WHERE ARE WE GOING?

And - just as importantly – How are we getting there?

~by Marcia DeJesús-Rueff, 6-28-26

In the wake of Trump 2.0 and the horrors that have ensued, I wonder if Indigenous cultures might have some type of “secret sauce” that could help our nation work through our current political struggles.  “What if our best hope reaches for the future by sinking its roots deep in the past?  What futures can we build on these other versions of the past, these other voices with other stories to tell?” (Rebecca Solnit, The Beginning Comes After the End, p. 130)

It’s been over three months since Sue Staropoli, one of the editors of this newsletter, asked me to write an article for the July edition.  I was honored to agree; after all, this July marks the 250^th anniversary of our country’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.  I have ancestors who took part in that struggle as well as others who arrived in this country during the many waves of immigration that followed.  In 2024 I wrote an essay for this same newsletter about what our country overlooked when we based our constitution on structures borrowed from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy without also including its moral foundation (see this link for a bit about what we borrowed from the Haudenosaunee: The Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Constitution, September 21, 2023 Posted by: Jennifer Davis).

Yet despite my belief that there must be something important to be found in Indigenous teachings, somethings to help set our country on the right path, I found myself meandering through Indigenous philosophies that were jarring to my western ways of thinking, while at the same time knowing in my gut that something was missing in the western European political strategies and tactics I was studying at the same time.  Afterall, what does thanking the birds each morning have to do with asking local business owners to post flyers stating, “ICE Not Welcome Here”?  It has taken me the past three months to just start making these very real connections. 

Some people might describe my past few months as “lost in the weeds.”  But I never felt lost.  Instead, I felt awed and overwhelmed with the contradictions, the complexities, and the richness of interconnections between traditional western politics and Indigenous teachings.  This has proven to be an insightful and an incredibly humbling journey, and I hope that readers will understand that what is shared in this essay is simply what I have learned to date and what might be possible, not a certain truth.  I now find myself continuing the journey, asking questions, seeking answers, and sometimes suddenly finding connections among ideas that previously appeared disparate to me.

I discovered that Indigenous teachings have much to inform the political realm, but the tenets of Good Mind are not easily codified.  The teachings of the Great Peacemaker permeate Haudenosaunee culture, yet because they are taught within the family and local community context beginning at birth, they can be very difficult for outsiders to fully comprehend. Additionally, because many of these teachings sometimes run counter to traditional western capitalist beliefs, they can feel unfathomable at first to outsiders like myself.

The work of Indigenous scholars provided the bridge between western and Indigenous thought that I needed to gain a stronger understanding of Indigenous teachings and the potential they have to positively impact our political system.  In 1991 Indigenous scholars published the 4 R’s frameworks for Indigenous Science, outlining the system of beliefs and actions within which Indigenous students and academics could thrive (Kirkness & Barnhardt). The Six R’s of Indigenous Research, published in 2022 (Tsosie, et.al.), expanded the original 4 R’s and are meant to be used holistically, not as a checklist, to keep Good Mind at the forefront of all Indigenous research. Although initially intended for use with Indigenous populations, as these frameworks have been used increasingly widely over the years, teachers and researchers have found them helpful across a wide variety of populations.

Below, is my first attempt at adapting these six R’s for use in the wider socio-political context.  My hope Is that this will be seen not as cultural appropriation, but rather as an attempt to learn from and begin practicing what Indigenous cultures have known for centuries. 

Here are the Six R’s with my adaptations:

Respect is caring for the feelings, wishes, rights, cultures, beliefs, and traditions of others.  Additionally, this means respecting the struggles, traditions, and lessons taught to us by our ancestors.  And it means respecting the full, true, complex history which has led our country to where we are today.  Finally, it means respecting our own individual gifts and the gifts, talents, and skills that others can bring to a given situation.

Relationship is being grounded in our various identifies and with land, nature, ancestors, community, and future generations.  It means building relationships with people who are different from us and with different forms of animals, and with the plants and geologic formations that surround us as well.  Relationship also means being grateful and giving thanks for all that we have been given and to the people who have helped us along the way.

