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Cultural Sovereignty and Native American Hermeneutics in the Interpretation of the Sacred Stories of the Anishinaabe
- Wicazo Sa Review
- University of Minnesota Press
- Volume 18, Number 2, Fall 2003
- pp. 127-134
- 10.1353/wic.2003.0014
- Article
- Additional Information
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Wicazo Sa Review 18.2 (2003) 127-134
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Cultural Sovereignty and Native American Hermeneutics in the Interpretation of the Sacred Stories of the Anishinaabe
Lawrence W. Gross
Sovereignty is an issue that works on many different levels. On the one hand, issues of land and politics must figure greatly into any discussion of self-determination. On the other hand, issues of cultural sovereignty must be taken into account as well. In a scenario in which Native Americans achieved sovereignty over their land and politics, would that accomplishment have any functional meaning if, at the same time, Native Americans were fully assimilated into the culture of the dominant society? The importance of cultural sovereignty can thus be accepted as a given.
Along with language, it could be argued that cultural sovereignty has to start with religion. Although there are many ways to organize a society, throughout history and across the globe, religion has most commonly provided the foundation on which cultures are built. For many Native Americans, this is particularly true. It is a generally accepted proposition that there is little to no significant difference between the culture of a given Indian nation and its religion. One way this has been expressed in regard to the Anishinaabe is that we do not have a religion, we have a way of life. Unless a people's religion can be maintained, it is not likely the rest of the culture can survive intact. Government officials understood this connection all too well as manifested in their earlier aggressive attempts to destroy Indian religions. [End Page 127] Indeed, as evidenced by such Supreme Court rulings as Lyng v. Northwest Cemetery Association, the assault on Indian religions by government entities continues to this day. If Indians are to remain culturally sovereign, they must maintain their religions.
An essential starting point for religion is myth, used here as a technical term for sacred stories. Myths provide the foundation stories for a given culture by giving structure and meaning to the cosmos. Before all the other aspects of a religion can be put into place, the story underlying the belief system must be established. In other words, religion starts with a story. Myths are also used to direct the actions of people, such as in the areas of law and the arts. Because there is so much at stake, as long as the sacred stories of a people remain viable, their religion and culture can remain functional. Since myths direct people's actions, control of the meaning and interpretation of myths can in turn affect the way in which people act. This is why control of sacred stories is such a crucial element in cultural sovereignty.
An interesting feature of Anishinaabe myth is the number of versions of different stories. Of course, scholars have long accepted differences in Anishinaabe myth, given the oral tradition and atomistic nature of Anishinaabe culture. The deeper question is, how can those variations be interpreted? In other words, what is their significance? I propose that variant versions and readings are a sign of continuing cultural sovereignty. In maintaining control of their religion and culture, new myths and new presentations of old myths are helping current-day Anishinaabe deal with the effects of what I call post-apocalypse stress syndrome (PASS). To explore these issues I will discuss the Anishinaabe approach to interpretation of myths, that is, the type of Native American hermeneutics extant among the Ojibwe. I will briefly introduce the concept of PASS and examine how modern-day interpretations of Anishinaabe myths and mythic characters by the Anishinaabe are helping the people deal with PASS. It will thus be demonstrated that by controlling their myths—by maintaining cultural sovereignty over their sacred stories—the Anishinaabe are working to preserve their sovereign future.
The Anishinaabe approach to interpreting and controlling myth stresses values over meaning. Instead of arguing the meaning of a myth, the question becomes whether or not a given interpretation expresses Anishinaabe values. In this scenario, a plurality of readings can be acceptable...