Convergences and Similarities between Modern Physics,Indigenous Metaphysics, and Biblical Revelation regarding

the Creation

A paper prepared for the joint annual meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society and theSociety for Pentecostal Studies, March 13-15, 2008

PHILLIP H. DURAN

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

IntroductionIt is widely believed that there is only one science: the

one practiced by the scientific community. This paper

discusses another science that is much older but also valid,

based on empirical authenticity, indigenous1 knowledge, and

a long-term adherence to Scriptural truth, and it reconciles

concepts that heretofore may have seemed contradictory.

The theme of this Conference, which focuses on science

and creation, is a fortunate circumstance because it

coincides with my professional background in science as well

as my interest in connecting physics with indigenous

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (Tigua Indians). Address correspondence to phil-duran@cougarmail.org. All Bible quotations are from the NIV.

1 The following terms also refer to indigenous people: “Native,” “tribal,” “First Nations,” and “American Indian.” The latter is a formalreference to members of tribes residing in the continental United States.

2 PHILLIP H. DURAN

metaphysics.2 This paper is relevant for several reasons.

First is the opportunity to discuss concepts and values that

Christian Natives and non-Natives hold in common but rarely,

if ever, share with each other.

Second is the need to correct the widespread perception

of Native peoples as primitive, backward, and “stone age” in

their development—a simplistic and stereotypical image that

is still too often found in the media, the film industry,

and public attitudes. One reason for these misconceptions is

that Native peoples generally do not perceive industrial

development as progress, which is related to the Western

notion of linear time. They are not “primitive” but rather

view the development frenzy in the Western World as

deviating from a life patterned after nature’s cycles of

renewal and sustainability. Finally, it is a mistake to

continue ignoring the wisdom of Native peoples—the world’s

oldest living cultures whose conceptual and practical

2 Briefly stated, this refers to indigenous worldviews based on empirical observation as well as a philosophy founded on a long-term relationship with the natural world.

3 PHILLIP H. DURAN

knowledge of the natural world reflects principles of

sustainability that predate European contact.

Relatively few Americans are aware of the deep realities

of contemporary Indian life or the spiritual world that was

once here, which has not altogether disappeared. Many tribes

continue to sustain their way of life and spiritual essence,

albeit under changed conditions. Worthy of note are the

unselfish prayers of Native people who are extensively

marginalized and yet continue to pray for others in the

world. In an e-mail that was communicated through Native

networks a year ago, a Native man from Alaska brought an

encouraging message from Hopi, Maori, and Stoney elders.

“They also want us to know that among the Hopi and Maori

there are people who do nothing but pray 24 hours a day, 7

days a week, 365 days a year, every year of their lives.

That is all they do. In rotation, they pray around the clock

for other people. In this prayer is where they have seen

some of these things that are about to happen. The healing

that is going to take place, the advice that has been given

4 PHILLIP H. DURAN

to us, is ‘Seek not to fight evil—do not fight it—let

goodness take its place.’”3

Native peoples across the continent have made

significant contributions to the world in many areas

including agriculture, architecture, astronomy, medicine,

ecology, engineering, aquaculture, horticulture, and more.4

They are also familiar with weather changes through direct

observations that are sustained throughout the year. For

example, the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Confederacy, also

known as the Iroquois), in their major address to the United

Nations in 1977, reported weather changes among other issues

(Akwesasne Notes 2005: 90). The Kogi people of Colombia (who

call themselves “elder brother” and the people from the

Western World their “younger brother”), Natives in Alaska,

and the Inuit of Sachs Harbor in Canada, have also reported

climate changes. But typically, scientists do not heed these

warnings from indigenous observers.

3 Larry Merculieff in an article “We are Spiritually Sleeping: An Alaskan Prophecy,” February 2007.

4 The Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World (Keoke and Porterfield, 2002) contains numerous examples.

5 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Native peoples do not have an immigrant experience. From

the beginning European immigrants to the United States

disregarded their knowledge and eventually created boarding

schools intended to assimilate the Indian into a foreign

culture. Now there is a dire need to restore the wisdom of

the old ways, which is not really lost but unrecognized as

valid among scientists and the general public. However,

conveying this knowledge and philosophy (i.e. indigenous

metaphysics) into a Western context is not a trivial matter;

it requires adequate familiarity with both worlds and the

ability to communicate concepts authentically. There are few

Natives in science and much fewer Native physicists, if any,

with this kind of knowledge.

In 1977 the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Confederacy

of Six Nations, or Iroquois, delivered a major address to

the Western World in the form of three position papers

titled “A Basic Call to Consciousness: The Haudenosaunee Address to the

Western World. Their call is to the sacred web of life in the

universe, which I describe in this paper in the context of

the most recent discoveries and research in physics related

6 PHILLIP H. DURAN

to cosmology. Their message rings even more true and timely

today: “The air is foul, the waters poisoned, the trees

dying, the animals are disappearing. We think even the

systems of weather are changing. Our ancient teaching warned

us that if Man interfered with the Natural Laws, these

things would come to be. Our way of life is disappearing. …

The West is burdened by the weight of centuries of racism,

sexism, and ignorance. … We must all consciously and

continuously challenge every model, every program, and every

process that the West tries to force upon us” (Akwesasne

Notes 1978).5

After a more proper introduction to the world’s

indigenous peoples, I will discuss their perspectives on

nature and science.

5 The original address was published in 1978. A new edition containingthe original address, edited by Akwesasne Notes, was published in 2005. (See bibliography.) The entire document is available on the Internet at www.ratical.com/many_worlds/6Nations/BasicCtC.html.

7 PHILLIP H. DURAN

The World’s Indigenous Peoples

What they say about themselves

The Center for World Indigenous Studies6 is a reliable

indigenous information source on the world’s indigenous

peoples, including Fourth World nations. CWIS co-founder

Chief George Manuel (1929-1989) of the Shuswap Nation

described Fourth World nations as “indigenous peoples who

descended from a country's aboriginal population and who

today are completely or partly deprived of the right to

their own territories and its riches.”

In the Americas indigenous peoples are the pre-Columbian

inhabitants. Fourth World nations comprise a third of the

world’s human population. A link on the CWIS website points

to a source that contains the following statement:

Indigenous peoples are descendants of the originalinhabitants of many lands, strikingly varied in theircultures, religions and patterns of social and economicorganization. At least 5,000 indigenous groups can bedistinguished by linguistic and cultural differences and bygeographical separation. Some are hunters and gatherers,while others live in cities and participate fully in theculture of their national society. But all indigenouspeoples retain a strong sense of their distinct cultures,

6 The Center for World’s Indigenous Studies website is available at www.cwis.org.

8 PHILLIP H. DURAN

the most salient feature of which is a special relationshipto the land. How many indigenous peoples are there, andwhere do they live? The world's estimated 300 millionindigenous people are spread across the world in more than70 countries. Among them are the Indians of the Americas,the Inuit and Aleutians of the circumpolar region, the Saamiof northern Europe, the Aborigines and Torres StraitIslanders of Australia and the Maori of New Zealand. Morethan 60 per cent of Bolivia's population is indigenous, andindigenous peoples make up roughly half the populations ofGuatemala and Peru. China and India together have more than150 million indigenous and tribal people. About 10 millionindigenous people live in Myanmar.7

Indigenous peoples predate State systems (and, of

course, nation-states) and include all colors of humankind.

They have been referred to as the “bedrock nations” from

whom the world’s human population stems, which immediately

reminds us of the apostle Paul’s message to the men of

Athens and told them that God made all the human nations to

inhabit the whole earth from a single man (discussed below).

