Love the verve of your opening comments! Then, the thoughts of Julian Reid resonated deeply. I continue to be amazed that enslaved Africans saw in the teachings of Christianity, though not in the behavior of their white Christian masters, a deep and life-giving truth. They accepted those teachings and developed a faith that was Christian, yet distinct from the White version. I read an article explaining the Pentecostal worship style of many Black churches as having developed from this need to maintain their distinctiveness. The author argued that the similarity between worship styles of African Christians in Africa and Black Christians in America may be explained by the migration of Afro-American Christianity back to Africa. (The author was Lamin Sanneh, a native of Africa, who taught theology at Harvard Divinity School for many years.)
Thinking about iterations of African worship being about cultural expression, I am sure that all of it has value because the form is not as important as the function, which is to rejoice with gratitude for having the resources we need to explore our evolution and growth as beings of light learning to be in material form.
Applying a religion that is of one's oppressor and embodying it so completely that it makes you shake and rattle, is a radical act, an act of freedom and faith in the future.
whitney- as always, your words make perfect sense. i received them with gratitude for your integrity and intelligence and a desire to further understand... so i will be checking into the archives and additional resources you cited. thank you kindly for your constant sincerity. -sonja
Thank you for being a close and thoughtful reader of the work! Actually, this weekend's issue will be devoted entirely to your question, since you had me thinking about it all week. Thank you! xx
wait, what, whitney? you’re really not recognizing our native american brothers and sisters? for thousands and thousands and thousands of years….? “Yet, also, I think that blacks are the real soul of this country. They have the deepest, most patient, and most long-suffering informed faith of any cultural group I can think of in this country…”
i believe the dinė people to be the true leaders of turtle island as i've heard them call the land that is north america. i also believe it is they who are going to help us back to revering the spirit of the land - sacred mother earth (i was surprised that native americans also didn’t come up in your recent issue about boomers hoarding land and you realizing that finding/returning to the spirit of america’s grounds as what will in fact save us as a nation….).
so now i have to ask…. how/where *do* you factor in native americans’ existence? personally, i hope deep down we return not only the land to them and their practices but also all their structures and systems that maximize symbiosis in all living things - plants, animals, water, air, soil, people, spirit,,,
Hi, Sonja. Thank you so much for your comments now and previously. I love that you engage me on these things.
Funny you would bring up the Dine. I was just watching a video I made while in their nation back in 2015 and thinking of how much I loved their calm and understated humor. But, in the few times I engaged with them about what happened at Canyon de Chelly, they become so emotional about the outright betrayal, and it's just one of so, so many crimes against people that we have committed and not taken any responsibility for helping to heal.
In any case, I haven't thought about the Dine as the outright "leaders" of Turtle Island, before. To me, it seems that all indigenous people on this continent had a part in not so much leading but respecting the land. As for them being essential to our return as humans to being in partnership with the earth, yes! And I don't think any of us even fully understand what that means.
I read a recent issue of National Geographic dedicated to tracking how the Indigenous of this country are moving into positions of leadership in order to help make white-man laws less punishing and unfair, but as I read the piece, I also thought it was missing the real point: the indigenous are the ones who have had to become the leaders of us back to the land because we are devoid of any sense of how that is fundamental to life. The articles sort of got there, but didn't fully nail it.
So, in direct response to your question, I think Black Americans carry the soul, and the Indigenous bring the spirit. I will explain that in a sec, as I haven't written about it directly, but if you search the archives for Lakota or Cherokee, I have had some pieces where I examine their role in our American history. I also wrote a piece about my time spent on the Dine land (Navajo Nation), so you can search for that, too.
But back to your question. I am working this out in my mind as I type, so thank you for forcing me into cogitation on it, and even at this early hour! However, I think that in my unclarified way, I have been assigning Soul to Blacks and Spirit to Indigenous because as a white American, I see the Indigenous as the bearers of the traumatic horrors of genocide and Blacks as the bearers of the traumatic horrors of greed and superiority. Either way, they are rooted in a sense of nihilism that can only be possible when we are disconnected from the land.
The key for me, however, is that I don't see America as this land, at least not "only". That is what I have been trying to get at by talking about the holy American Spirit. If you search the archives for that, and in particular, a piece I wrote about America being both a fact and an ideal at the same time, you will get a sense for what I mean.
The land is one thing, but the idea of a nation called America is different. The Dine, and all other people we stole from and killed to get them off the land are of this land entirely -- in that way they belong to the land and it to them. Blacks were brought here and had to build a soul connection to the idea of "freedom" while their very existence on this land was precisely because they had their freedom stolen from them.
