By Sri Nandanandana dasa
If we do a comparative study, we can recognize numerous aspects of the Vedic culture, Krishna consciousness, in many of the Native American traditions. In order to show this, I conducted an interview with Felicity O’rourke who is a member of the Anishnaabi Native American tribe. She is now a practicing Vaishnava and disciple of Jayapataka Swami with the initiated name of Phalguni Radhika dasi. This describes many of the similarities she recognizes between Vedic culture and her native American traditions. She explains: My family did not have a very strong Native American upbringing because my mother’s grandmother was the one who had a lot of the old ancient teachings and the knowledge, which she then taught to my grandfather or my Mom’s father. But she taught it to him in a way that was more of a lifestyle, not like a spiritual practice. And she wouldn’t let him or anyone else in the family know specifics of her native culture because she was ashamed. This was when so many Native Americans were going into boarding schools, or being taken away from their family members. So they, my particular family, hid from that. So there’s actually no physical documentation of my family at all in regards to them being native.