Minding the Indigenous Mind Returning to a Paleo Native peoples’ Lifestyle to Cure the Diseases of the Standard American Colonized Diet

Greetings Mindful Relatives and Friends,

Chris Kresser, a leader in an emerging nutritional lifestyle known as the Paleo diet reported on what we know about the health of people before and after they started eating the Standard American Colonized Diet: “We know, for example, that a modern diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmunity and heart disease were rare (or even nonexistent) in Paleo people and are still rare in the few hunter gatherer groups around the world that have been lucky enough to preserve their traditional diet and lifestyle. We also know that when modern foods like wheat flour, industrial seed oils and sugar are introduced in these populations, the incidence of modern diseases goes up commensurately. And, even more telling, when these groups return to their traditional ways, the modern diseases disappear again. This suggests that it wasn’t some genetic vulnerability that caused them to develop modern diseases with the introduction of modern foods.”

In this column I want to share some of my thoughts about a way of eating called the Paleo lifestyle. I’ve read a great deal about it and I’m convinced that it may be one of the most important approaches to helping Native folks reverse the chronic health problems they’ve developed from eating the Standard American Colonized Diet. It is a nutritionally appropriate, balanced, and healing diet for Native folks and matches the “traditional” eating patterns of our ancestors, who didn’t have the food related health problems that we do.

I don’t want give the impression that the Paleo diet is the perfect way for everyone to eat, or that if you do not follow this way of eating you will not recover from serious chronic illnesses. Sometimes all one has to do is exercise, stop eating sugary foods and drinks, and lose weight, and their health will improve. What I’m hoping is that this column will spark some interest in this lifestyle so that folks may give it a try to see how it works for them.

History of the Paleo Lifestyle?

The idea behind the Paleo lifestyle is that if we return to eating as closely as we can to the way our ancestors did 10,000 (plus) years ago, our health will improve. The Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) covered a time period from 500,000-10,000 ago; before most of humanity practiced any type of agriculture. While it is hard to know exactly what our Paleo ancestors ate, most experts agree that it was a time when they lived on a diet of wild game, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, fish, shellfish, eggs, and tasty insects. There were no processed, packaged, artificial, additive-laden foods and no sugar, with the exception of the sweetness that came from wild fruits and honey.

The foods that our ancestors ate were in a much more pristine state; the animals they dined on were not fed inferior diets of genetically modified corn, soybeans, or grains, nor were they saturated with antibiotics, and hormones, like our meats are today; every wild plant, seed, nut, fruit, and vegetable was organic and free of pesticides and other man-made chemicals. Fish and shellfish contained no man-made pollutants or heavy metals and the water they drank was clean and fresh and chlorine and fluoride-free.

Research on ancient human diets concludes that as humans began practicing more agricultural lifestyles, health problems began to crop up (no pun intended). The theory is that the dependence on domesticated foods, rather than wild sources contributed to a decline in health because agricultural foods were not part of a natural diet that the human system had evolved to eat. In their book, Perfect Health Diet, nutritional scientists Paul Jaminet, Ph.D., and Shou-Ching Jaminet, Ph.D., reported that the adoption of farming caused the height of people to shorten while their muscles became weakened; tooth decay and osteoporosis became widespread and malnutrition, infections, inflammation became common.

In an important scientific paper about Paleolithic nutrition, scientist Dr. Boyd Eaton, M.D. concluded that pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers did not eat cereal grains, nor did they grow them. Neither did they consume milk or dairy products. And, despite the problems with grains and cereals, especially for many Native people, the USDA and the grain and dairy industries push both as healthy foods that we must have in our diets. However, Loren Cordain, Ph.D., a respected scientist and the founder of the modern Paleo food movement, has found plenty of research that shows that eating cereal grains worsened the health of early agricultural people.

Today we know that cereal grains such as wheat, rice, barley, oats, corn, and beans are not only genetically modified and treated with dangerous chemicals, they are very starchy foods that can raise one’s blood sugar very quickly. We also know that many folks are sensitive or allergic to the gluten protein that is found in grains, and for some ingesting it can result in a very serious autoimmune reaction if they have celiac disease. Non-organic milk, the most widely consumed dairy product, has measureable amounts of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins (up to 200 times the safe levels), antibiotics, and growth hormones, such as IGF-1, which is suspected to fuel the growth of cancer in our bodies. Many Native people cannot drink milk because they are lactose intolerant.

 What’s included in the Paleo Diet?

There are different versions of the Paleo Diet. One proponents of this diet, Mark Sisson, a world class athlete and Paleo diet expert, says that if we want to follow it we must concentrate on: “eating quality sources of protein (all forms of meat, fowl, fish,). It is important that your protein sources are clean, organic or free-range. Eat lots of colorful vegetables, some select fruits (mostly berries), and healthy fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil). Observe portion control (calorie distribution) week to week more than meal to meal. Eliminate grains such as wheat, corn, rice (even brown rice), cereal, bread, and pasta. Eliminate all forms of sugar and sugary drinks; and trans- and hydrogenated fats from your diet.” Free-range eggs are an important source of protein while coconut oil is an important healthy fat that can also be included.  It is important to eliminate all processed meats.

