Some days being a climate activists is really really hard. The county emissions reports for last year came out showing emissions up in almost every category. The steering committee for the mitigation process came out with their annual report and literally congratulated themselves for putting in more LED lightbulbs, getting a national solar certification that means they have passed all the rules that make them solar friendly, and that they passed rules to make things good for electric car chargers. Compared to what we need to be doing...this is so sad. And then of course there was the IPCC report again warning that we are almost out of time.
I have been reading many native people's writings or listening to them speak. One would think that with all the genocide and theft they have experienced that they would be despairing and disempowered - and certainly some are. But what really strikes me is two things:
1) As all living Native people today are the descendents of survivors of genocide - they have a posture of "well our destruction is not certain". They are aware of the potential to survive impossible odds. They have tenacity in their bones and they know how to do this with little resources. So they have no forgone conclusion about what will happen.
In fact in listening to Llarian Merculieff, Unangan tribe, he quoted the oft heard white environmentalist troph that Earth would be better off without us and would survive none the less. He basically responded: "What a dumb thing to say. That is like saying a mother will survive just fine without her children. Perhaps - but that is not what she wants." Woman who stands Shining - Pat McCabe said: "I do think Earth can survive without us. But I think that will be a diminished Earth. We have a role here in the evolution of Earth."
2) Over and over again I see Native Leaders respond to the struggling and the suffering by going into prayer. Maybe we could say all religions call people to prayer before problems. But this is different - this is not a refugee - it is taking action. And why I think it is fundamentally different than Christian or Muslim or X prayers, is it is a joining. In Native spirituality there is no separation between humans and their non-human - other living being "relatives". There is a relationship that is understood to be mutual and reciprocal. Therefore it is both possible to receive messages from other beings, but it is also possible to serve other beings and to be served by them. This form of prayer is entering into relationship with them.
Recently on Facebook I have been sort of fascinated to watch many video's of humans rescuing trapped animals - often ones that they might in other times hunt - and take even some big risks to help the animal. I have thought maybe I was just going for the feel good move but actually it often makes me feel like crying. I realize now that it is because it is this moment where non indigenous humans, often quite disconnected from the knowledge that we are all connected - act in a truer paradigm. They act in the paradigm of being aligned with life, or instinctively wanting it to flourish. Even more amazing are the accounts of some of these animals coming back regularly to where their rescuers are and obviously rescuing them and showing gratitude to them!
Many folks are familiar with the House of Tears traditional Lumi Carvers - a family that has maintained and passed on the skills of carving wood totem poles. For many years now they pick a focus for that years totem pole that represents their concern and prayer for the world and they carve that totem pole and then they spend about half the year in journey, pulling it on a trailer to its destination - making stops to speak and to pray all along the way. Everything about this is a prayer for change - the carving is a prayer, every stop is the creation of public prayer, and the finale installation of the pole is an act of dedicated prayer. Do the prayers work? In 2021 they made a totem pole to bring home Takita the kidnapped Orca whale that has lived decades in a Florida seaworld forced to perform. This month is was announced that the new owner of Seaworld will allow her to come home.
Two years ago I was very moved to attend a prayer stop of the House of Tears and hear Jewel James the main carver speak and pray. At a certain point he called up another man, he asked for all cameras to be turned off and he gave the mic to this man. This man explained that Jewel had asked him a hard thing several months ago and he had to really enter into discernment about it but now he was ready to do this. He revealed he was asked to lead prayers for Governor Jay Inslee. My breath was taken away because the year before Inslee had profoundly betrayed Native trust. He had gotten them to support a climate bill that included a provision to grant them true consultation over projects on their traditional lands - and then as he signed the bill he stripped that part out. So I knew what a significant thing it was for this man to pray for Inslee, why he had had to discern. It meant laying down hate and anger and sincerely praying for right alignment of Jay and all of us as well. This to me is a way we must pray in the face of climate change. A friend of mine said: "Maybe in the face of climate destruction all I really can do is to pray." I know for myself to pray is to see things in right alignment which is not what I am seeing when I am focusing on political problems.
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