A significant milestone was reached in September 2007

when the United Nations finally adopted the Declaration on

the Rights of Indigenous Peoples after thirty years of

debate. The UN also recognizes indigenous peoples’ wealth of

knowledge of the natural world. In the online article “What

7 Visit http://race.eserver.org/indigenous.html

9 PHILLIP H. DURAN

is Traditional Knowledge?” the Director General of the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization defines indigenous traditional knowledge as

follows:

The indigenous people of the world possess an immenseknowledge of their environments, based on centuries ofliving close to nature. Living in and from the richness andvariety of complex ecosystems, they have an understanding ofthe properties of plants and animals, the functioning ofecosystems and the techniques for using and managing themthat is particular and often detailed. In rural communitiesin developing countries, locally occurring species arerelied on for many - sometimes all - foods, medicines, fuel,building materials and other products. Equally, people’sknowledge and perceptions of the environment, and theirrelationships with it, are often important elements ofcultural identity.8

There is no single Native worldview because each tribe’s

knowledge, which is maintained and transmitted through oral

tradition, is specific to the local environment and there

are hundreds of Native languages.

Cultural similarities between today’s tribes and Biblical Israel

After I discovered my tribal roots and began to read the

Bible from an indigenous perspective, I found similarities

to the nation of Israel. One of the first things I noticed 8 The Alaska Native Science Commission website is available at

www.nativescience.org/html/traditional_knowledge.html

10 PHILLIP H. DURAN

was the ceremonial life of the Hebrews. Israel in the Old

Testament was a nation of twelve tribes. Hebrew culture was

originally oral, given by YHWH before the Abrahamic

covenants.

Indian tribes also have an oral tradition and an ongoing

ceremonial life that honors the Creator. “Our ancestors had

a relationship with God as Creator that was healthy and

responsible long before they knew about Jesus. They had a

relationship with the Creator that was solidified in the

stories they told around the camp fires in each of their

tribes, in their prayers, and especially in their

ceremonies” (Schultz and Tinker 1996: 58). My own personal

experience among many different American Indian tribes

confirms this statement, having attended and directly

participated in ceremonies with the Umatilla, Nez Perce,

Lakota, Lummi, Pueblo, and others. I first acquired a deep

respect for food and eating as a sacred act of thanksgiving

by participating in ceremonies with the Plateau tribes of

the Pacific Northwest during their root feasts. The earth

has fed the people through countless generations and they

11 PHILLIP H. DURAN

gather at the longhouse for songs, prayers, and feasting

that last most of the day. Ceremony continues to be a very

important part of my life.

Ceremony can be community-wide, in a small group, or

done alone. In all cases, we can express our deepest

longings, feelings, and respect for the Creator and the

things He has created—all with a thankful heart. I cannot

imagine a life without ceremony. When I attend any church or

other Christian meeting as a visitor, or a tribal gathering,

I always respect their protocol and their beliefs and I pray

to Creator-Son in my own way.

When I first met Christ, I read the books of the Bible

in their entirety several times—not in fragments taken out

of context—looking for meaning. I was enthralled by John’s

vision in the prophecy of Jesus Christ recorded in the book

of Revelation. After reading the spiritual imagery in Black

Elk’s vision in his book, Black Elk Speaks, many years later, I

went back and read John’s vision again, this time from an

indigenous perspective. The powerful angels at the four

corners of the earth are similar to the powers and colors in

12 PHILLIP H. DURAN

the four directions (or “four winds”) of many of today’s

American Indian tribes. The second covenant that God made

with man included all of the animal species that came out of

the ark (Gen. 8:9-11). I saw the elders holding bowls of

incense (sacred smoke) connected to prayer, the healing of

the nations, a coming together time of all peoples, tribes,

nations, languages standing before the throne and before the

Lamb, a new beginning, and cycles of renewal. I saw a land

where treaties are not broken, promises are kept, people’s

names have significance, cosmic events are witnessed, an

angel (spirit) standing in the sun and calling to all the

birds to gather for a great supper (Rev. 19: 17), and tears

being wiped away. I also noticed Jesus’ familiarity with

spirits and the spirit world, which the apostle John also

mentions (1 Jn 4:1).

On the human side, Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah.

His naming occurred six months before birth and his name has

a special meaning. In A Native American Theology, Kidwell et al.

explain that the name Yeshua (Jesus) is a contraction of two

words Ya (shortened form of Yahweh) and shua (saves), which

13 PHILLIP H. DURAN

together mean “God heals (or saves)” (p. 75), which speaks

of the Creator’s healing power.9 In the last days, Yeshua

will gather his followers from the four winds (four

directions) of the earth.

Let us now examine a part of the apostle Paul’s message

to the men of Athens who were worshipping an unknown god:

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should

inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for

them and the exact places where they should live. God did

this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for

him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us”

(Acts 17:26-27). God made the nations and gave them their

own territories for a reason: so that they would reach out

and find him. Who are/were these nations? Are they not the

tribes (the meaning of “nations”) through whom God populated

the whole earth? If God gave them their own territories, did

He not also grant them sovereignty10 and the right of 9 Salvation is a healing concept. The Greek word for “healing” in Acts

3:16 and Acts 4:9, where a crippled man is healed, is usually translated“salvation” in Acts 4:12 but it’s the same Greek word.

10 The exclusive right to complete control over their territories, including the authority to make laws and enter into treaties with other sovereign nations. The United States Constitution states that treaties, like the Constitution itself, are the supreme law of the land. The

14 PHILLIP H. DURAN

continuous existence into future generations, a concept that

today’s tribal nations refer to as “self-determination”?

Native peoples today affirm that their sovereignty and

rights are original; i.e. they came from the only Sovereign

(God, the Creator), not granted by any entity on earth.

Land, language, and culture are three inseparable

aspects of a people’s existence, a fact that explains the

earth’s vast cultural diversity. A people’s language

reflects the particular territorial landscape that each

tribe occupies. For example, Jeanette Armstrong from the

Okanagan nation of British Columbia, a fluent speaker of her

language, says the following about the language of the land:

“The Okanagan word for ‘our place on the land’ and ‘our

language’ is the same. We think of our language as the

language of the land. The way we survived is to speak the

language that the land offered us as its teachings. To know

all the plants, animals, seasons, and geography is to

construct language for them.”11

hundreds of treaty agreements that the U.S. made with American Indian tribes are still in force.

11 The article, “I Stand With You Against the Disorder,” may be found at http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1346.

15 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Word meanings change, such as the word “culture,” whose

original meaning is much deeper than most people realize.

Rudolph Rÿser, founder and president of the Center for World

Indigenous Studies, once explained “culture” during a

presentation I attended. It stems from two Latin words, culto

and ura, which mean “worship” and “earth,” respectively.

These two Latin words together do not imply that Indians

“worship” the earth. No, culture is a reference to how a

community sustains itself completely from the land where it

lives (often cooperating with adjacent communities in order

to sustain the ecology) in contrast to a city, which

requires importing material needs from other places. Thus a

tribe’s culture and language are inseparable from their

territorial landscape. Native spirituality is tied to the

specific landscape that sustains a given tribe.

The Jews in the New Testament already had a relationship

to God, albeit a broken one. Peter and Paul addressed them

differently compared to the (pagan) Greeks because of that

relationship. Theirs was a wonderful heritage with whom God

(YHWH, or Jehovah, an unpronounceable sacred name) had

16 PHILLIP H. DURAN

established an eternal covenant, which according to the

prophet Jeremiah (see chapter 31 of his prophecy), is still

in force. That covenant was then opened to everyone through

Yeshua, the executor of the new covenant (testament).

The nation of Israel related to God through various

names. In my readings and frequent association with Natives

who speak their language, I have become familiar with some

of the names in Native languages that refer to the Creator.

For example, Wakan Tanka (Lakota) is usually translated

“Great Spirit” but has a deeper meaning. The Lakotas also

refer to the Creator by the name Tunkas’ila, which means

“grandfather.” Other examples are Io (Native Hawaiian),

Hunab K’u (Maya), Wah-mah-chi (Tiwa), Maheo (Cheyenne),

Acbadadea (which means “Maker of all things above” in the

Crow language). Coast Salish Chief Dan George, whom we’ve

seen on the movie screen, referred to the Creator as See-see-

am in his language.

