Indigenous Resistance Focus Points

Hey Friends, this was sent to me by Jenn LeBlanc. It is from an article entitled "The Politics of Identity" by Taiaiake Alfred and Jeff Corntassel. They wrote out a mantra for an indigenous resistance movement, and I liked what I read. We need to listen to these voices and support them and follow their lead.


These are the mantras of a resurgent Indigenous movement:

• Land is Life – our people must reconnect with the terrain and geography of their Indigenous heritage if they are to comprehend the teachings and values of the ancestors, and if they are to draw strength and sustenance that is independent of colonial power, and which is regenerative of an authentic, autonomous, Indigenous existence.

• Language is Power – our people must recover ways of knowing and relating from outside the mental and ideational framework of colonialism by regenerating themselves in a conceptual universe formed through Indigenous language

• Freedom is the Other Side of Fear – our people must transcend the controlling power of the many and varied fears that colonial powers use to dominate and manipulate us into complacency and cooperation with its authorities. The way to do this is to confront our fears head-on through spiritually grounded action; contention and direct movement at the source of our fears is the only way to break the chains that bind us to our colonial existences.

• Decolonize your Diet – our people must regain the self-sufficient capacity to provide our own food, clothing, shelter and medicines. Ultimately important to the struggle for freedom is the reconsti- tution of our own sick and weakened physical bodies and com- munity relationships accomplished through a return to the natural sources of food and the active, hard-working, physical lives lived by our ancestors.

• Change Happens one Warrior at a Time – our people must reconstitute the mentoring and learning–teaching relationships that foster real and meaningful human development and community solidarity. The movement toward decolonization and regeneration will emanate from transformations achieved by direct-guided experience in small, personal, groups and one-on-one mentoring towards a new path.

These mantras and the pathways they represent will be put into prac- tice by every person in their own way, in response to the particular context and set of challenges that form each person and community’s colonial reality.


(Taiaiake Alfred and Jeff Corntassel, "The Politics of Identity")

What are we giving thanks for?

As this very american holiday is upon us next week, let us remember, as we sit around loaded tables with our families, the real history of what happened. It is long overdue that the Church be reflective and responsive to the Native memory and the Native voice. The more we silence them, ignore them--or pretty up "history"--the longer we forestall justice and reconciliation and repentance.

The Truth About Thanksgiving: Brainwashing of the American History Textbook

George Orwell, the author of “1984”, once wrote: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.”

Such applies to the history of “Thanksgiving.” Those who are indigenous to this land we call “The United States of America” have been long misrepresented and pushed out of American history textbooks in favor of glorifying those who now rule this nation and represent the dominant culture. What kind of democracy are we when education institutions and teachers refuse to mention the fact that 10 to 30 million Natives were killed at the hands of European invasion and colonialism? What is the point of having a “free market of ideas” when selective and biased history is being taught to our children?

There is no other way to put it, but erasing the memory of an entire race of people through distorted history is a systematic way of deceiving and lying to our children. Not only are we presented with biased history, but we are also subjected to an ever-growing culture of capitalism, in which commercialization of an ambiguous holiday merely pulls us away from facts and meaning. Turkeys are associated with “Thanksgiving” in the same way Santa Clause and the Easter bunny have become synonymous with Christmas and Easter, respectively. Through the guise of innocence, capitalism is constantly telling us to consume because consumption equals “happiness.” Tomorrow is not “Black Friday” for nothing.

And as children dress up as Pilgrims and Natives to reenact the romanticized version of history, they are not only perpetuating stereotypes, but more importantly, they’re being embedded with lies. What do they really know about the Pilgrims and the Natives? Consider a high school history textbook called “The American Tradition” which describes the scene quite succinctly:

After some exploring, the Pilgrims chose the land around Plymouth Harbor for their settlement. Unfortunately, they had arrived in December and were not prepared for the New England winter. However, they were aided by friendly Indians, who gave them food and showed them how to grow corn. When warm weather came, the colonists planted, fished, hunted, and prepared themselves for the next winter. After harvesting their first crop, they and their Indian friends celebrated the first Thanksgiving.

