Author Topic: Starhawk - Miriam Simos - Trespasser in NDN Country, Ceremony-Seller  (Read 31724 times)

Gwaewael

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Hi,

I just found an 18-page “Alphabetical List of Nuage Tricksters” at http://nuagetricksters.bravehost.com/offenderstext.html. They listed Starhawk!  She’s important!  On that site they ask all their Native American Brothers and Sisters to boycott her as an unscrupulous fraud. I doubt they researched her. To the best of my knowledge, she only talks about pagan traditions from Europe and also a lot about politics, with an occasional reference to long-dead myths, like Sumerian or Greek.  To the best of my knowledge, she never talks about Indian traditions. I suspect she was black-listed simply because she’s famous and white and her name is Starhawk.  There may be a lack of information here.  Her name is New Age, not Indian.

Many Indians want whites to return to their own traditions, and to the best of my knowledge, that’s what this woman is trying to do.  She probably shouldn't be on this list of Nuage Tricksters.

I wonder if other people are being unfairly boycotted on this list. I couldn’t find any way to contact its authors. Are you able to contact these people and tell them to research Starhawk, and to do careful research in general before blacklisting people?  I know Indians have many reasons to be angry at New Agers who misuse sacred Indian traditions. Now some Indians are perhaps doing harm by recklessly blacklisting people without cause.
 
Well, I’m hoping Starhawk is innocent and someone can contact the authors of this list.  Please tell me if she is and if you can.
 
Many thanks,
Gwaewael  ("Lake Wind" in an Elvish tongue, from  "The Lord of the Rings".  It's another New Age name.)

[ETA: Just changed thread title, nothing in your post-Al]
« Last Edit: June 18, 2012, 01:41:48 am by educatedindian »

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2012, 08:56:34 pm »
I think it depends on your priorities.

If your priority is modern, eclectic rituals based in Wicca and Jungian ideas of "self-empowerment", and you like what Starhawk has to say about these things, you'll probably like her.

If you agree with her politics (she is a Jewish woman who travels to Palestine to work with Palestinians for peace, and she participates in environmental actions) you'll probably think she's doing good work.

However, if you prioritize Native sovereignty, and NDNs having the say about what ceremonies are performed on their lands, you may well have a problem with her. IIRC, the group who made up that list took issue with Star's behaviour at a rally on NDN land where she and some other people from her group made up a ceremony and led it as part of the action. From what I heard, the Native people there were not consulted about the made up ceremony.

And what does it mean to "boycott" someone? Authentic spiritual leaders serve their communities, in person. For a while Star was active on the Newage workshop circuit, but as far as I know, in recent years she has mostly focused on political activism for environmental and Palestinian causes. Last I heard, she also works with the collectively-run community on her home turf of the San Francisco Bay area. I don't know if she ever met with the NDNs who were offended by her actions, but I would want to hear from them about this.

Star is a Wiccan (trained by Z Budapest and Victor and Cora Anderson). Wicca was created in the 1940s. I don't think Star knew that when she wrote Spiral Dance, but she is definitely one of the people who has promoted the myth that Wicca is ancient. I don't know if she still does that. Some aspects of Wicca were ripped off from outsider fantasies of NDN ways, so I can well imagine that Wiccan or NeoWiccan rituals would look pretendian to NDNs. In some ways they are, even though not all Wiccans know that.

If you want a discussion of Starhawk, may I suggest you edit your post to change the title of this thread?  If you want a general discussion of how people wind up on fraud lists, we can move this to etc, but I suggest you read up on the stuff that's already on the board about it.


ETA: Here are some recent discussions we've had about Appropriation among Wiccans and other Neopagans:

Morning Glory & Otter/Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and the Grey School of Wizardry: http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=3668.0
   
Talking to Wiccans about Cultural Appropriation: http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=3687.0

« Last Edit: August 15, 2015, 02:49:02 pm by Yells At Pretendians »

Offline Smart Mule

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Re: A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans?
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2012, 01:05:24 am »
The issue with Starhawk occurred at the G8 protest in Kananaskis of BC.  The Elders considered the activities 'spiritual trespass'.  Below is the only article I've been able to find for now.  This was wrong.  It smacked of white privilege and Starhawk should never have conducted ceremony there without consulting with local Elders before hand.  The organizers of the protest, which included Starhawk, knew they were on the land of Traditional people because they had attempted to negotiate setting up their camp on reserve but got all pissy because the tribal council was not coming to a decision quickly enough for them.

"Native elders allege G8 protesters may have upset the spiritual balance of aboriginal lands when they burned leaves and sprinkled water on the main road leading to the G8 Summit.

The ritual -- by witches, wiccans and native protesters from British Columbia -- was conducted on Wednesday evening when a caravan of about 350 G8 protesters tried to drive to the G8 site. Halted at the first security checkpoint, the protesters burned some smelly leaves in the middle of the road.

