Wovoka had melded elements of traditional culture with the more recent Christianity, seeking to unite the tribes and the invaders, or settlers, who came to this new land in search of freedom and a better life.

His was a lost cause. Already, the newcomers were too strong. Their technology, weaponry, organisation, and ruthlessness made certain that they would prevail, and the land became theirs as the spoil of war.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this mass influx of foreign power has been to sever the centuries-long connection of the peoples of Turtle Island with the land, and its native flora and fauna, thus losing a cyclical and continued relationship with it that the migrants did not have the foresight and understanding to immerse themselves in, and which they actively sought to replace with their own ideas and practices which have resulted in environmental emergency today.

Simply put, whether you accept the scientific assumption or a more esoteric philosophy of life, it remains demonstrably true and unarguable that Earth the planet gives rise to all species which live on her surface, inside her, and in her skies.

She gives birth to us, she nourishes and shelters us, and we return to her as rotting flesh and bones or ash at our demise. We are of her. We are her. She lives in us and through us as we live in her and through her- all creatures everywhere, always.

One can not deny these truths. What we do to one another, we do to ourselves. We have dumped so much rubbish into our waters that it is now found in the deepest-living animals in our oceans, and in the food chain which we depend on for our lives and our health.

In many cultures and countries now, people working the land are fewer than ever and cities and towns are becoming larger in size with larger populations. The human race is becoming divorced from the natural world, losing the skills to convert natural things into natural products in a cyclical sustainable system, instead reliant on yet more mining of yet more material for industrialised processing into new material which we can not recycle or reuse or renew for the sake of providing profit for yet further destruction of habitat and species.

Populations of wild species are in decline and migratory species are losing their routes to fresh pastures and having their ability to roam curtailed by roads, rails, fences, deforestation, et al.

Wild animals such as foxes, bears, elephants, tigers, and monkeys are becoming city-dwellers because there is more food to be had there than in traditional habitats. Humans have become too numerous to perpetuate traditional numbers of wild species and populations of those species. It is time to reduce human numbers and encourage our wild cousins, and it is time to return to the land in numbers and relearn who we are, what we are, and how best to be for the sake of our greater self, our Mother Earth, Father Sun, and all our relations.

See Ghostdancer in the Machine collections on Flickr and YouTube

My latest 'presentation'- a series of 'Conversations with AI' in which I transcribe exchanges with the Microsoft Copilot program, exploring topics ranging from world domination to sex-robots, shamanism to the very nature of AI and the future, as well as a series of four discussion pieces is available for free download without any further obligation. These are collections of various articles which present views of the world, and my observations of them for your consideration.

All our requirements could be supplied if there was a will on behalf of us all to supply them, but we will not. Until that day comes, we must do what we see fit, and accept our lot. We have only ourselves to blame.

Personal liberation comes from knowing the law.. that there is no law, save the invention and imagination of it. We are free if we choose to be free, or not if we choose not. And why compete and fight for what is available? Sharing ensures no-one is without, or all are without. No-one need feel aggrieved.

Land is what we are, and which sustains us until we return, and then further. We are made of earth, air, water, fire, and spirit/energy/soul, and what they combine to create. We are fools who do not serve and protect the land, for then we do not serve and protect our very selves.

Learn the ways of the wild, to forage, to grow, to farm kindly, holistically and permaculturally; to hunt, to shelter, to swim, to climb, to build fire, to navigate. Observe nature, and copy her- she has much more experience than any of us. We can make friends of many creatures, too, if we learn their ways, and they make great teachers.

Honour all things, for what is without us is within us, and what is within is without- we spring from the same source, and we are that source: source is everywhere though we may lose sight of the fact.

Living is good if we can procure what we need, and a little of what we desire: but do not be led by desire- the price is high. Today, societies are sick because of this.

For a good life we need as much biodiversity and thriving populations as possible. We should reduce our numbers because our impact is too great. Permacultural practices should become the norm.

For ourselves, we should find love for all things, because we are all things.. and we are loved even if we can't appreciate it. There is only one entity, and we are it, alongside all else we witness. We come from the Earth which comes from space, which is the Universe.

We are nodes of the whole, fractal elements not quite the smallest and far from the biggest of the Whole, which mystery I agree to call I AM.

Individually, life is good if we express ourselves. I recommend singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, banging drums, shaking rattles and clapping hands. Everything is music.

Learn to draw and paint, to write, to sculpt, to potter, to weave, to sew, to build, to create, to dream big and strive to achieve, and to be the best you're able in every direction. Make the world better than you find it.

Be humble. Do not ally yourself to flags and nations, to causes and propaganda. Be truthful, and fearless in your truth. Truth is unarguable, it is power. Flags and nations are divisive- seek instead unity and diversity.

Your body, I realise too late, is your temple. Look after it. Do yoga, martial arts, meditation, sport. Practice peace. Be calm. Enjoy leisure.

Relax. Don't yield to feelings. If, for example, you feel angry, don't react angrily, but calmly, speaking your truth. Control yourself. Negotiate, reason, seek peace. There is no need to fight. Take a break from hostile encounters and come back later when reason returns.

These things are not always easy, and you will fail. So, don't judge others for their failings- they are doing their best, and … you might be wrong about things.

I am still learning how to do all I recommend you do, so I am no paragon of virtue.. these are merely my truths, my thoughts, my opinions, and I offer them Up For Discussion.

Make of them what you will, because I know you will.