Native Wisdom: Perceptions of the Natural Way

by Ed McGaa

Nitakuys oyasin -"we are all related." The Oglala Sioux saying is the philosophy underlying Native American spirituality and practices, a sense of connection to the entire universe. “Native Wisdomâ features several informative appendices, including a brief glossary of Lakota words and traditional spiritual songs in English and Lakota.

Genres: Native American, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Nature, Philosophy, Paganism

251 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

AKA Eagle Man

Reviews

[NAT.orious reads ☾]

⤐ DNF after 45 pages (15%).

I’m in the worst reading slump I’ve ever been and it seems like nothing can get me out of it. Although I do believe I wouldn’t have enjoyed this as much as I hoped in a good reading phase, trying to force yourself through it while in a reading slump sure is even worse.

The writing style is a bit odd, Ed tells a lot of stories and tries to tie them to the lessons he wishes to convey but somehow, I couldn't see a clear path and had thus an even harder time trying to engage.

[Michael Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from an Indian reservation in Arizona when driving across country to California. I let is stand for almost 6 years without opening it.

I have been questioning my spirituality for a long time, trying to find a path so to speak. A path far different than the one shoved down my throat my whole life.

So I decided to give the natural way a try being Native American myself I figured it would be a great read. Well that was the understatement of the year. I couldn't put it down. I cruised thru the book in no time and am now re-reading choice chapters to make sure I get as much as possible from this amazing book.

It is basically a book explaining how those that follow the natural way believe and worship. The Natural Way is a common belief system among many tribes of native Americans. It revolves around the idea that NOBODY has EVER known God. And that each and every religion ever created were A) created by man and B) based solely on faith. Not facts. Instead they use a nature anchored wisdom and spirituality.

They refer to GOD as WAKAN TANKA (THE GREAT MYSTERY) and believe that no man has ever known nor could ever know GOD. God is a great mystery, and guessing or trying to guess how to worship a mystery is futile.

Instead of following a book of rules written by equal men of our past. The Natural Way is a way of living, of worshiping, of praising what we know for certain. The universe that we not only live in, but were spawned from. As each of us is made of of elements of the earth and universe. And when we die we will return to become part of mother earth once again. It is the cycle of life that all living things are part of. It is the natural way.

GOD has created us all, and everything we see around us. That by treating each other, the animals, the earth we walk on, the water we drink, the food that grows from under us, the air we breathe. By just believing in all of that, by not abusing any of that and by trying to live each and every day we are lucky enough to have on this earth... in complete harmony with each other and with all living things. Then we will find our way to salvation. For if you live each day with the principals of the natural way, you will by default follow any "rules" you may think God has for you.

Instead of giving ANSWERS that most religions do or should I say TRY to do. The Natural Way instead poses questions to ask about your existence and your God.

Here are some. Answer them yourself.


Where does your supreme being exist?

Does your god have a gender?

How does your god manifest itself to humans? Is he always watching? Judging?

Does your religion have a book written by men claiming to be the word of god?

Does scientific evidence and proof support your religion?

Is there pain, war and bloodshed involved in the past of your religion?

How does your religion view other religions?

Do you FEEL strongly about your religion or were you one of the BILLIONS who were simply born into your religion by the religion of your parents?

What does your religion say the purpose is of humans on earth? And is that purpose to SERVE a god's wants and needs?

Do you believe in sin? Is your god all forgiving?

Does your god banish humans to an eternity in hell?

Is your religion more focused on living now or is now just a test or preperation from some not so certain afterlife?


Are certain objects in your religion more sacred than things living on earth all around you?

Does your religion have a set of rules to follow?

Are their conflicts in your religion over beliefs? Do many members of your religion live in a way against their religion's rules or beliefs? If so then what is the purpose?

Does your religion have a human leader?

Are sexes and people all considered equal in your religion?

Has your religion ever started a war? Are wars fought over your religion and is your religion a means of political positioning?

I could go on and on obviously. Like I said, not for everybody. But this book will surely make you question your religion and decide based on questions like these, if your religion is something you really can get behind. Or like most, are you simply going through the motions?