The fact that Native peoples have their own names for

the Creator should not be surprising. The Hebrews of the Old

Testament used the Creator’s name in their language when

17 PHILLIP H. DURAN

they prayed, and the same is true of many of today’s tribal

people.

Science and Nature

Indigenous knowledge and science

Prior to contact with outsiders, Native peoples sustained

themselves and their environments through the ages. That

they had their own science is without question; it is

immaterial whether or not the term “science” exists in any

tribal language. The knowledge they possess about their

environments is cumulative and local. As to how far back in

history we can go, each tribe has its own stories and

methods of retaining that knowledge. The Haudenosaunee

(Iroquois) tell us:

People who are familiar with Haudenosaunee beliefs willrecognize that modern scientific evidence shows that theNative customs of today are not markedly different fromthose practiced by ancient peoples at least seventy thousandyears ago. Indeed, if the Iroquois traditionalist were toseek a career in the study of Pleistocene Man, he may findthat he already knows more about the ancient belief systemsthan do the modern scholars (Akwesasne Notes 2005: 83).

Indigenous traditional knowledge, or Native science,

does not result from scientific “revolutions” representing

18 PHILLIP H. DURAN

rapid progress within a short time period. It is acquired in

the normal flow of living for a long time in a single

location in close relationship to the environment. The table

below, derived from presentations by Native authors and

speakers, compares some of the dominant values of Western

and indigenous cultures in their relationship to nature. The

reader is probably familiar with the values in the left-hand

column, which represent the Western “paradigm.”

Western: Indigenous:The Earth belongs to humans Humans belong to the EarthFull dominion of humans over nature Preeminence of natural law

Modeled on linear thinking patterns

Modeled on cyclical behavior of nature

Tame the wilderness; civilize the primitive "Wild" is natural

Language of inanimate nouns Language of spiritLife of scarcity; wanting more; profit

Life of sufficiency; only what’s needed; generosity

Split between matter and spirit Knowledge is unified

By carefully examining the values listed in the right-hand

column and pondering the fact that they formed the basis of

life for tribes from different regions of the world living

close to their environments over the span of thousands of

years, one can hardly question that those values represent

proven principles of survival and sustainability. Obviously,

19 PHILLIP H. DURAN

tribal peoples have lived for countless generations under

some form of science with a friendly, reciprocal

relationship with nature, not one of enmity. Native peoples

sustain a loving relationship to the land on which they

walk. The laws that govern our bodies and all life are both

physical and spiritual, forming their own authority system.

They cannot be violated without consequences.

Native science is not relegated to “scientists” but

practiced by the whole community as a matter of survival,

not for purposes of “research” performed by specialists who

want to explore the unknown. Our having been created in the

image of Elohim (God, Creator) does not negate the fact that

we humans are nonetheless a part of the earth, a fact that

is explicitly stated in Genesis: Man was made from the earth

and woman from his side. The frequently used term,

“environment,” is actually a misnomer because it implies

that humans are “surrounded” by nature, as if separate from

it, when in fact we are a part of the earth that sustains

us. Tribal worldviews affirm that humans, like all things,

are part of the creation. Moreover, indigenous knowledge, or

20 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Native science, is spiritually oriented; the creation of all

things is universally affirmed.

Natural selection

The concept of evolution as a linear progression of

development from simple to complex forms probably does not

seem to exist among indigenous worldviews. However, constant

change, or flux, is a central concept. Native people have

expressed the idea of variation within species among the plant and

animal nations. For example, the following excerpt, quoted

in an unpublished article by Pierotti and Wildcat, was made

by Okute, a Teton Lakota Indian, in 1911:

Animals and plants are taught by Wakan Tanka (the Lakotacreator) what they are to do. Wakan Tanka teaches the birdsto make nests, yet the nests of all birds are not alike.Wakan Tanka gives them merely the outline. Some make betternests than others... Some animals also take better care oftheir young than others...All birds, even those of the samespecies are not alike, and it is the same with animals, orhuman beings. The reason Wakan Tanka does not make twobirds, or animals, or human beings exactly alike is becauseeach is placed here to be an independent individual and torely upon itself.

From my boyhood I have observed leaves, trees, and grass,and l have never found two alike. They may have a generallikeness, but on examination I have found that they differslightly. It is the same with animals (and) with humanbeings. An animal depends upon the natural conditions around

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it. If the buffalo were here today, I think they would bevery different from the buffalo of the old days because allthe natural conditions have changed... We see the samechange in our ponies...It is the same with the Indians...

As the authors point out, Okute clearly understands,

based on his own observations, that individuals vary within

species—a statement of natural selection that Darwin also

noticed. According to Genesis 1, the land (earth) produced

plants, as well as marine life, birds, and land animals after

their kind, which in my opinion means the same as “variation

within species.” It is important to note that, except for

today’s Native scholars, Native peoples do not publish or

perform “scientific” research. They transmit their

knowledge, which is local to their environments, across

generations through oral tradition. Their primary concern is

the welfare and continuance of the people into future

generations.

Limitations of Western science

It is often stated that spiritual things, if they exist, do

not belong in science because they lie outside of nature

(which is the meaning of “supernatural”)—a view from the

22 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Western paradigm. But within a tribal worldview this is not

a paradox because spirit is embedded in nature and pervades the

universe; therefore, there is no need to go outside of the

physical/spiritual world in search of external realities.

Nor does this Native view preclude the universal presence of

the Great Spirit and other spirits in the world (angels are

spirits). The dualism in Western epistemology arises from

the arbitrary split between spirit and matter (or mind and

body), perhaps because mind has no physical dimensions; it

does not occupy space and cannot be measured. This dualism

is problematic because it excludes a large part of human

experience and consequently limits the domain of human

knowledge. Native scholars often point out that the

science/religion controversy lies entirely within the

Western tradition; such conflicts do not exist among Native

people; spirituality is an essential part of tribal life.

That the West has developed a powerful science is

undeniable. It derives this power from the simple assumption

that only phenomena that can be measured belong in science. But

because it has relegated all other phenomena to religion or

23 PHILLIP H. DURAN

philosophy, science lacks a source of spiritual and moral

guidance.

Another restriction that influences Western science and,

in fact, often defines it is the falsifiability of theories,

proposed by philosopher Karl Popper. In order to be

scientific, a theory (or proposition or hypothesis) must be

proposed so that it can theoretically be falsified, even if

it is true. Thus a single counter-example would disprove a

theory so proposed. According to Popper, a theory that

survives several attempts to be proved false is worthy of

being trusted, but it can never be proved right because the

potential always exists for it to be falsified.

These two tests—measurability and falsifiability—ensure

empiricism in science but they also limit the domain of

knowledge. The ability to test theories is important;

however, it should also be acknowledged that the scientific

method, if it is defined to exclude all other theories, is

not equipped to explain the totality of human experience,

such as spiritual experiences and numerous paranormal

phenomena. The tendency to reject the paranormal and

24 PHILLIP H. DURAN

metaphysical may be a hangover from classical thinking

despite the fact that modern physics, which has revealed

nature’s mysterious behavior and spawned new questions about

the meaning of reality, is more than a hundred years old.

Spirit and matter were not always divided. Knowledge was

once unified, but a major split in Greek thought occurred in

the fifth century B.C., after which the study of nature

(science) and matters of the spirit (religion) gradually

became independent disciplines. Western science can be

traced back to this rift among the Greeks, so that today it

embraces empiricism exclusively and religiously. The

exclusion of spirit encourages a sterile attitude toward

nature that is now prevalent and carries over to other areas

of life, including how the earth is perceived as a dead

commodity subject to exploitation.