Another Paleo diet advocate Chris Kesser is very clear that some the everyday foods that we eat are toxic and should not be on our menu:    

• Avoid cereal grains (especially refined flour)
• Avoid omega-6 industrial seed oils (corn, cottonseed, safflower, soybean, etc.)
• Avoid sugar (especially high-fructose corn syrup)
• Avoid processed soy (soy milk, soy protein, soy flour, etc.)
• Avoid improperly prepared cereal grains and legumes

Kesser believes we must nourish our bodies by emphasizing saturated 

monounsaturated fats while reducing intake of polyunsaturated fat; we should favor eating deer, buffalo, elk, and beef and seafood over poultry; we should eat real food such as grass-fed, organic meat and wild fish, and local, organic produce when possible. We must avoid processed, refined and packaged food.

Benefits of the Paleo Diet

When one eats the broad variety of vegetables, select fruits, and high quality, lean meats, the Paleo diet is nutritionally sound, safe, and easy to follow. Since the Paleo is patterned after the diets of our ancestors, if we follow it, we can expect to improve our health. In fact, many proponents of the diet are convinced that returning to this way of eating reprograms our genes so that our disease causing genes get turned off and our healthy ones get turned on.

For some folks, “intermittent fasting” is an important part of the Paleo diet lifestyle. When most people fast from foods their health improves significantly and they live longer, healthier lives. For instance, in 2009, Walter Breuning (now deceased), a 112 year-old Great Falls, Montana man credited his long life to not eating too much (he ate only two meals a day and took one aspirin).

Intermittent fasting means one alternates the times, or days, or amounts they eat each day: some folks fast completely from food on one day and eat normally on the next day; some do a 5:2 plan where they eat for five days and fast for two - sometimes the two days are spread out in the seven day period and sometimes they are back to back; and some eat 2 meals and a snack a day between a six hour eating period and then fast for 18 hours for the rest of the 24 hour day; some people, like Walter Breuning, eat only twice a day. Most research agrees that overeating shortens our lives while intermittent fasting is looking more and more like it will increase the length and quality of our lives. One thing for sure is, fasting is a part of our nutritional eating heritage: our ancestors were very accomplished at fasting due to food shortages and for health and spiritual reasons.

Since the main sources of food in this diet are healthy proteins, fats, veggies, and select fruits, anyone that follows it will get plenty of essential nutrients, fiber, and much, much more. Research on the benefits of the Paleo Diet continues to grow as more studies examine the health of people that practice this way of eating. Some of the health benefits include: healthy weight loss, significant drops in blood pressure and cholesterol; and improved blood glucose tolerance, arterial function, LDL and triglycerides. If you’re interested in this research check out Dr. Loren Cordain’s book, The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young, published in 2012.

I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Paleo diet and have been working on incorporating the diet into my lifestyle for about a year. Most times I am very good at following it but at times I slip off. One of the reasons that do the Paleo diet is because I’ve developed a sensitivity to gluten, so I’ve given up eating bread, grain cereals, fry bread, pasta, etc. Eating no grains has been one of the best nutritional decisions that I have made. I also stay away from corn and legumes such as beans and lentils. Even though our ancestors ate them, I’m now convinced they were not the healthiest foods for them or us to eat. Just like grains, beans and corn contain phytic acid (an anti-nutrient in foods), which contributes to our inability to absorb the nutrients found in these foods.

If you are interested in trying out the Paleo diet check out these websites: Chris Kesser (http://chriskresser.com/); Dr. Loren Cordain (http://thepaleodiet.com/); Mark Sisson (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2JDsgftEb), and Rob Wolf (http://robbwolf.com/). I also encourage you to read more about intermittent fasting and give it a try if it seems appropriate for you. I fast one to two times a year generally from 10 to 15 days each time and the benefits have been amazing. This year I was aiming for 21 days (three weeks), but after reading about the science and benefits of intermittent fasting I’m now interested in giving it a try to see how it works. I am on my way to becoming a “Paleo Indian.” Remember, if you give the Paleo lifestyle a try I’d love to hear about it. Wishing you a long, healthy, happy, drug prescription free life!

Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, Ph.D., is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and a professor and the director of graduate education  in the Department of Social Work at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. His teaching, writing, research, and community work focuses on social work with Indigenous Peoples, neurodecolonization, neuroscience and social work, and employing mainstream and traditional Indigenous mindfulness practices in tribal communities to promote health and well being. He leads a regular morning mindfulness practice for staff, students, and faculty in his department. He can be reached by email at:  mjy9@humboldt.edu 

Returning to a Paleo Native peoples’ Lifestyle

Minding the Indigenous Mind

Returning to a Paleo Native peoples’ Lifestyle to

                             Cure the Diseases of the Standard Colonized American Diet

Greetings Mindful Relatives and Friends,

The way, amount, and what we eat has led to a health crisis like we have never experienced before in this nation. This crisis has hit Indigenous communities particularly hard: increasing rates of heart disease, obesity, cancer, hypertension, and the big one, diabetes. To combat this diet-driven health crisis, many Americans, including Indigenous folks, have chosen drastic remedies such as lap band and gastric bypass surgery, dangerous weight loss drugs, unregulated fad supplements, starvation diets, and substances such as smoking to suppress the appetite.

