My name soars like an eagle

Page 5

In a magazine (that shall remain nameless) specializing in new ways of looking at life, there was an ad for a spiritual development workshop called Cry for A Vision.

"Join us for four and a half days on the land as we traverse the shadow and retrieve the light. Ceremonies and teachings are based on ancient shamanic wheels and keys. Set your intent for the coming year and dance it awake."

The last names of the two dancing workshop leaders include Crystal Light Warrior and Butterfly Dreamer.

I must say that as a First Nations person, reading stuff like this makes me wish we had colorful names like that on our reserve. I'm almost ashamed to say they sound a hell of a lot more interesting than Taylor, Jacobs or Knott.

With the growing popularity of New Age and other groups sympathetic to the Native cause, taking on Aboriginal names and personas seems to be an ongoing and ever-popular hobby among people searching for a new way of looking at life. Pseudo-Indian names currently abound and prosper on the shelves of most book stores that have sizable sections for books of a metaphysical nature.

It seems odd but only fitting that after 500 years of taking our land, language, culture and ways of life, these people are reduced to now taking our names. Or what they think are our names. A casual perusal of titles in a book store specializing in a New Age literature provides a cornucopia of pseudo-traditional author names.

Ones that make me wonder "Who the hell are these people and why do they feel the need to mix and match various animal and nature words randomly?"

Personally, I know very few people of Native ancestry who feel the need to write self-help books promising you universal peace and a cosmic path to follow. It isn't exactly kosher. Even if they did, they probably wouldn't do it under pseudonyms that sound like nintendo games-Crystal Light Warrior?

I think you definitely have to be white with far to much time on your hands to have colorful names like that today. Even in this age of political correctness, they're still getting all the breaks. Reading the author biographies in some of these books, its easy to notice how vague many of the bios appear to be, probably on purpose. Lines that say "Hairy Turtle Sneezing lives in the deepest, darkest part of the woods where he communes regularly with nature when not astral projecting".

One cannot help but get the impression that the only Native people most of these writers know are in the Dances With Wolves video tape they keep perpetually cued in the VCR. Names such as Blackwolf, Gary Buffalo Horn Man, Sherry Fire Dancer, White Deer of Autumn and my personal favorite, Summer Rain, with her faithful ectoplasmic Indian companion, No-Eyes, described as "her beloved Indian shaman teacher" (I kid you not!), are just a cross-section.

Mysticism and beliefs in a world outside the physical one we inhabit is a strong and honored belief among most Aboriginals, but I must have been astral projecting the day they gave out beloved Indian shaman teachers. But luckily, my birthday's coming up. Besides I'm starting to see how this works. My girlfriend is studying for her master's degree in education. That makes her a teacher, not to mention my beloved teacher. She's also Mohawk. So she's a beloved Indian teacher. Luckily she has some Irish blood-so in total, I guess she's my beloved Indian Shamus teacher. It seems to lose something in the translation.

The authors you read about on the backs of book jackets are just the lucky ones with decent publicists. Out there, on the powwow grounds, in the craft shops, and hanging out at the friendship centres, are masses of uniquely named individuals, keeping low profiles, generally hanging out looking for spiritual guidance and, if possible, an even better-sounding Indigenous name.

Cultural envy is not restricted to the Aboriginal world. I've seen people of many different cultures explore and dabble in elements of various other cultures. I hae been known to wear Italian leather, eat a lot of Thai food, and dare I say it, wear cowboy boots. But to the best of my knowledge, my name has always remained Drew Hayden Taylor.

A close examination of those colorful Native names reveals some interesting characteristics. First of all, most of them usually have one of four specific references in them; this includes wind, fire, feather and wolf (a bear or deer can be substituted with proper authorization). Secondly, they're all in English. And thirdly, they're all beautiful, wonderful descriptions of nature/animals turning themselves into human metaphors.

Traditionally, those who were given a special "Indian" name were usually required to only use it on special occasions; it was a personal, private name. Putting it on business cards seems to defeat that purpose. I know many Native people who have traditional names. Sharing it with somebody is a sign of great respect. Putting it on a book to make money is not.

Again, different culture, different priorities.

And let us not forget that in many First Nations communities, "colorful" family names are frequently used. I've known some Whiteducks, Many Grey Horses, NewBreasts, Tailfeathers and the odd Goodstriker to name just a few. But somehow, their attitude toward their last names were a little less esoteric and a little more natural. There wasn't any "traversing shadow and retrieving the light" involved. Maybe after the occasional beer, but not much.

And, also traditionally, glancing through some history books dealing with Aboriginal history provides some interesting, if not downright ironic, twists. A simple assessment of authentic Aboriginal names of the past reveals such mystical and beautiful titles as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Dull Knife, Bloody Knife, Roman Nose, Old Man Afraid of His Horses, Big Foot, Black Kettle, Crow Dog, Gall, Rough Feather, Wild Hog, Hairy Bear, Lame Deer, Leg-In-The-Water, Low Dog, and Stumbling Bear to name just a few historical Indias. Would you buy a self-help book from Bloody Knife?

But in all fairness, I believe people should be allowed to do whatever they want. And if they can, why can't we? Maybe as a point, I should write my own book. L. Ron Hubbard was once quoted as saying If you want to be rich someday, start your own religion. I can do that. But Drew Hayden Taylor does not exactly exude Aboriginal confidence and ancient shamanic wisdom. I must concoct one of these awe-inspiring names.

My book will be called "Spiritual Enlightenment in the New Millennium - How to Receive Completion of your Spirit's Journey Through The Adoption of Caucasian/Christian Names." It will be written by me, Spread Eagle, with a little help from my girlfriend, Eager Beaver." I'm ready for Oprah (which spelled backwards, is Harpo).