American Indian Philosophy

American Indian Philosophy is based on the tribal histories, cultures, Languages, and traditions of the early peoples of “The Americas” originating before colonization, histories which are still active today. Many key philosophical traditions developed across the very broad geographical area of the Americas, from Alaska to Patagonia, California to the Carolinas, Yukatan to the Dakotas, Brazil to Canada, all rooted in symbolic representations of Being, Spirit, Transcendence, Consciousness, Ethics, and much more.

While “America”, “Indian”, “Native”, and “Indigenous” are all forcibly loaded terms in today's world, this overview of “Native Philosophy in the Americas” or “American Native Philosophy” will use “American Indian” in the most general, yet respectful sense. “Native American” is often presumed to mean those only native to the area of the United States, very often called “America”, while “Indigenous Peoples” sounds vague and “PC”, even dismissive. “American Indians” are, per the US Census, persons “having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliations or community attachments” [sic].^[1] However, this reference still obviously betrays a US-centric view of those living within the borders of the United States today.

Due to these and other cultural confusions, there is no 100% accurate or acceptable term for Native Philosophy in the Americas in the same sense as we might say “European”, “African”, or “Asian”/“Eastern”. American Indians comprise a wide variety of beliefs and traditions among different cultures, most of which rely on oral traditions. Not unlike African Philosophy, it should be understood and appreciated that American Indians have survived many waves of cruelty, destruction, and colonization all across the Americas, which arguably continues today. Distinct American Indian tribes and cultures number in the many hundreds officially, perhaps many more in reality, and so this short article cannot possibly cover it all in adequate detail, and not, as with other articles, when the subject matter ventures into Religious Studies.

Metaphysics and Epistemology

Common to American Indian cultures is a belief in a metaphysical principle of the Great Spirit, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka for Sioux, Gitche Manitou for Algonquian, Teotl for Aztec, Camaquen for Inca. The great spiritual power is not exactly a “God”, but is connected to us, and to everything, by the critical informing of the Mind through Transcendental Experience, including Dreams] and Visions as much as Reason^[2], a process which is guided by Shamanism, and includes the awareness of plants and animals as spirits.^[3]

In a similarly to both African Philosophy and Eastern Philosophy the focus on tribal ceremonies, community traditions, and the observations of Nature and natural symbolism may seem very different to academic approaches in Philosophy, yet the study of Knowledge, Belief, and the ways in which people acquire and process Information, that is, Epistemology, is really not so different.^[4] An emphasis on native languages and cultures is a vital component, with Language itself being of course essential to understanding Psychology and different states of Consciousness.^[5] Likewise there is a strong link between Nature and the interpretation of Knowledge, as there is a Belief that the Mind interacts with the Environment in an active and conscious way.^[6]

Hopi & Sioux

Many consider the Six Directions, East, West, North, South, Up, and Down to be sacred to the understanding of the World, which cements a sense of place among the native people who share the symbols.^[7] For example, among the Hopi People, the concept of Hopivotskwani, or “The Hopi Path of Life”, entails behaving with a peaceful disposition, cooperation, humility, and respect. The Hopi teach that Life is a Journey to be lived in harmony with the Natural World. Following Hopivotskwani will lead to positive outcomes for interpersonal relationships and interactions with Nature. This connected to the belief that sufficient rainfall and a good harvest would follow the Path of Life.^[8] The Sioux People are also centered on interconnectedness and balance, and are guided by Belief that All Things are inter-related under the one Great Spirit, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka. Expressed through the principle of Mitakuye Oyasin (“we are all related”), this fosters deep respect for Nature and emphasizes cooperation and community. Ethical values such as generosity, kinship, fortitude, wisdom, respect, and compassion are paramount, with concepts like the Sacred Circle, the importance of a Vision, and the cyclical nature of Time being fundamental.

