What does "Indigenous" mean? The word indigenous itself has much offer us in understanding what to be indigenous means. Its etymology can be unravelled as follows: Indigenous: produced naturally in a country. This is from: Latin: indigena - native, marking the bounds or limits within which. Which derives from: genere - begotten/beget and indi - strengthen : Hence strongly begotten or to strongly beget then: beget - bigitan, to find} Hence to be/feel strongly found In the Thirteenth Century beget had the meaning `to make oneself or to become'} hence indigenous contains a sense of `to strongly become or find oneself' It is interesting to reflect on how this might relate to the experiences of indigenous  people whose sense of being lost and found is so profoundly connected with their relationship to the land in which they live.

During 1999, in order to sustain ourselves more deeply in the face of increasing demands to be involved in external support of the views expressed below through social and political action, we have found it necessary to explore new ways to sustain ourselves. We came up with the idea of taking regular "technology free" weekend retreats.

On these weekends, which we take every second week from Friday to Monday, we turn off the television and radio, do not answer phone calls but only leave the answering machine on, do not use the computer and refrain from all external activity except that directly related to renewal of our "indigenous" approach to life.

We read, talk, walk in the bush, listen to music (but not as background), work in our garden and care for our birds (native birds in rehabilitation). We have developed rituals to begin our times of retreat and to close them. During these times our house and garden becomes something like a sacred space, and each day we have a ritual of days end and dedication of the space to the support and renewal of life as a whole and integrated experience. We also have a special meal to celebrated this time with special prayer of thanks for the time and abundance which allow us this opportunity.

We have found this new ritual deeply sustaining, it has pushed us through some sort of barrier and seems to be tapping a deep resource of inner energy which we had not previously been able to connect so well with.

Our whole sense of time and space is altering, not just during the retreat times but in life as a whole. We recommend it!

What we seem to be discovering is that there is an 'indigenous self' hidden within all human beings which Western lifestyles, religion, philosophy and world view/culture in the broadest sense almost completely represses.

Traditional versus Modern life

This short article gives an overview of the viewpoint which informs these pages. It is the view of two non aboriginal Australians, one born here but of anglo-celtic origins and one of celtic origins via New Zealand. It explores the view that all humans are in their deepest essence `indigenous' inhabitants of planet Earth but that some of us have lost that connection.

In his psychological commentary on Richard Wilhelm's "The Secret of the Golden Flower" C G Jung asked:

"Is it that our eyes are opened to the spirit only when the laws of earth are obeyed?"

He also raised the very real question of whether there was anything to gain for westerners in imitation of indigenous and Eastern cultures. He thought not. It is not that we cannot gain from an appropriate psychological exploration of what other cultures have to offer but that in denying our own cultural heritage, for what ever reason we make what we do a sham which demeans both that which we imitate and ourselves. To emphasise thsis point we quote from Native Web/NatChat discussions of the problems of Native Americans:

What we are suggesting is not that we can all somehow become indigenous people in the traditional sense. In the West our traditions are the very antithesis of indigenousness and it is not possible for the average westerner to adopt a traditonal indigenous lifestyle. Notwithstanding this our original indigenous nature remains alive, hidden in the unconscious psyche and sending us messages, Through our dreams and experiences of the natural world, which, if we would only listen to, would guide us back to a more natural `indigenous' sense of ourselves.

This, we believe, is what Jung was alluding to in the question quoted above. We cannot seek to deny our cultural background but neither can we except at our own very great peril, deny the natural world and its demands.

In indigenous cultures the traditions of the culture support the individual in his/her natural self. As we understand it, to be indigenous is to be in a natural relationship to oneself, one's environment and one's fellow creatures. That is, to see oneself and ones fellow humans as part of nature, not standing outside and against it. This does not mean that nature does not present problems and fears for the indigenous people, as it does for all of us, but they do not see themselves in a relationship to nature where it is the problem. In fact ,indigenous people are more likely to ask whether they are the problem. They may suspect that they have somehow not stayed attuned to the natural world and thus find themselves in some difficulty. With such threats as global warming and the Greenouse Effect looming over our future it may be high time that we all took this indigenous view.

Modern Western lifestyles (and modern urban Asian ones also) have grown out of an increasing alienation of traditions from the natural world. Our traditions are not indigenous, if anything they are decidedly anti-indigenous. The traditions of our culture place humankind against nature, in an attitude that mother nature is our enemy and we must find ways to defeat her. What a contrast to the indigenous view that the land is our mother!!

So, if an individual in modern society is to reclaim her/his indigenous nature and lifestyle it will be an individual journey, outside the accepted frameworks of society at large. This does not mean that we have to become some sort of social or political rebel or outcast. It means we need to find ways to honour and acknowledge our indigenousness in our day to day lives. That is, to live at least a part of our time outside the restrictive framework or world view to which we have been schooled. This is a hard task for people locked in to the collective structures of modern life but one we feel is imperative. Our survival may depend upon it.

If we are lucky along the way we may find others who are doing likewise and so eventually a sense of community may evolve in this way. To quote Amy Echo-Hawk again:

Maybe our own culture needs not only be recovered from the past but to be redreamed in the present. We would do this through trying to live an authentic life in connection with the urgings of our own indigenous nature which still calls us from within? Our own home must be a living and vital culture in the present, connected to the natural environment in which we find ourselves and calling on and redreaming our past traditions to give them real relevance now.

Rodney and Madhi Ravenswood, November 2000