There are four orders of existence: Ones inner universe, the natural universe we all can see and must share, the spiritual universe that is all around us, and finally, the Creator of all life as the supreme universe and Whose being is part of all other universes. No other human being can exist within my inner universe. It is mine and mine alone. Within the confines of my reality I must face my own fears and within this inner space it is I who ultimately creates my own perception of this space. Within this universe, I am sovereign. I am free to choose. This is personal sovereignty. Personal sovereignty requires one to walk in a good way, striving to be in good relation within creation with all of creation. It is to walk in harmony, balance, respect, and sharing. This is right living in its true sense as in its purest form and it is the highest form of respect among peoples. One of the concepts that differentiated the European way of thinking from the Indigenous way at the time of contact is in relation to personal sovereignty. In the British army, if a soldier walked off the battlefield, it would be considered treason. Orders are received from the top and are carried out by those below in the order of command – those in lower ranks are subservient to those above. Authority over individual choice is the privilege of those in higher ranks. Those in lower ranks are expected to be mindless machines to the social order and not question commands. In the British army it was unheard of to laugh at an officer - face severe consequences. Among Indigenous peoples during times of war, warriors could walk off the battlefield should he/she choose to. This was possible as the social order was built upon the foundation of personal sovereignty; therefore in war it was left to each warrior to determine whether to fight. In addition, it was common for chiefs to be subjected to teasing and jokes. The chief was not someone elevated above the rest of the people and there are many written accounts of the jesting and humour that chiefs were subjected. Both of these are good examples of what personal sovereignty looks like. Each individual’s voice was respected and part of consensus decision-making processes. It is because of personal sovereignty that one could not assert ones will over anyone. Within this territory, personal sovereignty and tribal governance were inter-dependent. To illustrate the difference between corporate governance and imperial government structures, consider a triangle - the president or the king at the top with the most power and authority. In tribal governance models, the triangle is inverted. The people are at the top. The person at the bottom tip, carries the rest of the people and is a living servant of the people. This was the way Original peoples functioned socially at contact. This way of knowing dictated a much different set of societal values. Councils were also active in bringing individuals back into right relation with the rest of the tribe. At one time gifting was a central part of our social interactions. We gave each other gifts and gave away to others as part of our understandings of how we are to live – our place within all creation. Among many Indigenous groups, greed and selfishness was considered to be a mental illness. Personal sovereignty existed in a society that had a moral foundation. A clear set of universal laws that could not be altered or challenged. This moral foundation established a North Star from which each individual member of the community self-regulated his/her behaviour, and if an individual fell out of this balance they were shunned until their behaviour was self-regulated and brought back into right-relation with the guidance of Elders and councils. Personal sovereignty required there to be a recognition that every human being has a right to make a living, to live a good life, and share equally in the abundance of creation. As part of a social order, personal sovereignty demanded the highest form of human interaction as it required one to walk in peace, harmony, respect for all life, and to walk accepting others as they not asserting ones will over any other human being. In my humble opinion, as the climate crisis deepens and THE PEOPLE recognize the failure of the colonial governance models to protect the personal sovereignty of each human being, there must be a SOCIAL REVOLUTION that re-embraces the sanctity of every human beings personal sovereignty within tribal governance structures. Thanks for the the share my dear friend Wesley Elliott :-)
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 21:38:34 +0000