Gifts

Europeans brought alcohol to the Indians.   They also brought the other mind-bending elixir of religion.    Both bent the minds of people who already were able to see how things are connected.   Both alcohol and religion supported actions that caused the indigenous people to lose lands and perspective.

The loss of this inherited vision is still a struggle, a lost heritage, a distraction from what was an ancient understanding of reality.   Both alcohol and religion have been poisons that destroyed the fabric of a world that had nurtured the spirit off millions of people.   The Europeans brought gifts that took away a life of insight and connection.

Those Europeans stayed and stayed, and they still keep on giving.