Inside InterCommunity: November 2024

By Dyana Hagen

Imagine living your life in a world where: everything is in balance, in a world where the entire community celebrates the precious life of a child, in a world where the whole community takes responsibility for the care and upbringing of that child, in a world where grief is shared by all as are reasons for joy, in a world that honors and cares for the environment as if it was a precious family member, in a world where the word abuse does not exist in spoken vocabulary because abuse doesn’t exist, in a world where everyone is accepted as they are and love who they want to love, in a world where no one destroys what is precious and life-promoting to everything else for the benefit of a few. This is the view of many Indigenous tribes uninfluenced by progress or wealth. To them, wealth means a thriving existence for all living things and anything that supports life. Greed does not exist, as there is always an exchange of gifts. A life, whether a buffalo or a tree, would never be taken unnecessarily. When a life is taken for the betterment of the whole, prayers of gratitude are offered in its honor.

Every person in a tribe was honored for their role. For example, many Indigenous people whom we might categorize today as “LGBTQ++” became heyókȟa, or medicine men, who were considered sacred people. These sacred clowns serve an important role in shaping tribal codes. Heyókȟa would violate cultural taboos freely and thus critique established customs. By violating these norms and taboos, they help to define the accepted boundaries, rules, and societal guidelines for ethical and moral behavior. They used satire and laughter to question sacred knowledge or those in positions of power and authority.