Sun and Learning

Along with the concept of what the sun represents is "rightful orientation" to the world. The Chumash priests, as explained by Cajete, called the sun back to its rightful orientation every winter. Just as all is well with the earth when the sun is in its rightful orientation, so all is well with one when he or she is in his rightful orientation. The learning journey that one follows throughout life is a spiritual one in the sense that the goal of all learning is to find one's rightful orientation to the earth.

This concept of learning as a spiritual endeavor that connects one to the earth and teaches one his or her true life path is related to all the symbols presented in this website. As you learn more about the other symbols, you will also learn that they are all interconnected to form a very rich language about learning and existence. For Native American tribes, learning was not defined by economics as it is in Western culture. In other words, Western educational systems define educational values and objectives by how the learner can best succeed in a job and be a productive member of society. Learning in Native American tribes, indeed in most indigenous cultures, is more of an individual growth journey that leads one to learn his or her true abilities, true manifestations of self, and true calling.

Because the learning journey is so complex and long, Native American tribes believe that individuals do not achieve "rightful orientation" until they are older adults. It is then the responsibility of adults in the tribes to then continue their own journey as they pass along words of wisdom to young learners through stories, interpretations, and guidance. Rightful orientation is not something that remains once a person has reached that place. It is an orientation which one must continually strive to find and maintain throughout life.

Cajete states that adults become both teacher and student as they try to think the highest thought that reconnects them to the special "place" of mythic times. Learning, he states, is a life-long process in which there are levels of knowing, each level encompassing the others in concentric rings. The first way of knowing is knowing one's physical place.