This patronizing version of history excludes many embarrassing facts of European history. As stated by James W. Loewen, author of “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” many college students are unaware of the horrific plague that devastated and significantly reduced the population of Natives after Columbus’ arrival in the “new world.” Most diseases came from animals that were domesticated by Europeans. Cowpox from cows led to smallpox, which was later “spread through gifts of blankets by infected Europeans.” Of the twelve high school textbooks Professor Loewen studied and analyzed, only three offer some explanation that the plague was a factor of European colonization. The nine remaining textbooks mention almost nothing, and two of them omit the subject altogether. He writes: “Each of the other seven furnishes only a fragment of a paragraph that does not even make it into the index, let alone into students’ minds.”

Why is it important to mention the plague? It reinforced European ethnocentricism which hardly produced a “friendly” relationship between the Natives and Europeans. To most of the Pilgrims and Europeans, the Natives were heathens, savages, treacherous, and Satanic. Upon seeing thousands of dead Natives, the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, called the plague “miraculous.” In 1634, he wrote to a friend in England:

But for the natives in these parts, God hath so pursued them, as for 300 miles space the greatest part of them are swept away by the small pox which still continues among them. So as God hath thereby cleared our title to this place, those who remain in these parts, being in all not fifty, have put themselves under our protect…

The ugly truth is that many Pilgrims were thankful and grateful that the Native population was decreasing. Even worse, there was the Pequot Massacre in 1637, which started after the colonists found a murdered white man in his boat. Ninety armed settlers burned a Native village, along with their crops, and then demanded the Natives to turn in the murderers. When the Natives refused, a massacre followed.

Captain John Mason and his colonist army surrounded a fortified Pequot village and reportedly shouted: “We must burn them! Such a dreadful terror let the Almighty fall upon their spirits that they would flee from us and run into the very flames. Thus did the Lord Judge the heathen, filling the place with dead bodies.” The surviving Pequot were hunted and slain.

The Governor of Plymouth, William Bradford, further elaborates:

Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire…horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them.

Perhaps most disturbingly, it is strongly argued by many historians that the Pequot Massacre led to the “Thanksgiving” festivities. The day after the massacre, the aforementioned Governor Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: “A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children.” It was signed into law that, “This day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanksgiving for subduing the Pequots.”

Now, one may ask: What about Squanto, the Wampanoag man who learned to speak English and helped the hungry, ill, and poor Pilgrims? As cited by Professor Loewen, an American high school textbook called “Land of Promise” reads:

Squanto had learned their language, the author explained, from English fishermen who ventured into the New England waters each summer. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, squash, and pumpkins. Would the small band of settlers have survived without Squanto’s help? We cannot say. But by the fall of 1621, colonists and Indians could sit down to several days of feast and thanksgiving to God (later celebrated as the first Thanksgiving).

Note that this text states the first Thanksgiving was on 1621. Indeed, there was a feast on that year, but it was not called a “Thanksgiving feast” nor was it repeated until years later after the Pequot Massacre in 1637. In regards to Squanto, the correct question to ask is: How did Squanto learn English? History textbooks neglect to mention that the Europeans did not perceive Squanto as an equal, but rather as “an instrument of their God” to help the “chosen people.” It is also omitted that, as a boy, Squanto was stolen by a British captain in 1605 and taken to England. He worked for a Plymouth Merchant who eventually helped him arrange passage back to Massachusetts, but less than a year later, he was seized by a British slave raider. Along with two dozen fellow Natives, Squanto was sold into slavery in Spain. He would manage to escape slavery, journey back to England, and then talk a ship captain into taking him along on his next trip to Cape Cod in 1619.