Intelligent design and the Western paradigm

Needless to say, the science/religion

(evolution/creationism) controversy shows no signs of

abating. Parents, scientists, and others are polarized and

emotions are as strong as a hot political issue, judging

25 PHILLIP H. DURAN

from the way people rally when a court or board decision is

made; there are always winners and losers. Is there a more

plausible approach that could eliminate or mitigate the

controversy? I believe there is. The central issues are

religion—because the idea that “life is so complex, it must

be the result of intelligence” is perceived as religious—and

the meaning of science.

America has deviated far from its original spiritual

vision that once accommodated references to the sacred trust

between the nation (actually, all humankind) and its

Creator, a trend that has obviously influenced the meaning

of science. Intelligent design advocates apparently do not

recognize the impact of this trend and, in my opinion, have

made a fatal mistake by proposing ID as an alternative

theory within the Western paradigm, which clearly requires

exclusive adherence to material causes to explain nature’s

complexity. They argue that an unrestricted search for the

truth about nature based on reasoning from physical evidence

is “science,” not religion.12 But it is easy to convince a

12 Statement by Michael Behe in reaction to the judge’s decision in the federal court case against the Dover, Pennsylvania School District.

26 PHILLIP H. DURAN

judge or the public that intelligent design is not science,

because claiming that complexity is the result of

intelligence is not much different from saying that it comes

from a higher power. It seems more rational to conclude that

this intelligence is due to a higher power than otherwise.

In fact, Einstein was humbled by this “infinitely superior

spirit” manifest in the laws of the universe.

It is the attitude or approach to a theory or hypothesis

that is philosophical or religious, not the theory itself.

Einstein’s emotional response to a harmonious universe, for

example, was the motivation behind his discoveries but his

belief did not become a part of physics. His approach to

science converges with Indian metaphysics insofar as we are

awed by nature’s (the creation’s) mysteries, which inspire

us to investigate, but we must be meticulous in our attempts

to ascertain what nature is saying when she reveals a

secret.

I believe there is a better approach to the controversy.

First, there is nothing wrong with claiming that the amazing

See http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?command=download&id=697.

27 PHILLIP H. DURAN

and unquestionable complexity in the universe is due to a

higher power. In my view, to claim otherwise is a form of

denial. Einstein expressed it enthusiastically: “My

religiosity consists of a humble admiration of the

infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little

that we can comprehend about the knowable world. That deeply

emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning

power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe,

forms my idea of God” (Isaacson, 2007, p. 388). Second,

don’t try to teach ID as a scientific theory; instead, make

it known that belief in intelligent design is a rational

conclusion based on the demonstrated complexity of the cell

(which extends to the entire universe). Many evolutionists

are also people of faith but they are committed to the

Western paradigm. Third, acknowledge the limitations of the

scientific method, which cannot explain all phenomena.

Finally, focus on the enormous complexity of the universe

(not just biology) instead of which theory is right.

Theories are generally deeper than the general public

can understand and scientists need to be honest about their

28 PHILLIP H. DURAN

own assumptions, beliefs, and biases. Producing evidence

that evolution is possible, or even actually occurring now,

does not prove that life on earth actually originated that

way; in this sense evolution is a hopeful, unproved theory.

By taking this approach, the school children will not have

to listen only to one-sided arguments in favor of evolution.

There is no need to feel defeated in a free country.

Complexity in the cosmos

Theoretical physicists fully acknowledge the evidence of

complexity in the cosmos. They do not deny that, against all

logical expectations, the universe is surprisingly friendly

to complex structures and, amazingly, supports intelligent

life on earth as well as systems as large as galaxies. But

unsuccessful efforts thus far to develop a complete theory

of nature that unifies all the forces of physics (quantum

gravity) has caused frustration among cosmologists who have

worked arduously for the past thirty years in hopes of

proving string theory. Some string theorists are close to

being convinced that the only alternative is to accept the

complexity of nature as unexplainable. This alternative,

29 PHILLIP H. DURAN

known as the Anthropic Principle, has been expressed in various

ways. “A human being, as he/she is, can exist only in the

Universe as it is.” Also: “Humans should take into account

the constraints that human existence as observers imposes on

the sort of universe that could be observed” (Wikipedia).

A sense of the sacred in science

A science that limits itself to the physical domain, as in

the Western paradigm, is forced to look elsewhere for moral

guidance, assuming that its purpose is to serve. Who or what

will be the conscience of science and research and in the

overall quest for knowledge?

Scientific knowledge in itself has no moral content.

This principle is illustrated in a story that Vine Deloria,

Jr. has related and I will summarize. In 1918, a Christian

missionary by the name of A. McG. Beede took Harry Boise, a

Yale graduate, to the Standing Rock Sioux and Turtle

Mountain Chippewa Indian reservations on separate trips, for

the purpose of explaining scientific ideas to both tribal

groups. Beede wrote in his report that both groups

immediately understood the concepts without difficulty. A

30 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Sioux elder by the name of Red Thomahawk reported his

group’s consensus: “The knowledge and use of any or all the

powers of the objects on Earth around us is as liable to

lead a man wrong as to lead him right. It is merely power,

with no way of knowing how to use it correctly … unless

Woniya [Spirit] is with a man’s spirit for the light.”

Chippewa leader Rising Sun gave a similar response. Beede

reported that, according to Rising Sun, the scientific view

was “inadequate to explain, among other things, how man is

to find and know a road along which he wishes and chooses to

make this said progress unless the great Manitoo by his

spirit guides the mind of man, keeping human beings just and

generous and hospitable” (Deloria 2002: 121-122).

The above exemplifies the typical indigenous approach to

knowledge, or scientific inquiry: The ultimate source of

enlightenment, if the researcher allows it to enter, is the

Creator Spirit (God). Native people do not give science a

separate authoritative domain. The above two tribal groups

placed a higher value on ethical and moral knowledge than on

raw knowledge about the physical world.

31 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Essentially, it is a sense of the sacred that is lacking

in science. Consider the following examples from Scripture:

“If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; forGod's temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Co.3:17).

“We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when wewere with him on the sacred mountain” (2 Pe. 1:18).

“It would have been better for them not to have known theway of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turntheir backs on the sacred command that was passed on tothem” (2 Pe. 2:21).

In broader terms: human beings13 are sacred; places that

witness spiritual events are sacred; and God’s authority is

sacred. A price is paid when these are violated. Is this not

also true of science or society if it disregards the need

for spiritual and moral guidance and desecrates the divine

intent? Will we accept responsibility for the sacredness of

the web of life?

Stewards of the earth

Native people generally view the physical/spiritual

world as a unified whole. The earth does not reveal its

13 Humans are sacred by virtue of the creation: God breathed into man the breath of life. Slavery and other crimes in America’s history against both Indians and Blacks were terrible sins against the sacredness of man.

32 PHILLIP H. DURAN

secrets in special categories or disciplines like “geology,”

“chemistry,” or “physics.” In Native communities the need or

urge to know does not stem primarily from intellectual

curiosity but from the need to maintain subsistence

lifestyles that reflect a concern for practical living and

often the need to survive. Their science has to work under

often extreme conditions or the people would not survive.

Viewing themselves as stewards, their traditional lifestyles

also determine the kind of technology they need.

If this seems unrealistic, one need only to consider the

vast difference between living in complete dependence on the

natural environment, in loving deference to the Maker of all

Things and his creation, and living in a city where

everything—far beyond what is needed—is purchased: food,

fuel, water, electrical power, housing, waste disposal,

appliances, etc. When the people are forced to abandon their

traditional way of life, the spiritual loss in particular is

unimaginable, for theirs is a spiritual universe;

spirituality is integrated into every activity. They do not

attend church in order to get religion. Their relationship

33 PHILLIP H. DURAN

to the whole universe, often mistakenly referred to as

“religion,” involves the whole being through experience,

intuition, philosophy, active participation and interaction,

and consciousness.

