Hey Marcus,
I'd never stop someone from trying to learn, but I wanted to be real about what it is you'll really get from learning about people's from across an ocean. There are many people that were brought up in their communities and are well aware of their traditions that live overseas, but there's an inherent problem when they try to teach something and don't have the backing of an entire community to do so. I think that many non-Indians see us as a race of people and that somehow we all have the same knowledge and all do things the same way...that's just not the case. There are well over 500 tribes in the US and Canada with communities spread from coast to coast. Each community has their own way of doing things and their own standards about what is acceptable and what isn't. In some tribe's, the proper way to act is to remain humble at all times....in other's making suggestive jokes to your in-laws is something you're supposed to do...in other communities, you better not act that way....in some places the men run things...in other places the women do....etc etc....
If you truly want to learn the first thing you gotta know is...we're not all the same....not even close. The second thing is...the people here on this side of the ocean have made huge mistakes throughout history as well so we can't possibly have all the answers. The third thing is....the standards of a people cannot be learned through an individual. It may start there, but what you'll find when you begin interacting with an entire community is that not everyone in the same community does things the same way....so how anyone could attempt to "teach" how everyone in their community does everything they do is truly beyond me. That would indeed be SuperIndian.....but there's no such thing. We're all in reality just human beings like everyone else. We all struggle....
As for the skewing...
When you talk to an individual, or read a book, or watch a movie understand that you are only learn about one perspective out of millions and when you don't live on the land where a communities' collective wisdom was born...it just doesn't make any real sense, leaving the student to come up with their own conclusions. A very dangerous idea. You have to learn to be comfortable in your own surroundings and have strength within yourself.
I'm glad you're clear about the fact you would only truly learn about a community by living in that community. I also realize the idea of that is most likely not a reality for you, but it's truly the only way you'll understand. There is no fast track to learning about Native American peoples....so if you learn from outside those communities then you are learning as an outsider and you must always stay real about that.
Superdog
p.s. I noticed your e-mail addy...you wouldn't be the recording artist Marcus Valentine would you??