Maya & Aztec

Mesoamerican thought and Philosophy is notable for its extensive usage of metaphor to explain abstract concepts and a range of philosophical concerns. For example, the Maya had strong metaphysical concerns about Being, Essence, Identity, and Change bound up with their notion of Time. For the Maya, Time is central, and we actively create Time, and therefore Existence, not by being slaves to Time or experiencing it as something separate, but by “giving shape” to it ourselves. Keeping detailed calendars is essential to how the Maya gave shape to Time.^[9] The Aztecs thought in more or less pragmatic and practical terms. A central feature of Aztec Philosophy is the concept of Teotl, a Nahuatl term for the animating Force of the Cosmos as Dynamic Mover.^[10] The Aztecs developed Ethics focused on seeking Tlamatiliztli (“Knowledge”, “Wisdom”) which was based on moderation and balance in all actions, as in the proverb “The Middle Good is Necessary”.^[11] In this Metaphysics, Teotl is an all-encompassing Life Force of the Universe, and is the Universe itself. These philosophers were also poets, and some of their work has survived in the original Nahuatl.

Nazca & Inca

The Nazca believed in the Forces of Nature and practiced rituals designed to promote Agriculture and Fertility. Known for their beautiful Ceramics and Textiles as well as a sophisticated underground irrigation system, the most famous achievements are the “Nazca Lines”. They include straight lines across large mountainous areas only visible from the air, with geometrical shapes and pictorial representations, covering nearly 190 square miles. Today these geoglyphs are experienced mostly by tourists flying over them in small planes, and the photographs used in many publications are typically aerial photos. We do not know if the Nazca Lines were meant to be experienced from above by their creators, but due to the large scale, as well as the remote locations where mountains seem to have been flattened long before modern Earth Works machines, it is clear these quilcas indeed need to be read differently from the Nazca Art on pottery and portable objects.^[12] The later Inca Civilization had an elite class of philosopher-scholars termed the Amawtakuna or Amautas who were teachers of Philosophy, Theology, Astronomy, Poetry, Music, Ethics, History, and Law.^[13] Incan Philosophy, even the broader category of Andean Philosophy, held that the Universe is animated by a single Dynamic Life Force (Camaquen or Camac, as well as Upani and Amaya).^[14] This singular force also arises as a set of dual “complementary opposites”, Yanantin and Masintin. They are expressed as polarities or dualities - male/female, dark/light, life/death, above/below - which interdependently contribute to the harmonious whole Universe through the process of mutual exchange, Ayni.^[15]