In response to these approaches,  Mark Hyman, MD, a leader in the field of functional medicine (a whole systems medicine approach) asserts that “Shrinking someone's stomach to the size of a walnut with surgery is one way to battle obesity and diabetes and may be lifesaving for a few, but it doesn't address the underlying causes.” In regard to the use of drugs to battle this crisis he also adds, “Do we really think we can medicate our way out of a bad diet? Can we really overcome the 54 gallons of soda consumed every year by the average American, or the 34 teaspoons of sugar consumed DAILY by the average child in America with a medication, or some handouts on eating better?”

This column is a two part series dedicated to how we can live longer, healthier, and better by changing our diet. In this first column I discuss problems with the Standard American Diet (SAD) and a bit of history about what I call the Standard American Colonized Diet (SACD). In my next column I share information about a healthy eating revolution called the Paleolithic diet that is patterned after the traditional diets of our ancestors. I am an advocate of this eating lifestyle and will share research that shows that a Paleo diet is the most appropriate way for Indigenous folks to eat, and how it can cure of improve many diseases caused by the Standard American Diet.

Standard American Diet (SAD)

Citing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Center for Science of Public Interest says that “unhealthy eating and inactivity cause 310,000-580,000 deaths every year—similar to the number of deaths caused by tobacco and 13 times more than are caused by guns.” If you are, or someone you know is, obese, has had a stroke, has diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, or stomach and digestion disorders, chances are very good that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is a huge contributor.  If you or someone you know has allergies, skin disorders, neurological and neuromuscular disorders, respiratory problems, and/or suffers from mood disorders, such as depression or anxiety, chances are very good that the Standard American Diet (SAD) share some of a good deal of the blame. The meteoric rise of a majority of all the above diseases and conditions correlates very nicely with the rise of the SAD.    

Of course our diets cannot be blamed for all of our health problems:  the fact that we live in toxic environments, smoke and drink what we shouldn’t, aren’t physically active enough, do not have regular, meaningful and mindful spiritual practices, do not have healthy systems of support, and are overstressed, all contribute to our lack of wellness.  Nevertheless, a growing consensus among the more progressive wing of the medical and nutritional communities strongly supports the notion that the way and what we eat has much to do with our deteriorating health.

 The American mainstream nutrition community refers to how most of us eat today as the Standard American Diet (SAD). Critics of the SAD say that it is directly responsible for numerous diseases, premature death, malnutrition and overnutrition, and the poisoning of our bodies and planet. Our eating is so bad that the Centers for Disease Control says that more than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese. In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.  

And, here’s something for Indigenous folks to seriously reflect upon: Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese. Extreme obesity significantly decreased among all racial groups except American Indians/Alaska Natives. In fact, our health is so bad that it has given birth to $307 billion dollar prescription drug industry; the weight loss industry alone makes $40 billion a year. And no wonder. Americans spend about $11o billion for fast foods, which are the staples of the SAD.

So what is the Standard American Diet? The holistic-medicine-works.com website says it is “heavy on red meat, pork, foods made from dairy or cow's milk, processed foods laced with dangerous chemical preservatives, colorings, vitamins and flavor enhancers.” It is “also made up of fried foods, foods cooked with high heat and microwaves, foods made with white refined sugar and flour and more and more today, foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. It also includes all kinds of fruit and vegetable juices whose nutritional value is destroyed by pasteurization...treatment with high heat that destroys all enzymes and most nutrients. Not to mention how many of these juices contain large amounts of added sugar, high fructose corn syrup or dangerous artificial chemical sweeteners and preservatives.” Interestingly, a very recent study published in January 2013 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that brain imaging tests confirm that after drinking a fructose beverage, such as a can of soda, triggers brain changes that may lead to overeating.

This is particularly important to Native folks since so many of us gulp down a lot of soda and sugary drinks that are laced with high fructose corn syrup. I’m sure that a lot of the diabetic amputations, blindness, and neuropathy can be traced directly back to fructose beverages. Some of you may even remember back in the day when corn syrup used to be added to a baby’s bottle because of constipation.  

There are many views of the SAD; most are not flattering. The AskDr Sears website says that “If you were to list the factors that increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, intestinal disorders – just about any illness – the standard American diet has them all.”

Sarah Aitken a writer for website NaturalNews.com describes the SAD as “extreme…and certainly not healthy.” She says that “the Standard American Diet usually consists of a myriad of processed carbs (cereals, breads, pasta, cookies, cakes etc.), processed meat products, and a few fruits and veggies. This diet is high in many things, most of which your body doesn't really need.  It is full of hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, phytic acid, acrylamide, sodium nitrate, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lacking in basic essentials such as vitamins and minerals.”

