Many people are actively trying to honor indigenous ways and heal historical wounds leftover from colonialism. Yet many of those who have European roots are completely oblivious of their own pre-colonial history. In Europe after the Roman Empire decimated many of the local indigenous communities, France, Britain, and Spain began colonial practices. This spread oppressive policies around the world as well as at home. This article will help shed some light on the forgotten indigenous heritage of Europeans.
Light-Skinned European Natives
The modern concept of conquest by the ruling class goes back far into antiquity. Historically, white indigenous people were also oppressed and ripped from their traditional connection to the land just as Native Americans were. That trauma can be passed for many generations even when the stories of it have been forgotten.
“Who will find peace with the lands? The future of humankind lies waiting for those who will come to understand their lives and take up their responsibilities to all living things. Who will listen to the trees, the animals and birds, the voices of the places of the land? As the long forgotten peoples of the respective continents rise and begin to reclaim their ancient heritage, they will discover the meaning of the lands of their ancestors.” –Vine Deloria, Jr.
I was very lucky to be initiated and taught rune songs as well as migration stories as a young adult. I learned them first in the oral tradition while sitting with my auntie making beadwork and crafts. It was a revelation to realize that some wisdom is better spoken than written. I have struggled ever since to strike a balance between what is appropriate to write about and what is not.
Having a direct link to my own lineage and indigenous teachings is what opened doors for me to connect deeply with elders in numerous tribes. We are raised to believe that we are individuals yet each of us are a living composite of our family’s history going back for generations. This relationship with our ancestors helps us bridge the divide across cultural and historical lines.
History Lives in Our Blood
Recognizing how colonial practices continue to hurt people of all backgrounds is part of the much needed healing. Many people with light-skin of Northern European ancestry endured forced labor, imposed famine, peasant conditions, indentured servitude, and even witch-burnings. These were some of the common traumas for the newcomers to America.
For example, The Welsh language was actively discouraged in British schools through the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is similar to how Native Americans were not allowed to speak their own language in Indian Schools. Teachers would place a “Welsh Not”, which is a wooden plaque hung around the neck of any child caught speaking Welsh in school. This is a concrete, visceral example of how colonial policy operated at the level of a child’s daily life in Europe as well as The Americas.
Having escaped many of the horrors of the old world, these European settlers armed with guns were quite savage in their treatment of Native Americans. The wounds and mistrust between cultures are still there even when the stories are forgotten.
Identifying these historical traumas does not justify them but it helps to inform some of the attitudes that came with the early settlers. It also helps shed light on existing attitudes, mistrust, and division between people today. This why knowing your history and making peace with your ancestors is so important. It is possible to recognize these historical wounds and let them go so that we can heal.
Our Heritage Lives in our Language
The English Language has sadly been forced on other cultures by oppressive military and exploitative business practices. However it is evolved from an ancient tribal language that was once etched on stones and told through songs and stories around the council fires. The Runic Language (Alphabet), known as the Elder Futhark of the Germanic Tribes is a majority of the root characters/letters of the English Alphabet.
When people forget their own roots and history they become much easier to manipulate and control. That’s why there is always a concerted effort by colonizers to forbid native languages and cultural practices. Yet before English was a colonizer language it was an indigenous language. That’s why learning the roots of your own language is as important as knowing the history of you lineage.
It is true that we are “sentenced” to perceive the world through stories. Words are “spells” made from spelling. The invention of the printing press allowed for oppression and suppression in ways that never existed before. Notice “press” right in the middle of words like “impress”, “suppress”, and “repress”. Books are bound (like people), and covered (like much of our indigenous history). Authority was given to the authors of these stories whether through the laws of the kingdom, or Biblical Law. The keepers of the peoples stories, whether the church, or the kingdom became the rulers of the people.
We are Living the Stories
In the olden days people knew their stories through the oral tradition, through a dance, or a song from a bard. These stories, and our understanding of our place in the world, were not owned or privatized. They were commonly shared and understood. That’s why the Runes were primarily an oral tradition with corresponding written marks. The passing of stories and wisdom through trusted personal networks kept them sacred.
The rune marks are said to be derived from the natural patterns in nature. You can see them in the veins of a trees leaves, in the cracks in dirt. Trees are revered as sacred. So it was unacceptable to kill a tree to make paper to write words on. The oldest documented runes carved into stone go back to about 50 AD, yet this system of wisdom is much older than that.
It is believed that the words and the characters (letters) are alive and they live in the vibrations of our human voices. An understanding of these concepts allowed a person to “read” messages into nature. The 24 original characters are said to represent our 24 vertebrae. In this sense it is also believed that the runes represent our own internal genetic wisdom. This language gives us a way to see deeper into our own selves.
Rune inscriptions are found as far south as Turkey and all the way to the northern-most parts of Europe. The tribes furthest from Rome to the North were able to preserve the ancient spoken-teachings the longest. Rune inscriptions can also be found across pre-colonial North America but that is a complex and nuanced story for another blog post.
Learn your Indigenous History
Not everyone is lucky enough to have an auntie or uncle to teach them rune songs. So if you are interested in deepening your understanding of the mystical, indigenous heritage of the English Language I highly recommend The Leaves of Yggdrasil by Freya Aswynn.
Unlike most New Age interpretations of the runes which are relatively shallow, Freya is initiated in the oral tradition and was ordained to share some of these teachings in writing. It is a beautiful way to gain a deep cultural perspective on the indigenous world-view of Europeans that preceded religious, imperial conquest, and colonialism.
“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” -Lilla Watson
The current interest in indigenous wisdom by non-natives is a high form of flattery. Though sometimes it comes across as disrespectful or cultural appropriation. So it is easy to understand why native people can be protective and defensive towards outsiders.
There is a yearning to connect with a forgotten past that is universal to all humans. When each of us connects with our own ancestral lineage we will see that we all share an inherent wisdom and memory of what it is to belong in the larger community of life that surrounds us. It is time to rewrite the stories that separate us. We have a special opportunity to collaboratively create a narrative that unites us in our ancestral connection to nature.
