Recently, in connection with a grant that seeks to develop more American Indian engineers and scientists, I was invited to a night launch of the space shuttle in Florida. Along with a number of other people I was given the VIP treatment by NASA, which included a presentation by NASA鈥檚 head physicist about the 鈥渘ature of the universe.鈥�
He said, 鈥淩ecent discoveries about the universe have called for a complete reworking of our theories. Now we are looking at different models, and many of these involve looking at things in a completely new way.鈥�
To me this seemed like a 鈥渞eal life equivalent鈥� of Firesign Theater鈥檚 鈥淓verything You Know is Wrong,鈥� and it was extraordinary to imagine the excitement that would accompany new studies. But we all know how rare it is for scholars, and for any humans, to abandon familiar ways of understanding the world, and places beyond our world.
Much of Vine Deloria Jr.鈥檚 life work has been to challenge comfortable patterns of thinking. Indeed, many of his books say to the reader 鈥淓verything you know 鈥� or at least much of it 鈥� is wrong.鈥� Most of Deloria鈥檚 works challenge ideas about Native Americans and attempt to correct misconceptions and misinformation, and argue for the acceptance of Native knowledge.
Deloria, who is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota and a Professor of History at the University of Colorado, has again challenged his readers in his most recent work. Readers who are familiar with Deloria鈥檚 study Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact will immediately realize that they are in familiar territory. Whereas Red Earth, White Lies questioned such doctrine as 鈥渢he land bridge theory,鈥� Deloria鈥檚 current work questions the validity of other widely acclaimed theories.
Using the Kansas State School Board鈥檚 decision to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution as a point of origin for his study, Deloria provides an in-depth study of evolutionism and creationism and explores attitudes that revolve around these theories. Deloria鈥檚 work provides a third way of looking at the data, one that depends on a worldview found in the traditions of non-Western peoples, including many tribal peoples. Deloria鈥檚 work suggests that quite possibly the most accurate way of responding to the data is to study this worldview and the oral traditions that propel that view.
As is the case with so many of Deloria鈥檚 works, Evolutionism, Creationism and Other Modern Myths transports its readers into a unique realm of possibilities and allows the readers to look at the world through 鈥渘ew eyes.鈥�
Members of the 天美影视传媒 community will also find reading the study to be an interesting way of preparing for Deloria鈥檚 Danz Lecture, which will take place at 7 p.m. April 17 in 130 Kane, as one part of 鈥済wudaq hydagwel,鈥� a week-long series of events celebrating Native American perspective. Admission to the lecture is free.
Tom Colonnese is director of the American Indian Study Center. Evolution, Creationism and Other Modern Myths was published by Fulcrum Publishing in 2002 and is available at the University Book Store.