Copyright 2002
Wilderness Drum, Inc.
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Carrying Council in the Wilderness
Steve Beyer

Introduction Cultures of Speaking The Conventions of Council The Four Intentions Council Guidelines The Uses of Council Council Roles Variations of Council Community Building in Council Coercion Why Council Works References

Cultures of Speaking

Carriers of council often see a close – even mythic – connection between council and native North American traditions. But the origins of council are more complex. What is important, I think, is not so much the trappings of council, such as sitting in a circle or passing a talking stick, as what we can call a culture of speaking which informs the council process. From this point of view, for example, it is clear that council has been strongly influenced by the processes used in women’s consciousness-raising groups and women’s circles in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as by the collective rituals of Wicca and feminist spirituality (on women’s circles generally, see Cahill & Halpern, 1992, pp. 44-48; Eller, 1995, pp. 100-101). Another source is clearly in the American Quaker meeting house. The Society of Friends was founded around 1647 by George Fox, who preached the personal immediacy of Christian experience. The Spirit of Christ, he said, is the light within, “the light that lightens everyman.” Thus the word of Christ is within each individual: “The word is nigh thee,” Fox wrote, “in thy mouth and in thy heart.” And thus: “You will say, Christ saith this, and the apostles say that; but what canst thou say?” (Wakefield, 1986, p. 447). In this spirit, Quaker meetings are without clergy, and often silent, as each participant waits upon the word in order to give testimony, seeking to speak lucidly and concisely, responding to a divine opening (Handy, 1986, pp. 476-478; Wakefield, 1986, p. 448).

There is little doubt that there are Native American models for council as well. These models are found less in formal structures than in an indigenous North American culture of speaking. In one handbook for workers in tribal mental health clinics (Swinomish Tribal Mental Health Project., 1991, pp. 187-189), this culture of speaking is outlined as follows:

• Native people are comfortable with silences. They may be silent to show acceptance and respect or in order to wait and see before saying something.
   
• Native people believe that true speakers are guided by the spirit. They speak from the heart rather than from the head, and often do not plan ahead what they will say.
   
• Perhaps because most information was traditionally conveyed by word of mouth, native people consider it extremely important to listen respectfully and pay close attention when someone is speaking.
   
• Native people tend to take turns talking. It is considered quite impolite to interrupt others. Some Indian people may talk longer at a time than is typical for non-Indians. Silences between sentences may also be longer, and silences may occur between speakers.
   
• Native people may talk with each other for some time without feeling it necessary to get to the point or accomplish something specific. Many native people accept that time will be spent establishing rapport or understanding before trying to decide something, discuss something important, or make a request.

Similarly, Rupert Ross – for many years a Crown Attorney among the native peoples of Canada and an explorer into indigenous peacemaker councils – speaks of a need among native peoples “to constantly demonstrate respect for the positions of others” (Ross, 1996, p. 88). He recalls seeing a film made in 1993 for the Ontario government, in which a native woman spoke about the difficulties she faced during meetings with non-native civil service coworkers:

Within her teachings, she explained, it was necessary to wait until the other person had fully completed speaking before offering your own words. In fact, it was better still if you left a period of silence before you responded, to show that you were giving serious thought to what the other person had said. In the bureaucracy, however, she felt that the rule seemed to be exactly the opposite. Everyone waited with their mouth half open, ready to jump in as soon as it looked like the present speaker was coming to the end of a sentence. People often interrupted speakers long before they were finished – an unconscionably rude behavior according to her teachings.

It is this behavior of patience and respect, this culture of speaking, which is reinforced by the formal structures of council.

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