We have a little bit on Garrett in other threads. Most of it is criticism of Garrett as spreading false ideas about Cherokee tradition. It comes from Joseph Standswithmany, himself recently criticized as possibly not being truthful about who he is. However I don't know if that proves his criticism of Garrett wrong. I'd ask the Cherokees in here or others more knowledgeable to comment.
---------------------
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=75.msg374#msg374I would like to know what any of you think about J.T. Garrett and Michael Garrett, one of them claims to be a medicine man. They have now written many , many books about sacred Cherokee ways. Much of what they talk about is new age white wash stuff. Some esstential teachings are completely wrong. One is that they refer to the Sun as Grandfather. In my 47 years of being alive I have not heard a Cherokee refer to the Sun as anything other than Grandmother, except those that have learned their culture at powwows.
Anyway, they make references and quote Ywahoo in thier books. They speak of her in friendly and familiar terms.
Anyone know anything about these two? (sorry I should have started a new topic maybe)
Joseph
A few more things about the Garretts.
When they talk of the Circle they talk about going clockwise. My teachings and those of most lay Cherokee that I know is that it is counter clockwise, like most of our dances. Clockwise movements when discussing medicine are sometimes used on purpose but not within the context that they present it.
They also use a Christianized version about how woman was created from man. That a corn stalk grew out of the man as a gift from Creator.
The line in thier first book about how this is all they are allowed to reveal, well, to me it sounds like a setup for a sequel, of which there have been quite a few now.
Thier talk of crystals is vague and new age sounding. And not all Cherokee healers use crystals. Thier talk about herbs could have been lifted from any herbal book.
And thier thing about the medicine wheel. Well traditionally us Cherokee don't have a medicine wheel like other tribes do. And the colors they call the directions are correct, red-east, blue-north, black-west, and white-south but in ceremony other colors are used of which only a properly trained healer would know.
Any one of us could have wwritten these books while sitting in front of our computers and accessing the internet.
The book Walking on the Wind, the one written just by Michael Garrett it like a bumper sticker platitude saying. He tries to write like he is an Elder and he is only 34. He also has Ywahoo (I love how that looks like Yahoo) listed in the bibliography. I can't find the other books they wrote on my shelf. I have them strictly for reference not to believe or follow.
All in all, when I read the first two books they did not ring true. Just a feeling, along with little slip ups on thier part.
Joseph
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=75.msg374#msg374 Well the one Eleder did think there was anymore to add. He just shook his head in a dusgusted way and from what I know of him I would be smart not to ask again.
A few other things. Micheal Garrett has listed in his bibliography Ywahoo's book and also Sun Bear's book "Walk in Balance". Using fraudulent resources doesn't speak highly of him.
In Garrett's book "Walking on the Wind" the first chapter is called Sun and Moon. It a story about Sun and Moon. A reader would assume that since Garrett is supposed to be Cherokee that this is a Cherokee story, which it is not. No reference to what tribe it comes from is given.
He takes so much from many different tribes and combines them into this book; things from the Lakota, Pawnee, Cherokee.
There is too much to write here but it is an ammalgamation of all sorts of self-help books, pan tribal beliefs, quotes from long ago that is reall does misrepresent Cherokee belief and philosophy. It seems it was written with the nuager and profits in mind.
If you need more detail, let me know and I will try. The books say that they (father and son) grew up on the Cherokee Reservation in NC but does not make reference as to whether thet are enrolled or not.
