Native Americans – Since the beginning of the media, a lot about them has been made available to the public, in the form of pictures, books and movies. Some of it is authentic, a lot however, for entertainment purposes, is completely removed from reality. Since the New Age Wave discovered the Native people of America, the spirituality of the Lakota has been exploited in dozens of books. The unknowing reader is exposed to bite size pieces of the complex spiritual wealth of the Lakota, taken completely out of context and therefore easy to digest; whereof then the reader believes himself to be sufficiently informed.  These kinds of books, in my opinion, serve nobody, except those who make a profit from them.

One, prepared by the entertainment industry, who then goes to one of the Lakota Reservations in search of brave Warriors, miracle working Medicine people, and wise Elders will most likely think he is in the 'wrong movie'. Because what he will find there, is more like the ‘Third World’ – in the middle of the United States. I obviously cannot go into all the historical and political details that have led up to this point here, there is enough literature on that topic.

As I see it, the every day Reservation life today means: Poverty, unemployment, alcoholism and disease. If you look at the statistics of the main causes of death, you will see that accidents are the fourth leading cause of death (after vascular- and heart disease and cancer): 14% of the Native American population dies from it, compared to only 6% of the other US population.Over half of these are alcohol related traffic accidents. Above average are also the numbers of deaths caused by liver disease, diabetes and tuberculosis.  Besides alcohol, chronic malnutrition is a big contributor to illness. If you have ever watched how a Native American family tries to buy enough food with little money, you will know why. If you have to watch every cent, you cannot be very choosy when it comes to buying food. Most of the time there are many mouths to feed, so quantity is more important than quality.
 
Since the reform of the welfare system in 1997, the situation of many Native American families has worsened. Welfare benefits were cut drastically to force the recipients to find employment. But where should they work in a region where there are no job opportunities? The few jobs available to Native Americans, the rate of applicants is high and the pay is low. Many therefore try to make a living selling  Native arts and crafts to tourists. Or they accept dangerous jobs, that almost nobody else wants to do, like fighting forest fires for example.

The New Age Wave has however opened up a new source of income: the spiritual tourism. Every summer thousands of non – Indian  visitors flood South Dakota. Then the money flows into the Reservation, because these people have to eat, drink, fill up their cars, and they have to spend the nights somewhere. The sale of Native American art and craft items is then in peak season. They all come for a special purpose; to watch or to even participate in religious ceremonies. To put on a Sundance for example, takes quite a lot of money. Most Sundance leaders cannot come up with these large sums; the non - indians bring it. Generally there would be no objections to this. Over time there were a lot of non - Indians who felt at home with the Native culture and spirituality, and participated in the ceremonies. The problem lies more in the 'consumer – mentality' many non – Indians  adopt, after the motto: “ If I pay for it, I have the right to make rules”. I have watched many ( too many) non – Indians, who totally disregard the rules and regulations and use the ceremonies to gratify their own egotistical needs.

It is obvious that the Native American Sundance leaders and Medicine people are not happy with these developments, but do not know a way out either, because the money the non – Indians  bring is desperately needed. So therefore the Natives reluctantly put up with it.
I am not surprised that many traditionalists speak out drastically  in support of forbidding the participation of all non - Indians in religious ceremonies. This is and should not be the last word on the subject. However, a change in the way of thinking among the non - Native visitors is needed.For this reason I appeal to everyone who is planning a stay on a Reservation:
 

• Remember always that you are only a guest, and most of the time, not even an invited one.

• Be unobtrusive and laid back. Our rules of behaviour are not necessarily valid there or they could lead to the opposite result.

• Donations in the form of money or other goods are only gifts; you cannot buy yourself any kind of rights with them.

• Native American ceremonies are a century old tradition. The applied rules and chain of events are therefore not by chance and deserve your respect. If you have a problem with abiding by these rules and regulations, then you should find a different religion that allows you the necessary freedom.

And if you get comfortable beside your heater in the wintertime, with a book about the spirituality of the Lakota; keep in mind that maybe at this moment, somewhere in South Dakota, someone freezes to death in their home, because they are snowed in, and didn’t have the money to buy sufficient heating material. It may sound dramatic, but unfortunately, it is reality.

No matter how good or bad our personal standard of living may be in Germany, our living conditions are definitely better than on one of the Lakota Reservations. I mean that if you want to learn about the spirituality of the Lakota, then you should also learn about the Lakota and their living conditions. And you should be prepared, within your means, to give material support. Not to buy anything, but for the reason of ethical and humanitarian responsibility.
Because one of the spiritual mottos of the Lakota is:

Isabella Schön 1998  Translation by Carmen Carpenter

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Dakota Youth Project