Native American and American Philosophy

Andrew Johnson

Reading through the first couple chapters of the book, coupled with the handout given to me and Chaz, I feel as though there are actually a surprising number of relatively major themes that come to American philosophy from the indigenous people here. Some of the major ones that I found I'll outline here in this post.

Focus on nature:
It is a common stereotype of native Americans, which we get from many totally inaccurate sources (like movies, pop novels and TV), that they have a very close relationship with nature. In reality this is not far from the truth. The native American's apparently held many interesting beliefs about their connection with the land they lived on. One of the most radical of these beliefs that I found was the belief that the land actually functioned as a conduit of knowledge for the tribes spiritual leaders and healers. In this particular case a powerful medicine man believed that if he were to be removed from the land, he would lose all of his healing knowledge, and subsequently so would future generations. This extreme connection was enacted in many different ways by different tribes, but this example is the clearest. Interestingly American philosophy picked up some of these major ideas as well as it progressed. Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Thorough did much of their philosophy about a closeness to nature, and Waldo Pond is a great example of how they enacted thier philosophy by actually staying as clsoe as they could to nature. This seems to be a direct connection between the indigenous people and later American thought.

Community:

It is a common strand in American philosophy that a person gains their individual character through their relationship with their community and the place that befalls them in society. This was not all that different from the beliefs held by the native Americans. The Indians believed that they gained identity through genealogical connection, ending with their connection to their family, their tribe and ultimately nature. This sort of relationship seems to be, at least tangetically, aligned with the writings of Americans like Ben Franklin, who preached that one should be am active member of their community.

The Past:

One of the most power places that American Philosophy deviates from the beliefs of their Ancient relatives is their relation with the past. American philosophy spent a great deal of time trying to establish a line of thought that was truly their own. For that reason they rejected many of the movements from their European roots. This is particularly evident in the writing of Walt Whitman, who while not a philosopher did have a powerful impact on American thought. The native Americans approached the past in the exact opposite manor. It was very dear to them. They believed in a 7 level system of ancestral worship, believing that one should look back over seven generations. Moreover their relations with their ancestors was a major proponent of their identity. This difference between a geological approach and a search for something fresh and individual shows a major difference, and an important disconnect between the two groups.

When does American philosophy begin:

The only reason to begin American philosophy at 1776 is classic Etho/ego centric thinking that is common to Western philosophy. Their was a great wealth of beliefs and practices here long before the white man first arrived, and this thinking was that of Americans. Just as Western philosophy looks back to the Greeks as their precursors, so to the Americans must realize that they were affected by a variety of sources, some of these sources lived on this land long before they did. And their influence is not that hard to find.