"I told them what they are doing here is spiritual and cultural trespass," said Peter Wesley, a media spokesman for the Bearspaw Nation, one of three bands from the Stoney Nakoda Nation that regard the Kananaskis region as tribal lands of sacred significance. (National Post)

The 3,700-member Iyarhe Nakoda, or "people of the mountains," live on a 600-square-kilometre reserve on the edge of Kananaskis, which they call Ozade, the mountain area west of Calgary where G8 leaders ended two days of meetings yesterday.

Mr. Wesley said 12 Nakoda holy men conducted a spiritual ceremony at the G8 site on June 6 to sanctify the area for the purpose of keeping it safe for world leaders and to ensure the land remains environmentally pristine.

Now, the holy men may have to go back and have another ceremony to repurify the site and undo the influences of the protester's ritual, Mr. Wesley said.

"I told them [the protesters] we had already done this. They can't bring different religious things there because their idea of sanctifying the land might not be the same as ours."

Although some of the protesters were native, Mr. Wesley described the group as "New Age crystal people." He said he was not sure what kind of leaves or other material the protesters burned. "I suppose it was their own recipe."

Mr. Wesley said the G8 protesters apologized, saying they were unaware their ceremony may have contaminated the earlier Nakoda ritual.

Mr. Wesley said the Nakoda would never conduct their religious ceremonies in another location without permission. "We wouldn't go to Stonehenge to impose our beliefs on them and we wouldn't do our spiritual activity in New York City."

The Iyarhe Nakoda, named the Stoneys by early European settlers, rejected a plan by G8 protesters to set up a Solidarity Village on their land because they were concerned about the size of the village.

Yesterday, a handful of Nakoda demonstrated at the main road leading to the G8 site, saying they were upset that Jean ChrÈtien, the Prime Minister, was pushing African relief at the G8 meetings while they live in squalor.

"We have Third World families right across from where they are meeting. I don't even have running water," said Terry Daniels, whose Nakoda name translates as "Many Colours and Mother Earth."

"We have a lot of grief and pain," Ms. Daniels said. "Our children are killing themselves with suicide because they have no hope."

Ms. Daniels blamed conditions on the reserve on its three chiefs, whom she says do not equally distribute band funds to people outside their own families. She also said natives should be included in the G8 talks.

"It should be the G9. We're a nation, too. We were the first here."

Mr. Wesley disagreed, saying there are other forums for native people to express their grievances. He admitted conditions on the reserve may not be perfect, but argues that conditions in white communities are also less than ideal .

"There are many homeless people in Calgary. There are no homeless people here. Everyone has a roof over their head."

The Nakoda count 20 university graduates among their members and two have earned masters' degrees, he said.

Several years ago, alcohol related problems became so rampant on the reserve that John Reilly, a circuit court judge, refused to hear some cases involving Nakoda people until authorities addressed the cycle of abuse on the reserve, which he said was being run like a "banana republic" by its three chiefs. Judge Reilly successfully fought a move by his superiors to have him transferred to another jurisdiction."

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2012, 01:50:29 am »
Hi,

I just found an 18-page “Alphabetical List of Nuage Tricksters” at http://nuagetricksters.bravehost.com/offenderstext.html. They listed Starhawk!  She’s important!  On that site they ask all their Native American Brothers and Sisters to boycott her as an unscrupulous fraud. I doubt they researched her...

I wonder if other people are being unfairly boycotted on this list. I couldn’t find any way to contact its authors. Are you able to contact these people and tell them to research Starhawk, and to do careful research in general before blacklisting people?  I know Indians have many reasons to be angry at New Agers who misuse sacred Indian traditions. Now some Indians are perhaps doing harm by recklessly blacklisting people without cause.
 
Well, I’m hoping Starhawk is innocent and someone can contact the authors of this list.  Please tell me if she is and if you can...
 

I really doubt they would put anyone on that list arbitrarily. All the lists I've seen are based on a series of complaints from Native people, not just one person's whim. There are maybe half a doezn of these types of lists  on the net, and they are usually compiled by groups.

Just from a glance at the list, more than half of those names jump out at me as true because I recall we've researched them in here. I don't doubt all of nearly all the remaining ones would true as well should we research. And we always welcome additional information. This is a collaborative effort as you can see. You added information, and now two others added as well what you likely didn't know before.

Notice that the list is actually not solely of exploiters. There are also listed boy scout and YMCA programs that misinform people, as well as Rolland Dewing, a historian who wrote a hatchet job of a book on AIM while never revealing it had originally been a govt white paper, paid for by the feds.

Offline earthw7

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2012, 02:08:02 pm »
The follower of these people are so taken in by what they say they can not
see the truth, that is why we have some much trouble with these people,
they continue to steal what is not their to steal, they continue to make
cultures which lead people to really bad end.
In Spirit

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2013, 10:03:35 pm »
I am bumping this thread because some non-Natives interested in Idle No More are citing Starhawk as an influence, and I want them to be aware of her history.

