: : Oh, of course. Now i see how foolish i have been. The things i have read as regards the hopi, and my contention that eagle sacrifice forms an integral part of their existence can be rebutted by you, who have not even bothered to look into whether this is an accurate representation of the matter at hand.: Cynic: I think it goes without saying that the Hopi people will survive without performing this ritual.
As organic life forms the hopi will continue to exist. But can we not draw a distinction between 'living' and mere 'existence'.
: Food, water, and shelter are the necessities of live- not religion. But will their cultural traditions survive? Perhaps. In case of eagle torture I don't much care if that tradition survives or not.
I quite frankly don't care that much either, but the hopi do and that is the point. I would not like to see the remnants of hopi culture extinguished, because i believe that pluralism is a good thing. (Just as i would not like to see all cusine destroyed and placed with MC Donald's restaurants).
: But anyone who lives in an American society and goes to an American public school, owns a car, a television, a gun, wears jeans, or eats groceries bought at a store isn't living the Hopi tradition either.
Agreed again, but that such losses have already been sustained does not mean that one should not try to preserve what is left.
: You can't tell me that practicing eagle torture and going to pow-wows once or twice a year can REALLY salvage their traditional way of life. That is, regrettably, already nothing more than a dead intellectual curiosity.
It won't salavage their traditional way of life, it will however help to keep intact what remains of it. There are two types of devestation that i can see falling upon the hopi.
First if not allowed to practise their religion, it will alter fundamentally what it is to be a hopi. Eagle sacrifice is sacred as well as fundamental to all their religous practise. To remove it could endanger their entire religous way of life. Now if you told a christian they could not longer worship christ, would that no lead them to live in a "deracinated and hopeless condition?" Similar for the Hopi.
Second such a law would be virtually impossible to enforce short of removing the hopi from their tribal lands. Do you think that any federal law will stop the hopi attempting to practise theior religion? Will they not continue to do so irrespective.
So the hopi will face what- fines and then gaol? Gaol for what? Attempting to do what they have always done and doing it with the solemn belief that they must do it.
The only way to stop the practise is to remove the hopi from their lands
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: : Such wisdom. Please hold still while i cut out your heart so that i can gain some part of thine magnificent knowledge oh omniscient one.
: Cynic: Besides, if the native American's really did have the only valid spirituality on Earth (you'll find billions who'd disagree with you) then they aren't being very nice to restrict outsiders from learning about or practicing Native religious ceremonies. Why can't we have spirital fulfillment as well? Sounds pretty selfish if you ask me. How are non-indigenous people supposed to learn to care about Native traditions if it's forbidden to share them with outsiders? To me it is little wonder that so many really couldn't give a damn if these traditions expire.
Have you asked them cynic?
None.
