Balance—A Lakota Perspective by Jim E. Warne, M.S. First publication—Wellness Bound (reprinted with permission)
8/04

When evaluating success as it applies to individual, organizational, or societal aspects, there is a related element to all levels of success: Balance. In order to achieve success there is an underlying need for balance through internal locus of control. Ultimately we all need to have balance in all aspects of our lives. Life includes the ultimate outcome measures of birth, growth, regeneration, degeneration, and ultimately expiration. Within these ultimate outcomes are personal control variables that we need to be aware of and understand, so that we can make informed life choices.

My charge for this discussion is to address nutrition as it applies to Native American worldview and perspective in a contemporary society. As a recognized member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation my personal daily challenge is to apply Lakota philosophy and integrate the Lakota way into “Urban” society. This is not an easy task. There are daily issues, perspectives, practices, and values that conflict with Lakota philosophy in an urban “non-Indian” [non-Native] society.

I was raised in an urban environment (Phoenix, AZ), yet was a frequent visitor to “Indian Country” [Native] in the valley area. I also went back to the “homelands” in South Dakota. I consider the Pine Ridge reservation my home even though I have not physically lived there. It is the home of my people, my ancestors, my culture, my language. I have had to balance between two distinct cultures in order to succeed on a personal, educational, and professional level.

There are many variables to the Lakota way that could not possibly be discussed in depth without this discussion. I will address balance as it applies to the Medicine Wheel. The philosophy of the Wellness Bound publication utilizes the wheel model as a measure of balance. Many indigenous cultures utilize the wheel philosophy for health and balance. The Lakota philosophy as I practice and apply it to my daily life activities is balance between Mental, Spiritual, Emotional and Physical elements of the wheel.
The Medicine Wheel philosophy requires balance between these elements to achieve health and wellness. It is applicable not only to individual wellness, but to societal and organizational wellness. The individual is a part of a group, clan, tribe, society. To focus only on the individual would be imbalance in and of itself. We need to address balance from more than an internal or “self” point of view. We must also address the external elements of balance.

American nutrition has been influenced by our economic system and the desire to acquire wealth. Our various meats and fowl have been compromised through chemicals and drugs that influence size to gain more profit per pound. The additional weight is unnatural and ultimately unhealthy for the consumer. It is interesting that contemporary society addresses performance-enhancing drugs in sports, yet allows size-enhancing drugs into our food supply. More interesting is that we allow this and ultimately consume our compromised food supply

The “quick fix” diet in a busy fast-paced society has also adversely influenced nutrition. Our need to “drive thru” life quickly has caused havoc within our nutritional selves. We are unbalanced and the effects are evident.

The Lakota Way guides life through balance within the Medicine Wheel. When considering nutrition from a traditional worldview, there needs to be individual control to maintain harmony at the center of our wheel. Native populations have been adversely impacted by American nutrition systems. As consumers of modern nutrition, many Tribal Nations are facing epidemic levels of Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, Cardio-vascular disease, and many other disabilities that have been promoted by poor nutrition.
Consider the vast change in nutrition over the past century for Tribal Nations in America. My Lakota ancestors were hunting, gathering, traveling and were physically fit by necessity. We were also spiritually strong and balanced societies.

How do we balance nutrition utilizing the Medicine Wheel philosophy?
Mental: When preparing for a hunt all of the established hunters have been mentally prepared through traditional education. The elders teach the youth the values of the hunt and the value of the buffalo (we are the “Buffalo People”) to our society. Obtaining hunting skills and working with mother earth were required for a successful hunt. These skills and philosophies were taught to the future hunters for the Oyate`, the people.
These skills and philosophies are hardly present or valued in today’s contemporary societies. Thank of the last time you consumed food that you hunted and mentally prepared for.

Spiritual: I hunt back home and bring my son so he can learn the spiritual elements of nutrition. After the buffalo hunt we performed a ceremony and acknowledged the buffalo through prayer. It is a natural and spiritual process that allows us to give thanks to the “four legged” for giving its life for the continued life of the Oyate`. This is done immediately to allow the spirit world to accept the giver of life. Our spirituality includes all life and must respect and live in balance with all life. Mother earth represents all life.
When addressing spirituality as it applies to nutrition today, it may include saying grace prior to eating. This practice is still used by many today in Indian and non-Indian populations. We consume food that has not been appropriately processed in a spiritual context. It is not enough to say grace over a meal that has been raised and processed just of the sake of food. Do we consider the spiritual context of our food prior to consumption? I am aware when I eat the meat that was provided by the buffalo and I make the decision to not over consume or waste what was provided. Today, there are no personal ties to the foods we consume from the industry that distributes our food supply.

Emotional: Our heart represents emotions. Our emotional tie to the buffalo in traditional times, prior to European contact, was the well being of the tribe. The presence of buffalo represents wellness through proper nutrition and all the other elements that the buffalo provided. All elements of the buffalo were used for spiritual ceremonies, clothes, tools, weapons, housing, and the arts. Our emotions were negatively impacted by the slaughter of the buffalo.

Emotions are also impacted by nutrition today. There are specified foods that are culturally appropriate for certain celebrations and functions in contemporary American Society. These various foods represent happiness, family, and quality time for our memories. When you think of these various examples of food, do they represent healthy nutritional value or do they represent the ‘empty calories’ in most modern diets. The emotions that are the primary challenge for most [people] today are sadness and depression, as a result of too much consumption. Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes rates are continually climbing and will be epidemic within our lifetime unless our relationship with nutrition changes.

Physical: The hunt represented the physical element of the wheel. It was a physically challenging process to have a successful hunt. The tracking, pursuing, processing of and transportation of the meat was physically demanding. The quality of the meat was high in protein and low in fat. Mother earth provided (and continues to) what was needed so that the food source was quality nutrition for the consumer. High cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes were not prevalent within indigenous populations in traditional times. As a result the Tribal Nations represented a physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally strong people that were in balance with their natural surroundings.

Think about how hard you worked for your last meal. Did you prepare the meal? Did you hunt or gather the meal? Did you bother to get out of your car? The physical elements of nutrition are the outcomes within our physical selves. Think of your diet and exercise level. Does your body represent nutritional balance, or imbalance?

The profit margin that has control over our food supply is physical in nature. The bigger the profit, the bigger the material wealth for the individuals and organizations producing and distributing our food supplies. Most societies are imbalanc

ed toward physical due to the desire for more material wealth and physical beauty.
Recall the reference to internal locus of control and how we control the variables for our ultimate balance. All elements of the wheel impact the other. Mentally we react to the physiological demand for nutrition and take action. We prepare spiritually for our nutrition. Our emotional reaction to nutrition can be impacted by ceremony and our gratitude for the food itself. We are also emotionally impacted by the physical result of our nutritional choice.

I have only introduced the Lakota Way as it applied to nutrition and balance from my urban contemporary Lakota perspectives. My perspective incorporates the buffalo. Other tribes incorporate fish, corn, acorns, and many other natural elements to nutritional health and balance. Please apply this information as it works best for you and your culture. May you live in balance within your wheel and experience a life of wellness. Mitakuye` Oyasin (We Are All related).

Jim E. Warne, MS is the Director of the Center for American Indian Rehabilitation (CAIR) at San Diego State University (SDSU). He is Oglala Lakota and resides in San Diego, CA. He is married to a member of the Hoopa Nation and has one 10-year old son. For more information abut Jim please go to www.jimwarne.com and for information about CAIR go to www.interwork.sdsu.edu.