Encyclopedic Erasure
Do you ever get angry with the limited information that’s available to you?
I’m not talking about Google and Siri and books and newspapers and podcasts. I mean the angle of how information is available to me. How different cultures view specific topics, what Native knowledge existed (or may still exist) on that topic. We get a Westerner perspective, every time, and it’s only partial truth and information.
This is intentional.
Our press is still censored because we have erased the wisdom of others from our knowledge bases— and it is infuriating.
Humans only have imperfect information and society manufactures structure to veil us from chaos. We still pin ideology against ideology, right from wrong, model from reality. I’ve been trying to learn more about natural medicines, witchcraft, paganism, spirits, sacred lands, and my online searches have been so disappointing, scientific, and lacking in depth and meaning and substance. Maybe I just need to improve my Google game and you have some advice for me, but I’m craving and seeking wisdom, not knowledge. I know that a lot of the information I seek exists in obscure book titles or oral histories that are maintained within indigenous groups. SEO algorithms and a millennial liking for instant gratification limit my ability to dive deeper. And I can understand why some of that wisdom, especially from Native cultures, is difficult to engage. Whites murdered every aspect of Native lives and societies, and I would be reluctant to make such sacred knowledge easily accessible for anyone to consume now for fear of ridicule or erasure or worse.
As I’ve been on the quest for wisdom, there are times when I come across snippets (or more) of legitimate wisdom that put me on my ass. Giant epiphanies erupt in my brain and I can feel myself sweating as the process of unlearning and relearning begins, and even though that process is overwhelming and scary, the wisdom that I’ve gained makes so much more sense than the knowledge that I’ve been taught. This feeling of letting go and learning in such a complete and vulnerable way is addicting and enhances my disgust for the single perspective we continue to receive.
Disclaimers/Conversation Starters:
In this article, my use of the word Native does not simply mean Native American, but any culture that is not dominant (aka Western/European/Caucasian). African, Latine, and Asian Americans are not native to the U.S. like Native Americans are, but much of their wisdom seems to come from their homelands and the cultures that have been built from that ancestral knowledge.
I am not an expert in diversity, equity, and/or inclusion. I am a white woman with a lot of privilege, so please write this rant off if it is ignorant or offensive. And if you would like to help educate me, please drop me a line.
Should I be capitalizing the words Native and Indigenous? Google gave me mixed reviews (shocker).
Maybe this is just a sign for me to read more books from Native and foreign authors, ask those around me for stories of folklore (instead of the Internet), and explore narratives from authentic podcasts or influencers. Got any resources or tips for me?
Resources/Inspiration/Additional Research:
Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, M.D.
Education in a Time Between Worlds by Zachary Stein
Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella Meadows