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Life Worth Living is an initiative of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School.
Spirituality, Religion, and Indigenous Cosmology / Tom Porter
Tom Porter (Sakokwenionkwas, meaning “The One Who Wins”) is the spokesperson and spiritual leader of the Mohawk Community of Kanatsiohareke (Ga na jo ha lay gay) in the Mohawk Valley near Fonda, New York.
What does it mean to find God everywhere?
Listen on
Mohawk elder Tom Porter describes how his, and many other, indigenous spiritual beliefs, escape the rigidity and anthropocentrism of Western religion.
Many religious perspectives try to fit spirituality in their own little box. But spirituality, according to indigenous tradition, cannot fit inside a box. Tom Porter explains Indigenous cosmology as a universe-wide relationship among living beings. He describes creation teachings, Mother Earth, and the belief that animals, rivers, wind, and celestial bodies are relatives within a sacred web of life.
Highlights
“I don't have no religion.”
“Spirituality has to be the universe where you live.”
“We all relate it to the earth, our mother.”
“Everything that lives is part of God.”
“It's a power way beyond our comprehension.”
Many religious perspectives try to fit spirituality in their own little box. But spirituality, according to indigenous tradition, cannot fit inside a box. Tom Porter explains Indigenous cosmology as a universe-wide relationship among living beings. He describes creation teachings, Mother Earth, and the belief that animals, rivers, wind, and celestial bodies are relatives within a sacred web of life.
Highlights
“I don't have no religion.”
“Spirituality has to be the universe where you live.”
“We all relate it to the earth, our mother.”
“Everything that lives is part of God.”
“It's a power way beyond our comprehension.”
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