An awareness of the unseen world of spirit, and respect

for the powers in the universe, characterize the

spirituality of indigenous societies. Spirituality is tied

to the specific homeland, the familiar landscape that

nurtures the tribe, where traditions, customs, teachings,

beliefs, prayers, ceremonies, and language form a complete

and harmonious world. It is not an abstract notion,

political ideal, or set of doctrines; these may bring the

comfort of belief but at the expense of the continuous

pursuit of knowledge. The people view their role as a

covenant in reciprocal relationship with the land, as

stewards and guardians of that part of the biosphere that

they occupy. Traditional knowledge is the people’s own

science; it is a way of life. Knowledge systems are unique

to the indigenous societies living within their

environments; the people know they belong to the land.

34 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Unlike living in a world of affluence and modern

conveniences, Native peoples have to acquire skills to meet

any challenge they may encounter. In industrial societies,

on the other hand, undue reliance on technologies tends to

suppress our God-given potential to help ourselves and

others.

Indigenous metaphysics

American Indian reality involves philosophy and practice,

forming a coherent view of the world through active

participation. An Indian relates to the cosmos personally

and socially. The late Vine Deloria, Jr. expressed it as

follows: “The best description of Indian metaphysics was the

realization that the world, and all its possible

experiences, constituted a social reality, a fabric of life

in which everything had the possibility of intimate knowing

because, ultimately, everything was related” (Deloria 2001:

2). While metaphysics transcends the physical realm in

search of ways to explain phenomena, tribal beliefs

nonetheless stem mainly from empirical observation,

including spiritual experiences. For the Indian no

35 PHILLIP H. DURAN

experience is discounted just because it can’t be replicated

or analyzed.

Indigenous metaphysics is not simply a combination of

Western science and metaphysics. Because it also involves

Indian philosophy, it can be mistaken as Indian “religion.”

It acknowledges a live universe and transcends conventional

science by not relying exclusively on measuring techniques

for receiving information, and it does not display the

sterile attitude toward the natural world that is typical of

Westerners. Concepts that arise in modern physics, such as

networks, relationships, flux, energy, wholeness, and

connectedness, are also a part of the Indian’s metaphysical

world.

Why are there no prominent scientists among Native

people? It is not for lack of wisdom or knowledge.

Indigenous contributions to the world have come through

inventions and innovations, some of which preceded modern

science, which are largely unnoticed. They are not channeled

through public societal infrastructures. American Indians

comprise only about two percent of the U.S. population and

36 PHILLIP H. DURAN

comparatively small numbers are leaving colleges and

universities with graduate degrees—or any degree. A glance

at history will also reveal that the college and university

experience is relatively new in Native America.

Are our technologies creating a better world, not in

terms of convenience but peace, justice, happiness, welfare,

local sustainability, etc.? This is what’s important; human

ingenuity is not equivalent to wisdom. Consider this

scenario: If we continue to increasingly depend on imported

goods and technologies, we may become subjugated to

multinational corporations that will control everything we

need, and we will not be able to resist.

Modern PhysicsIn the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians he

tells us about the Son’s cosmic role: “He is the image of

the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by

him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers

or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold

37 PHILLIP H. DURAN

together” (Col. 1:15-17). This passage brings together the

creation, the Son as Creator, and physics—the latter because

the phrase, “all things hold together,” is a reference to

the makeup of the universe: matter, motion, energy, time and

space, and so on, both large and small, visible and

invisible. The sacred connection lies in the fact that it is

the Son who holds all things together. From a physicist’s

perspective, the analysis does not go beyond the physical

aspect but does not preclude the existence of an ultimate

Spirit Power behind everything. Jesus himself said that God

is spirit.

There was once the widespread belief among physicists

and others that we live in a mechanical universe, one that

is ultimately material and reducible to the smallest

particles of matter and could be completely explained by

Newton’s laws of motion, or classical physics. The broad

premises of this philosophy, known as mechanism, can be

summarized as follows: a) everything consists of inert and

changeless matter that occupies space; b) the behavior of

matter is inherently mathematical; c) all events in the

38 PHILLIP H. DURAN

universe can be explained with Newtonian laws; d) the

observer’s mind is separate from the thing observed (the

mind also being reducible to physical laws) and the

ontological bridge between them are also laws and theories.

Modern physics has utterly destroyed these premises, and

it is safe to say that none of them agrees with tribal

worldviews either. In the following paragraphs, I state

concepts that I have come to understand as being shared by

most tribes. With each one I describe the relevant physics

that relates to or converges with it.

All things are imbued with spirit. This concept is reflected in

Native languages, for the Indian world uses the language of

spirit, implying action and movement. The Creator breathed

on all things, so they are sacred. Modern languages like

English are loaded with inanimate nouns, which not only

reflect a static, object-oriented worldview but also a

materialistic one. Native peoples do not separate the sacred

from the secular; they live in deference to a spiritual

universe. They are driven by a state of consciousness that

39 PHILLIP H. DURAN

recognizes the realities of nature, rather than codes of

ethics or creeds. Indigenous ways of knowing place a very

high value on the moral aspects and consequences of

research; “scientific” knowledge is secondary to higher

forms of knowledge.

As described below (see “we are all related”), the

cosmos14 is whole and interconnected like a vast network.

This is an objective fact, speaking in a physical sense.

Whether it possesses (or lacks) a spiritual dimension is a

matter for the individual scientist to decide¸ because

physics does not compel us to accept or reject spiritual or

metaphysical ideas when interpreting observed phenomena. The

ultimate constituent of the universe is not known to physics

but we know it is not material.

Since matter and energy are equivalent (E=mc2), does it

also follow that matter and spirit are equivalent? In a

Native worldview, the Great Spirit, or Creator, made all

things and is omnipresent; however, this is not a theistic

14 “Cosmos,” a commonly used term among physicists, is synonymous with“universe.” It does not have the same meaning as “world” (kosmos) in theNew Testament.

40 PHILLIP H. DURAN

notion. Author Joseph Rael (Picuris Pueblo) informs us that

the Tiwa name for God is Wah-mah-chi, which means breath,

matter, and movement. “The breath is the inspiration in

matter that brings all concreteness, or form, into existence

via movement. Really only one thing exists, and that is the

breath of God in a state of movement creating the vibration

of matter” (Rael 1998: 31). Since there are no nouns or

pronouns in Tiwa (and other Native languages), God is not a

noun.

The scope of science and the role of the scientist are

two separate issues. Einstein gave the world the best model.

Regarding scope, he said: “science can only ascertain what

is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value

judgments of all kinds remain unnecessary” (Einstein 1956:

23). But as to what motivated him, which is just as important

yet seems to be largely absent among today’s scientists, it

was his faith in a harmonious universe: “There was a

harmonious reality underlying the laws of the universe,

Einstein felt, and the goal of science was to discover it”

(Isaacson 2007: 3). He was moved emotionally when he

41 PHILLIP H. DURAN

experienced the mysterious, referring to a “cosmic religious

feeling” as the strongest and boldest motive for scientific

research. His humility toward a superior Intelligence behind

all of the secrets of the cosmos, his bold admission of

possessing a religious feeling that was vastly different

from a naïve religiosity, and furthermore that this feeling

represents the strongest and boldest motive for scientific

research—all of these qualities exemplify what it means to

be a person of science.15 This aspect of science corresponds

to a Native perspective: relating to the world with one’s

whole being.

Matter is the manifestation of spirit. This concept is expressed in

different ways. Native peoples know about the movement of

energy, or energy waves, in nature. For example: “Our pre-

conquest Mayan ancestors, through deduction and synthesis,

came to a monotheistic conclusion, with a mathematical

sense. Their concept of Absolute Being was defined as

measure and movement—measure of the soul and movement of the

15 These comments were derived from chapter seventeen (“Einstein’s God”) in Walter Isaacson’s Einstein: His Life and Universe, a comprehensive biography of Einstein.

