology but still when they speak about it this same mind-virus of seeing themselves as separate from Nature, thinking the Earth can be destroyed while its actually a stronger Being than us (this is not to deny actual ecological damage of course). Other descendants of the tribes of Europe should realize we had our own spirituality, with many similar features as the Native Americans. So we need only drink from our own well-spring rather than try to fill the void by taking on and appropriating Native Americans' sacred rituals. We can and should learn from Native Americans of course, but more as a reminder of what was ours, including a knowledge of healing and how to interact with the elements and aspects of Nature; while still reclaiming our own out of a mutual respect towards them. Tribal peoples respect each other and have no religious wars with each other, because we are secure in our own Path so no need to impose it upon others whom we know have more in common with us anyway than even the people who may share our bloodlines or skin color but hold to Abrahamism or its various religious and secular off-shoots with all the values those entail. Even long before I came to my native European tribal path (Germanic, Celtic and Iberian in my case), I spent two weeks on Pine Ridge and had this deep feeling within to approach their traditions out of respect but not venture close, for example to the Sun Dance which I knew and respect was off-limits. My Lakota host advised me to look within my own tribe, which didn't make sense to me at the time but six years later the process finally began and here I am another five years after that knowing who I am.

I use In the Light of Reverence every year in my Native American Cultures class, it is a great source of information, viewpoints, and sensitivity. Lots of discussion flows after seeing this film.

Most modern cultures are essentially spiritually amputated from nature, and there is a great subconscious longing for that connection.

2:41 Profoundly true, especially today 💡

I appreciate Vine Deloria, Jr saying he feels sorry for those of us who see value in their traditions and want to get away from the Rugged Individualism that chokes off life. We don't have a community to go back to, and do the best we can to try to live in a different way. Without connection it's very difficult and can't be completely successful. I appreciate him putting that into words. It's not about being a "wannabe", it's about rejecting what we see and trying to live differently.

Give complete authority and autonomy the sacred sites to the Natives, it belongs to them.

so much agreed!!!!

Nails it

Gran erudiccion de la sabiduría antigua .

All races of humans are just that. Humans. Culture is what creates meaningful difference. Culture (a group of humans’ collective narrative) is necessary to move in a direction, good, and bad, and both. I understand the sentiment of keeping certain thing culturally pure (keeping the narrative) however, obviously that is not this world. This world is a swinging from chaos to order. Back and forth in a dynamic simple balance. Creating and then dissolving; round and round.

Anglo-Euro culture in both it’s secular and mythoreligous forms is bankrupt. This accounts for their earning to participate.

They're still trying to figure out how to buy and sell happiness