Most of us have heard of many of these substances and additives. However, Phytic acid  and Acrylamide are ones that less well known. Phytic acid is important because it is found in grains, such as wheat and corn, and makes absorption of important minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium difficult. This is especially important for Native folks since many of us eat a lot of grains and grain products. Acrylamide is a chemical compound that forms in starchy food products during high-temperature cooking, including frying, baking and roasting, and is thought to put us at increased risk for cancer. Again, this is very important for Indigenous Peoples to know about since many of us fry nearly everything that moves.

Colonizing the Indigenous Diet: The Standard Colonized American Diet

You’ve heard the joke about having a “Commod bod” in reference to having a lumpy, full figured, fluffy frame due to eating USDA commodities. Well, nothing could be closer to the truth. The Commod Bod was once both an “urban and reservation legend;” but those of us that were raised on the reservation and feasted on commodities as some of our main source of calories know that the Commod Bod is not hearsay, but a true story. In a 2005 article the fairy tale died when, in Indian Country Today, writer Susan Harjo described the Commod Bod as a “round, doughy physique that results from the high-starch, high-calorie, high-fat and low-protein food.”

While we laugh, tease, and joke about the Commod Bod, I think it is wise and instructional to remind ourselves that USDA commodities are the legacy of Native Peoples’ nutritional and dietary colonialism. That is, these low quality foods were forced upon our folks when they were suffering the ravages of some of the deepest levels of poverty due to reservation living, and are the precursor for setting the standard of today’s unhealthy eating among our people. Commods are the poster foods of the deadly Standard American Diet because they contain all the ingredients and packaging that are responsible for high rates of heart disease, obesity, strokes, hypertension, cancer, and premature death. Recently, a northern California Indian told me that she thought of commods as “genocide in a can.” I couldn’t agree more.

A 2012, Evaluation of the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations carried out by the USDA reported that Commods are made up of a “variety of canned and packaged commodities in such categories as meats, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, grains, and cereals.” They are designed only to “provide adequate levels of most nutrients and food energy to participating households.” And, of course I wonder what they mean by the term “adequate” and what “nutrients” they are talking about. In their description of these foods there is no mention about whether the canned “goods,” and I use the word goods rather loosely here, contain BPA (a compound implicated in neurological and endocrine disorders and cancer) that different advocacy food groups are trying to get banned. Even the US government’s own Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regards BPA as dangerous. A 2010 the FDA wrote a report warning of possible hazards to fetuses, infants, and young children. Since the 1930s BPA has been recognized as an artifical estrogen and can mimic estrogen and lead to health problems.  Since the 1950s it has been in the lining of food and beverage containers.

Commods are made from conventional (non-organic) meats, grains, fruits, and vegetables which are not only over processed, but also loaded with chemicals and pesticides and, in the case of meat, contain hormones and antibiotics. The canned beef, pork, and chicken are more than likely to come from animals that are raised in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), which pack huge numbers of live animals together in a small area. Because animals are so congested together, the rates of disease, injuries, and contamination rises exponentially among them, which mean they will be fed copious amounts of whatever medicines and supplements will minimize the damage.

Due to cost, canned Commod fish, such as salmon are more likely to be farmed than wild. Farmed fish which have less nutritional value, higher amounts of Omega 6 fatty acids, which inflame the body, and are often fed a cheap, inferior diet that can have higher levels of toxins such as PCBs which implicated in hormone disruption and cancer. By now we all should know that none of us should be eating tuna due to its dangerous heavy metal content. In 2007 the USDA dropped albacore tuna from WIC program but kept on supplying “light tuna” despite the risks of mercury in the fish. If you’ve been feeding your children tuna; stop immediately and have their mercury levels checked.

Many deadly, disease-causing SAD foods are served often, and in huge quantities, at community ceremonies, wakes, funerals, celebrations, and other events on our reservation. They are also served in many of our homes as our daily meals. I’m not really sure where this tradition of overfeeding folks with a lot of low quality, non-traditional foods comes from. I think some folks might say that it’s our tradition to feed others; it’s our way. But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t our tradition to overfeed our family, relatives, and friends these types of foods. Of course not all the foods found at these events are unhealthy; some folks bring healthy traditional and non-traditional foods (and I’m not talking about whole grain fry bread). However, I’ve always thought it ironic that at the funeral of someone that has died of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or a stroke, which were very likely caused by eating a Standard American Diet, that we serve these foods in nearly unlimited quantities.

I’ve added the word “colonized” to the Standard American Diet term because Indigenous Peoples arrived at their present “killer” diet through a much different social and political means than non-Native folks.

History is clear that after Native peoples were “subjugated” by the United States and driven off their traditional hunting, fishing and gathering territories, they were put onto reservations and other lands where they were forced to live on starvation diets of inferior rationed foods. This system might be considered the earliest development of the fast food industry for Native peoples since they no longer had to engage themselves in mindfully hunting and gathering their meals. All they had to do was to wait for “ration day,” stand in line at the reservation agency building, and get their order.