References

1. United States Census Bureau. census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html.
2. Book, Whiteley, Peter M., 1998, rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/native-american-philosophy/v-1, Native American philosophy, web.archive.org/web/20200806154717/https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/native-american-philosophy/v-1, 6 August 2020, live, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Taylor & Francis, 10.4324/9780415249126-N078-1, 9780415250696.
3. Book, Pierotti, Raymond, 2003, se.edu/nas/files/2013/03/5thNAScommunities.pdf, web.archive.org/web/20160404090034/http://www.se.edu/nas/files/2013/03/5thNAScommunities.pdf, 4 April 2016, Communities as both Ecological and Social entities in Native American thought, Native American Symposium 5, Durant, OK, Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
4. Book, Deloria, Vine, Power and place: Indian education in America, Wildcat, Daniel R., 2001, Fulcrum, 978-1-55591-859-0, Golden (Colo.).
5. Journal, Battiste, Marie, 2002, Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy in First Nations Education: A Literary Review with Recommendations, afn.ca/uploads/files/education/24._2002_oct_marie_battiste_indigenousknowledgeandpedagogy_lit_review_for_min_working_group.pdf, National Working Group on Education, Ottawa, Canada, en, 17, none, 2018-04-26, 2023-04-17, web.archive.org/web/20230417035800/http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/education/24._2002_oct_marie_battiste_indigenousknowledgeandpedagogy_lit_review_for_min_working_group.pdf, dead.
6. Journal, Hester, L., Cheney, J., 2001, Truth and Native American epistemology, webpages.uidaho.edu/~morourke/524-phil/Readings/hester.pdf, Social Epistemology, en, 15, 4, 319–334, 10.1080/02691720110093333, 144297754, none.
7. Web, cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/13B1F8E6-0142-45FD-A626-9C4271DC6F62/v02n1AmericanIndians.pdf, Newsletter on American Indians in Philosophy, 2002, American Philosophical Association, University of Delaware, December 24, 2021.
8. Web, anthropology.iresearchnet.com/hopi-indians/, Hopi Indians - Anthropology - iResearchNet.
9. Buckingham, Will. 'Maya Philosophy, and How to Give Shape to Time'. May 13, 2021. willbuckingham.com/maya-philosophy/.
10. Web, Aztec Philosophy, iep.utm.edu/aztec/, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 24 December 2019.
11. This Worldview is based in the concept of an Ultimate Universal Energy or Force called Ōmeteōtl (“Dual Cosmic Energy”) which is a way to live in balance with a constantly changing, “slippery” World. encyclopedia, Aztec Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, iep.utm.edu/aztec/,, 25 December 2016, 25 May 2020, web.archive.org/web/20200525172948/https://www.iep.utm.edu/aztec/, live.
12. Nieves, Ana. Art Institute of Chicago. Pots, Petroglyphs, and Pathways: The Mythical Killer Whale in Nasca Art.
13. Journal, Yeakel, John A., Fall 1983, core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288024952.pdf, Accountant-Historians of the Incas, web.archive.org/web/20211112153051/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288024952.pdf, 12 November 2021, live, Accounting Historians Journal, 10, 2, 39–51, 10.2308/0148-4184.10.2.39.
14. Book, Maffie, James, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444314847, A Companion to Latin American Philosophy, 2009-12-04, Wiley, 978-1-4051-7979-9, Nuccetelli, Susana, 1, en, Pre-Columbian Philosophies, 10.1002/9781444314847, Schutte, Ofelia, Bueno, Otávio, Otávio Bueno.
15. Book, Webb, Hillary S., 2012, Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World: Complementary Dualism in Modern Peru.

Further Reading

• Book, Burkhart, Brian Yazzie, Waters, Anne, American Indian Thought: Philosophical Essays, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003, What Coyote and Thales Can Teach Us: An Outline of American Indian Epistemology, 15–26.
• Book, Miller, Mary Ellen, An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, Thames and Hudson, 1997, 9780500279281, 1st pbk., registration, archive.org/details/isbn_9780500279281.
• Book, Waters, Anne, Waters, Anne, American Indian Thought: Philosophical Essays, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003, Language Matters: Nondiscrete Nonbinary Dualism, 97–115.
• Book, Arola, A., The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy, Native American Philosophy, Oxford Handbooks, 2011, academia.edu/11512377, none.
• Journal, Barnhardt, R., 2005, Indigenous knowledge systems and Alaska Native ways of knowing, Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 36, 1, 8–23, 10.1525/aeq.2005.36.1.008, none.
• Book, Moore, K.D., Peters, K., Jojola, T., Lacy, A., How it is: The Native American philosophy of VF Cordova, 2007, none.
• Book, Parry, M.L., Canziani, O.F., Palutikof, J.P., van der Linden, P.J., Hanson, C.E., 2007, Climate Change 2007: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, ipcc.ch/report/ar4/wg2/, Cambridge University Press, 625–666, none.
• Book, Tedlock, D., Tedlock, B., Teachings from the American Earth: Indian Religion and Philosophy, W.W. Norton & Company, 1992, none.
• Book, Waters, Anne, American Indian Thought: Philosophical Essays, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003, none.
• Journal, Younker, Jason, 2008, Review of How It Is: The Native American Philosophy of V. F. Cordova by V. F. Cordova, Kathleen Dean Moore, Kurt Peters, Ted Jojola, Amber Lacy, 20615918, Oregon Historical Quarterly, 109, 4, 641–642, 10.1353/ohq.2008.0048, 245850581, none.