Scenario Nine: Education for children orphaned by AIDS in Africa

To see the introduction here first, click here>> INTRODUCTION / INSTRUCTIONS for consultation.

Scenario One: Education for children orphaned by AIDS in Africa.

According to a recent report by UNICEF, eleven million children in Africa are orphaned by AIDS, and according to projections, the same report states that by the year 2010, the number will double to about 20,000,000 children.

In Kenya, (refer to film) with the recent change in the Central Administration, the Kibaki government has brought many of these children off the streets and offered free education to all children in the country, but education is still neither compulsory nor affordable in terms of the minimum supplementary costs that still must be born by relatives or parents. Moreover, the number of schools in the country is insufficient to handle the demand or influx of children who now want to go to school. (Some of these children are literally being taken off the streets in several African countries such as Kenya and put into boarding schools -- “Street Boys” are beggars and get “high” by sniffing glue, in order to stave off their hunger and pain). Since the change in administration, the UN and other international donors are offering aid to Kenya for education. Your Baha’i Assembly has decided to start a school for 200 children. Where will it find the money? How will it contract to build the infrastructure? How will it go about hiring the teachers and staff? What curriculum will it provide? How will it provide housing, sanitation, pure water and nutritional food that are essential prerequisites to the schooling process? Will you collaborate with other NGOs? Consult and come up with the principles that would guide the consultation and the process of setting up a school.

Consult: You have 45 minutes. First discuss the issues in your identity as an Orlando group, and then consult in the role identity of the Baha'i community (LSA?) facing the scenario, perhaps by assigning some of your group members to the roles of the individuals or stake holders identified and see how you would address the issues and questions defined above. Prepare a 10 minute report you will present back to the room (workshop participants) on your consultative process and conclusions, being sure to answer the questions above. Consider using drama and role-play to demonstrate the process, although it is not required in your presentation. List all the principles utilized in your consultation and show how you determined they were linked not only to the issue but to the other principles brought to bear on the issue.

Questions you might use in your discussion:

How do Baha’is approach development -- in the spirit of service, tolerance, love, humility and trustworthiness, or with condescension, arrogance and prejudice about what norms are acceptable within and without the Baha’i culture? How do we avoid the traps of cultural relativism and pluralism? What is the balance between expressing and living Bahá’í values, and respecting the so-called “wisdom of the ages” (i.e., traditions)? Should they forget the old generation and focus on the new? How do Baha’is counteract decades (centuries) of colonialism/indentured servant-hood where outsiders are still often regarded as “experts” and thus deferred to? How can the Baha'is contribute without coming across as condescending or paternalist? OR should they not be afraid of coming across in that fashion? How can Baha’is make themselves available without intruding – to be considered as a resource rather than be told to go away (don’t show up in our traditional consultations, for example)? How do we avoid cultural imperialism, or even its appearance? For example, how do we deal with perceptions of “us and them, or “outsider and insider?”

Scenario Two:

(Context: United States -- Navajo Reservation)

The Navajo Nation is the largest indigenous tribe in the United States, numbering over 250,000 people, most of whom live on the Navajo Reservation – an expanse of land the size of New England, spanning thousands of square miles of arid high-plateau country in northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah and northwestern New Mexico. Bordered on every side by towns and counties of “mainstream USA,” the Navajo Reservation itself is home to America’s highest incidences of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, substandard housing, diabetes, alcoholism and alcohol-related mortality and morbidity (fatal and medical consequences of alcohol abuse). Ironically, due to the Nation’s proximity to the American economy and its status as a “conquered sovereign nation” under the authority of the American government, Navajos have greater access to opportunities and resources than do most rural indigenous peoples of the Western hemisphere. However, this access has been as a “dependency” of the United States, and the financial and other aid provided by the US government has not resulted in the empowerment or the social and economic well-being of the Navajos as a nation of people. Rather, it has served primarily to perpetuate the dependency and to inhibit the growth of a self-reliant nation and competitive economy.

Navajos traditionally lived in small- to moderate-sized “bands” or extended families, living close to the land and establishing living quarters aligned with the seasonal migration patterns of their livestock (usually consisting, at least these days, of a “winter home” at lower/warmer elevations and a “summer home” higher up in the mountains). The general pattern was that the homesteads of nuclear or small extended families would be dispersed far from one another across the landscape – often a mile or more apart. These family units would often visit and assist one another with various chores, projects and ceremonies – but they were quite comfortable with lots of “elbow room” around their own homes! Those families living in a certain contiguous area would be closely related to one another by both blood and clanship, and thus the personal relationships among all members and generations were very strong, reinforced by language, custom, ceremony and the activities of daily life. Thus, the Navajo lifestyle was at one and the same time both fiercely independent and intensely and ultimately communal.