42 PHILLIP H. DURAN

energy which is spirit. … Atomic research has confirmed that

material is essentially energy” (Men 1990: 24).

The classical world is the manifestation of

energy/matter transformations occurring at the quantum

scale. Nature is ultimately energy (or spirit); physics

research (quantum theory) confirms that the unmanifested, or

unseen, is pure energy transformed into the manifested,

which is matter.

The world is in constant flux. Native peoples have long observed

that the entire cosmos is undergoing constant change. They

see it in the regular cycles and patterns of nature, the

motions of planets and stars, the sun and moon cycles, the

seasons, the weather systems, changes in animals, etc.

From physics we know that nuclear and sub-nuclear

particles (protons, electrons, etc.) at the quantum and sub-

quantum level are always in a state of flux. A particle can

become pure energy, and energy can transform back into a

different particle. Werner Heisenberg, known for discovering

the all-important Uncertainty Principle, expressed the view that

43 PHILLIP H. DURAN

any talk about electrons and protons as “building blocks” of

matter was a confusing misrepresentation of the nature of

quantum reality. Rather, he said, these entities are the

surface manifestations of underlying quantum processes;

symmetries16 are the more fundamental property. Reality, he

said, lies not with the particles but with the relationships

that exist within the flux of energy and processes of

quantum nature.

Bohm lamented that the subject-verb-object structure of

modern languages, including English, fragments the totality

of existence. Thought is forced to accommodate the subject

as a separate entity, and this is also true of the object if

the verb is transitive. But if the world were perceived as a

coherent whole, the language would reflect the unbroken two-

way flowing movement between thought and experience.

The quantum world consists of processes, not static

objects. Because quantum processes are action-based, they

call for an action-oriented language. To correct this

shortcoming, Bohm created a new mode of language based on

16 Symmetry is a very important part of ongoing string theory research.

44 PHILLIP H. DURAN

English, which he called the rheomode, giving the verb a

primary role. However, as physicist David Peat writes in

From Certainty to Uncertainty, Bohm met Native people who spoke the

Algonquin language shortly before his death and discovered

the perfect bridge he was looking for—one that connected

language and worldview—to describe quantum physics. In other

words, the feature he sought in a language, and he put into

the rheomode, already exists in Native languages.17

Rael, who is fluent in his Tiwa language, further

enforces the idea of constant motion reflected in language

and worldview. “The Tiwa words speak of a dynamic unfolding

reality that is constantly ongoing. The Tiwa language has no

nouns or pronouns … so things don’t exist as concrete,

distinct objects. Everything is a motion and is seen in its

relationship to the other motions” (Rael 2002).

Rael also expresses the Tiwa idea that “we do not exist”

at any given instant because we are always changing and

becoming. We know this to be a fact in physics: All objects

including humans constantly undergo changes at the deepest

17 Peat, F. David. From Certainty to Uncertainty. Washington: Joseph Henry Press, 2002.

45 PHILLIP H. DURAN

levels; we change yet our identity is maintained for us by

internal processes. “Perceptual living is a statement of

impermanence, therefore always changing. It’s as if light

(Universal Intelligence) is constantly shattering into

itself as it moves along themes of creativity” (Rael 2002:

back cover).

These examples illustrate the amazing correspondence

between Native worldviews, reflected in their languages, and

the processes discovered in modern physics, where timeless

movements and change correspond to flux in quantum theory.

We are all related. This is the Lakota phrase, mitakuye oyas’in,

which is also translated “all my relatives.” It is the

strong affirmation that we hold kinship to all human and non-

human life (due to our interdependence, not evolution); it

implies a desire for cosmic justice. It also affirms that

there is a sacred order to all things above and below—a

cosmic law. Another phrase that is frequently expressed is:

“All things are connected,” which affirms that all things in

the universe are interconnected and interdependent. This is

46 PHILLIP H. DURAN

an expression about wholeness in the universe, which modern

physics (i.e. quantum and relativity theories) abundantly

confirm. The following is a brief summary of evidences from

physics.

The classical world of daily experience consists of

visible objects and particles of all sizes. General

relativity, however, denies the existence of “rigid

objects”; i.e. objects with definable boundaries in three

measurable dimensions. Instead, particles are only

abstractions within the gravitational field, which acts like

a web. Motion occurs relative to spacetime (not space),

which acts like a flexible fabric in the “web.” Gravity

travels through spacetime at light speed.

The idea of the cosmos as a web is also an indigenous

concept. The physics concept of the cosmos as a web

corresponds specifically with the cosmology of the

indigenous people of Peru in the Andes, for example, as

researcher Oakley Gordon has described metaphorically.

Referring to his Peruvian guides, with whom he had spend

much time during a seven-year project, he writes: “The paq'os

47 PHILLIP H. DURAN

offered an ‘energetic’ model of reality where everything

that exists consists of interconnected filaments of energy.

The Cosmos itself consists of a vast web of these filaments,

and where these filaments join together to form a node there

exists what we experience as an object” (Gordon: 2001).

In describing the Andean people’s concept of the

universe, Gordon explains that he had to use metaphors that

approximate the picture described by the paq'os. He further

explains that a people’s language develops together with

their epistemology, which can only be understood in their

language, making the use of metaphor an approximate method

of communicating to outsiders their concepts about reality.

Consequently, the actual cosmology of a people is much deeper

than can be described with metaphors or in a different

language. This is an important lesson for all outsiders to

another people’s culture. Perhaps this lesson also applies

to the language of nature.

Everything in the universe is in motion and undergoing

transformations at subatomic scales, as particles become

pure energy and vice versa. Atoms change quantum states when

48 PHILLIP H. DURAN

electrons jump between orbits without passing through

intermediate states, implying that motion is indivisible—

another evidence of wholeness. Quantum mechanics challenges

the traditional dualism of classical mechanics because

measuring particles at the quantum scale disturbs them,

implying that observer and observed (researcher and the

object studied) are now more closely related, forming a

single system and increasing the subjective character of the

experience. What we actually measure is the object after it

has changed or become detectable. While a non-Native

researcher separates him or herself from the object studied,

a Native person cooperates with the it, so that both yield

knowledge that the researcher possesses but cannot be

separated from the resource.

Wholeness is further manifested in what is probably the

most bizarre, yet repeatedly verified, phenomenon in the

quantum world: Particles that were produced by some process

and are later separated will remain entwined forever. When

one changes, its twin also changes instantaneously so that

the two remain correlated, regardless of the distance

49 PHILLIP H. DURAN

between them and the fact that they are unable to

communicate with each other through signals. This undeniable

feature of the universe is known as nonlocality. Thus, the

universe is whole and completely connected, corresponding to

the Native concept that all things are interrelated and

interconnected.

Additionally, physicists working on string theory and

quantum gravity (a theory that would unite quantum theory

and general relativity, and therefore all forces in nature)

describe the universe as a “network of relationships” and a

“seamless holographic fabric”—terms that imply wholeness. A

network consists of nodes and links (threads, relationships,

or electromagnetic links such as in the worldwide web) such

that any two nodes are able to communicate through one or

more “jumps.” This feature exemplifies wholeness because a

network is a single, unbroken entity. In a hologram, every

region of a two-dimensional surface, such as a photographic

plate, is encoded with a three-dimensional image, which can

be reproduced with the aid of a laser. Physicist David Bohm

50 PHILLIP H. DURAN

and other leading physicists have suggested that the

universe itself may be a giant hologram.

In his last book, The Undivided Universe, which he completed

just before his death, physicist David Bohm presents an

alternative approach to quantum theory that affirms the

evidence of wholeness in the universe. Nonlocality is

formulated explicitly in Bohmian cosmology. Bohm was one of

the foremost scientific thinkers and distinguished

physicists of his generation. His concept of an undivided

universe bolsters the physical aspect of indigenous

worldviews.