The Natural Way has never ever ever hurt anyone. Can your religion say that?

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I am torn on this book. It seems mediocre but has some gems of wisdom if you look. Two things bother me about this book; 1) setting ghosts in Europe free from their entrapment...this is real strange coming from someone who proclaims to be a bearer of a Native American worldview. I mean really! 2) Considering it strange that the Celts would hold the same Earth spirituality as Native Americans and trying to figure out who taught whom...why in the world do the Lakota say "mitakuye oyasin" (we are all related)? If intuitive people live in nature they will figure out the same truths, this is because we are the same people living on the same planet. To the universe, transmitting truth is not difficult, the difficulty lies in humanity taking the position of knowing everything and having a need to be in control. If we allow life to happen it will reveal itself and it won't consider what color our skin is or what language we speak. So McGaa's lack of seeing that surprised me. He is still very strongly influenced by the value set that he dislikes. We are all related, we are connected by the waters of Mother Earth, the heat of Grandmother Sun, the glow of Grandfather Moon and the air of Father Sky. in truth we are connected, probably more than we can even imagine!

[Emil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed McGaa does an excellent job of presenting a spiritual philosophy based on acceptance of mystery as the fundamental truth of reality and observation of nature as the primary source of revelation. While the title made me a bit dubious, the author quickly establishes that a) he does not speak for all American Indians, just for himself; and b) his words are only his suppositions and best, informed guesses.

While I didn't agree with all of his ideas, his constant acknowledgment of the deep mystery of being made that easy to do without having to reject his entire approach. For all his wisdom and experience, I didn't have the sense that McGaa was attempting to establish himself as an authority, and that was a breath of fresh air I didn't even know I'd been missing.

I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in exploring a more spiritual way of approaching the world that doesn't require too many intellectual and faith-based gymnastics.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't finish

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this soon after leaving South Dakota where I had spent a year as a part time reservation doctor (the rest of my residency was elsewhere) and left with a deep respect for the Lakota people. This seemed like a natural book to read and I picked it up for the popsugar challenge this year after it sat on my bookshelf for nearly 30 years. I found where I gave up 60 pages in and remembered why.

There are some very good things about this book. There are other very dubious points. McGaa himself says he's only one man and this is how he sees things and in that context fine. What bothered me were some things that aren't exactly true or a bit overreaching because I believe you can celebrate your people/cause/culture without doing that, such as the suggestion that they were entirely peaceful until white colonization which is definitely not true (which he admits much later in the book after floating the idea about where I DNFed it all those years ago) or weird claims that Europeans didn't learn democracy from the Greeks and Romans but rather (unacknowledged) from the Natives. Uh yeah, not so much. Were they influenced by Native governance sure I'll buy that but not with that claim. Some of this annoyed me more because this isn't coming from a place of ignorance of history. He's very well read on that as you see through the text.

He also oddly conflates human sacrifice such as practiced by the Central and South American indigenous people (and also good inclusion of the Spanish in the bad side of colonization instead or just leaving it with the English, French and Dutch) with the witch trials claiming that was human sacrifice. Yeah, not so much if you ask me. Sacrifice means you're giving the sacrifice to god(s) to get something in return. The witch trials were all about power (getting more and not having yours challenged), land grabs, misogyny and intolerance. It was more capital punishment than sacrifice.

The first six chapters were more about the spiritual side of indigenous people, mostly the Lakota, his opinions on drug use in ceremony, sweat lodges etc. I will say I very much liked his beliefs that all people, all races, all genders need to work together (which naturally fits into my own beliefs). THe last four chapters was talking more about the Natural Way and how it slams up against governments, Christianity/Islam, misogyny and homophobia (I was glad he mentioned the Winkte, the Lakota term for homosexual men because 30 years ago that was still a very dicey subject and publishers didn't want to touch it though in this case it's just a page).

THere are some very dated metaphors in this but also some rather prophetic warnings that predicted where we are right now in America, warning about far right Christian nationalism and how dangerous some ideas are for the environment and all of us in general (as I look at the rise in AI and know how much energy, how much the land has to be damaged, in order to run AI).

