In the Midst of Crisis, Learning Resistance and Vision-Seeking from the Indigenous and African-American Experience

There is a social demand in this [coronavirus] crisis, but there is also a spiritual demand. The two go hand in hand. Without the social dimension, we fall into fanaticism. But without the spiritual dimension, we fall into pessimism and lack of meaning. . . . Do not lose the spiritual dimension of this crisis, have the aspect of the eagle, which from above, sees the whole, sees more widely.

You were prepared to go through this crisis. Take your toolbox and use all the tools available to you. Learn about resistance of the Indigenous and African peoples: we have always been and continue to be exterminated. But we still haven't stopped singing, dancing, lighting a fire and having fun. . . . You do not help at all being [constantly] sad and without energy. You help if good things emanate from the Universe now. It is through joy that one resists. Also, when the storm passes, each of you will be very important in the reconstruction of this new world.

. . . In shamanism, there is a rite of passage called the quest for vision. You spend a few days alone in the forest, without water, without food, without protection. When you cross this portal, you get a new vision of the world, because you have faced your fears, your difficulties.

This is what is asked of you: allow yourself to take advantage of this time to perform your vision seeking rituals. What world do you want to build for you? For now, this is what you can do: serenity in the storm. Calm down, pray every day. Establish a routine to meet the sacred every day.

Good things emanate; what you emanate now is the most important thing. And sing, dance, resist through art, joy, faith and love.

– White Eagle
Excerpted from a Facebook post
March 16, 2020

Related Off-site Links:
Indigenous Arizonans Dance With Thousands Around the World in Online "Social Distance' Powwow – Chelsea Curtis (Arizona Republic, March 27, 2019).
What The Spread of the Coronavirus Means for Black Communities – Tanya A. Christian (Essence, March 2, 2020).
Rethinking Resilience From Indigenous Perspectives – Laurence J Kirmayer, Stéphane Dandeneau, Elizabeth Marshall, Morgan Kahentonni Phillips, and Karla Jessen Williamson (The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry via Journals.com, February 2011).
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Story of Smallpox and Other Deadly Eurasian Germs – PBS.org (2005).
How European Brought Sickness to the New World – Heather Pringle (Science, June 4, 2015).
Smallpox in the Blankets – John Koster (History, March 9, 2020).
Out of Africa: The Slave Trade and the Transmission of Smallpox to Brazil, 1560-1831 – Dauril Alden and Joseph C. Miller (The Journal of Interdisciplinary History via MIT Press, 1987).
From Slavery to Smallpox to Freedom – Jim Downs (National Museum of Civil War Medicine (February 2, 2017).
African American Resistance – Charter for Compassion (2020).
How An African Slave Helped Boston Fight Smallpox – Ted Widmer (The Boston Globe, October 17, 2014).
Sydney's Smallpox Outbreak of 1789 – Biological Warfare Against Australian Aboriginal Tribes – NationalUnityGovernment.org (2019).
Buffy Sainte-Marie on Creative Decolonization in a Global Village – Ayana Young (Unlearn and Re-Wild, November 14, 2015).
The Art of Resistance: Maya Angelou’s Poems Speak of the Universal Fight Against Oppression – Dakshayani Kumaramangalam (Scroll, January 1, 2020).
Then and Now, James Baldwin Is the Voice of The Resistance – Daniel Reynolds (The Advocate, February 3, 2017).
8 Historically Terrifying Viruses – Jessica Bloustein Marshall (Mental Floss, May 16, 2013).
Humanity's Long History of Making Epidemics Worse – Elise A. Mitchell (The Atlantic, March 11, 2020).
Andrew Harvey on Confronting Crisis with Divine Dignity – Ayana Young (Unlearn and Re-Wild, January 27, 2017).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Hope and Beauty in the Midst of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic
• A Prayer in Times of a Pandemic
• Quote of the Day – March 17, 2020
• An Infectious Disease Specialist Weighs-in on Covid-19
• A Prayer for the Present Moment
• The End of the World as We Know It . . . . . . the Beginning As We Live It
• As the Last Walls Dissolve . . . Everything is Possible
• Michael Greyeyes on Temperance as a Philosophy for Surviving
• For Acclaimed Songwriter, Activist and Humanitarian Buffy Sainte-Marie, the World Is Always Ripening
• Buffy Sainte-Marie and That “Human-Being Magic”
• The Way of the Wounded Healer

Image: Artist unknown.