Sacagawea: Native American Shakti

[Guest guest]

"Sacagawea, who accompanied [us on] that long, dangerous and

fatiguing route to the Pacific Ocean and back, deserved a greater

reward for her attention and services on that route than we had in

our power to give her." -- L.M. Clark

 

Most Shakti Sadhana members who are located in the U.S. will already

know something of Sacagawea, the Native American woman who -- as a

teenager with a newborn baby -- acted as a guide to (and arguably

saved) the arduous Lewis & Clarke survey expedition to the Pacific in

1804-06. Those who didn't learn about her in school most likely

discovered her when the U.S. Mint released a one-dollar coin bearing

her image:

 

The history of Sacagawea's life is sketchy, shrouded in mystery and

myth. Much of what we know has been passed down through oral history

by the Hidatsa, Shoshone and Comanche Indian tribes. Not a great deal

is known about her as a young woman and even less is known about her

later life. But what we do know is remarkable.

 

At about the age of 11, Sacagawea was captured by an Hidatsa raiding

party and taken from her Shoshone tribe. She was later sold into

slavery with the Missouri River Mandans. They then sold her (or gave

her away in a bet) to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur

trader, who made her his wife.

 

When Sacagawea was about 15 and six months pregnant, Charbonneau was

hired by Captains Lewis and Clark, not so much for his own skills but

for those of Sacagawea. She knew several Indian languages, and being

Shoshone, could help Lewis and Clark make contact with her people and

acquire horses that were crucial to the success of the mission.

 

In fact, Sacagawea did help Lewis and Clark find the Shoshone and

trade for the horses they needed. But her contribution far exceeded

anything Lewis and Clark had bargained for. She provided crucial

knowledge of the topography of some of the most rugged country of

North America and taught the explorers how to find edible roots and

plants previously unknown to European-Americans. With her infant son

bound to her back, she single-handedly rescued Captain Clark's

journals from the Missouri whitewater when their boat capsized. If

she had not, much of the record of the first year of the expedition

would have been lost to history.

 

Most crucially, however, Sacagawea and her infant served as a "white

flag" of peace for the expedition, which was as much a military

expedition as a scientific one. They entered potentially hostile

territory well armed but undermanned compared to the Native American

tribes they met. Because no war party was ever accompanied by a woman

and infant, the response of the Native Americans was curiosity, not

aggression. They talked first, and Sacagawea often served as the

translator. Not a single member of the party was lost to hostile

action.

 

It is not surprising that after their trip ended, the adventurers

felt a lifelong debt to Sacagawea. In fact, Clark wrote to

Charbonneau that Sacagawea deserved a greater reward than what the

expedition gave her. His sense of indebtedness to Sacagawea is

reflected by Clark's accepting, a few years later, responsibility for

educating Sacagawea's son and, after Sacagawea's death at the age of

25, for a daughter as well. Sacagawea's grave is in Lander, WY.

 

Source:

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/golden_dollar_coin/index.cfm?

flash=yes&action=about_sacagawea

There is also a wonderful article appearing in the current edition of

National Geographic, and excerpted here:

(http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0302/feature4/index.html).

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe

[Guest guest]

Thank you Devi Bhakta for posting this. It's wonderful to read

about.

 

Recently there was a Conscious Living Expo in Los Angeles

which I unfortunately missed, but it featured the work of a woman

named Joanelle Romero, whom I think is an Apache. She has

made a movie detailing the whites' treatment of Native

Americans. A friend told me about it, and apparently the movie

tells that Hitler had greatly admired how the whites decimated

the native population here in America. I didn't realize that,

although I recall seeing a symbol on a building in California that

looked like a swastika. Someone told me it was an Indian

(Native American) symbol. I wondered if Hitler stole that from the

Native Americans. Though someone else recently told me that

the swastika is a Sanskrit letter turned backwards. Do you know

if this is true?

