Kenn Day / "Kenn Deigh" / Ken Day - "Post-Tribal" shamanism

[kenndeigh]

Greetings All,

Thank you for adding me to the group. I look forward to many fine conversations.

My ancestors hail from Ireland, Germany, Wales, Scotland, England and the Middle East, with one great grandmother from the mountains of Kentucky, who was Cherokee.

My ancestors have blessed me with many gifts, beyond the gift of life. I am very fortunate to have a healthy and thriving family and to be doing work that I find fulfilling and which provides service to my community. I work to help my clients heal their soul level wounds, and to reconnect them with their ancestral and celestial souls. I call this work post-tribal shamanism, because there is no other word that adequately describes what I do, but I want to honor the work of tribal shamans and not claim to be passing on their teachings.

If you are interested in taking a look, my website is www.shamanstouch.com

May your ancestors bless your journey,

Kenn Day

[Sturmboe]

I read you page ....

und bei mir schrillen sämtliche Alarmglocken ...

and all my warning bells are schrilling ...

[earthw7]

So hi and welcome

i guess the i would start with who is your grandma?  Who are your Cherokee family?
Are you enrolled or is your grandmother enrolled? Where at and what Rolls are you on?
Who gave you the right to do this?
Who trained you?
In Native culture we have a right to ask these questions.

[Defend the Sacred]

Kenn, please read the main page of the website and all the pinned threads.

You do understand we are not a place to advertise shameon services, yes? And that we are a site dedicated to fighting cultural misappropriation, misrepresentation and pay to pray, yes?

[Defend the Sacred]

Just the title is offensive, Kenn. "Post-tribal"... the tribes still exist and have their own ways. That title gives off a serious vibe of putting Natives dead in the past so their cultures can be pillaged.

[Defend the Sacred]

Statement from a representative of the Cherokee Nation: http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/Articles2001/RLAllen-CherokeeStatement-Shamans.htm

Psuedo Shamans Cherokee Statement

By Richard L. Allen, EdD
Research & Policy Analyst Cherokee Nation

Copyright © 2001 RLAllen
All Rights Reserved

Greetings:

            The Cherokee Nation is overwhelmed with those charlatans who fraudulently claim to be shaman, spiritual leaders or descendents of a Cherokee princess. Such individuals make such claims without ever having lived within the Cherokee communities. They claim to be descended from some nebulous and mysterious ancestor who was from "a reservation in North Carolina" (there is only one) or "a reservation in Oklahoma" (there are none). The ancestor is never just a plain ordinary everyday Cherokee citizen but a "Cherokee Princess," a "Cherokee Shaman," or a "Cherokee Pipe carrier" none of which actually exist or ever have. Those who claim to be "shaman" do not reside within the known boundaries of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

            Cherokee medicine people and spiritual leaders are known to the Cherokee people and do not practice medicine for a fee nor sell "shamanic" lessons to anyone. They do not advertise their services through any form of media and certainly not over the internet. Traditional Cherokee healers and spiritual leaders provide their services to the Cherokee people. A Cherokee medicine person or spiritual leader is fluent in the Cherokee language and would conduct any medical or spiritual practices by using the Cherokee language. Therefore, our medicine people are those who were born of a Cherokee mother and a Cherokee father and would have been reared within a Cherokee community speaking the Cherokee language. Our traditional Cherokee healers and spiritual leaders are humble people and would not present themselves as such nor "hang out a shingle" so to speak. Cherokee medicine people are acknowledged and recognized by members of the Cherokee community as effective healers and leaders. It is the recognition of the Cherokee people that validates these persons as medicine people and healers not self-proclaimation. We may provide them small gifts, a token amount of money or foodstuffs in payment for their services. They do not charge for their services nor would they withhold their services when asked and they certainly would not prescibe payment by credit card. Cherokee medicine people may provide services to recognized members of other tribes or may provide services to non-Indians who would seek them out for treatment, but certainly would not mix their spirituality or medicine with that of other nations. Cherokee medicine and spiritual practices do not include tarot cards, palmistry, psychic readings or sweatlodge ceremonies.

            One may assume that anyone claiming to be a Cherokee "shaman, spiritual healer, or pipe- carrier," is equivalent to a modern day medicine show and snake-oil vendor. You have my permission to print this response as is.

            Richard L. Allen. EdD
            Research & Policy Analyst
            Cherokee Nation
            P.O. Box 948
            Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74465
            E-Mail: rallen@cherokee.org

[RedRightHand]

Greetings All,

Thank you for adding me to the group. I look forward to many fine conversations.

