Dear Clearwater,
There are several points you have raised that I would like to respond to. Forgive me, I'm a settler, too, so I tend to over-estimate the worth of my opinion.
Firstly, with respect to your query about Christians helping the Lakota, my husband, who is Sicangu Lakota, and has identified himself as such on this forum, asked me to share his thoughts on this with you:
"We do not need help from the Christians. The Christians already took that which is dear to all of us - this land. Please ask your pope and your Churches to save themselves by re-examining the man-made laws that they have created through their own egos and imposed upon us. Our people are meant to live by the laws that were given to us by the Spirit that is all life. You may be able to help yourselves, if you can learn to listen but first, you must stop trying to destroy us."
With respect to this query of yours:
"If validated and shown that Kenny is doing what he says he is doing, is this a bad thing to try to help Laktoas [sic] on Pine Ridge Reservation?"
Given that we are forcing the Lakota, and other Indigenous nations, to live the problems created by European colonizers and subsequent generations of settlers, I think it would be a fine thing if "Christian charity" could be re-evaluated in light of the dominant society's decision to force poverty on Indians.
I would also like to address this statement of yours: "is accepting help from outside somehow a bad thing?"
As Settlers, and descendants of settlers, Christian or not, we are not "outside" the problem, we ARE the problem.
For me there's a big difference, spiritually and intellectually, between presenting oneself as a kind of "great, White Father" who is "saving the Indians", and recognizing that there is a spiritual cost in doing nothing in the face of witnessing human suffering. In this way, supporting the livelihood of one's friends on Pine Ridge is not so much an act of charity as it is an act of solidarity and humanity. No extra points for being human, just a greater spiritual understanding, and a greater appreciation of the gift that is life. Lakota friends have taught me that anything that I can give with a good heart will come back to me ten times over. I have found this to be true. One's good works are on display for all humanity, there is no need to advertise.
In the case of Mr. Bohling's business, he seems to be missing the point that the Lakota artisans he is working with are greatly helping him, too, by providing works of beauty that anyone could be delighted to display. They are also helping him support himself in a livelihood that he believes in, that allows him to express his beliefs and spiritual values - this kind of "help" they are giving him is priceless and he did not find it anywhere else, apparently not amongst his people, cuz he didn't name his business "Tennessee Leathers" or "Christian Straps". In my experience, Christianized, capitalist societies have a tendency to pretend that non-monetary, sustainable, life-giving support doesn't exist, and also they have a tendency to minimize the value of work done by hand and human labor. Maybe that's why the reciprocal help that Mr. Bohling is getting from his Lakota friends is invisible to him.
Mr. Bohling is not doing Lakota people any favor by selling Lakota beadwork. Their arts and crafts are already well-known and highly sought after. Hundreds of people, perhaps thousands, are pretending to be connected to Lakota culture in order to try to capitalize on and market the glory and beauty that is the Lakota people and their culture. Thousands of non-Indian tourists come into Lakota homelands every year and try to get exquisite Lakota arts and crafts for next to nothing. These tourists are fully aware of the conditions Lakota people are being forced to live in, and many still try to use cutthroat bargaining methods to impose maximum exploitation in the name of a good bargain. I do not know what Mr. Bohling is paying the people he gets beadwork from, but I sure hope it reflects the many hours of work that it takes to create such beautiful handwork.
Regarding your statement: ". . . the need to gain approval by all Lakota nations . . . it seems to me . . . may be impossible. That seems a rather high benchmark."
Exactly. Thank you for stating the obvious. One rarely sees Lakota people taking the very name and identity of their nation and culture and using it to sell stuff. So, if they don't do it, neither should we. This may be antithetical to a capitalist desire to market spirituality and identity as exchange value, but I've learned that capitalism does not support, nor is it supported by, a Lakota way of life.
best, ska