The world works in cycles. Black Elk, holy man of the Oglala

Sioux (1863-1960), exemplifies the insights among indigenous

spiritual elders about the behavior of nature. “Birds make

their nests in circles.” “The wind, in its greatest power,

whirls.” Also, “You have noticed that everything an Indian

does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the

World always works in circles, and everything tries to be

round” (Black Elk 1961: 194).

51 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Animals do not argue with nature; they simply respect

its authority and adjust to its patterns. Likewise, Native

peoples whose traditions are still rooted in the earth

pattern their community life according to nature’s cycles.

Native people often say that “time is circular,” implying

that nature’s cycles sustain all life and the functioning of

the universe. Tribal peoples around the world participate in

and harmonize with the universe’s cosmic cycles and rhythms—

the seasons, animal migrations, the motion of the sun,

stars, etc.—through ceremonies that acknowledge this fact.

Every locality on earth has its own rhythm; the alternative

to “taming the wilderness” and seeking ways to defend

oneself from its dangers is to listen and adjust to the

rhythm. It is the Western World that has deviated from this

natural harmony of existence.

We know from physics that the natural world operates in

cycles from the smallest to the largest scales. The

vibrations within the atom, light and all electromagnetic

waves, sound, planetary and galactic motion, and the most

recent research in string theory, which tells us that every

52 PHILLIP H. DURAN

particle of nature is a unique combination of

ultramicroscopic vibrating entities called “strings,” and

the different forms of energy—all of these are evidences of

cyclical motion. Unknown to modern science is how Mayan

astronomers of long ago were able to predict the exact date

that marks the end of the earth’s precessional cycle. The

earth wobbles as it rotates, a movement called “precession,”

and a complete cycle requires 26,000 years to complete. This

will occur at the winter solstice on December 21, 2012, the

date that also marks the end of the “long count” on one of

the Mayan calendars. At that time, the winter solstice sun

will be aligned with the center of the galaxy and the

fulfillment of a Mayan prophecy.

What is time? It is part of the constant change

occurring in the natural world. Interestingly, Einstein’s

discovery of general relativity has shown that time and

space are interdependent; as spacetime, they change together;

they are not absolute and independent entities as once

thought. Neither tribes nor earth’s creatures measure time

by a clock, which is really a tool used in physics. A clock

53 PHILLIP H. DURAN

is no more than an ideal periodic process. The number of

ticks on the clock tells us how long a process lasts or how

far apart (time-wise) two events are separated. Perhaps we

live mostly an illusion, thinking in terms of the linear

flow, or “arrow,” of time, for which physicists find no

evidence. There is no universal clock marking all events in the universe.

Clocks tick at different rates that depend on the relative

speeds between objects. No one can explain how fast time

actually “flows”; to say it flows one second per second has

no meaning. The notion of linear time is deeply engrained in

the Western mindset. Change, on the other hand, and the

relationships between events, can be conceptualized without

thinking about time. Change is irreversible and nonlinear;

physical systems become increasingly disorderly due to a

principle of nature known as entropy.

Storytelling is central to the life of a tribe. The importance of stories

cannot be overestimated nor adequately described; it has to

be experienced. Stories perpetuate oral tradition and

language. They transport us to another world, to a different

54 PHILLIP H. DURAN

state of consciousness, where all that is important about

life seems to come together and time has a different meaning

in another dimension that is in some ways more real. Stories

sharpen listening skills, transmit the tribe’s history and

knowledge of its origin to future generations, teach moral

lessons, tell why things are like they are. They teach

respect and clarify concepts. The people learn to know who

they really are and their purpose on earth, and why they

call themselves by their name, which often means “the real

people.” Children participate in the culture since birth.

Likewise, dreams are a channel of knowledge. The world of

stories and dreams is a metaphysical world. Of course, much

of this richness has been lost due to assimilation into an

alien culture. I am blessed because I still listen to

ancient stories, with my wife and tribal family, in our

circle around the fire.

As already mentioned, in physics there is the problem of

describing processes in the quantum world because they are

not static objects with unchanging properties, like rocks.

Physicist Lee Smolin offers a simple solution: tell a story,

55 PHILLIP H. DURAN

with its connections and relationships between events; these are

the important aspects. What caused an event and why? This

involves the flow of information between events. A given

event is typically the result of several influences, not

just one. A process is like a story. “The world is a history

of processes. Motion and change are primary” (Smolin 2001:

49-50). When we are dealing with processes instead of

objects, to ask how something is, is an illusion, which

reminds us of Rael’s words: “We do not exist,” because we

are always changing, always becoming.

A great mysterious energy pervades the universe. To Native people

this energy is also identified as spirit. We live in a world

of spirit and spirits. An ultimate spiritual Power, also

referred to as the Great Mystery, or Creator, created all

things including humans, and this is told in the stories.

Spiritual experiences are real; they are not logical

deductions, inventions of the mind, or primitive

superstitions. No experience is discounted just because of

56 PHILLIP H. DURAN

its unusual character or because it involves only one

person.

Every Indian tribe has its own spiritual heritage.

Spiritual expression occurs through many avenues: the sun

dance, the sweat lodge, the vision quest, dreams, visions,

etc. If Israel, a tribal nation, felt the Power of God (the

Creator), why not also accept the claim of indigenous

peoples that they, too, have apprehended this power and

presence? Vine Deloria, Jr.’s final work before his passing,

The World We Used to Live In: Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men,

is all about unusual eyewitness accounts of spiritual power

reported by observers. These written accounts are available

to anyone.

Even in physics, we use language that seems to imply

that nature “acts” according to changing circumstances.

Consider gravity, which most people think of as the force of

attraction between two bodies (Newton’s inverse square law).

General relativity tells us that the presence of mass

dynamically changes the geometry of spacetime: matter causes

space to curve, which causes matter to move, and so on.

57 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Physicist John A. Wheeler expressed it in a way that is

often quoted: “Matter tells space how to curve. Space tells

matter how to move.” Instead of the earth being attracted to

the sun and revolving around it in space, the earth “falls”

toward the sun through flexible spacetime, not space.

According to modern physics, energy does, in fact,

pervade the universe because everything is in motion. But

even when objects are at rest, an incredible amount of

reserve energy is stored inside every object due to the

violent movement of the object’s constituent particles that

are hidden from view; this is known as rest energy. This is

because mass and energy are equivalent (E=mc2). From this

formula we can easily compute (more meaningfully in terms of

power) the amount of energy contained in one gram of mass: A

device able to convert one millionth of a gram (one

microgram) of rest mass into energy every second would

release approximately 90 megawatts of power. One gram of

rest mass would release a million times this amount.

Living according to the classical order is, at least in

a conceptual sense, living an illusion when we ignore the

58 PHILLIP H. DURAN

energy that surrounds us, not to mention the spiritual

power. Fusion consists of spontaneous transformations of

matter into energy through which heavier atoms are formed,

such as in the sun and stars; in fission, atoms split into

lighter elements. Either case produces a very large amount

of kinetic energy (energy of motion), which in turn

generates large amounts of heat. Einstein spoke of the great

threat of evil this implies.

Nature exhibits regular patterns of renewal. Nature is self-

renewing, self-regulating, and self-organizing due to

processes that occur spontaneously. Tribal renewal

ceremonies celebrate these processes of nature, the cycles,

all that is sacred, and the human responsibility to

reciprocate and keep them going. “The Great Corn Dances of

the Pueblos are timed according to the maturation of

sacramental corn. The Great World Renewal ceremonies of the

tribes of the Northwest and California, and the various Sun

Dances of Plains peoples were and are renewal ceremonies in

which the whole community participated” (Cajete 2000: 118).

