Introduction:
Daniel Quinn's books have been translated into several different
languages and his website receives 20,000 hit's a day.
His latest book is titled: Beyond Civilization. A review on the back
cover reads:
"Beyond Civilization is the most solid, real,
practical, and you-can-really-do-it book you'll ever find on how to
save the world. Daniel Quinn has again proven he is one of our
century's greatest and most insightful thinkers. The re-
tribalization of the world: what an extraordinary possibility!"
The following article was posted on
Indigenous Peoples Liturature.
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The Retribalization Of The World
by Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer
I am a 60 year old activist who is spearheading an international
movement to revert the derogatory name of Minnesota's "Rum River"
back to its sacred Dakota Indian name Wakan, sometimes spelled
Wahkon, and translated as (Great) Spirit. And I am also
spearheading a movement to change 11 other MN geographic place names
that are offensive to American Indians. MN Rep. Mike Jaros recently
let me know that he was going to order the bill to change these
derogatory names.
I am also protesting against the industrial-technological
revolution, by both exposing what it is doing to our earth's life-
supporting ecosystems, as well as by promoting a revival of the
hippie - retribalization of the world - revolution.
Years before I even knew that the "Rum River" name was a profanation
of the Dakota Indians' name for the river (Wakan) I was telling
people, including relatives, friends and Catholic priests that I had
a - worldview around the Dakota Indian word wakan - hippie and
Catholic prophetic visionary ministry, and that I believed that my
extended kinship family, the Mr. and Mrs. I. C. Rainbow family,
would bring about the retribalization of the world, and in doing so,
complete the visionary work of the hippie revolution's -
retribalization of the world - mission.
And years before I knew that the "Rum River" name was a profanation
of the Dakota Indians' name for the river (Wakan), I attended the
1983 Tekakwitha Conference, an indigenous peoples of the Americas
Catholic Conference representing hundreds of tribes, and heard Rev.
Stan Maudlin, a founder and leader of the conference, tell the
conference participants that there was "a worldview around the word
wakan". A couple of years ago Rev. Maudlin gave his support for the
effort to change the Rum River name.
And it was not long after Rev. Maudlin made the above statement that
Rev. Matthew Fox, the conference's key note speaker, and
international leader of an indigenous peoples of the Americas
globalization movement, interviewed me for an hour. During that
interview I told him about my hippie-Catholic - retribalization of
the world - worldview around the word wakan - prophet visionary
ministry. He then asked that I stay in touch with him. A couple of
years ago he gave his support for my effort to revert the Rum River
name back to its Dakota Indian name Wakan.
The "Sioux" (Dakota) are used to portray all American Indian tribes
in Hollywood, anyone wanting to see a "real Indian" wants to see a
war bonnet and a tipi. Therefore, I believe that the world psychic
views all American Indians as Dakota; and that when people watch the
traditional Hollywood movies about American Indians they often hear
the Dakota using the word wakan (sacred), or the combined words
Wakan-Tonka (Spirit-Great). Hence, a lot of people throughout the
world believe that the word wakan and the name Wakan-Tonka are used
by all American Indians.
Then during the 1983 Mr. and Mrs. I. C. Rainbow family reunion, Don
Rainbow, an uncle of mine and vice president of a Christian college
(after talking with me about my experiences at the 1983 Tekakwitha
Conference) addressed the 17 families attending the reunion and
said: "A Rainbow is a sign of God's salvation plan, and I believe
that we may be used to glorify God more than any other family in the
world."
In the 1960s, Richard Carter, a San Francisco leader of the hippie
counter-cultural revolution and friend of mine, was meeting and
talking with Stephen Gaskin, another leader of the hippie
revolution, who now-a-days is the founder and leader of a very
successful hippie commune/tribe with a worldview around the Indian
word wakan. Stephen Gaskin wrote: "The word wakan has a strong and
universal concept and people all around the world know something
about it."
"In the late 1960s, Richard Carter, his wife, and I traveled from
the San Francisco bay area to hopefully start a commune/tribe in
Wahkon, Minnesota. It did not materialize, however, I continued on
with our - retribalization of the word - hippie visionary mission.
In the 1970s, I came to believe that we hippies should not have
tried to complete our mission by separating from our parents,
grandparents and uncles and aunts and forming into communes/tribes,
but rather we should have taken our - retribalization of the world -
revolution back to them and the Christian Churches, and in the
process, tribalized the churches. I am currently trying to do just
that. And thanks to Daniel Quinn's books, some members of my
extended kinship family, the Mr. and Mrs. I. C Rainbow family, are
finally starting to believe in my vision.
Daniel Quinn's books have been translated into several different
languages and his website receives 20,000 hit's a day.
His latest book is titled: Beyond Civilization. A review on the back
cover reads: "Beyond Civilization is the most solid, real,
practical, and you-can-really-do-it book you'll ever find on how to
save the world. Daniel Quinn has again proven he is one of our
century's greatest and most insightful thinkers. The re-
tribalization of the world: what an extraordinary possibility!"
On page 182 of "Beyond Civilization" Quinn wrote:
WHY THINGS DIDN"T END UP A-CHANGIN'
"Lots of songs about revolution came out during the hippie era of
the 1960s and 1970s, but the revolution itself never materialized,
because it didn't occur to the revolutionaries that they had to come
up with a revolutionary way of making a living. Their signature
contribution was communalism - a hot news idea from the same folks
who gave us powered wigs."
"When the money ran out and parents got fed up, the kids looked
around and saw nothing to do but line up for jobs at the quarries.
Before long, they were dragging stones up to the same pyramids their
parents and grandparents and great grandparents had been working on
for centuries."
"This time it'll be different. It'd better be."
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