The WT and Native Americans

by Valis 20 Replies latest jw friends

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  Valis

  I was just browsing the officail WT site...hmmm I thought we were, but just for the sake of this post I'll admit going there. They have an article at the URL below which I thought was hillarious. It talks about how the Native Americans are facing more and more assimilation and the destruction of thier indigenous culture by "the world". They neglected to mention that any Native American that joined the org would have to renounce thier beliefs in thier own gods and would have to give up rituals and related icons of thier spirituality. We all know how demonic those dream catchers are....I thought this was quite ironic and wondered what you folks thought. Read for yourself if you can stomach going to thier website for more than five minutes.

  http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1996/9/8/what_does_their_future_hold.htm
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  Jankyn

  I noticed the link for "What does their future hold?" is inactive. I supposed that's because the WT thinks their future is to either become Borg automatons with the loss of all their remaining cultural identity, or final destruction at Armageddon. What a bunch of crap.

  Jankyn
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  freeman

  Valis,
  As you know, the Watch Tower god is a jealous god and would not allow for any other deity or any questionable local customs to remain. All that makes the Native American Indian what they are must be converted for the sake of the TRUE faith. It reminds me of a people closely related to these Native Americans and their plight, the Alaskan Eskimos.

  Many years ago as the missionaries indoctrinated them in this religion called Christianity, they destroyed their graven images of false worship, their totem poles. Only thing is totem poles were not part of their worship. Totems celebrated legends, events, or simply the wealth and crest of the family for whom it was created. The poles were neither worshipped nor had any religious significance. What a tragic loss.

  Ignorance of cultural values is not unique to the Watch Tower; it is but one part of the composite sign of their stupidity and insensitivity.

  Freeman
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  picosito

  The assimilation of the Native Americans and destruction of their cultures (speaking only about what's now called the United States) began as WhiteMan started bamboozling them with trinkets and expropriating their property, say, somewhere close to where the WT now stands in Brooklyn (including Patterson and other holdings) some time ago. And the WT has the gall to blame "the world." They also have the gall to give complete worship to what's called "legal", even if what's now "legal" was begun by illegal means, such as the property expropriated from Indians that the WT says they now have "legal" claim to. They have their OWN particular bloodguilt.
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  Commie Chris

  I am an Indigenous Canadian (I am Metis). The article refered to is indeed ironic. The JWs have made few inroads in recruiting Native people for a variety of reasons. One reason is the Dubs' insistence on conformity and rules. Most Native cultures emphasize personal freedom and autonomy, even for children. Most Native people today are nominal "christians" (mostly Catholic) and most want nothing to do with missionaries of any kind. Missionaries played a large role in the colonization of our people and the attempted cultural genocide. Native communities are only now just beginning to recover from the destructive effects of "christianizing".

  BTW, totem poles are not Inuit ("Eskimo" is derogatory). They were and still are built by the Pacific coast First Nations.
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  jst_me

  What a weird tone this article has. Like they are reaching out to embrace all of the noble savages that may be left in America.

  I know for a fact that my mother and grandmother became JWs because of the earthly hope. Its almost like the article is saying, well your ways are doomed, of course none of your prophecies about the future could be true, you should be jws so you can live forever on the earth.

  Ick.
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  OUTLAW

  The Jw`s have done nothing but mess up the first nations people in this part of the country.They turn there back on the old ways,and the WBTS rules do nothing to make their lives any better.Just more WBTS casualties...OUTLAW
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  Commie Chris

  The JW's are not even close to being the worst offenders. Christianity, in all it's forms and sects, has been an unmitigated disaster for First Nations. They are guilty of massive crimes against humanity.
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  OUTLAW

  Hey Cris ,I know.Jws are the only ones I have any first hand information about.My first nations buds tell me about the other stories though.And the first nations elders are always eager to help me understand their ways...OUTLAW
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  LDH

  As usual, the WT comments on an issue that is so in depth as to require several PhD. And they manage to sum it all up in one neatly little packaged article.

  Which, of course, the rank and file thinks makes them an authority on the matter.

  Which, of course, is why the rank and file is "Jack of all trades, Master of none." They only know enough to be ignorant about these issues.

  Lisa
  ps--from what I know, the "Native Americans" don't like to be referred to as Native Americans, but would rather go by the name of their Nation or tribe. As in, the Anasazi, the Sioux, the Onondaga, etc. Am I right or wrong?