As Squanto walked back into his home village, he was horrified to find that he was the only surviving member of his village. The rest were either killed in battle or died of illness and disease. Excluding Squanto’s enslavement is to paint an incredibly distorted version of history that suggests Natives like Squanto learned English for no other reason but to help the colonists. It is to glorify the Europeans and erase the struggles and experiences of the Native people.

When history is transformed into myths, tales, and bedtime stories, we ignore historical research that enables us to learn valuable and meaningful lessons about our present, as well as about our future. History is meant to be an accurate and honest account of civilizations, cultures, and events; not a body of ethnocentric and selective alterations.

As Professor Loewen states:

Thanksgiving is full of embarrassing facts. The Pilgrims did not introduce the Native Americans to the tradition; Eastern Indians had observed autumnal harvest celebrations for centuries. Our modern celebrations date back only to 1863; not until the 1890s did the Pilgrims get included in the tradition; no one even called them ‘Pilgrims’ until the 1870s.

I did not write this article with intentions to offend or say we shouldn’t celebrate “Thanksgiving.” None of us are responsible for the atrocious deaths of Natives and Europeans. None of us caused the plague or the massacres. But as human beings, I do feel that it’s important for us to approach history with honesty and sensitivity. Perhaps some of you don’t believe this history is relevant to you, but I would strongly argue that a history that is not inclusive is a dangerously racist and prejudice one. Yes, we should spend time with our families and Loved ones, and yes, we should be grateful and thankful for all that we have, but not at the expense of ignoring an entire race of people, their culture, and their history. The fact that history textbooks and schools try to glorify the Pilgrims while omitting significant facts about the Natives represents that there is a lot to improve in the United States. Let us not become blinded by super-patriotism or blowout sales of “Black Friday.” Let us give some thought to the Native people, learn from their struggles, and embolden ourselves to stand up against racism and genocide in all forms.

They deserve your attention.

I wanted to thank everyone who is contributing to this conversation and also ask folks to check out our A-P and Christianity journal called "In the land of the living". There have been four issues released and we hope to make them better as well as more widely available. you can get them online as well here.
http://www.inthelandoftheliving.org/

if anyone contributing to this blog would like to write for the journal that would be most exciting as well.

--jay

"Truly i would flee far off. i would lodge in the wilderness... Confuse, o Lord. confound their speech, for i see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within; Ruin is in it's midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.----Psalm 55:7,9-11

Invitation From Daniel Baker

Eleventh Annual
CASCABEL MESQUITE MILLING AND LOCAL FOODS POTLUCK
November 14, 2009
9 AM to mid-afternoon
Join us at the Cascabel Community Center for a festive day of processing and eating native mesquite, plus tons of other local foods dishes.

The day begins with a mesquite pancake and waffle breakfast served from 9 to 10 AM.

Then, from 10 AM to 1 PM, we will mill your collected mesquite pods. Milling is free for non-commercial home use (Donations gratefully accepted). Cascabel Hermitage Association and Desert Harvesters will both run mills.

While the milling is going on there will be a variety of other activities to participate in:

~Listen to local musicians, Little Homestead (a family Country Band) and Keny Templeton and Ralph Waldt

~Help make mesquite flour tortillas

~Join the kid's activities: making mesquite milkshakes and painting with mesquite dye

~Prepare a dish in the earth oven which will be fired up for your use (for example, vegetables to roast, something to bake, fruit crisps or cobblers, etc.)

A native/local foods potluck will follow milling. The kitchen will be available to prepare a dish, in addition to the earth oven.

What to bring:
~the mesquite pods you have gathered, which should be CLEAN (free of gravel, twigs, etc.) and BRITTLE DRY (test for dryness by bending pods. They should nap in two)
~containers for finished mesquite meal
~hat and sunscreen
~dish for native/local foods potluck if desired

Directions:
Take 1-10 Exit 306 just east of Benson and go north on Pomerene Road.
Turn right at stop sign in Pomerene and proceed north on Cascabel Road to mile marker 23.
About halfway between mile markers 23 and 24, look on right side for the green and white county address sign #5871 and a sign for mesquite milling.
Proceed up the lane to the Cascabel Community Center.
Allow about 1 1/2 to 2 hours driving time from Tucson.