 A lot of evidence in the historical record shows that American policy makers, religious leaders, educators, and politicians believed that Native Peoples’ hunting of wild game, fishing, and gathering of wild foods was “uncivilized” and this way of life needed to be extinguished if they were to become civilized.  They believed that eating domesticated animals and crops was more advanced since humans had dominated these forms of life, which was consistent with the Christian belief that man was suppose to “subdue the earth” and “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  As this way of thinking was imposed upon Indigenous Peoples very dramatic changes occurred in their attitudes about where their food came from, how they should obtain it, and what they should eat.  

Colonizing the American Diet

The mainstream diet of most Americans shows that they have been just as successfully colonized in their nutritional and dietary beliefs and habits as Native Peoples. And, their chronic diseases, cancers, and obesity are nearly as bad, and catching up fast. Some of the biggest colonizing culprits have been the Big Food, Big Seed, and Big Agricultural industries. For instance, over 100 years ago small farmers and many households grew much of their own produce for their own consumption or to sell to neighbors. In an article entitled, “Do We Eat Better Than We Did 100 Years Ago?” Kerry Trueman, co-founder of EatingLiberally.org wrote that “By 1897, the USDA was distributing 1.1 billion free seed packets to farmers, many of them more common vegetable and flower varieties. The program was wildly popular with farmers, but a thorn in the side of the growing commercial seed industry. So, in 1929, after intense lobbying from the American Seed Trade Association, Congress scrapped the seed giveaway.”

Today, five corporations (AstaZeneca, DuPont, Monsanto, Novartis,
Aventis) control almost one-quarter (23%) of the global commercial seed market, nearly two-thirds of the global pesticide market (60%), and virtually 100% of the transgenic (genetically engineered) seed market.

Colonization of America’s diet is generally due to this nation’s desire for the “modernization” and “industrialization” of the world. In order for this to happen the system required folks to work long hours, under strict working conditions that did not offer much in the way of rest or optimal eating opportunities. The Livestrong.com website says that “Today's standard American diet has moved away from the traditions of homemade meals and is more influenced by ways to speed up the process of grabbing a quick bite.”

To accommodate this need the “Big Food” industry developed a fast, processed foods system. It used its unrestrained marketing power to produce foods that are addictive and profitable, rather than healthy. To keep us in the chains of dietary colonization, it operates a biased corporate food research and advertising agenda that is misleading and confusing, and co-opts mainstream nutritionists and medical professionals to support, ignore, or feign ignorance of its activities. Just to give you an idea of how much money does Big Food puts into keeping us addicted to its fast, processed foods, according the to Nielsen Company, Kraft Foods a major food manufacturer spent $1.7 billion on advertising in 2009. Its brands include Kraft, Oscar Meyer, Crystal Light, Trident and Ritz. In the soft drink industry, according to “Advertising Age,” Coca-Cola spent $2.67 billion on advertising in 2008. The marketing pays off too. In 2009, Beverage Digest reported that Americans spent $73.9 billion on regular and diet carbonated soft drinks. If non-carbonated beverages such as juice drinks, teas and energy drinks are included the figure grows to $115 billion.

So, my question is how different is Big Food’s colonization agenda and success compared to the early reservation system that rationed substandard foods to our ancestors?

 

 

Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, Ph.D., is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and a professor and the director of graduate education  in the Department of Social Work at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. His teaching, writing, research, and community work focuses on social work with Indigenous Peoples, neurodecolonization, neuroscience and social work, and employing mainstream and traditional Indigenous mindfulness practices in tribal communities to promote health and well being. He leads a regular morning mindfulness practice for staff, students, and faculty in his department. He can be reached by email at:  mjy9@humboldt.edu 

Minding the Indigenous Mind

Rehearsing for Death

Greetings Mindful Relatives and Friends,

The Buddha said, “"Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely." In agreement, the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh declared “Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home."

In this column I wish to share a story as a way to help us reflect on, and develop, a more intimate and healthy understanding of how death is always with us. And, how rehearsing for death through appropriate stories, teachings, and different mindfulness practices can help us to accept death and motivate us to live our lives in a way that demonstrates that we have much to live for.   

The teachings of the Buddha, Tecumseh, and many other spiritual leaders remind us that we will eventually die as a part of the natural process of life, but long before we do, we should rehearse for death by living a noble, mindful, righteous, and long and healthy life.   

Very few of us know how long we will live or how we will die. But when we are asked, we certainly have a lot of preferences and fears concerning death. For instance, a 1997 Gallup survey found that most of us want to die at home and don’t want to die a painful death; most of us are worried that we may spend some period before our death in a vegetative or incapacitated state; and most of us do not believe we will end up suffering eternally in a place such as Hell.

The poll also found that "Most Americans believe they will exist in some form after death and that the experience is positive; that they will be on a journey of some kind; will experience spiritual growth; and that the quality of existence will depend on things done in one's life and one's spiritual state at the time of death." In India death preferences are similar. A 2011 national survey of entitled, Death and Attitudes to Dying found that most people in India “Want to die in their sleep, in peace, of old age, without pain and surrounded by their family and loved ones after achieving success and after having done something worthwhile for the country.” I’m sure that most of us would want to die in ways similar to folks in India.

