Sun Bear, Shawnodese, Wabun wind? ASK THE TRIBES!
The American Indian Quarterly 24.3 (2000) 329-352
Article: Plastic Shamans and Astroturf Sun Dances, by Lisa Aldred, quotes Sun Bear HIMSELF as saying of Shawnodese, a WHITE New Age entrepreneur in the illegitimate Sun Bear tribe:
'Shawnodese, who is now my subchief, and director of the Apprentice Program, came here in 1979, with a background in about every new-age philosophy available. He had some progressive ideas that have helped us in many ways. For one thing, even though I had, at various times in my life, been an operator (such as selling real estate or men's clothes) in order to survive, I still had some reservations about being tainted by having a little extra cash. I felt that money was somehow bad. Shawnodese had the idea that money was just energy.'
There are NUMEROUS INDIAN WEBSITES, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS that have repeatedly condemned 'Sun Bear' & ALL his followers for selling culture. These are REAL INDIANS, in REAL Tribes, pleading with all who BUY ceremony, culture, & information from these PLASTICS to STOP! GO ASK THE TRIBES!
Another article in a REAL INDIAN publication states:
'Plastic shamanism is a phenomenon which began with Sun Bear, real name Vincent LaDuke. Sun Bear isolated himself from his own community by "selling out" bits and pieces of Indian spiritual knowledge. He established the "Bear Tribe", composed of non - Indian followers.
The most common features of all these individuals whom Indians call "plastic medicine people" is the marketing of their limited knowledge, the offering of paying workshops, and the business aspect of their spirituality. All peddle the scant information they have gathered for monetary gain.
Most of the teachers... are non-Indians, without tribal affiliation, and some are simply impersonating Indians with fake identities. At one point all have had some involvement with Sun Bear, a discredited Indian, or with Harley Swift Deer, a known "plastic medicine man" under coast-to-coast scrutiny. If these are the teachers held in reverence today, it is easy to establish that they are self-appointed teachers of no known Indian roots. Moreover, the majority of these people are known to Indians for having assumed false identities or promulgating improper teachings.
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ALWAYS GO ASK THE TRIBES THESE PLASTICS CLAIM TO BE MEMBERS OF, OR 'REPRESENT' !!! It'll only cost a phone call, or a postage stamp, or the time it takes to send a fax! JUST ASK THE REAL TRIBES!
Go see for yourselves how many Indian Nations are teaching MEDICINE WHEEL religion!!! See how many Tribes will SELL you their SACRED customs, ceremonies, or even a song!
To Indian People, the theft of culture is a form of GENOCIDE. It causes a slow death of REAL TRADITIONAL WAYS, propagates lies about Indian People's ways of life! As an Indian, I ask you to simply go ask our Nations! They know the truth!Read full review