59 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Today’s scientists are discovering the renewal and self-

regulating aspects of the earth’s behavior. James Lovelock,

author of the Gaia theory,18 provides abundant evidence of

the earth as a single living organism (Lovelock 2000). For

example, the earth knows how to maintain the right levels of

oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, the right amount of

salinity in seawater, and the right temperature suitable for

life on earth. Earth cleanses herself through complex

processes that occur in the atmosphere, which re-circulates

constantly in order to move waste to the oceans and move

clean air back to the land.

Also, chaos and complexity theory are new science areas

that now recognize the self-renewing properties of earth

systems. Geology has been renamed to “earth system science.”

Renewal is evident everywhere and need only to be observed

in daily life.

18 Once viewed only as a hypothesis, Gaia is now a physical theory. This name was taken from Greek mythology (the Greek earth goddess), which is not how Indians perceive the earth. When Indians refer to Mother Earth, it is not in terms of a deity; it is because she nourishesall of us. To view the earth as merely a planet is to miss its significance as the stage where all of God’s purposes seem to be taking place.

60 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Final thoughtsI have attempted to present a strong basis for understanding

the world of the American Indian. It was not my intent to

paint a picture of perfection or superiority; it’s only

right that some dignity be restored with the hope of

kindling a fire of consciousness concerning the fulfillment

of God’s ultimate purpose for the tribal nations He created

and nurtured. I emphasize fulfillment because something went

terribly wrong. The best estimates show the indigenous

depopulation rate in the Americas to be between ninety and

ninety-five percent after the arrival of Columbus. As for

the remnant of this holocaust, the Christian reader may not

have realized until now the true value of a culture that was

targeted for complete eradication by United States national

policy, however well intended it may have been. The tragedy

deepens when we also consider that these, the world’s oldest

human societies, whose ancestors welcomed newcomers to their

shores, now live in poverty with an average unemployment

rate of about fifty percent. Yet it’s obvious that even

61 PHILLIP H. DURAN

today, Americans still know little about what happened here

or how to respond with a Christian conscience.

We need a hope that allows us to feel the indelible past.

America’s hope, I believe, lies not in military power but in

the ability and willingness to discover and re-plant the

ancient wisdom that was here when European immigrants first

came seeking the very things that the Indian already

enjoyed: freedom, peace, love, justice, ethics, the purpose

of human life, and righteous government. Here was a

spiritual universe that went unnoticed. Although in America

much of this wisdom has been destroyed, suppressed, or

remains hidden due to assimilation or disinterest, the

majority of the world is still rooted, not in the Western

paradigm, but in ancient spiritual traditions. Native

America is still here, strong and determined. I personally

participate in ceremonies, storytelling around the council

fire, and in contact with the bearers of traditional

knowledge—always looking for signs of fulfillment.

Future generations will feel our legacy to the extent

that we played a role in the crises they will have to face.

62 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Long before the U.S. Constitution was written, the Seventh

Generation Principle had been at the center of many tribal

nations’ decisions. Simply stated: “The decisions made today

must be for the welfare of the seventh generation yet

unborn.” Is it too late for the nation and the world’s

leaders to accept and practice it?

As we have seen, modern physics reveals a different

order of reality, one that encompasses the classical order

and corresponds in several ways with the Indian’s conceptual

world. But more importantly, all of us figure into one

cosmic, divine plan. Jesus spoke of great power: the power

of God, of the Spirit, of the kingdom, of Elijah, of God’s

name, of authority, of love, of his own power —power to

heal, to restore, to overcome, to free, but also the

destructive power of the enemy and the power that Jesus

would give his followers in order to do greater miracles

than he did. I don’t believe that such power, or the love

that accompanies it, is primarily for our benefit.

Following Jesus is a serious matter but perhaps our

reliance on tangible “things,” such as affluence, makes it

63 PHILLIP H. DURAN

easy to sidestep his hard teachings, which are more

holistic, compassionate, spiritual, communal, practical,

experiential, and relevant than a “classical” lifestyle. He

said that his teaching was not his own but came from “him

who sent me”—his father, our Creator, the Maker of all

Things—implying a different way of life, a metaphysics of

existence and practice that differs markedly from what his

disciples were experiencing.

We have seen how everything is physically interrelated

through the web of life. But many are blind to its

sacredness, which cannot be disregarded irreverently without

cost. How will they be warned? Each of us has a perspective,

a responsibility, and an opportunity in a world of suffering

and pain, poverty and hunger, drug trafficking and

corruption, and the threat of war—all on the increase. How

will we respond, for all our relations?

64 PHILLIP H. DURAN

References and Bibliography

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Black Elk. Black Elk Speaks (as told through John G. Neihardt). Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1932.

Bohm, David. Causality & Chance in Modern Physics. University of Pennsylvania, 1957.

Bohm, David. The Undivided Universe. New York: Routledge, 1993.

Cajete, Gregory. Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers, 2000.

Capra, F. The Tao of Physics. Boston: Shambala Publications, Inc., 1985.

Deloria, Vine. Evolution, Creationism, and Other Modern Myths. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, 2002.

Duran, Eduardo and Duran, Bonnie. Native American Post-Colonial Psychology. State University of New York Press, 1995.

Eastman, Charles (Ohiyesa). The Soul of an Indian. Kent Nerburn, ed. Novato, California: New World Library, 1993.19

Einstein, Albert. Albert Einstein: Out of My Later Years. New York: Winds Books. 1956.

Gordon, Oakley. “An Environmental Epistemology of the Andean People of Peru,” <http://www.psych.utah.edu/gordon/AndeanResearch/FullPaper.html>, 2001.

Greene, Brian. The Fabric of the Cosmos. New York: Vintage Books, 2004.

Hawken, Paul. Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming. New York: Penguin Group, 2007.

Hurtado, Lorenzo Muelas. “Access to the Resources of Biodiversityand Indigenous Peoples.” Edmonds Institute occasional paper.

19 Based on the original 1911 publication.

65 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Bogota, Colombia, 1998. < www.edmonds-institute.org/muelaseng.html>

Isaacson, Walter. Einstein: His Life and Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007.

Kawagley, Angayuqaq O. and Barnhardt, Ray. “Education Indigenous to Place: Western Science Meets Native Reality.” Available at <www.ankn.uaf.edu/Curriculum/Articles/BarnhardtKawagley/EIP.html>

Keoke, Emory Dean, and Porterfield, Kay Marie. Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 Years of Inventions and Innovations, Facts on File Library of American History, 2002.20

Kidwell, Clara Sue, Noley, Homer, and Tinker, George E. “Tink”. A Native American Theology. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2001.

Lovelock. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. Oxford: University Press, 2000.

Men, H. Secrets of Mayan Science/Religion. Santa Fe: Bear & Company, 1990.

Mohawk, John, ed. A Basic Call to Consciousness: The Haudenosaunee Address to the Western World. Rooseveltown: Akwesasne Notes, 1978

Napoleon, Harold. Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Knowledge Network, 1996.

Needleman, Jacob. The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders.New York: Tarcher, 2003.

Peat, F. David. From Certainty to Uncertainty. Washington: Joseph Henry Press, 2002.

Pierotti, R. and Wildcat, D. “Traditional Knowledge, Ecology, andEvolution,” pre-publication manuscript.

Rael, Joseph. Ceremonies of the Living Spirit. Tulsa/San Francisco: Council Oaks Books, 1998.

Rael, Joseph. In the House of Shattering Light. Special Edition, 2002.

20 A shorter edition for younger readers, by the same title, was published in 2005.

66 PHILLIP H. DURAN

Schultz, Paul and Tinker, Tink. “Rivers of Life” in Native and Christian: Indigenous Voices on Religious Identity in the United States and Canada. James Treat, ed. New York: Routledge, 1996.

Smolin, Lee. Three Roads to Quantum Gravity. New York: Basic Books, 2001.

Stannard, David E. American Holocaust: Columbus and the Conquest of the New World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Thornton, Russell. American Indian Holocaust and Survival. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.