THE LUST FOR WAMPUM

}My paternal grandmother (Mary Song Bird) was a very devout Pentecostal Christian but there were often times when she back-slid and talked about the beliefs of The People, as she called our Native American ancestors.

There was one old Apache medicine man she named N'Agina'lta, after whom I was named (the English translation would be, He Who Scouts Ahead or Pathfinder) of whom in reverent tones she often spoke.

N'Agina'lta (pronounced Na-gin-nal-ta) was not a scout in the sense of tracking or trailing, he was a scout for the Great Spirit (a Native American name for God).

It was his duty, so said my grandmother, to guide The People in the ways of the Great Spirit, so in effect you might say he was a priest or minister.

N'Agina'lta's philosophy concerning life was a very simple and straight-forward one. He taught that the Great Spirit lived in everything and everyone, no matter what or who it was. The Great Spirit could live in a rock, a tree, a stream, a deer, an insect, and especially in The People.

N'Agina'lta also taught that everything was created by the Great Spirit and when we used something we must always ask permission from the Great Spirit and always remember to thank him afterwards.

If we killed a deer or rabbit for our food, we should thank the spirit of the animal for providing us with nourishment to continue our existence, because the spirit of the animal was connected to the Great Spirit.

If we failed to honor the Great Spirit (Aya 'Gahn) he might become very angry and could be exceedingly vengeful. In which case he would send down evil spirits known as Aya-Gahn'Lofa to bring us bad luck, poor harvests, scarce game, even sickness and death.

The only way to rid ourselves of the bad spirits called Aya-Gahn'Lofa, was to do good deeds and ask the Great Spirit to send down good spirits called Aya-Gahn'Nini. The good spirits would fight the bad spirits and then everything would be well and good again.

This simple belief sounds a lot like our own Christian beliefs in the fact that God exists everywhere and the fight between good and evil goes on constantly. It was my strongest belief until I went to the seminary to study Christianity.

N'Agina'lta also taught that The People should not interfere with the work of the Great Spirit. He said that everything in nature works together because all nature has great trust in the Great 'Gahn.

"That's one problem with the Pinda-La-'Ko-'Ya (white man)," N'Agina'lta taught. "He changes the earth to suite himself, he goes against the Great Spirit. The white man is pulled apart because he tries to live his life by depending on possessions and wealth, by having more than his brother, more than he needs or can use."

"The white man does not realize that the Great Spirit will feed and clothe him, for does not the Great Spirit feed the birds and animals and clothe the flowers in beautiful colors?"

To N'Agina'lta life was very simple for he put all his trust in the power of the Great Spirit.

The lesson I gleaned from this humble Native American, is to place my trust in the hands of God. (White man's name for the Great Spirit).

We have, by the very nature of our social and economic system, changed forever the simple beauty and natural tranquillity enjoyed by our Native American brethren, but that does not necessarily make us a bad people. Stupid perhaps, but bad...no!

What makes us bad is the greed which pushes us to amass great riches, to have more than our brothers, to destroy the beauty of nature, to poison our environment, and to destroy God's creatures in our mindless pursuit of these earthly riches.

There is nothing wrong for a person to seek a better, more comfortable, more secure life for themselves and their children, but we should remember; as N'Agina'lta stressed, to put our trust in the Great Spirit (God), and thank him for the many blessings He bestows upon us.

And above all else -  when we borrow something that belongs to God, return it as good as it was when we got it.