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Giving Thanks to the Original Innovators of The Americas

Dear Readers,

As yet another Columbus Day is about to be observed in the U.S.,
I'm reposting this article for you
from my current location in the city named after
the ever wise Chief Seattle.

I wrote this blog post two years ago
in honor of those whom
we actually should be celebrating. 

Please share it with others. 
This is yet another piece of history, our-story,
that we all should know.

And may the second Monday of every October
soon be resurrected and known officially as
Indigenous People's Day!

I am no fan of the Columbus Day holiday that is still unfortunately observed in the U.S.  My hope is that in time this day will instead honor the 2.5 million Native Americans or American Indians who are all who remain in the U.S. of the 50-100 million inhabitants of the Americas who were here when the European invasion and genocide began.

And so today, on this Columbus Day, in recognition that he did not "discover" America, I choose to honor a some of the countless, little known innovations made by the wonderfully creative indigenous Americans that have ultimately benefitted the entire planet.

  • Almanacs: Containing meteorological and astronomical information, these were invented by the Mayans around 3,500 years ago.
  • Calendars: Developed throughout N. America, Mesoamerica, and S. America, used since 600 BCE. So precise that by the 5th century BCE they were only 19 minutes off!
  • Chewing gum: Made from the spruce tree in New England. The Mayans were the first people to make it from latex gum.
  • Long-fiber cotton: Its export helped to fuel much of the Industrial Revolution throughout the world.
  • Embalming: Egyptians began their mummification around 2000 BCE, 3000 years after the Chinchoro of S. America began the practice.
  • Foods, Glorious Foods!

Approximately 60% of the food upon which the world’s population depends was developed centuries ago by American Indian agrarians who domesticated crops including: six species of maize/corn (150 varieties), five major species of beans, hundreds of varieties of potatoes, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, a range of nuts, avocado, wild rice, and more.

Popular snack foods derived from American Indian agriculture include potato chips, french fries, and popcorn.

And where oh where would humanity be without chocolate (Mayan and Aztec) and Screen shot 2011-10-03 at 3.28.19 AM
vanilla?!

  • Gold plating – The Moche (Peru) dissolved gold using an Alum/Saltpetre/Salt mixture which was then deposited onto copper vessels.
  • The Incan highway system with roads and bridges all up and down South America and foot messengers who would have put the Greek marathon runners to shame.
  • Medicines: Aztecs far surpassed simply knowing which bark made good aspirin or could be used to for quinine to treat malaria, or which berries treated scurvy. Using their sophisticated obsidian knives, Azteks knew how to perform a variety of surgeries, from the mundane to brain surgery.
  • Anesthetics: American Indians used coca, peyote, datura and other plants for partial or total loss of sensation or consciousness during surgery, whereas non-Indian doctors didn’t have effective anesthetics until after the mid-19th century. Other medicines include Novacaine, syrup of ipecac, and astringents.
  • Political theory: The Iroquois Confederacy of upstate New York represented a union of six tribes. Benjamin Franklin and other founding fathers borrowed heavily from the democratic Iroquois “federal system” of government when they planned the union that became the United States. The U.S. Constitution bears more resemblance Screen shot 2011-10-09 at 10.56.32 PM to the model of the League of the Iroquois than the Greek Senate or English House of Lords. The whole idea of a balance of powers, of electing representatives, of governing by consensus all came from the Indians who were generally ruled, not by a “Big Chief,” but rather by a council of elders.
  • Rubber products: Rubber balls, rubber balloons: The Olmec (Mexico) produced rubber balls by mixing rubber tree sap and latex around 1700 BCE. Along with the Maya, they discovered the process of vulcanization in waterproofing such items as capes, shoes, bottles, tarpaulins, ponchos, and baskets.
  • Sports: Field and ice hockey and lacrosse (Canadian First Nations). Basketball was played by the Olmec over 3,000 years ago following their invention of the rubber ball.
  • Sciences: The science of ecology as well as the American Indian belief system teaches that all life is interrelated and interdependent. This relationship is expressed in American Indian oral traditions and conservation practices.
  • American Indian mathematic achievements include the development of highly accurate calendars and place value arithmetic. The Mayans of southern Mexico and Central America were the first people to use the concept of zero in mathematical calculations.

Also:

  • Diapers, asphalt, megaphones, hair conditioner, hammocks, the spinning top, sunscreen, syringe needles, petroleum jelly, and freeze-drying foods such as meat jerky.

Much is owed the the indigenous peoples of the Americas. –This includes acknowledgement of their immense creative and innovative genius.
Speaking of which, I want to thank Northern Cheyenne artist Christopher Rowland for use of his wonderful paintings, titles listed in order, below. To see more of his work, go to http://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.56597471651.78999.570531651&type=3.

 

For those who wish to support the human, legal, and economic rights
of our living, breathing, fellow American indigenous brothers and sisters,
the following organizations work diligently on their behalves
and need us to give back, in whatever ways that we can:

And one organization that supports American Indian innovation initiatives:

Screen shot 2011-10-09 at 10.52.42 PM

 

"Gifts" 70"x40" oil on canvas (1991).

"Little Man" 48"x36" oil on canvas (1997). Son of Scalp Cane, Northern Cheyenne.

"Blessings" 28"x22" oil on canvas (2005). Buffalo Calf Trail Woman, a warrior woman of the Northern Cheyenne.

Instead of listening to my preferred talk radio station on my long drive between the Washington, D.C. area and my home in central Virginia, other sorts of sound tracks allowed my mind to wander the other evening.  I started thinking about three of the seven key habits in the book How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, which happen to correspond to practices recommended by the “stand-out” leaders cited in the 2010 IBM CEO study:

  1. Curiosità, and questioning;
  2. "Dimonstrazione": Experiential learning, which goes with the willingness to make, and learn from, mistakes, and,
  3. "Sfumato": Comfort with uncertainty and ambiguity.