So, if freedom is at the heart of what it is to be "american", and I think it is, then true freedom is going to be taught to us and held in perfection for us by those who have had to demand and fight for it most as a group.
However, the Iroquois were the first to actually devise a democracy on this continent. They gave very detailed input to our "founding fathers" about how democracy should work, and they definitely did not say that it would be effective if you didn't let all voices, such as women's and non-white people's, be heard. Quite the opposite. I think they figured we'd fail because we kept trying to come up with a stupid calculus to explain away the cognitive dissonance of everyone is free except everyone but white men.
Anyway, I think the larger point is what is the definition of soul? What is the definition of spirit?
The Indigenous are our Spirit leaders, in my mind. They are the ones who teach us how to put respect and relationship with the land into practice. I am struggling to make this clear, but I feel it as the two are inextricable, and that black Americans carry the soul wounds of having been ripped from their lands -- they come only with the collective memories of their homeland and Indigenous people carry the wounds of a crushed spirit having their land ripped from them. Either way, it's a disaster (literally, "torn from the stars") that can only come from not having respect for the land and making her into a bitch for profit (see the piece I wrote about raping the land as a tactic).
So, desire for freedom = soul of america; respect for the land as a way to shape one's freedom = spirit of america. Blacks have held the truest vision of what freedom means, while the Indigenous have held the truest vision of how freedom works in practice. But each absolutely informs the other, and also, none of this is actually absolute.
But, I am not answering the question about the definition of soul and spirit. I have addressed it in the past, trying to head off all the rhetoric about "the soul of america" (again, check the archives), but now that you've asked this, I am wondering if I really do know.
It's interesting to me that there seems to be a trend in my life lately where people are bringing to my attention the role of the Indigenous to the future of our country. You, poet Ethel Miller, a family member, the NatGeo article...I think you're right, Sonja, that there is rising tide of Indigenous activism that will become leadership we must lean on if we survive as a nation. We can't survive at all if we don't learn to love and respect the land. Nature preceded us and will live beyond us. So idiotic for us to think we can supersede her.
Some books, fwiw, that have been useful to me and my thinking about any of this: Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne, and The Earth is Weeping by Peter Cozzens.
Well, I hope others add their thoughts to this discussion, especially if what I have written is unclear.
Love the verve of your opening comments! Then, the thoughts of Julian Reid resonated deeply. I continue to be amazed that enslaved Africans saw in the teachings of Christianity, though not in the behavior of their white Christian masters, a deep and life-giving truth. They accepted those teachings and developed a faith that was Christian, yet distinct from the White version. I read an article explaining the Pentecostal worship style of many Black churches as having developed from this need to maintain their distinctiveness. The author argued that the similarity between worship styles of African Christians in Africa and Black Christians in America may be explained by the migration of Afro-American Christianity back to Africa. (The author was Lamin Sanneh, a native of Africa, who taught theology at Harvard Divinity School for many years.)
Thanks, Sam.
Thinking about iterations of African worship being about cultural expression, I am sure that all of it has value because the form is not as important as the function, which is to rejoice with gratitude for having the resources we need to explore our evolution and growth as beings of light learning to be in material form.
Applying a religion that is of one's oppressor and embodying it so completely that it makes you shake and rattle, is a radical act, an act of freedom and faith in the future.
whitney- as always, your words make perfect sense. i received them with gratitude for your integrity and intelligence and a desire to further understand... so i will be checking into the archives and additional resources you cited. thank you kindly for your constant sincerity. -sonja
Thank you for being a close and thoughtful reader of the work! Actually, this weekend's issue will be devoted entirely to your question, since you had me thinking about it all week. Thank you! xx
wait, what, whitney? you’re really not recognizing our native american brothers and sisters? for thousands and thousands and thousands of years….? “Yet, also, I think that blacks are the real soul of this country. They have the deepest, most patient, and most long-suffering informed faith of any cultural group I can think of in this country…”
i believe the dinė people to be the true leaders of turtle island as i've heard them call the land that is north america. i also believe it is they who are going to help us back to revering the spirit of the land - sacred mother earth (i was surprised that native americans also didn’t come up in your recent issue about boomers hoarding land and you realizing that finding/returning to the spirit of america’s grounds as what will in fact save us as a nation….).
so now i have to ask…. how/where *do* you factor in native americans’ existence? personally, i hope deep down we return not only the land to them and their practices but also all their structures and systems that maximize symbiosis in all living things - plants, animals, water, air, soil, people, spirit,,,
thank you for sharing your musings…
Hi, Sonja. Thank you so much for your comments now and previously. I love that you engage me on these things.