Ride Sharing:
Please contact us if you need a ride or can offer one and we'll share the information.

This event is being sponsored by the Cascabel Hermitage Association and the Cascabel Community Center.

See you there!
David and Pearl
520-212-4628

From Daniel Baker

Dear Friends,

Thank you for the mention Ched. Yes, it seems that any discussion of “feral Christianity” should include Jim Corbett’s work in the syllabus, as that was such a dominant theme of Goatwalking, and further developed in Sanctuary for All Life: The Cowbalah of Jim Corbett. Since both works are now out of print I am attaching (which is why this is not only going in the blog) his chapter on “The Biblical Foundation of Land Redemption” which won praise from no less a scholar than Norman Gottwald. If anyone cares for more of Cowbalah I will be glad to email it. [See chapter here.-RMB]

I have read Hiebert’s The Yahwist’s Landscape, and couldn’t put it down. He really tears into the way that enlightenment German scholarship read their Hegelian weltanschauung into the supposed pastoral nomadism of the Israelites. He is so convincing in this uncovering of hermeneutical projection that it cautioned me as to the degree he may be reading the popular views of Wendell Berry-like mixed-economy farming (for which his postscript shows great affection) into his own scholarship.

Relative to anarcho-primitivism, I helped establish with Corbett, and since then administer, an eremitic association (www.cascabelhermitage.org) that provides semi-primitive hermitages in desert wildlands. My vision (and I believe Jim’s) was to provide a place as free as possible of human artifact such that the prophetic voice of the divine in nature can be felt, seen and heard, something akin to what Walter Brueggemann describes in Like Fire in the Bones: Listening for the Prophetic Word in Jeremiah, who he describes as one who “often experiences life alone, desolate and abandoned,” and “is summoned to shatter and form worlds by his speech.”

In my own explorations over the past fifteen years I have spent considerable solitary time living in my off-grid desert camp. Since I concur with O’Murchu that non-violence is the central religious value (see Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience), and with Corbett that our food and drink is the ultimate sacrament – "Cease to eat anything defiled by violence; make your table the high altar of your daily religion; serve nothing that is produced by harming the land and its life or by any kind of cruelty; then the rest follows." – I have especially worked to make the freely given and non-destructive use of wild desert plants more than just scenery, but a part of my body, and share that indigenous knowledge with others (see attachment re our Mesquite Milling festival). It is still mostly a Sabbatical kind of observance, but even in this piecemeal way it is a piece of a Peaceable Kingdom meal. I have been astonished at the changes in my perception that this way of living has evinced, “a transformational epiphany” if you will.

I find our language inadequate to the task of describing that alteration. As Brueggemann says of Jeremiah, “It is clear that such a linguistic enterprise that redescribes the world is in fact subversive activity and indeed may be the primal act of subversion. Such speech functions to discredit and illegitimate the old, conventional modes of perception.” I have to admit that I now find our Christian theological discourse (even those very words) so interwoven with the violence and coercion of the Greco-Roman template that it sometimes feels impossible to tease it out.

As an example, our Cascabel Hermitage Association routinely provides tours and retreats for college age groups, often of some faith-based as well as environmentally concerned persuasion, wherein I hear a good deal of discussion centered around our “carbon footprint.” While I am supportive of the principle, it often seems to denigrate into a kind of calculus, as though if we can just further master and control our relationship to nature into presumed sustainability the concerns will dissolve.

That is reminiscent of the legalism eschewed by Jesus and the prophets, where some kind of external observance stands in for the reality. What is primal is the change of heart, the turnaround and returning (teshuvah) that revisions our entire way of seeing and behaving, “not just words alone, or deeds alone, but both together as life-style.” I am often reminded that Jesus of Nazareth was first a disciple of John the Baptist, the “wild man” of the Bible, an anarcho-primitivist prophet if you will. I expect that Jesus experienced some influence from living like that.

