Nature's Way: Native Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Earth [Hardcover]

Ed McGaa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004

Sioux tribal leader Ed McGaa, known as Eagle Man, sounds a call for spiritual awakening. He explains how we can create a new global culture based not on dominance over nature for economic and political gain, but on values that endure for all times and all people. Nature's Way explores Native American belief systems, oppression of Native Americans by the dominant society, the desacralization of Nature, and the complicity of institutional religion.

Taking on religion, politics, and culture, McGaa provides a template for readers -- a path designed by Nature that anyone can follow. Using the lessons of the eagle, bear, lion, wolf, orca, owl, tiger, buffalo, rat, deer, and even the cottonwood tree, Nature's Way teaches all of us how we can overcome religious intolerance, treat women and men equally, preserve our environment, and live in peace.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ed McGaa, an Oglala Sioux also called Eagle Man, here presents an environmental, personal, and global philosophy of balance. Using traditional Native American spirituality as a framework, Nature's Way is a call for a major change in the way people relate to the world. McGaa, who has studied under Sioux holy men Chief Eagle Feather and Chief Fool's Crow, begins each chapter by describing the qualities of an animal or plant that represents a particular value, such as the wolf ("one among many") or the eagle ("observation"). Personal anecdotes, tribal legends, and stories from around the world support each idea, and the book's somewhat rambling structure is very conversational. McGaa's ideas are not new, but they are well-presented. If we begin to live by the principles that are demonstrated by the world itself, he writes, we will then be in harmony with the world, rather than taking from it destructively. The book's final chapters outline problems such as global warming and overpopulation, which threaten the survival of life on earth. Nature's Way will appeal to readers seeking a hopeful spiritual approach for dealing with seemingly insurmountable problems. --Therese Littleton

From Publishers Weekly

In this visionary book, based on the author's experiences as an Oglala Sioux and the inspiration he has received from Sioux holy men, McGaa, or Eagle Man (Mother Earth Spirituality), asserts that in order to save the planet from ecological disaster, mankind must abandon the beliefs and practices of the largest governments and religions and follow the spiritual path advocated by Native Americans and other societies that respect nature. In the first seven chapters, he discusses lessons humans can learn from animals—such as the eagle's keen powers of observation; the lioness's aptitude for balancing male and female energy; the bear's knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants; the wolf's talent for working together with the rest of the pack; and the owl's ability to see into the hidden parts of nature. These observations are then used as springboards for his thoughts on where humanity has gone wrong, emphasizing especially the destructive powers of organized religion. In the final chapters, he shows how the desacralization of nature threatens all life on earth. McGaa admits that a return to the spiritual values of nature's way isn't likely, but he believes this is necessary to save the planet from the "four horses of the Apocalypse"—global warming, the thinning of the ozone layer, mass extinctions and overpopulation. While the book adds little new to the current spate of warnings of impending ecological doom, McGaa's idealism is refreshing.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060514566
• ISBN-13: 978-0060514563
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've waited years to find a book like this!, November 4, 2004

By 

Victoria Karns "wannabe1" (Hollidaysburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nature's Way: Native Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Earth (Hardcover)

As a child I was never satisfied with the Christian religion I was exposed to. A vengeful God just didn't seem to fit, it didn't feel like truth. I've spent a lot of spare time studying religions and philosophies. Bits from some disciplines seemed to be right but I couldn't find the perfect fit for me. This book did! Although I'm rather pale, I must have the soul of an American Indian.
I was especially interested in his research that connected ancient Europeans with North American natives.
His reasons for why our world is out of balance are quite accurate, and unfortunately returning the balance in the near future doesn't seem likely.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rallying call, March 17, 2004

By 

Remy Chevalier "RemyC" (Weston, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nature's Way: Native Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Earth (Hardcover)

After so many right wing wise-use books recently accusing native Americans of milking the bleeding heart liberal environmental agenda for everything it was worth by refashioning their spiritual heritage to match white middle class eco-fervor like some come hither firework road stand, this book by Ed McGaa is a breath of fresh air, making one realize that the native American love and unity with the earth is not just some greenwashing PR scam. I highly recommend this book to those of us who are involved or simply fascinated by native culture's sudden organization in regaining control of their patrimony, a luxury afforded to them by the realization that sovereignty over their lands entitles all Indian tribes to a slew of business opportunities never before possible. If the growing cash flow of reservation casinos can translate into environmental industries, which it already has at resorts like the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, this book may very well be the rallying call tribal leaders needed to make strength in numbers.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Animal Analogies for Earth Ecology, April 26, 2005

By 

Kent Ponder (Albuquerque., NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nature's Way: Native Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Earth (Paperback)

This is an intensely important book for our time. As part Cherokee, I relate to the Native American outlook in living in harmony with the natural world, and I love the author's use of each of various animals as representing a particular sort of ability and outlook that modern man needs in order to sufficiently detach from a technological mindset that falsely looks to ever more technology to save us from the pressing problems that technology itself has created.

We need to remember that, during the recent Asian tsunami, various kinds of animals, including elephants, somehow sensed the approaching danger and fled to high ground before the waves struck the shores. This book is marvelous in its clever ways of catching our attention and helping redirect our attention to more natural ways of seeing and understanding.