Relevance means remaining closely connected to the experiences, perspectives, priorities, and the ways of doing, living, and knowing in local communities.  It means that when we design legislation, programs, workshops, or anything else, we keep each individual local community in mind, not just the big and vocal ones and not just an average of all communities’ needs.

Reciprocity is a continuous and intentional exchange process, the belief that we both receive from and offer to others.  Rather than being a crude form of “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” Reciprocity means that we seek solutions to problems that are mutually beneficial, and we expect everyone to bring their gifts and talents to the planning and the implementation process.

Responsibility is accountability to the people and knowledge put in our trust.  This may be one of the biggest gaps in our legal system.  We all know our rights, but what are our responsibilities?  This is especially important for those members of our nation who do not yet have seats at the table – immigrants, non-human animals, plants, water, minerals, Mother Earth.

Representation is having presence at the table and acting or speaking on behalf of another person or an entire group.  This is where people may need to stand in for those described above who cannot yet advocate for themselves.  It also means seeking out those with no seats at the table in order that their rights are not overlooked.

Many of you may have experience with these fundamental concepts and others through your work with Pachamama both locally and internationally, as you worked with and on behalf of Indigenous Nations’ needs.  I am now asking you this:  Could these same ideas be put into motion to assist our own nation?  And, if so, how?

Circling back to a question asked near the beginning of this essay:  What does thanking the birds each morning have to do with asking local business owners to post anti-ICE flyers?  Simply this:  Practiced over and over again, every day, throughout the day, immersed in  the beauty and wonders that we have all been freely given – through no efforts of our own – reminds us of what is most important on this earth we live upon, and ultimately gives us the moral courage to take a stand for justice. 

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously stated, “The means are the ends in the making.”  Hundreds of years prior to Dr. King’s statement, the Great Peacemaker wove ends and means together with his teachings of the Great Law of Peace and Good Mind.  The U. S. Constitution built upon the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s structures but did not include their moral foundations.  That needs to be rectified. These moral foundations are the means that will determine the ends of our struggle. 

The late Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil was famous for saying, “All politics is local.”  For the Six R’s to ultimately join the national discourse, I believe they must start very locally. Just as Good Mind is taught in families that are part of the Bear Clan, which is part of the Onöndowa'ga’ (Seneca) Tribe, which joins together with five other tribes to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.  We must start these teachings now, in small groups, in our families, communities, schools, and churches.  These small groups then band together to form larger organizations, including cities and states and ultimately our entire nation.

Our democracy needs rebuilding, and it must be rebuilt beginning very locally.  Democracy does not begin with politicians who promise to save us.  It begins when we the people decide, as people did in Minneapolis last winter, that we will not abandon one another, that we will put the Six R’s into our daily practices with each other.  Once that happens, we will be able to build the structures of care and the protections we all need. When we do this, then we will have rebuilt our democracy, a democracy that will truly stand firm.

Tree of Peace at Cobbs Hill Park, Rochester, NY, planted on Indigenous Peoples Day.

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SOURCES CITED

Kirkness, V. J. & Barnhardt, R. “First Nations and Higher Education: The 4 R’s – Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, and Responsibility.” Journal of American Indian Education, vol. 30, no. 3, 1991.

Reinhart, Eric.  “Opinion: Americans aren’t facing a democratic collapse.  We’re living in its aftermath,” The Guardian, March 8, 2026.

Solnit, Rebecca.  The Beginning Comes After the End.  Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2026.

Tsosie, Ranalda L., Anne D. Grant, Jennifer Harrington, Ke Wu, Aaron Thomas, Stephan Chase, D’Shane Barnett, Salena Beaumont Hill, Annjeanette Belcourt, Blakely Brown, & Ruth Plenty Sweetgrass-She Kills. “The Six R’s of Indigenous Research,” Journal of American Indiana Higher Education, vol. 33, No. 4, Summer 2022.