 

So, I guess Joanelle Romero is trying to get funding for her film,

which is currrently only 30 min. long, but she wants to turn it into

a full-length movie. If anyone's interested, info can be found at

www.rednation.com.

 

, "Devi Bhakta

<devi_bhakta>" <devi_bhakta> wrote:

> "Sacagawea, who accompanied [us on] that long, dangerous

and

> fatiguing route to the Pacific Ocean and back, deserved a

greater

> reward for her attention and services on that route than we had

in

> our power to give her." -- L.M. Clark

>

> Most Shakti Sadhana members who are located in the U.S. will

already

> know something of Sacagawea, the Native American woman

who -- as a

> teenager with a newborn baby -- acted as a guide to (and

arguably

> saved) the arduous Lewis & Clarke survey expedition to the

Pacific in

> 1804-06. Those who didn't learn about her in school most

likely

> discovered her when the U.S. Mint released a one-dollar coin

bearing

> her image:

>

> The history of Sacagawea's life is sketchy, shrouded in mystery

and

> myth. Much of what we know has been passed down through

oral history

> by the Hidatsa, Shoshone and Comanche Indian tribes. Not a

great deal

> is known about her as a young woman and even less is known

about her

> later life. But what we do know is remarkable.

>

> At about the age of 11, Sacagawea was captured by an

Hidatsa raiding

> party and taken from her Shoshone tribe. She was later sold

into

> slavery with the Missouri River Mandans. They then sold her (or

gave

> her away in a bet) to Toussaint Charbonneau, a

French-Canadian fur

> trader, who made her his wife.

>

> When Sacagawea was about 15 and six months pregnant,

Charbonneau was

> hired by Captains Lewis and Clark, not so much for his own

skills but

> for those of Sacagawea. She knew several Indian languages,

and being

> Shoshone, could help Lewis and Clark make contact with her

people and

> acquire horses that were crucial to the success of the mission.

>

> In fact, Sacagawea did help Lewis and Clark find the

Shoshone and

> trade for the horses they needed. But her contribution far

exceeded

> anything Lewis and Clark had bargained for. She provided

crucial

> knowledge of the topography of some of the most rugged

country of

> North America and taught the explorers how to find edible roots

and

> plants previously unknown to European-Americans. With her

infant son

> bound to her back, she single-handedly rescued Captain

Clark's

> journals from the Missouri whitewater when their boat

capsized. If

> she had not, much of the record of the first year of the

expedition

> would have been lost to history.

>

> Most crucially, however, Sacagawea and her infant served as a

"white

> flag" of peace for the expedition, which was as much a military

> expedition as a scientific one. They entered potentially hostile

> territory well armed but undermanned compared to the Native

American

> tribes they met. Because no war party was ever accompanied

by a woman

> and infant, the response of the Native Americans was curiosity,

not

> aggression. They talked first, and Sacagawea often served as

the

> translator. Not a single member of the party was lost to hostile

> action.

>

> It is not surprising that after their trip ended, the adventurers

> felt a lifelong debt to Sacagawea. In fact, Clark wrote to

> Charbonneau that Sacagawea deserved a greater reward than

what the

> expedition gave her. His sense of indebtedness to Sacagawea

is

> reflected by Clark's accepting, a few years later, responsibility

for

> educating Sacagawea's son and, after Sacagawea's death at

the age of

> 25, for a daughter as well. Sacagawea's grave is in Lander,

WY.

>

> Source:

>

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/golden_dollar_coin/index.

cfm?

> flash=yes&action=about_sacagawea

> There is also a wonderful article appearing in the current

edition of

> National Geographic, and excerpted here:

>

(http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0302/feature4/index

..html).

>

> Aum Maatangyai Namahe

[Guest guest]

Hi Maryann:

 

I'm glad to hear you liked the post; Nora liked the story so much I'm

going to send her little daughter a Sacagawea dollar as a keepsake

next time I send a snail mail ...