For me that change of heart has to do with seeing “that of God in every other,” though that requires some characterization which I think Jim did admirably. It is really feeling the personal, subjective relation to nature, the un-animating of which was clearly the basis for our scientific ability to master and control her (read Francis Bacon). This is the way in which we treat all aliens and slaves. One can observe all the laws against racism and sexism, but an African-American or attuned woman knows in a heartbeat when those attitudes are present. If you really feel the natural community as kin, as loved ones, you just can’t treat them as stuff. It changes everything, and then you have to also plead their cause as the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:9).

I am surprised though by the comment that “most of those espousing or interested in Anarcho-Primitivism are Christians.” The Society of Primitive Technology () group that I have been affiliated with for some three decades has annual summer and winter gatherings in the West that attracts up to 400 participants, a majority of whom are also under 35 and wear the same “uniform” as those at the Philadelphia gathering, but are largely neither Christian nor secular survivalist drop outs. In a world increasingly curbed by the technocratic (cf. Ellul, The Technological Society) there is clearly a great longing among youth for authentic wildness both within and without. I sense them seeking and to some extent finding an earth religion (“rebinding”) story that is radically free and locally contextual. This is a phenomenon that crosses times and cultures, and of course indigenous peoples do not need to name it A-P in order to live it. It is another iteration of Cynicism (see Corbett’s discussion in the attached) of which Crossan notes that “…we are but dealing with divergent manifestations of one of the great and fundamental options of the human spirit.” That the U.S. scene includes Christian adherents who recognize that prophetic thread in Jesus’ ministry is wonderfully hopeful.

Warm regards,

Daniel Baker

'Amazonia Was Born Globalized'

This address by Jesuit Roberto Jaramillo to the "Many Heavens, One Earth" (http://www.quaker.org.uk/manyheavens) conference hosted by the Quakers in the UK this week touches on some A-P issues.


*"Creation arose from chaos; here, it seems that 'chaos' has made a come-back."

*"The whole dynamic reproduces the hate and violence that led Cain to kill his brother, the just man Abel."

The following statement from Fr Roberto Jaramillo SJ, the Jesuit Superior responsible for the work of the Society of Jesus in the Region of Amazonia was delivered at Windsor Castle on 2 November 2009. (http://www.jesuit.org.uk/latest/091103a)

"The Amazon River Region is not an empty natural space. Its inhabitants have been there for more than 10,000 years, long before the Anglo-Saxons came to this land of Britain. The first claim "Amazonia" makes on this forum, and would like to make on the world's population as a whole, is not to yield to the temptation of looking at this region as some immense "reservoir" of water, wood, land, natural resources, mining, grass, exotic animals, but to understand that the Amazon region has its owners, people with their traditions and their histories, their cultures and their dreams, and to accept that they should be respected and must be supported in their fight against national and international covetousness and greed.

"Through the centuries, the Amazonian people have been the faithful guardians of a God-given garden of quite extraordinary richness. The way in which they deal with that enormous diversity of life teaches us today how best to care for the planet as a sacred land for all creatures. At the core of their ways of living are the virtues of austerity and temperance, the measured use of resources, virtues which the modern world dismisses and undervalues. For the Amazonian people the Creator is present everywhere in creation; and the participation of life of all kinds in this creation implies the Creator's mindful care for each creature.

"The blind attitude of many individuals, groups, organizations, institutions and nations, motivated by the evil spirit of self interest, frequently disguised with the discourse of 'development' and even 'sustainability', expresses itself every day. It expresses itself not only in deforestation, in the contamination of water sources and rivers, in desertification, in the depredation of natural resources, in the irrational exploitation of timber, mining and fishing; but also in the concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few, in public corruption and in the abuse of authority; in unimaginable violence against Amerindian and peasant communities, in the displacement of rural inhabitants, in inhuman conditions of living in cities, in the trafficking of children and young women, in the growth of the sex tourism business, and also in the absence of democracy, of popular participation in decision making. Starvation, exclusion and marginalization; human internal displacement; unemployment, the lack of opportunities for education and social mobility; an insufficiency of basic public services, these are all consequences of this socio-ecological mess.

