Tryon AAUW invites you to join us at our last meeting of the spring on the subject of Indigenous Wisdom on Monday, April 22nd at 1:30 p.m. at the Polk County Library in Columbus. We will have a thought provoking visit with Annette Wells with her discussion with question and answer on “How Ancient Worldviews Foretold and Speak to the Challenges of Our Modern World.”  

Every culture is built upon the shoulders of the people who have gone before. Aldous Huxley once quipped that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. Looking back in history not only helps us to understand the mistakes that were made and their consequences, but tools may be found with which to re-build our present broken systems. This may be vital for our time and the challenges we face. Far from suggesting that we regress or return to primitive ways, Ms. Wells will be illuminating some ways in which indigenous cultures worked quite efficiently and sustainably. Though we are living in a time when tribalism is a source of conflict rather than a boon; there is much to glean from the core beliefs of the native cultures that we nearly exterminated when settling this country.  

It seems that we have moved faster and further in technological ways than we have in our evolution as human beings. We are entertained, but are we happy or fulfilled? As technology moves us closer and closer together, we may feel more and more isolated, fearful and insecure. Can we rely on technology to solve our problems? Might we need to adjust our worldview? Is tribalism always an ‘us against them’ mechanism? Does how we feel, act and behave as individuals affect the rest of our world, or are we each an “island unto itself”? Do we want peace or dominion over our world and its inhabitants? These are some of the questions, we will explore through the lens of native wisdom traditions. 

Annette Wells is a retired tenured Professor of Arts and Humanities, who taught at Miami-Dade College in Miami, FL and Towson State University in Maryland. She has lectured throughout the US on art and art theory, environmental sustainability, organic farming and Native Spirituality. 

Submitted by Annette Wells