Indigenous Spirituality and the Creation

By Thomas Trimmer

On June 14-15, 1999, I attended a conference titled, “Global Warming and God's People” at the St. Patrick's Retreat Center in Dewitt, Mich. It was part of the Michigan Interfaith Global Warming Campaign , sponsored by the Michigan Ecumenical Forum. I was pleased to discover that the environmental movement was finally making some progress.

For years I have attended conferences like that, meeting with the world's top scientists and theologians, only to discover that they fully understand the scope of the problems, but didn't have a clue what the answers were.

I can recall sitting through a two-hour lecture in Weston, Mass., given by a scientist from India. My companion was Corbin Harney, Spiritual Leader of the Western Shoshone Nation.

When the lecture was over, I turned to 76 year-old Corbin and asked, “Well, Corbin, what did he say?”

He looked at me with a grin and replied, “Tom, I don't know, but he said a hell of a lot of it!”

Bruce Babbitt turned to me and asked, “Tom, when are your people going to speak up and tell us what to do?” I replied, “Mr. Secretary, we have been speaking for 500 years, but no one has been listening! If you're polluting the waters, stop it! . . . You must choose between profit and life.”

Later that same day, I sat with Bruce Babbit, then-Secretary of the Interior. Like so many, he knew the seriousness of the problems, but he had no answers which were acceptable to society. He turned to me and asked, “Tom, when are your people going to speak up and tell us what to do?”

I replied, “Mr. Secretary, we have been speaking for 500 years, but no one has been listening! If you're polluting the waters, stop it! If you're fouling the air, stop it! If you're having too many children, stop it! You must choose between profit and life.”

Every faith tradition has clearly spoken on the responsibility of human beings to be stewards of God's Creation. For Jews and Christians, the charge to be caretakers is as clear as the air used to be when the indigenous peoples of the world cared for it.

According to Dr. Carol Johnston of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., the first Creation story in Genesis tells us that we were given “dominion” over the earth. The second Creation story tells us that humankind were to “till and keep the garden,” where they were placed.

Our problems began when we re-interpreted the word “dominion” to mean, “ride herd over Creation.” When comparing the second story with the first, we see a whole different picture. “Dominion” clearly means that we were to “bring order out of chaos.” [Dr. Johnston has written a wonderful study guide for Christian congregations called Biblical and Theological Foundations for Eco-Justice .]

Another speaker at the Dewitt conference was Dr. Ahmed Hussen, an economist from Kalamazoo, Mich. He posed what I consider to be the heart of not only the environmental problem, but of most problems human beings face today: What price are we willing to pay for a secure future for our children?

Hussen stated, “As a nation, economic reality dictates that every time we decide to spend a dollar more on a project designed to strengthen our national defense it must be done by considering the use of that same dollar for some other competing projects, such as the nation's welfare programs.”

Protecting the environment requires we look at the problem on a cost-benefit basis. In other words, is the cost of stopping global warming today going to be worth the dollar amount? According to Native American thinking, this is exactly why we are in the mess we are today. Somewhere in the history of this nation we began to put profit before people. Someone decided the worth of a human life.

The question was and is, “How many human lives can we expend to make a decent profit?” Every faith tradition in the world teaches that human beings are the ultimate value, yet we have reduced life to profit for only some human beings. In Dr. Hussen's report there was not one mention of the value of human life.

I think this is where the Christian church needs to step in and speak with a loud and clear voice instead of the whimper we are famous for. Instead of playing the “blame game” we must speak for spiritual values. Yes, the big corporations cause pollution, but so does the housewife who chooses plastic over paper at the local grocery store.

I think this is where the Christian church needs to step in and speak with a loud and clear voice instead of the whimper we are famous for. Instead of playing the “blame game” we must speak for spiritual values. Yes, the big corporations cause pollution, but so does the housewife who chooses plastic over paper at the local grocery store.

If there were no demand for a product, there would be no production. Profit is our enemy, but it is also our greatest weapon. Desmond Tutu has said repeatedly that if the Episcopal Church had not voted to divest itself of holdings in South Africa, apartheid would still exist.

If the church fails to address the problems facing humanity, then we become part of the problem itself.

In the words of Chief Seattle of the Suquamish tribe:

“Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. If we spit upon the ground, we spit upon ourselves. This we know. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth. . . This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites a family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. Humans did not weave the web of life; we are merely strands in it.   Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. . . Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as a friend cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all, we shall see. One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover – our God is the same God. You may think now that you own God as you want to own our land; but you cannot.   God is the God of all, and God's compassion is equal for all. The earth is precious to God, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt upon its Creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. . .”

The current war in Iraq has devastated not only the Iraqi people, but their country and their ancient faith as Muslims. They have become like Americans, full of hatred for the unknown. Rather than try to understand, we have chosen war against women, children and the elderly. The Creator, in his great love will not be the one to destroy our earth; it will be the human race who cannot grasp the love of God.

The Rev. Thomas Trimmer is an Episcopal deacon in Alma, Mich., and serves as national coordinator for Native Americans in Solidarity with Central America. His Native American name is “En-Me-Gah-Bowh,” which means “He who stands before his people,” and was also the Native name of a famous ancestor, John Johnson. Johnson was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1859, and was the first Native American priest in the denomination. At the church's 74 th General Convention in 2003, he was named an Episcopal Saint of the church. Ironically, Roman Catholics already observe June 12 th as his Saints Day.

Another one of Trimmer's ancestors is William Maccatebinessi, the first Native American to study in Rome for the Roman Catholic priesthood. Trimmer reports, “A bronze statue in the Vatican calls him a ‘Prince of the Forest.' He was murdered in 1833, according to the Vatican, by agents of the U.S. government.” Trimmer continues that Maccatebinessi had advised his nation to “reject the White Man's latest treaty, because he had evidence that it was illegal. Back in those days, all mail went through the Indian Agent, who was white. He routinely read every letter and notified Washington of what William had said. Thus, his death!”

Yet another Trimmer ancestor was John Miller, the first Indian to be ordained a Methodist minister. Trimmer says, “You would think that the Creator had a plan for our family. All of us were trained as Medewewin , or Grand Medicine. In the White World, we are called ‘Medicine Men.' Although we learned medicine, our main focus has been on the spiritual realm.” Tom may be reached by email at t_trimmer@hotmail.com .