To say that only full-blood Natives can practice a particular spiritual path is tantamount to saying only the original residents of Rhode Island are allowed to be Baptists. At what point did a particular “native race” become sole practitioners of a particular spiritual path to the exclusion of all others? What were they doing before that watershed? Were they spiritually exclusive, then? Spirituality of all types should be free to all. If some individual plays God and decides who is worthy, s/he stands in judgment of all. Regardless of age, training, or any other qualifications, this is not enough. One’s own heart is the judge of who is qualified to worship in any tradition s/he chooses. Let’s not make any of these “Native spiritual paths” justification for racism, nor even exclusion. Let’s not make our religions into racial country clubs that allow only the select elite of a group. –Medicine Hawk Wilburn, Coyote’s Council Fire, p.60