My ancestors hail from Ireland, Germany, Wales, Scotland, England and the Middle East, with one great grandmother from the mountains of Kentucky, who was Cherokee.

My ancestors have blessed me with many gifts, beyond the gift of life. I am very fortunate to have a healthy and thriving family and to be doing work that I find fulfilling and which provides service to my community. I work to help my clients heal their soul level wounds, and to reconnect them with their ancestral and celestial souls. I call this work post-tribal shamanism, because there is no other word that adequately describes what I do, but I want to honor the work of tribal shamans and not claim to be passing on their teachings.

If you are interested in taking a look, my website is www.shamanstouch.com

May your ancestors bless your journey,

Kenn Day

Wow.

He's leading eclectic, pretendian, nuage sweats. FRAUD.

http://shamanstouch.blogspot.com/search/label/sweat%20lodge

[JeelyPiece]

Greetings All,

Thank you for adding me to the group. I look forward to many fine conversations.

My ancestors hail from Ireland, Germany, Wales, Scotland, England and the Middle East, with one great grandmother from the mountains of Kentucky, who was Cherokee.

My ancestors have blessed me with many gifts, beyond the gift of life. I am very fortunate to have a healthy and thriving family and to be doing work that I find fulfilling and which provides service to my community. I work to help my clients heal their soul level wounds, and to reconnect them with their ancestral and celestial souls. I call this work post-tribal shamanism, because there is no other word that adequately describes what I do, but I want to honor the work of tribal shamans and not claim to be passing on their teachings.

If you are interested in taking a look, my website is www.shamanstouch.com

May your ancestors bless your journey,

Kenn Day

Wow.

He's leading eclectic, pretendian, nuage sweats. FRAUD.

http://shamanstouch.blogspot.com/search/label/sweat%20lodge

I tried visiting the link but my browser warned me there's malware there. Don't know if that's true or not, but thought people should know.

[Sturmboe]

Two other homepages

http://www.soulsolutionshome.com/index.html

http://www.bodyandsoulcincinnati.com/

[Smart Mule]

"In acknowledging my calling and taking the step of putting “shaman” on my business card, I was putting myself in a vulnerable place. There are a number of folks who hold a very ridged  view that no one who is not a native member of a tribal culture, actively practicing a traditional form of shamanism within that culture, should use the term “shaman” to define their work. This is a matter of both semantics and of cultural appropriation. My intention has always been to clearly state that what I am doing in not from tribal or indigenous sources, in spite of the many commonalities. I can’t do anything about the discomfort they many have with the semantics. This must have done the trick, because I have had little to no problem with such people. I’ve even had one notable advocate for tribal rights tell me that, “what you do is different. We don’t have a problem with that.” I guess this is why I don’t show up on any of the “plastic shaman” lists on the internet." http://www.shamanstouch.com/blog/

Hm.  So you claim Cherokee and you state that a notable tribal advocate for tribal rights (who would that be?) yet you don't seem to understand that what you are doing is wrong.  You talk about integrity on your blog but in my opinion, from looking at your site, that you are sincerely lacking in that department.  You are using bits and pieces of ceremony and tradition that are not yours to take.  That my friend, is stealing.  So.  Now you are here on a website devoted to exposing people like yourself.  What makes you different or special?

[Defend the Sacred]

Thread on Harner Shameonism, which is based solely on outsider anthros fantasies and misunderstandings of Native American ways, thrown into a blender and sold to non-Natives: www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=236

You can call it whatever you want, Kenn, that doesn't change the fact that what you are doing is clearly stolen from your fantasies of Native people's ways, and misrepresented as something you and other white people have some right to. Then by doing spiritual tourism to the Celtic Nations, you are doubly colonial: you are attempting to colonize Native traditions and misappropriate them for profit, then you are taking these fraudulent ceremonies to Nations that already have a fragile state of affairs regarding tradition, who are also in danger of having their ancestral traditions damaged and replaced by outsider fantasies. This makes it twice as egregious as if you'd just stayed in America.

From: http://shamanstouch.blogspot.com/search/label/sweat%20lodge

Selling "Vision Quests" and pretendian sweats:

"But this quality of vagary predated the vision quest as well. Going into it, I realized that I have never led anyone else into this particular process before. I've been teaching shamanic practices since the early 90's, but none of my apprentices have gotten to this point before. (And I'm quite impressed with these two for having made it!) So there was a lot of consideration that went into just how this was going to work. On the one hand, there are no clear parameters for what constitutes a "vision quest" outside of particular medicine societies. So I had to look at my own experiences (should have asked GrandFather) and come up with something that was workable. Then I began thinking, "this is not a coming of age ritual. These are sovereign adults. They should make their own choices about what elements they will include." And so I began drawing back from the role of "teacher" into more of a facilitator position for their process. "
...
"I move into this state using something I call Medicine Body."
...
"Each round of stones is a deepening as well,"
...
"Sunday, August 3, 2008
"Blood, Sweat and Community
"I am just returning from teaching a weekend workshop on ceremonies, which climaxed with a sweat lodge on Saturday night."
...
"the spirits that come to us through the heated stones, offering us healing, blessings and medicine teachings."
...
 "Unlike so many other lodges we've built, this one is semi-permanent and will be available for us to do many more sweats, which will also increase the opportunities for those apprentices who want to learn the roles of Firetender, Doorkeeper and Pourer."