I'm glad I finally finished it but it's also a book that can now leave my shelves. I won't be going back to it, though for the curious there is also a small Lakota to English glossary and some prayer chants in the appendices.

[Scarlet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this, and have encouraged some of my friends to give it a try as well. This book has a nice balance of history, culture, spirituality and conservationism. If you're critical of the way society is functioning and treating this Earth, you will enjoy this book. And if you're not critical... read this and you will be.
The book is organized by a different lesson from each different animal, with the final four chapters laying out the truth behind humanity's destruction upon Nature, and the effect it has had on the Earth and all her inhabitants. There were two chapters where the author focused on global warming and ozone layer thinning that I found hard to follow because he would talk on and on about chemicals and gases and other things I generally don't understand, and I had to plow through all of this information with effort, but every other chapter was very gripping.
The author criticizes what he refers to as "Dominant Society" throughout the book, with painful truths about the harm caused by organized religion, patriarchy, the human ego, etc. Not exaggerating or stretching the truth, simply laying out the facts, and explaining where we have gone wrong in a way anyone can understand and recognize.
He does, of course, go into Native American spirituality throughout the book, and explains not only the process of their rituals and traditions, but the many benefits behind them.
Overall, this book left me with a feeling of great responsibility and protectiveness for our home, Mother Earth, and a hunger for more knowledge of the path called Nature's Way.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I met Ed McGaa in Montana where he was selling his books. We got into a discussion about religion and he said I could not understand him without reading what he wrote. I walked away but returned much to his surprise and pleasure. It is true, how can you answer a man, if you don't really understand him?

I meant to study this and send him a letter as we had agreed to discuss it. Unfortunately, even though I did go through it and found many points of disagreement, I did not complete the study. I am a very thorough person which sometimes puts me in a disadvantage as thoroughness takes time. I marked up the book along with Bible passages so it is half done but half done is not good enough. I like to complete what I start and do what I say I will do but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

I read an excellent book since called "How To Read a Book" which gave good advice on how to read to understand the author. If I do ever complete this, it will be with that advice in mind.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really enjoyable read. The author uses a story telling method to show readers the wisdom nature can give us if we learn how to listen. 11 lessons from nature are discussed that are just as poignant today as they were thousands of years ago. Lessons include 'wisdom through observation', 'balance in all things'. 'develop intuition' and 'strive for freedom' to name some.

The subtitle says 'native wisdom' but really, this is wisdom we can all use if we follow the process outlined in this book. I very much appreciate the attitude that everything in nature is a part of the whole, not us vs wild or strange.

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written with the intention of communicating Native American practices for living in harmony with nature and also to persuade the reader of the necessity of doing so, partly by illuminating the ills of Western living. I felt the tone was sometimes accusatory. I would have liked it much more if the author had simply described native practices and their benefits. However, it still contains some valuable examples.
"Mother Earth is not only alive and active, but also receptive and responsive."

[William Hubbartt · Rating 4 out of 5]

To Ed McGaa: From a fellow Nam vet, thank you for your service. And thank you for an articulate fact-filled contribution to the dialog on global warming. I anticipated gaining a better understanding of the critters around us and got a whole lot more! Your recommendations at the end offer an excellent starting point for every reader regardless of their perspective. My next read will be Mother Earth Spirituality.

[Andrea Houle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't say this book is a lage turner, in fact several pages I read more than once to absorb all the information but I still feel this is a must read. It was very interesting and thought provoking. If it doesn't get you rethinking how you live your life id read it again. Its definitely a message that needs to be heard, understood and adapted into our lives.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the book was published in 2004, the final four chapters are out of date. Much advice still relevant because three of the four issues have gotten much worse over the 17 subsequent years.

All of the chapters before those more than make up that small shortcoming.

[Sean Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packs an informative punch at the end.

[Jordan Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favorite book of all time after the Bible. This reading really says a lot about the fate of our planet if we continue the activities that hurt the environment.

[Karen Kong]

Loved this book. Genuine and honest voice. Organized his thoughts and answered a lot of common questions related to spirituality and ethics.

[Anjj]

interesting, some valid points but was a little long winded in places. Actually found it to be quite political.