"Creation arose from chaos; here, it seems that 'chaos' has made a come-back. The Garden of Eden is being systematically destroyed: clean water is a luxury product (and we are living on the banks of the biggest river in the world), land is the privilege of a rich minority (in a space as big as three and a half million square kilometers), healthy, good food is a merchandise that not everyone can afford (62% of the Amazon population continues to survive with less than two US dollars a day) and our animals and natural resources have become private patrimony. The whole dynamic reproduces the hate and violence that led Cain to kill his brother, the just man Abel.

"This socio-environmental devastation has its roots not only in the lack of awareness and understanding of individual people, but in the cupidity of those who look on this land as an opportunity to maximise their profit and increase their capital. What is happening in the Amazon River Region is truly proof that the kind of civilization which we have constructed is failing and urgently needs fundamental change, including a spiritual transformation, if we are to save the planet.

"We are not trying to keep 'Amazonia' isolated from the world; she was born globalized: many cultures, many histories, many different nations; an unimaginable diversity of life as a manifestation of the incomparable generosity of the Creator. Please, help us to save this garden not because the air your children will breathe depends on the trees that grow here (which is another, refined argument from self-interest) but because the creatures of the Amazon, and first of all the Amazonian people, have the right to live in freedom and peace.
Thank you very much."

ROBERTO JARAMILLO BERNAL SJ
Amazon Jesuit's Regional Superior
http://www.jesuit.org.uk/latest/091103a

brief report on the conference

Friends: This is my maiden voyage into the blogosphere, and I suspect it'll be short-lived (if long-winded). But I appreciate Rose making space for those who weren't able or sufficiently interested to attend the “Unhewn Stone” gathering.

I will let you all know when the talks & music from that gathering are posted, and where, as is the intention of the organizers. In brief, here's what I regarded as interesting and important about the Philly conference (I'm debriefing out loud, so bear with me):

1. Every one of the some 150 participants (except the "elders" I invited, a couple from Reba Place and a couple of local Quakers) was under 35 years of age. That in itself seems significant.
   
2. There was a spectrum of views. I would characterize three groupings (excluding us older folk), who roughly constituted a third each of the whole:
   a) "anarcho-primitivist veterans," most of whom are coming from either Catholic Worker-type or post-evangelical experiences, with the weight on the latter. I sensed a mix of class backgrounds, both working class and suburban middle class.
   b) local & regional progressive Christians involved in everything from inner city justice work to urban gardening/permaculture (e.g. some folk from Simple Way, the Center for Transformation in Camden, and the Alternative Seminary)
   c) "civilization-skeptic-curious" from around the region (including some folk from Cookman United Methodist Church locally).
   The thing to note is that they all seemed very interested in this conversation.
   
3. Of the veterans, most of them knew each other and were from the midwest, southeast and northeast. They follow each other's bands on the road, and have built social networks the old school way (several are completely off the grid so don't do the electronic thing). Music is very important to them. It’s an eclectic mix of ethnic, punk, folk, drumming, gospel, etc.; very loud and trancey (I don't know, how would you describe it Charlie?). The Sat. night dance-rave-worship was for me the most revealing window into their subculture. I found it really engaging, if hard on the ears. Felt my age—but I’d love to work with Psalters sometime. I dig their groove, and Jay Beck (who did most of the organizing of this conference) is really passionate about this, and has a beautiful spirit.
   