All of that very clearly describes pretendian ceremonies, for sale, to other white people. It's not from any Celtic or other Euro culture, it's not from any of your real or alleged ancestors, and it's not Cherokee.

[RedRightHand]

Kenn wrote:

'"I guess this is why I don’t show up on any of the “plastic shaman” lists on the internet."' http://www.shamanstouch.com/blog/

That's only because no one noticed you. There's still time 

[Defend the Sacred]

http://members.nuvox.net/~zt.enki/workshops.htm

"If you are interested in having Kenn offer a workshop in your area, please contact him at kenn@shamanstouch.com
Ceremonies
Will include pipe ceremony and sweat lodge."

If you click on "more info" about the pipe ceremony and sweat lodge, it opens a window where you can email kenn.

http://www.shamanstouch.com/post.html
"Ceremonies
The role of the Shaman often includes the creation and direction of ritual and ceremonies to support the people they work with, to provide healing, realization, movement or to express gratitude. This workshop introduces the fundamentals of these practices and focuses on the creation and use of the sweat lodge along with a pipe ceremony."

And here, he combines his pipe smoking with drinking alcohol:

http://shamanstouch.blogspot.com/2008/10/vision-quest-aftermath.html

"I just got back early this week from a vision quest that lasted from Friday afternoon to Monday morning and I've been trying to write about it with no success. At first it was the lack of verbal thoughts, which persisted all of Monday and a bit into Tuesday morning. Having spent some time out on the front porch with my pipe and a wee dram, things are a bit more clear now."

Not to mention the plastic paddyism of "wee dram." It's just embarrassing when Americans talk like that.

(Or whatever you were attempting with that, such as fake Scottish or fake twee English. Note for friends who don't know: a "wee dram" is taking a shot of an alcoholic beverage.)

[Smart Mule]

"I first met Grandfather years ago, when I was still not sure what sort of path I was on, long before I officially became a shaman.  He was first just an undefined presence that showed up when I would meditate.  Gradually he took on the shape of an old Native American man with long, gray-white hair.  As I recall, he spent the first several years of our relationship just laughing at me.  He would make suggestions.  I would ignore them.  I would wind up doing something stupid instead, and he would laugh at me.  It got to be rather predictable."  From Dance of Stones: A Shamanic Roadtrip, Chapter 7

So this stereotypical "Native American" grandfather...he speaks to you in english?  He never told you what Nation he's from?  Do you think he's laughing really really hard right now?  Do you realize how ridiculous your claim is?  It's really really ridiculous.  What's the matter, the ceremonial magic gig didn't pay enough so you turned to appropriation?

[kenndeigh]

Apparently some of you didn't actually bother to read what I wrote in my introduction. Allow me to make it a bit easier for you.
• I make no claims to be presenting native teachings. In fact, OUT OF RESPECT for these tribal teachings, I coined the term "post-tribal" to differentiate what I do from ingininous teachings.
• The fact that my great grandmother happened to be Cherokee is simply a fact of genetics. I made no attempt to claim tribal membership, and have never tried to represent my teachings as connected with any tribal teaching.
• While I have studied with a number of indiginous teachers, from South America, Tibet, China, Africa and the Middle East, I do not pass on those teachings, but only the ones received from my own spirit allies, in the best shamanic tradition. My primary mentor is Elisheva Nesher, Shofet of the Am Ha Eretz tradition, a reconstruction of pre-diasporic Hebrew earth spirituality.
• I find it interesting that in my meetings with native practitioners, I have never encountered such vitriolic and attacking behavior as I see here in only a few short hours. I have had good, respectful exchanges with a traditional Mongolian shaman/ness, a Zulu Sangoma, a Quero elder, Taino elder/teacher and Tibetan Bon teachers – all of whom are open-hearted and open-minded about the need of those people not raised in a tribal setting to find their own ways to connect with their ancestors, the earth, their souls and spirit in general. This is a universal human need, and the "shaman" is a response to this need.