Tag: DNA studies

Lessons from Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 17th, 2024

So, this past Monday was Indigenous Peoples’ Day… a day created to recognize Native Americans and to move away from recognizing Columbus Day.

As to be expected (social media facilitating what amounts to one massive pool of “letters to the editor”), it’s not something that settles well with everyone. There’s a range of arguments against moving away from Columbus, including the argument that European colonization did nothing that wasn’t already being done (pre-Columbian warfare between tribes… even in the name of expansionism and/or migration). Yet, shallow responses such as these reflect shallow thinking (ok, that is snarky of me, but, sorry, not sorry).

For one, the desire to TAKE land from others to have land for “your own” is something that we all need to think about. Many who have taken DNA tests can see evidence of the practice throughout history. In my own (I’ve tested with five different companies to analyze the consistencies and inconsistencies between companies), I can see evidence of Roman, Brittonic, Anglo-Saxon, and Viking expansion (and a hint of connection to activity in the Baltic region). In the DNA world, that’s a reflection of genetic “admixture”… and it’s a story inevitably tied to human existence. You can’t escape it. It happened in the past, and it’s just going to continue. Yet, perhaps since we’ve had world history in our education, we benefit (well, many of us benefitted from learning world history, and it’s clear from social media comments that many others did not… maybe they slept through it) from being more cognizant than earlier generations (that’s probably worthy of another discussion on another day). In short, could it not be that we can better see the bigger historical picture… the injustices… and wince? I could go down a few more rabbit holes with this, but that will do for the moment.

So, let’s say that this is lesson one.

Going further, as an animist, I’m regularly looking at parallels between Native American beliefs and those of pre-Christian Europe (and other places across the globe). Perhaps what strikes me most is how different cultures across the globe came to strikingly similar spiritual conclusions, yet without traceable evidence of influence from the others. Now, don’t get me wrong… I’ve also seen how cultures adopted beliefs from other cultures, and they remolded them to better fit their people within a certain geographic area. Ultimately, because this is global, these parallels… especially when so geographically removed from each other… also suggest something that is simply… natural (even if different, strikingly similar). The point is that the stories of the spirituality of Indigenous peoples is a significant key to thinking more broadly. When we see parallels in beliefs across the globe, I argue that we see “alignment” vs. say, “having jumped the track”… natural vs. not so natural.

I think the meaning of Indigenous Peoples’ Day varies from person to person, but in the back of my head, I keep hearing a quote echoing from Vine Deloria, Jr. (God is Red, 1973)…

Who will find peace with the lands? The future of humankind lies waiting for those who will come to understand their lives and take up their responsibilities to all living things. Who will listen to the trees, the animals and birds, the voices of the places of the land? As the long forgotten peoples of the respectful continents rise and begin to reclaim their ancient heritage, they will discover the meaning of the lands of their ancestors. That is when the invaders of the North American continent will finally discover that for this land, God is red.

I see the day as an opportunity for much more profound thinking as to our existence and our connection with everything around us. It depends on how one looks at it, but it doesn’t have to be a day in which we look at a people different than ourselves and just feel sorry for them, for the injustices they experienced. If that’s all you see in the day, I think the value is missed. Think bigger. Take the stories of people, look at how our stories (think deep genetic) are actually aligned with each other, and how the problematic lessons of the past suggest how we might move forward to benefit each other and the planet on which we live. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a gift to us all… if we listen.
Thinking, thinking…

October 11th, 2024

My lack of writing since February… it reminds me of the spinning circle on a computer when waiting to transition to the next page. I can come up with a number of excuses, but I have to wonder if, really, it’s just that I didn’t quite know where I wanted this blog to go. It might be that all of that time… a whopping eight months… was necessary to make sense of it all. Given the newness of the blog, thankfully, my audience was more myself than a collection of followers that I left hanging.

So, really, why did I want to do this blog in the first place?

Like many writing projects, first, it’s about making sense of something for self.

Making sense of what, exactly?

How, after a decade of blogging about a narrow aspect of history (and then a lengthy lull before starting this blog), have I gone to writing about a collection of so many other interests? History remains at the core… genealogy being threaded together with that… followed by my study of DNA… and, eventually, this path propelled me into deeper subject matter… animistic-based spirituality. But it’s not now about spirituality alone, but the collective… history, genealogy, DNA, spirituality (animism being a large part of that) … and more (to include mythology). It doesn’t do justice to say it, but, in an effort to give a synopsis, it’s about exploring history so deeply as to go into pre-Christian beliefs via “blood ancestry” and “non-blood ancestry”. I’d like to get that on “paper” to make sense of it all… for starters, for myself.

Perhaps the more difficult part of the decision is the second part of “why”… why do I want to blog about it? Why do I want to put such deep, intimate thoughts in a format that opens up to a field of readers? Well, why do most writers write? I believe it’s both to share thoughts and the hope of encouraging others to think about a topic. Yet, in contemporary settings on the web, why would one really open the door to public commentary? I’m quite aware, after having blogged for years, that commentary can be fruitful engagement… and also cruel personal attacks, often simply over a difference of opinion. That is especially cutting when it comes to something so incredibly intimate, such as spirituality and faith.

Yet, I’ve written for an audience for over 35 years… in published books, articles, and blogs on the web. I’ve also made my rounds in academic studies… history, writing, and rhetoric. So, I guess writing again is just part of all of that.

Then, too, I think there’s something else. I “hear the clock ticking”. Mortality. In my 50+ years, I’ve become very aware of how it becomes a struggle to look back upon the life of a person and realize how little you really know. I’d like to think I’m leaving (though the longevity of a blog post on the web is a discussion in itself) another morsel behind… greater than just memory… for my descendants. Sure, to some, I suspect they might not care less, but others… I hope it ignites a spark in them, for their own passion(s)… perhaps some of them… shared.

Tag: DNA studies

Lessons from Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Thinking, thinking…