07-24-2018, 07:17 AM
"Kealoha calls herself a native practitioner. Does anyone know the kupuna she studied under, or which cultural practices she studied, and for how long?... not every person who portrays themselves as a healer, or practitioner has the legitimate background."
One can understand the faults that outsiders, i.e., non-tribal-people (I am one) can find with the seeming inconsistencies and extremism of some so-called indigenous viewpoints. But their sometimes retort, our prerogative, none of your business, has some merit.
Sometimes native people get extreme rights, like the right to kill whales in some instances. Or reservations they control. Part of this stems from history: the dislocation of native cultures by Western culture over some 500 years.
"....just as your doctor or dentist has framed certificates of his educational background....should we expect less from our cultural experts?"
Yes, much less. Doctors and dentists offer expert, sometime dangerous, services to the public at large. Native people do no such thing. Their obligation to justify and explain themselves is much less.
One can understand the faults that outsiders, i.e., non-tribal-people (I am one) can find with the seeming inconsistencies and extremism of some so-called indigenous viewpoints. But their sometimes retort, our prerogative, none of your business, has some merit.
Sometimes native people get extreme rights, like the right to kill whales in some instances. Or reservations they control. Part of this stems from history: the dislocation of native cultures by Western culture over some 500 years.
"....just as your doctor or dentist has framed certificates of his educational background....should we expect less from our cultural experts?"
Yes, much less. Doctors and dentists offer expert, sometime dangerous, services to the public at large. Native people do no such thing. Their obligation to justify and explain themselves is much less.