4. Underneath the tattoos, piercings and dreads (which seem to represent a ubiquitous "uniform" in their circles), however, I perceived a strong substratum of old non-denominational, evangelical subculture, from theological preconception to praise-music expressionism. So there are real biblical and political literacy issues, but also much enthusiasm and sincere commitment. At several moments we challenged the group that no matter how “radical” the A-P analytical framework might be, it didn’t relieve participants from doing their race, class and gender work, and learning from movement history. Of particular help here was Nekeisha Alexis-Baker of the Jesus Radicals website, an African American, who kept stressing that as important as personal lifestyle liberation may be, “your tattoos do nothing to liberate me.” Good perspectives on native culture and the problem of expropriation and solidarity were raised both by Jim Perkinson and Lily Mendosa (who did a fabulous job grounding the analysis in the struggle against empire), as well as Jenn LeBlanc, a young Miq’maq from Ontario, Canada, and an emerging leader in the indigenous Christian movement. Andrea Feyrich of the Center for Transformation, an urban garden/greenhouse/ retreat center in Camden also impressed me with her deep grasp of permaculture and theology.
   
5. There was real interest in the biblical material (I gave an overview of the Genesis 1-11 material as well as Luke 12 and Rom 5). I had the impression that folk couldn’t get enough of it, which further attests to their evangelical background. Most of the material we presented was pretty basic, and many are eager to get deeper into other texts and to explore A-P readings of scripture, theology, history, culture, etc. Significantly, Andy Lewis (who is probably the most passionate ideologue of this circle) reckons that at this point in the U.S. scene, most of those espousing or interested in Anarcho-Primitivism are Christians! This trend is of course extremely annoying to hard core secular anarchists, but it seems to be dawning on a central proponent, John Zerzan, who keeps talking about it on his radio show. (To wit, he’s on tonight, 10/27, and will be discussing the Philly conference. You can listen live at 7 pm PDT at the KWVA 88.1 web site; the call-in # is 541-346-0645 if you want to participate).
   
6. The handful of serious practitioners of so-called “primitive skills” were really impressive. It's cool to see young adults so deeply committed to learning old arts, from spinning & weaving to herbalism & foraging to skinning & tanning—and so eager to share their skills. Passing on these arts is the centerpiece of the "rewilding" workshops that have taken place in various places, and we older folk who haven’t gone too feral have a lot to learn from them. It helps keep "real" ideas that can easily otherwise remain romantic and rhetorical. Daniel Baker would be interested to know that one couple who are way off the grid see Corbett’s Goatwalking as their bible, and are actually practicing it. They in turn were thrilled to meet persons who actually knew Jim (I urged them to get to Cascabel to see you Daniel).
   
7. All the “elders” did a great job of listening, dialoguing, and being present. Jim and Lily made great presentations, and Liz McAlister, Will O’Brien, Gordon Oyer, Charlie King, Ed Nakawatese, Jeff Dietrich and Ms. Wilimina from Cookman all helped with ritual, prayer and feedback. Their presence was invaluable, and I think most enjoyed seeing this slice of the movement.
   
8. What did this conference mean to me personally? First, it was quite enjoyable, if somewhat chaotic. Second, I’ve been having theological conversations about A-P perspectives “offline” (as Kazi Joshua puts it) with many of you over the last 15 years, and it is delightful that suddenly there is a wider community of interest that is passionate about figuring out what it might mean to embody these views. At the same time, there are sectarian, drop-out and survivalist tendencies in some of these circles that are all too familiar, and I feel a certain responsibility to try to keep these young radicals engaged in the deep, long-term traditions of faith-based resistance and renewal. To me this means that some of us are going to have to “come out of the closet” more publicly concerning our convictions on these matters, which are obviously on the extreme feral edge of theological and political discourse.

There's more to say, but enough for now; apologies for the length of this post. On balance, it’s still hard to discern as yet where and how the A-P subculture will fit into the overall picture of contemporary radical Christian thought and practice. But it’s an important enough question to me that I will continue to stay in conversation with these folks. How about you?