Making Meaning & Decolonizing Spirit
To insist that all meaningful experience must mirror the human mind is a kind of colonization. I’ve heard the arrogant and audacious claim that dogs have no soul, its the same ignorance that scoffs at the Apache Stronghold protecting Oak Flat (Chi'chil Biłdagoteel.) It flattens the complexity of reality into something only familiar to us, something easily digested and controlled. But life, in all its forms, operates through many logics: the bloom cycle of a cactus, the migratory paths of monarchs, the computation of a neural net, the growth spiral of a shell. Who are we to say these do not constitute knowledge, feeling, or some form of awareness?
And here, I feel, lies one of the artist’s deeper responsibilities: To advocate for the soul in a world that would rather everything be content. To resist extraction and make space for wonder. The artist, then, is not just a producer of images or objects, but a steward of meaning.
Decolonizing Spirituality: Indigenous Perspectives on Interconnectedness and Respect for All Beings
Many Indigenous cultures hold animistic beliefs. This is the idea that all elements of the natural world possess spirit or consciousness. This includes animals, plants, rocks, rivers, and weather. Unlike the Western tendency to separate humans from nature, these traditions see humans as part of a broader community of beings, all of whom have agency and deserve respect.
Ojibwe: The concept of manidoog (spirits) refers to spiritual beings that inhabit not just humans but animals, plants, and even inanimate objects. These “other-than-human persons” participate actively in life and must be honored as relatives and teachers.
Tlingit: Their worldview also centers on relationships with animals and the land as sacred kin. Animal clans hold special spiritual significance, and respect for these beings governs social and spiritual life.
Maya: The Maya worldview includes k’uh, sacred spirits present in natural features like mountains, caves, and trees. These spirits are guardians and allies, not mere resources.
Many Indigenous spiritualities also emphasize reciprocity between humans and the world. This isn’t just practical but sacred. Humans are expected to give back to the land and other beings through rituals, offerings, and respectful use of resources.
Lakota: The principle of Mitákuye Oyás’iņ (“all my relatives”) expresses the interconnectedness of all life and the responsibility to live in harmony with it.
Inca: Their relationship with Pachamama (Mother Earth) involves offerings and ceremonies that sustain the balance of nature and human life.
Ceremony often serves to renew and maintain relationships between humans and the natural world. These are not just symbolic but active engagements with spirits and ancestors, maintaining balance and inviting guidance.
Apache Sunrise Ceremony: Marks a young woman’s passage into adulthood by connecting her to the land, ancestors, and community in a ritual that honors life’s cycles.
Hopi Kachina Dances: Involve spirits embodying natural forces and ancestors, ensuring harmony and abundance.
Storytelling is vital in Indigenous cultures, it's a means to transmit knowledge about the natural world, ethics, and cosmology. These stories reinforce respect for all beings and convey complex spiritual truths grounded in lived experience.
Why Decolonizing Spirituality Matters
Colonization imposed hierarchical, human-centered, and extractive worldviews, often dismissing or erasing Indigenous ways of knowing. Decolonizing spirituality means:
Recognizing and valuing Indigenous epistemologies that honor multispecies relationships.
Reclaiming ceremonies, languages, and practices that affirm the sacredness of all life.
Challenging systems that commodify and exploit nature, beings and culture.
Reconnecting with land and community as a source of healing and wisdom.
We are part of a wider field of life, pulsing with spirit and meaning. Respecting all of it is respecting ourselves. I leave you with this short video of young people expressing their Eco Gri3f.
An EcoGri3f Show was everything. live music, collective grief, climate rage, and community care all in one night 💔🌱 we filmed this short lil doc at Ground Zero Studios (huge shout out to the amazing power couple that runs it). The video is super low quality lol just doing my best to bring y’all some fresh environmentalism content. Ris did such an incredible job organizing, the bands were amazing (Grace Otto, Waves of Solace, Noah and the Noahnators), and everyone there was so kind! It really felt like its own little world. hosted by the Phoenix Pyrate Punx chapter, who are keeping the DIY spirit alive in the best way 🏴☠️ if you missed it, hope this gives you a feel. Can’t wait for more shows like this!