Offline AClockworkWhite

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2015, 03:35:47 pm »
Damn. The NuageTricksters list link is dead. I would love to see that if anyone has screenies or a working link.
I came here for the popcorn and stayed for the slaying of pretenders.

Epiphany

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2015, 05:04:00 pm »
Damn. The NuageTricksters list link is dead. I would love to see that if anyone has screenies or a working link.

http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=2330.0

Offline AClockworkWhite

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2015, 07:07:36 pm »
Awesome, thank you Piff! And damn Geocities for closing down some of my fave pages and groups when it ceased ops.
I came here for the popcorn and stayed for the slaying of pretenders.

Offline AClockworkWhite

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2015, 06:09:33 pm »
This is the same Starhawk, yes?
I came here for the popcorn and stayed for the slaying of pretenders.

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2015, 07:14:23 pm »
Yes.

I couldn't get the pdf to load, but I'm pretty sure this is the url: http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/starhawk-why-permaculture-practical-aspect-sacred-earth

Offline RedRightHand

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #11 on: December 04, 2016, 07:36:02 pm »
Those who don't know her history, and who don't know history (and think her claims to be reviving anything authentic are true) still love her. But her offenses have increased, now with supporting dubious, possibly fake "elders" and defying the consenus of the actual Elders of the Oceti Sakowin to behave disruptively and colonially at Standing Rock. http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=4934.msg43182#msg43182

She showed up at the #NoDAPL actions blathering her ahistorical b.s. about being a witch, and expected to be treated like an Elder. Natives are still angered and offended about her colonial actions during her brief stay in camp, while she brags about it online, and her non-Native followers act like she's the white savior of the NDNs and here to lead all the white people into taking over NDN Country.

She hasn't claimed to be NDN, but she lies about the Celtic traditions, she does pay to pray and vultures from every culture imaginable, she sells fake ceremonies on the nuage circuit, she teaches the lie that "witch" means something good, and, worst of all, she continues to exploit and disrupt and harm Indigenous people and Indigenous events. She is an exploiter and a harmful person, under the guise of being an ecological and spiritual person. She makes white people feel good as they "om" under the trees, but she consistently damages Indigenous efforts at sovereignty, cultural preservation, and basic dignity. For this I think she belongs in Frauds.

Offline Ardal

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Re: Starhawk - Miriam Simos - Trespasser in NDN Country, Ceremony-Seller
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2016, 12:17:47 am »
Here's her post on her experience. http://starhawk.org/thanksgiving-at-standing-rock/

I've called her out on Facebook, for not being a good ally. If the elders did disagree, why would you, as a white person go through with it? Just back off, and go away. She engaged in spiritual and protest tourism, and then self-promoted herself. By causing potential harm, and then leaving, you are not a good ally.


Offline Lamana

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Re: A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans?
« Reply #13 on: December 05, 2016, 05:14:13 am »
They can't bring different religious things there because their idea of sanctifying the land might not be the same as ours."



Mr. Wesley said the Nakoda would never conduct their religious ceremonies in another location without permission. "We wouldn't go to Stonehenge to impose our beliefs on them and we wouldn't do our spiritual activity in New York City."


It seems to be something they just don't understand and when you try to explain it to them, they get offended! Very frustrating.
Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it, and right is right even if no one is doing it.

Offline Lamana

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Re: Starhawk (was A Plastic List of Plastic Shamans)
« Reply #14 on: December 05, 2016, 06:19:49 am »
... she lies about the Celtic traditions...
... she teaches the lie that "witch" means something good...


She has even admitted to that publicly when they printed the 20th anniversary issue of her book, "The Spiral Dance" (which I have read). She admitted that "a lot of it" was her creation, or that of other Wiccans, and not historically accurate.

As someone descended from the Celts and having studied them extensively, I wish to clarify that those women who were called "witches" were really mid-wives, herbalists, healers, and teachers. They were very good women who did all sorts of good things to help their people, but they never called themselves "witches". The stereotypes we see today in movies, television and the like, of women flying on broomsticks, harming children, doing all sorts of ridiculous things, etc., actually has its roots in the Inquisition. People under torture will admit to anything, as we all know, and today many Wiccans, through ignorance, perpetuate the inquisitors' lies. (There is an excellent film that was released in 1987 called "The Friar and the Sorceress" which depicts the true story of one such woman accused of being a "witch". I recommend it to anyone interested.)
Of course I do understand that this is different altogether from what Native Americans describe as a "witch". Just saying that when Starhawk tauts herself as a "witch" it is just plain fabrication and delusion.
I am sorry and dismayed to hear that Stawhawk and all these newagers are showing up at Standing Rock. It smacks of entitlement, arrogance and disrespect. Shame on them all.
Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it, and right is right even if no one is doing it.