It then dawned on me that these ways of being all relate to overcoming fear.  Even the term used in the report, “stand-out,” implies people who are willing to follow their own instincts and speak their truths in the face of “group think” and at the risk of rustling feathers, or worse.

I’d been wondering about the linkage that those successful leaders alluded to between
Standing out in a field
creative/innovative thinking and “integrity.”  As was said, yes, it does take courage to question the status quo, go into unknown territory, and be willing to learn from mistakes. But I then saw a deeper connection: that overcoming one’s own fears requires personal integrity.

As President F.D. Roosevelt said, “… the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  Although the two words, “curious” and “courage,” are not etymologically related, it occurs to me that they are intertwined.  Both require a willingness to question, to forge into the un-known, and to risk making mistakes.

It seems to me that fear is what sabotages our capacities for creative expression and innovative thinking.  It is fear that seduces many of us and keeps us in our comfort zones.  It is those people who have no choice, or those who are inspired by the greater visions, who exhibit to us time and again that “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

What moves us to overcome our fear?  Inspiration.  The word “inspire” derives from the Latin: “to breathe,” and is related to the word “spirit”: “The vital principle or animating force within living beings.”  Inspire: (American Heritage dictionary, 4th Edition)

1.    To affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence.
3a. To stimulate to action; motivate
5.    To be the cause or source of; bring about
6.    To draw in (air) by inhaling.
7.    Archaic  b. To breathe life into.  

Brave people, warriors on any number of fronts, consistently say that they do experience fear, but they push themselves beyond it for the sake of others or because they are inspired by causes or visions beyond themselves.

We were born inspired with curiosity about life and possibilities.  As little children, most of us didn’t fear being “wrong” when unfettered imagination was allowed and for which there was no right or Teacher --( wrong.  But gradually, fear crept in as we were acculturated to come up with the correct answers, to draw between the lines, and not be perceived as too different, “weird” or “stand out” from the crowd.  Actually, come to think of it, this is ironic in America, where the dominant culture is considered to be the most “individualistic”  in the world… Food for thought for a future blog post. 

Some say Leonardo da Vinci was the most curious man who ever lived.  But then, there was Socrates, who inspired even the maestro and other great Renaissance minds.  Our greatest artists and leaders overcame their fears through what inspired them and through their own integrity, often in the face of tremendous sacrifices.  These men and women continue to stand as inspirational figures for all of us.  Those who saw what was possible and asked “Why not?” and “What if…?”

What comes to mind regarding overcoming our own insecurities is the well-known Marianne Williamson poem quoted by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural address.  It speaks so poignantly to the fear that many have of standing out and the need for being true to our gifts in order to benefit others:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves,
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

 That’s what truly inspirational leaders and innovators do: they do not shrink from standing out, from speaking their truths, or from daring to inspire with imagination.  We need a lot more of them; we need to be them.  As Ms. Williamson wrote in her more recent book, Age of Miracles, our world desperately needs our full range of skills which includes our creative imaginations, “All hands are needed on deck.”  

So now, I have some contemplating to do. If you care to join me in pondering these questions, please do.

  • What have you been most afraid of?  What has gotten in your way of following your heart’s desires? 
  • What inspires you?  When do you feel most alive?  
  • What helps you to overcome fear?

And best of all:

  • Where would you love your inner “drummer” to lead you in this year ahead?

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to think like Leonardo Before going on to elaborate on Sr. da Vinci’s seven habits for cultivating creative thinking as  
outlined in M.Gelb's book, it occurred to me that it would be helpful to review a few of the maestro's myriad accomplishments to remind us that his astounding talents went far beyond his creation of two of the world’s greatest paintings, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.   One da Vinci scholar referred to him as “the most curious man who ever lived” (K. Clark’s, Leonardo da Vinci).

Da Vinci, the inventor, made plans for:
A flying machine, helicopter, parachute, extendable ladder, three-speed gear shift, screw-thread cutting machine, bicycle, an adjustable monkey wrench, snorkel, hydraulic jack, revolving stage, a canal lock system, a horizontal waterwheel, an olive press, and more…

The military engineer: Although he referred to war as a “beastly madness,” with the intention of preserving the “chief gift of nature, which is liberty,” he created plans for:
The armored tank, machine gun, mortar, guided missile, and submarine.

He also made significant contributions to the disciplines of anatomy, biology, geology, and physics.  Among these were his observations of: the correspondence of trees’ ages to the rings in their cross-sections; the leaf arrangement in plants; and the draw of earth’s gravity on some plants, and the sun for others.  He also made significant discoveries regarding fossilization, and was the first to document soil erosion.

  • 40 years before Copernicus, he noted, “The sun does not move…. Nor [is the earth] in the center of the universe.”
  • 60 years before Galileo, he suggested that “a large magnifying lens” should be used to study the heavenly bodies.
  • 200 years before Newton, he anticipated the theory of gravity in his writings and deduced that the earth must therefore be spherical.
  • 400 years before Darwin, his writing placed humans in the same broad category with primates and noted that we do not vary from animals “except in what is accidental.” 

A great deal of his work was incomplete, for which some have considered him a failure!  Gelb writes that beyond the maestro’s scientific achievements, of even greater value was his approach to knowledge, which “set the stage for modern scientific thinking.”

Many scholars agree that beyond his prolific accomplishments, da Vinci “offers the supreme inspiration for reach to exceed grasp.”

 

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