Myth Salon with Dr. Norland Tellez and Vincent Stanzione: Popol Wuj – Dismantling the Colonial Gaze
June 7, 2024 at 04:37AM
Zoom recorded on June 4, 2024
Myth Salon with Dr. Norland Tellez and Vincent Stanzione: Dismantling the Colonial Gaze
Dana C. White, PhD – Producer, Host
Will Linn, PhD – Moderator
Panelists:
Norland Tellez, PhD
Vincent Stanzione
Dawn Berry
Rosalie Bouck, PhD
Michaela Molden
Sunil Parab, PhD
Dennis Slattery, PhD
Note: A short Smithsonian animated “Creation Story of the Maya” begins at 30:00.
Description
All native people across the globe seem to be in full agreement with a growing consensus among young people: our system, in its current shape, causes a lot more harm than good. Placing profits over people, it is committed to the destruction and ruthless exploitation of our environment, our labor, and our very souls. There is nothing that is not for sale within global capitalism, including the soul. Rather than promoting “democracy” and “freedom,” the prodigious wealth of a tiny minority is placed above the common good—nay, even above the survival of entire peoples, life forms and ecosystems.
We are surrounded by opportunities for both personal and cultural transformation. In this Myth Salon, with the help of Dr. Tellez, Vincent Stanzione, and others, we will explore the histories, narratives, results and problems of colonialism and what we can call “the colonial gaze,” which is the lens through which much of our contemporary worldview has been constructed. Whether considered from the English, European, or American perspectives, in the ideological matrix of cultural capitalism, Native American wisdom can only appear as the enemy.
The Popol Wuj, the Sacred Book of the K’iche’-Maya, encapsulates the revolutionary vision of Native American wisdom, advocating for communal harmony with nature and highlighting the importance of collective destiny over individualistic pursuits. As we navigate the intricate histories, narratives, and consequences of colonialism, we will critically examine the lens through which much of our contemporary worldview has been constructed. Our current system, as noted by Dr. Tellez, places profits over people, leading to the ruthless exploitation of our environment, labor, and souls. Within global capitalism, everything, including the soul, is for sale, placing the prodigious wealth of a tiny minority above the common good and even the survival of entire ecosystems.
This Myth Salon invites you to unravel some of the complex knots woven into the fabric of the western world and to consider the opportunities for both personal and cultural transformation. History is constantly being rewritten, and humanity is still in the rough draft stages of its character development.
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