The fear of death is strong and many of us try not to spend too much time thinking about it. However, avoidance is not wise, given the regularity of mass murders, war, nuclear weapons and nuclear accidents, the rise of extremely drug resistant infectious diseases, rising levels of stress and environmental toxins, and unpredictable accidents and natural disasters. To calm the fear of death it is important that we spend some quality time reflecting on it; not in an anxious, fearful way, but in an open and thoughtful manner. For as the Buddha has reminded us, the lives (0urs and our loved ones) that we cherish and strive to hold on to are impermanent, fragile, and fleeting.

Sometime ago I recall hearing of how long ago our tribes engaged in a symbolic enactment of the coming of death to the villages. This death rehearsal was rather brilliant since it reminded the people that they would have a temporary existence in the world. It helped to shape the humanity of the people since it inspired greater generosity, acts of kindness and compassion, less attachment to material possessions, and wiser use of one’s limited time.  There is no doubt that this practice changed the brains of the people for the better. When one does not fear death, but instead has a thoughtful, healthy understanding of it, the neural networks of self awareness and compassion, located in a newer part of the brain are activated. However, when one fears death and avoids talking about it, neural networks in the deep limbic system are turned on. This part of the brain is an older, more primitive area that is associated with fear, fight, and flight. 

As I write this column, news stories across the country, and around the word, continue to report the disturbing and heartbreaking details of the massacre of children, teachers, and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary school in New Town, Connecticut. In total, Adam Lanza, shot and killed 28 people: 20 school children, six adults, his mother, and himself. While most say they never expected this awful event to happen, death by way of mass murder, as disturbing as it is, should come as no surprise since it’s been happening for quite some time.  

For instance, on December 17, 2012, Mother Jones magazine published an article entitled, A Guide to Mass Shootings in America which revealed that there have been at least 62 mass murders (four or more victims) in the last 30 years. What may be most troubling is that most of the killers got their guns legally. The timeline for all mass murder deaths is from 1982 to 2012. The online story doesn’t mention how many mass murders were prevented and just short of being carried out.

There are a lot of theories why mass murders happen but truth is we don’t really know. In fact, a December 14, 2012 story in the Washington Post says “A great deal of research, however, suggests that behavioral scientists just don’t have a strong grasp on what drives mass shootings and violent rampages, or why they’ve increased in recent decades.”

After the initial shock some people are asking why such senseless acts occur. Others have already have concluded they happen because we live in a culture of violence with easy access to automatic weapons that can take many lives in an instant. However, automatic weapons have been around since the 1862 when Dr. Richard J. Gatling invented the Gatling gun. The weapon was deadly and was “successfully” used in the American Civil War, Spanish American War, and in the Plains Wars against Indigenous Peoples. The gun fired up to 200 rounds per minute and tore folks to shreds. Imagine several of these automatic weapons firing upon people. It’s ironic that Gatling said that “he created it to reduce the size of armies and so reduce the number of deaths by combat and disease, and to show how futile war is.”

In response to the New Town murders NBCNews.com reported that many parents are now buying armored backpacks for their kids to keep them safe and gun sales in some states are at record levels. My heart and prayers go out to the families and their community.

Rehearsing for Death

Indigenous Peoples intimately understood death as a constant in their lives and needed to be respected in times of wellness; even during the ceremonies of life. Death is as important as life and, therefore, must be integrated in all aspects of our daily lives. There is no escaping death. However, there is a way to live with it and develop a healthy understanding of it.

There is a story that certain members of the tribe were delegated to represent death. They would dress up and paint their bodies black, red, and white, which signaled to the people whom they were. At different periods throughout the year (maybe only once a year or maybe more) the priest in charge of this death ceremony would decide it was time for death to visit the people. He would instruct the individual that symbolically represented death to leave the village and go to a place of isolation and paint himself as death and return. It was not long before the village sentries, would spot him coming and announce that death was on his way to the people. The announcement would immediately trigger deep emotional responses and the people would begin crying, worrying, and getting angry.

As Death approached the warriors would symbolically shoot arrows at him, not the kind that could pierce him but those that were blunt. But, the warriors only shot in his direction and not deliberately at him since they knew they could not kill Death. Death continued to make his way towards the village unencumbered, while the people prayed, cried, begged the elements to intercede on their behalf, and sent mental thoughts toward him to send him away. Yet, they knew that in most instances it was difficult to turn back Death.

As Death entered the village the sounds of dogs barking, horses whinnying, and people wailing and yelling filled the air. People ran away from him; sometimes he chased them, sometimes he did not. Some of the people sat or stood unfazed by his presence and what he represented. They smiled and laughed at him and those that ran away from him. Those with incurable disease, disfigurement, and disabilities,  hoping to be liberated from their suffering in this world willingly, as if meeting and old, dear friend, approached and embraced him; they themselves might be dressed and painted for their journey to the spirit world.

