Page 32 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper March/April 2018 Edition

32 New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans

New Age Frauds & Plastic

Shamans

www.newagefraud.org

Do you think you are "Indian at heart" or were
an Indian in a past life? Do you admire native
ways and want to incorporate them into your
life and do your own version of a sweat lodge or
a vision quest? Have you seen ads, books, and
websites that offer to train you to be come a
shaman in an easy number of steps, a few days
on the weekend, or for a fee?
Have you really thought this all the way
through? Have you thought about how native
people feel about what you might want to do?
Please think about these important
points before you take that fateful step and
expend time, money, and emotional investment:
Native people DO NOT believe it is
ethical to charge money for any ceremony or
teaching. Any who charge you even a penny are SPECIFIC. There is NO "generic Indian" form we are like.
NOT authentic. of spirituality. There are as many differences
Native traditionalists believe the ONLY from tribe to tribe as there are between Who We Are & Our Purpose
acceptable way to transmit traditional teachings Hinduism and the Church of England. No one New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans or
is orally and face-to-face. Any allegedly would think of teaching those two as the same NAFPS is an activist group of Native people and
traditional teachings in books or on websites are and calling them "Indo-European," yet many of our supporters. We began NAFPS five years ago
NOT authentic. these FRAUDULENT operators teach a thrown as a Yahoo club/group and went through a lot
Learning medicine ways takes decades together mishmash of bits and pieces of together, at least eight unsuccessful attempts to
and must be done with great caution and different beliefs. shut us down, empty threats of lawsuits,
patience out of respect for the sacred. Any offer TRADITIONAL elders are very stalkers, identity thieves, libel campaigns, and
to teach you all you need to know in a weekend cautious about changing rituals and mixing even death threats. We have emerged from it all
seminar or two is wishful thinking at best, fraud different customs, it does happen, of course, but relatively unscathed and more determined than
at worst. only after lengthy discussions that can take ever to continue our work.
Most of these FRAUDULENT operators decades. FRAUDULENT operators are very Our website and forum is for those
are not the slightest bit reputable. Some, such as casual and haphazard in what they do, in a concerned about the fraud, deceit, money
Robert "Ghostwolf" AKA Robert Franzone and manner that shows they have no understanding hunger, sexual abuse, racism, control, hunger for
Forrest Carter, have actually been convicted of of or respect for the sacred. power and ego, and cult-like tendencies of the
fraud. Some are sexual predators who prey upon TRADITIONAL elders DO NOT New Age movement and pseudo "shamans." We
their followers. "Sun Bear" AKA Vincent La believe that any ceremony can be done by investigate and seek to warn the public about
Duke was a serial rapist who was facing anyone who feels like it. It's that same caution impostors and exploiters posing as Native
numerous charges when he died, including the and respect for the sacred. Yet these medicine people or elders. There are more than
rape of girls as young as fourteen. FRAUDULENT operators will let anyone do two hundred impostors out there posing as
Women should be extremely wary of their inaccurate version of a ceremony if they Cherokee medicine people alone. Multiply that
any " teacher" who claims sex is part of an have the money. Vision quests, for example, are by five hundred Native nations in the US, and
alleged "ceremony." Most of these intended for young boys age 12 to 14, but boys add on the exploiters who abuse or lie about
FRAUDULENT operators have been caught don't have much money, so these practices of Latin America's Indians, and you get
making complete fantasies of what many whites FRAUDULENT operators sell "quests" for an idea of the sheer, massive scope of the
WISH natives were like. Another way to say it hundreds or thousands to mostly middle-aged problem. []
is that they are outright liars and hoaxers. Some, men and women.
like Carlos Castaneda, were exposed as long as There is also the matter of telling people
three decades ago. they can be shamans and charging them for it. If
You probably are asking yourself, you were interested in Judaism, would you pay
"Aren't any of these people for real and a good money to someone who said he could make you
way for me to learn?" a rabbi in just one weekend seminar? If
We (native people and our supporters) someone did this and then claimed Jewish
realize that most of you do not know any better, objections were foolish, we would recognize he
at least not yet, but we hope you learn about was anti-Semitic. Think about the lack of
these matters from more reputable sources and respect these operators show to native people
in a more respectful manner. and beliefs, and to their own followers, by
If it says New Age or Shamanism on the defrauding people.
cover, it's not a good source for learning about
natives. Find out which authors can be trusted Native people DO NOT use the label
before you pay money to operators who harm us "Shaman."
all.
Think also about how it makes it harder for
Please understand the following points
natives and whites to get along when whites
about native spiritual ways: have been given an untrue picture of native
Native belief systems are cultures. We have to learn to get along and we
COMMUNAL, not focused on the individual's can't do that as long as whites give support to
faith like Christianity, and are TRIBE- operators who push a fraudulent version of what