 

Now, about the swastika. You write, "Someone told me it was an Indian

(Native American) symbol. I wondered if Hitler stole that from the

Native Americans. Though someone else recently told me that the

swastika is a Sanskrit letter turned backwards. Do you know if this

is true?"

 

Well, the details are a little off, but yes, it's basically true. The

swastika is not a Sanskrit letter; it's a symbol of good fortune and

auspiciousness. Hitler decided it was a primal Aryan symbol; however -

- budding artist that he was -- decided to flip it around and turn it

on its side (so much for good fortune and auspiciousness, eh?). His

ethnography was also weak: The symbol is not "Aryan" at all; it seems

to have arisen independently in many cultures -- Hindu, Celtic,

Native American and many others.

 

Hindus still employ the swastika in religious iconography -- you'll

often see it, for instance, in pictures of Ganesh and Lakshmi (good

fortune deities). Here is a nice explanation written about eight

years ago by Nandini Garud, a Hindu woman, to a Jewish correspondent

who suggested that Hindus ought to dump the symbol out of respect for

the millions murdered by the Nazis (I've invited Nandini to join the

Group; hope she does!):

 

"I am distressed that one of your readers wants Swastikas removed from

Hindu temples. Swastika is an ancient symbol which occurs all over

the world, in Indian as well as Native American cultures. "Swasti"

literally means "Well-being" (Su asti) in Sanskrit. Swastika stands

for the forward movement of Sun-God's chariot, which in turn means

enlightenment, progress, and optimism. Hindus have always used

Swastikas for benevolent purposes. Swastikas were used at cross-roads

with the right arm pointing to East to re-orient travelers in the

"right" direction. Swastika with the Cross at its heart invites

opposites to meet at the "Center" and become One.

 

Your readers perhaps are not aware that Mahatma Gandhi, the champion

of non-violence, cried out for war against the Nazi Germany.

Incensed by the Nazi atrocities against humanity, Indians who wore

Crosses, Kirpans, Swastikas, and many other emblems, set aside their

top priority of freedom from the British. Heirs of the Glorious

Swastika joined the allied forces to stop the onslaught of

Nazistika. Fifty years later you want to banish Swastikas that over

thousands of years gave wisdom, courage, hope, and security to

countless billions?

 

A Jewish expert has assured me that Hitler's Swastika was different,

but she too feels Swastika is a symbol of hate! Hindus and their

sister-faiths have done nothing to deserve such defamation of their

symbols. I think it is about time we called the slanted and

disoriented symbol of Nazi party Nazistika, and restore the original

meaning to the auspicious Swastika. We must not let this semantical

idiocy compromise our harmony and friendship.

 

The word "Swasti" occurs in one of our most precious invocations which

asks for blessings for the entire Earth. Are you going to ask us to

change our sacred mantras as well? Even as I write this I feel it is

impossible that people belonging to such an ancient faith as Judaism

would ever want to destroy the emblem of another faith in such a cruel

manner. Please assure me Jews do not mean to take away another

faith's holy symbols. Tell me please, how I can assure my friends

on the Net that this talk about erasing our heritage is just that -

talk.

 

-Nandini Y. Garud

 

P.S. Many Hindu temples in Northern America have already

adopted "Aum" instead of the traditional Swastika out of respect for

the Jewish sentiment. Now "Aum" and "Supreme Truth" are being abused

to identify terrorism with which neither Buddhists, nor Hindus,

Jains, or Sikhs have any connection. Can our friends in media stop

using Aum and Supreme Truth negatively, so we are not forced to

revert to our original Swastika, which hurts your feelings so? For

the sake of communal harmony, respond appropriately. -Nandini

 

Source: http://www.hindunet.org/alt_hindu/1995_Jul_1/msg00042.html

For more on the subject, here's an article called, "Nazi Swastika or

Ancient Symbol? Time to Learn the Difference":

http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/swastika.html