As death would make his way through the village he would touched those that were the most likely to die: the warriors, elders, and sickly. He finally would come upon lodges that were filled with babies and children, those least likely to die. The mothers, grandmothers, and aunties would do all in their power using prayers, smudge, and calling to their ancestors, to prevent him from entering into their lodges and touching their children.

After enough chaos had ensued, Death would leave the village and disappear into the hills and trees, and the people would gradually cease their lamentations of grief. Wise elderly men and women would go about the village to check in with others to hear how they had responded to Death’s visit. After a period of time when the villagers reached a level of calm, the rehearsal of Death would be discussed. Spiritual leaders and those that had experienced losses of family members and relatives would help others to evaluate and understand what happened. What was learned was that Death is ever-present, none are exempt from this common destiny, and the people should use the little time they had on earth in the best ways possible.

In closing, none of us really knows when Death will come and we must rehearse for it using thoughtful, mindful practices. I believe that the example above is a brilliant and important way to help ourselves, our children, and our communities gain a healthy understanding of Death.

As I finish this column on December 21, 2012, I am reminded that many people are quite anxious since they believe that the Mayans have prophesized that the world is going to end today.  I am not one of these people. I do not live in fear of the world or my life ending. If I do have a fear today it is that I might not do a good enough job teaching my children about the value of reflecting on Death so that they might live their lives in the most honorable, intelligent, mindful, and courageous manner; so that they will have compassion, love, and respect for themselves, others, and all living things.

  

Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, Ph.D., is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and a professor and the director of graduate education  in the Department of Social Work at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. His teaching, writing, research, and community work focuses on social work with Indigenous Peoples, Neurodecolonization, neuroscience and social work, and employing mainstream and traditional Indigenous mindfulness practices in tribal communities to promote health and well being. He can be reached by email at:  mjy9@humboldt.edu 

Minding the Indigenous Mind

Mindfulness over the Holidays

 

Happy Holidays Mindful Relatives and Friends,

The Buddha once said, “To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”

It’s that time of the year when late fall and winter holidays and activities are upon us. This is a time we should ask ourselves what are the levels of good health, happiness, and peace we want to enjoy as we enter into this season and the New Year. During these next few weeks many folks will be involved in coming together for holiday parties, toasting others over drinks, sharing meals, gift-giving, and being thankful as they reflect on all that’s happened this past year. There will be feelings of excitement and warmth as stories and laughter are shared with colleagues, friends, and family. As we gather together we will say goodbye to the old year and welcome in the new one with hope, optimism, and a sense of well being.   

  Oh, if it were only that simple. While getting together during this time can be fulfilling, it is also a time when some of us will experience an uptick in our levels of stress, painful emotions, money pressures, unhealed relationships, and addictive behaviors. In fact, certain folks will experience even more feelings of being overwhelmed, fatigued, and depressed during the holiday season. According to the Nursing Times website, approximately 2.9 million people suffer from depression during the holidays. However, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season are not the time when people experience the highest levels of despair, as we’ve been led to believe. Research shows that it is the spring time and early summer when events such as suicide and depression are on the rise. Experts say that the reason that holidays do not contribute to an increase in emotional problems is because people are more likely to come together to do more visiting, sharing, and offering of support. Imagine if we did this all the time rather than just during the holidays.

So what can individuals, families, and communities that experience an increase in holiday stress do to find happiness, good health, and peace? I believe two good places to start are (1) examine our thinking and behaviors in this contemporary, consumerist society and, (2) consider shifting toward mindfulness practices that will help us improve our well being throughout the year.

What seems to be a major contributor to our seasonal stresses is that we have moved very far away from our spiritual roots that once valued simplicity, generosity, kindness, mindfulness, respect, and prayer (and I’m not talking about prayer that is about give this or that, but prayers of gratitude and love for one another). For me, one of our biggest obstacles to spirituality is the mindless, obsessive buying that we do during the holiday season. It is difficult for me to think that this contemporary holiday time is anything but the madness of consumerism; especially when I think about how our spending is ignited by events like “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.”

Purchasing stuff, whether we need it or not, is constant throughout the year in first world countries like the United States, and it increases exponentially during the holiday seasons. In fact, Business Insider magazine reported that the average American shopper spent $704.18 on Christmas gifts in 2011: $403.26 was spent on kids; $68.23 was spent on relatives; $21.06 was spent on friends; and $23.39 was spent on other gifts. The American Research Group reports that planned Christmas spending for 2012 will rise to $854.00 for the average shopper.

The amount we spend on Christmas shopping is disturbing. However, what is most troubling is that a lot of the products we purchase contribute to harmful climate change and local and global pollution. Many gifts we buy will contain traces of harmful chemicals, paints, and solvents that contribute to the body burden of toxins we all carry, and some will be recalled because they exceed safe levels, if there is such a thing. Some of the gifts we get from major retailers are still connected to awful, oppressive sweatshop conditions in the US and other parts of the world, and many of people will be harmed producing the these things. Sadly, it seems what we care about most is that we save money and get good deals. I find nothing sacred, spiritual, or ethical in the acquiring of products that are toxic, manufactured from suffering of others, and contribute to the decline of our planet.  