Funny you would bring up the Dine. I was just watching a video I made while in their nation back in 2015 and thinking of how much I loved their calm and understated humor. But, in the few times I engaged with them about what happened at Canyon de Chelly, they become so emotional about the outright betrayal, and it's just one of so, so many crimes against people that we have committed and not taken any responsibility for helping to heal.
In any case, I haven't thought about the Dine as the outright "leaders" of Turtle Island, before. To me, it seems that all indigenous people on this continent had a part in not so much leading but respecting the land. As for them being essential to our return as humans to being in partnership with the earth, yes! And I don't think any of us even fully understand what that means.
I read a recent issue of National Geographic dedicated to tracking how the Indigenous of this country are moving into positions of leadership in order to help make white-man laws less punishing and unfair, but as I read the piece, I also thought it was missing the real point: the indigenous are the ones who have had to become the leaders of us back to the land because we are devoid of any sense of how that is fundamental to life. The articles sort of got there, but didn't fully nail it.
So, in direct response to your question, I think Black Americans carry the soul, and the Indigenous bring the spirit. I will explain that in a sec, as I haven't written about it directly, but if you search the archives for Lakota or Cherokee, I have had some pieces where I examine their role in our American history. I also wrote a piece about my time spent on the Dine land (Navajo Nation), so you can search for that, too.
But back to your question. I am working this out in my mind as I type, so thank you for forcing me into cogitation on it, and even at this early hour! However, I think that in my unclarified way, I have been assigning Soul to Blacks and Spirit to Indigenous because as a white American, I see the Indigenous as the bearers of the traumatic horrors of genocide and Blacks as the bearers of the traumatic horrors of greed and superiority. Either way, they are rooted in a sense of nihilism that can only be possible when we are disconnected from the land.
The key for me, however, is that I don't see America as this land, at least not "only". That is what I have been trying to get at by talking about the holy American Spirit. If you search the archives for that, and in particular, a piece I wrote about America being both a fact and an ideal at the same time, you will get a sense for what I mean.
The land is one thing, but the idea of a nation called America is different. The Dine, and all other people we stole from and killed to get them off the land are of this land entirely -- in that way they belong to the land and it to them. Blacks were brought here and had to build a soul connection to the idea of "freedom" while their very existence on this land was precisely because they had their freedom stolen from them.
So, if freedom is at the heart of what it is to be "american", and I think it is, then true freedom is going to be taught to us and held in perfection for us by those who have had to demand and fight for it most as a group.
However, the Iroquois were the first to actually devise a democracy on this continent. They gave very detailed input to our "founding fathers" about how democracy should work, and they definitely did not say that it would be effective if you didn't let all voices, such as women's and non-white people's, be heard. Quite the opposite. I think they figured we'd fail because we kept trying to come up with a stupid calculus to explain away the cognitive dissonance of everyone is free except everyone but white men.
Anyway, I think the larger point is what is the definition of soul? What is the definition of spirit?
The Indigenous are our Spirit leaders, in my mind. They are the ones who teach us how to put respect and relationship with the land into practice. I am struggling to make this clear, but I feel it as the two are inextricable, and that black Americans carry the soul wounds of having been ripped from their lands -- they come only with the collective memories of their homeland and Indigenous people carry the wounds of a crushed spirit having their land ripped from them. Either way, it's a disaster (literally, "torn from the stars") that can only come from not having respect for the land and making her into a bitch for profit (see the piece I wrote about raping the land as a tactic).
So, desire for freedom = soul of america; respect for the land as a way to shape one's freedom = spirit of america. Blacks have held the truest vision of what freedom means, while the Indigenous have held the truest vision of how freedom works in practice. But each absolutely informs the other, and also, none of this is actually absolute.
But, I am not answering the question about the definition of soul and spirit. I have addressed it in the past, trying to head off all the rhetoric about "the soul of america" (again, check the archives), but now that you've asked this, I am wondering if I really do know.
It's interesting to me that there seems to be a trend in my life lately where people are bringing to my attention the role of the Indigenous to the future of our country. You, poet Ethel Miller, a family member, the NatGeo article...I think you're right, Sonja, that there is rising tide of Indigenous activism that will become leadership we must lean on if we survive as a nation. We can't survive at all if we don't learn to love and respect the land. Nature preceded us and will live beyond us. So idiotic for us to think we can supersede her.
Some books, fwiw, that have been useful to me and my thinking about any of this: Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne, and The Earth is Weeping by Peter Cozzens.
Well, I hope others add their thoughts to this discussion, especially if what I have written is unclear.