Indian Country Copes With Issues Of Organ Donations, Homosexuality

Opinion

By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji)

Two topics have been in the news of late: homosexuals and organ donors.

One has nothing to do with the other, of course, but since the Episcopal Church has appointed a homosexual priest as bishop, letters to the editor around America have focused on homosexuality in general. Marriage between homosexuals has also been in the spotlight. Questions about homosexual marriage are even tossed at the Democratic presidential wannabes.

An Associated Press release last week publicized a federal grant of $466,000 that will be used to encourage organ donations by American Indians. The South Dakota Lions Eye Bank and South Dakota State University College of Nursing are cooperating on the three-year project.

According to the release there are 1,400 Indians on the national organ transplant recipient list, but less than a dozen Indians make organ or tissue donations yearly, said Christine Belitz, executive director of the South Dakota Lions Eye Bank.

The goal of the three-year program is to increase the awareness of the need for donations through educational material that respects Indian culture and religion. Hmmmm! This could present some unexpected problems.

Belitz did not jump into this blindly. She consulted with a Lakota woman who works at the Rapid City Regional Hospital named Kathryn Ducheneneux. She also talked to Carol Robertson and Anita Whipple. They all told her the needs were great on the Indian reservations for organ donors, particularly in the wake of an epidemic in Indian country called diabetes. Kidney and eye transplants are common offshoots of this dreadful disease.

Rick Two Dogs, one of the most respected of Wicasa Wakan (Holy Man) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota feels differently. Two Dogs can trace his direct lineage to Wicasa Wakan dating back more than 500 years. Not too many spiritual leaders can make that claim. Two Dogs leads the most sacred of Lakota rituals, the Sundance, each summer at Porcupine.

Two Dogs said, "This question has been coming up over the past few years and I had to come up with an answer from a Lakota perspective." Two Dogs said he made an offering in the Inipi (Sweat Lodge) and came out with an answer.

He said, "It is not really a good thing from the Lakota perspective. We believe that a part of your spirit is gone when a part of your body is taken. In death your spirit must be whole. If you donate a part of your body your spirit will never rest. Instead it will follow that person who has a part of you."

Two Dogs believes it has always been this way. In war a part of the enemy's body was often taken so that he his spirit would never find rest.

Beltiz recognizes the spiritual aspects of her venture. She believes that it is a matter of educating the Indian people to the benefits of organ donations. The Eye Bank does many cornea transplants. I asked her if she would speak with Two Dogs and she said she was quite willing to do so.

She seems to be a most dedicated woman who is only seeking to help the Indian people. But the spiritual beliefs of most Lakota, instilled in them by their spiritual leaders, also runs deep. It would be hard to change the spiritual connection a Lakota man or woman holds because it means changing their traditional religious convictions. Belitz seems to have a tough sell ahead.

Winkte And Wapetokeca

The government of Canada passed a law that approves of gay marriages. This has put the clergy in America into a free fall. What if the different states in this country did the same thing? Of course, President Bush is dead set against it so it will not become a federal law on his watch.

However, that does not prevent different state governments from stepping out on their own. Vermont has recognized homosexual partners for matters of insurance, hospital benefits, etc. Some expect that the next step in that state will be the sanctioning of gay marriages. In a rush to keep this from becoming a national epidemic, states such as South Dakota hurriedly passed laws that would recognize marriages only if they are between a man and a woman.

Once again I went back to Two Dogs to get his take on this. He said that in the old days the people that are now called "winkte" were once called "wapetokeca." In the Lakota Dictionary compiled by a Jesuit priest named Father Eugene Buechel, he translates the word "winkte" to mean hermaphrodite. Of course, since he was a Catholic priest I'm sure that is why he came to that conclusion. Whereas Two Dogs said the word used in days gone by was "wapetokeca."

This word has several meanings but it generally means one who is marked, but in a good way. It is one who has signs, who is connected to miracles and wonders. The "wapetokeca" were looked upon as people with special powers. They were considered to be persons who brought good luck. Many of the traditional Lakota leaders received their names from the "wapetokeca."

It is said that Crazy Horse and Black Elk got their names from them. In fact, it was said that Crazy Horse went into battle with a "wapetokeca" riding at his side. Often the "winkte" were called upon to give names to Lakota babies.

The "wapetokeca" were men who lived in a woman's body or women who lived in a man's body.

They were highly respected by the men and women of the Great Sioux Nation.

The modern world has changed that view amongst many contemporary Lakota and the beliefs about donating one's organs may also change. Modern society has made homosexuals out to be bad and the stigma has passed to the younger generation.

Those Indians who served in the military learned that to be "winkte" was to be ostracized, ridiculed and eventually discharged from the military with a dishonorable or a medical discharge. They brought this bit of brainwashing back to their homes on the Indian reservations.

While Miss Belitz has dreams of making changes, holy men like Rick Two Dogs will cling to the traditions and the culture of the Lakota people on organ donors and homosexuals. They each have a hard sell ahead on both issues.

Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the weekly Lakota Journal. He is author of "The Aboriginal Sin" and "Notes from Indian Country" volumes I and II. He can be reached at editor@lakotajournal.com or at P.O. Box 3080, Rapid City, S.D. 57709.

Copyright © 2003 Lakota Media Inc.

This article posted October 5, 2003.