Purchasing things outside our normal buying habits explodes during and after what is known as “Black Friday,” the day following Thanksgiving.  Black Friday is considered the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and many major retail stores offer promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping. Black Friday is known for attracting aggressive, frenzied crowds, and people getting assaulted, shot, and trampled to death. Sounds more like the action you find at a rugged Indian bar than a shopping mall.

This past year I watched news stories about Black Friday and saw video of shoppers screaming and threatening each other, a man threatening to stab other shoppers if they got in his way, some folks being trampled, cops arresting shoppers, and a riot at Walmart over Iphones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDpAkjD3wXo).  The people fighting over the phones reminded me of scene from the movie Black Hawk Down, where starving Somalia folks were frantically rushing the NATO trucks to get food. In no way do I intend to be demeaning to the suffering of Somalia people since their circumstances were, and continue to be a dire life and death situation. I only want to make a point of just how “hungry,” “starved,” and “addicted” Americans are when it comes to wanting products that are marketed as things that they desperately need; things that are optional and spiritually bankrupt. I’ve never participated in Black Friday shopping and for years have preferred to spend my money on gifts, clothes, and foods that are made by local producers and sold in local stores.

So, with the challenges of holidays upon us, how can mindfulness be helpful?  First, let’s revisit what mindfulness is. Mindfulness refers to being deeply aware of what is happening from moment to moment outside and inside us, without judging or attaching to the content, feelings, and emotions that arise. It means to live deeply and richly in the present moment and to not respond to life in a distracted and mechanical manner.  Mindfulness means we thoughtfully observe, listen, and respond to all that we or others do.

During the holidays our schedules can become hectic due to increased visits with relatives and friends, whirlwind shopping sprees, and attending special events that we may not want to attend. Since it is a time when many of us reflect on the family and friends we may have lost during the year, we can experience higher levels of anxiety, sadness, and depression.  There are many things that can be done to reduce the stress of the holidays. Here are five: 

1. It’s important to hang onto healthy rituals such as quiet walks, visits with good friends and family, and getting quality alone time and enough sleep. One of my rituals I do when I first wake up in the morning is to focus my eyes on a spot on the ceiling or wall. I keep my attention here for a minute taking slow, deep, mindful breaths that enable my brain waves to gently rise to a state of calm alertness. To prime my mood in a positive manner I whisper to myself word or phrase such as “peaceful,” “healed,” or “I am blessed.”  I quietly ask my inner (wise) self what I should learn today.
2. When you get out of bed take time to sit quietly in a mindfulness sitting position for 5 to 10 minutes, paying attention to your breath as you calmly breathe in and out. Make sure that you practice accepting your thoughts and feelings and what you’re thinking so that you do not begin mindlessly judging or attaching to them. Just focus as much as you can on the miracle of your breathing. If this is a time that you normally pray, use it to express prayers of gratitude rather than prayers that ask for something to be given or taken away.
3. Spend a portion of your first meal of the day sitting silently, mindfully eating, making sure to chew your food slowly, and deliberately tasting the what you eat and the liquids your drink. Ask your body if what you’re going to eat is what it is hungry for and if it will make you healthy and give you the optimal nutrition you need. Make sure to pause between bites and drinks. It’s important to remember that mindless eating during the holidays contributes to overeating, upset stomach, and at worse heart attack.
4. Shopping and buying gifts can be a very stressful, costly, and energy-draining experience. Instead of purchasing gifts from major retailers why not make your own stuff or buy from local producers or artists? Buying locally is better because you get better service; it supports the local economy; reduces waste, pollution, and energy costs; and the products are much less likely to rely on sweatshop labor and contain dangerous chemicals.
5. When gift shopping it is important to ask yourself, “How much is enough and how much is too much?” To solve this dilemma, always go with less is better. Instead of purchasing multiple holiday gifts for family, friends, and relatives, give less, way less. Giving a lot of gifts does not make family or friends love or respect you more. If you are afraid your children will love you less if you get them less, you have nothing to worry about.  According to a recent study by psychologists at the University of British Columbia, young children are happier to give than receive.

In closing, it’s important to remember that a key teaching of mindfulness is that life is about impermanence; all things are constantly changing, whether good or not so good. Mindfulness means that we gently ride the good times and the bad, pressing ourselves to stay present, and in touch with what is happening in this moment. We accept and honor all that is unfolding before us, but avoid attaching to it with expectations, judgments, or disappointments. And, if we wish to enjoy a lasting sense of happiness, good health, and peace, it is important that we embrace the practices of mindfulness during the holidays as well as throughout each moment of our lives. 

 

 

 

Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, Ph.D., is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes and a professor and the director of graduate education  in the Department of Social Work at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. His teaching, writing, research, and community work focuses on social work with Indigenous Peoples, neurodecolonization, neuroscience and social work, and employing mainstream and traditional Indigenous mindfulness practices in tribal communities to promote health and well being. He leads a regular morning mindfulness practice for staff, students, and faculty in his department. He can be reached by email at:  mjy9@humboldt.edu