The traditional Navajo home was a circular, hexagonal or octagonal “hogan” (pronounced HO-gawn) made of various combinations of logs, mud, stone and/or other naturally available materials. The one-room hogan, with its east-facing door, its circular aspect and a number of other symbolic features, was considered a sacred representation of many elements of Navajo cosmology, and there were customary ways of organizing, using and caring for the material components of the home. All members of the family slept in the hogan, and the senior women of the household were fundamentally in charge of the hogan’s daily operations; in fact, under the matrilineal structure of Navajo society, the women were the primary “owners” of the home.

In the 20^th century, Navajo housing became a mix of traditional hogans, simple rectangular cabins, or increasingly, mobile homes. Regardless of structure, nearly half of all Navajo homes are still without electricity or running water, and most rural roads serving those homes are virtually impassable during rainy and snowy conditions. Most Navajo families do not earn the income needed to properly maintain or further develop their homes, and most communities do not have the public resources needed to build all-weather roads or to extend the kinds of basic infrastructure the rest of the American nation has come to expect as a birthright.

As a partial – and alas questionable – solution to the Navajo housing situation, one of the results of America’s “foreign aid” to the Navajo Nation has been the proliferation of government-subsidized, “affordable housing” neighborhoods, plopped into Navajo communities in clusters of 20 or more stick-built, cookie-cutter houses arranged in the linear patterns typical of America’s middle and lower-middle class suburban neighborhoods, in which each home has a driveway and/or carport, hot and cold running water, fully outfitted bathrooms, electricity, kitchen and laundry appliances, a living room and 2 to 4 discrete bedrooms. To younger generations of Navajo families, this “step up” sure sounds good! In reality, however, it has been found that these housing projects rapidly devolve into deteriorated and unsafe rural ghettos, in which the effective life of the houses is less than 15 years, in which residents show little sense of pride or ownership in the homes, and in which traditional social patterns become fully disrupted. Although monthly rent is figured on a sliding scale basis, such that rental payments for low-income families may be as low as $20 a month, many of these families cannot afford the monthly utility bills – especially if the homes are poorly insulated and have all-electric appliances!

Whereas in traditional times Navajo families would help one another to build, renovate or expand their homes (as well as bring in the harvest, conduct a healing ceremony, or shear the sheep), the modern-day government housing ghettos are built by construction crews, with recipient family members – much less the neighbors – rarely involved in providing sweat equity. On the strength of the newly-available electricity and a revolving series of high-interest pawnshop or payday loans, housing project families soon equip their homes with TVs, VCRs, DVDs, video games and other entertainment appliances – thus providing them with the opportunity of never having to leave their homes, much less interact and cooperate with their neighbors. The near-complete breakdown of traditional Navajo culture follows closely behind.

In one rural Navajo community of about 1,000 people (about 250 households), there is an emerging Bahá’í community of about 20 adults, 25 children and 13 youth. Among its members are two pioneer families (with 3 children among them) and a single pioneer woman. There has been a local Spiritual Assembly here, on and off, for about 15 years, but it has generally functioned partially and sporadically. Enthusiasm by the Navajo friends tends to come and go, and they have generally relied on the pioneers (the current ones and those residing there in the past) to organize and call the meetings, to transport the friends to and from the meetings, to do any and all paperwork associated with Assembly business and to basically “keep things going.”

Traditional Navajo consultation methods, including those that emerge organically in the context of all-night and 9-day healing ceremonies or that become evident during times of family grief or celebration, tend to take place in communal “circles” in which each person who wishes to speak is accorded the time and respect to do so. Elders are generally accorded the highest respect and priority, and younger speakers will often apologize for presuming to speak in front of them. If they are truly wise, the elders will encourage the young to speak forth and will be careful not to squash their assertiveness (unfortunately, there are some elders who are more dismissive at times). Some accomplished speakers might use traditional Navajo oratorical techniques, while others speak simply and softly from the heart. Those with the strongest tie to Navajo tradition will readily articulate Navajo spiritual principles on which their observations are based, deferring to such teachings as the barometer of right and wrong, of appropriate and inappropriate, of practical and impractical. There are often extended moments of silence between speakers, broken only gently and apologetically by each next speaker, who respectfully acknowledge those who have already spoken, noting ideas with which they agree and diplomatically calling into question ideas with which they are uncomfortable, but always referring to prior speakers with appropriate familial respect and affection (“What my uncle says is very true …”). Sometimes a consensus becomes apparent without anyone needing to announce the fact, while at other times a respected elder or leader within the group might summarize what appears to be emerging as the consensus and conclusion.

The communal strength, cohesion, confidence and fluency that can occasionally be found in traditional Navajo consultative settings is often missing in Bahá’í communities in which both Navajo and non-Navajo friends participate. Thus, the Bahá’í way (even though at its heart there is so much that resonates with the beauty and strength of traditional Navajo consultation) remains a somewhat “foreign” experience to the Navajo friends, and thus there is general deference to the Bahá’í pioneers. One reason for this tentative relationship to the processes of the Faith may well be the language used as the center-piece of Bahá’í activities – i.e., usually English when the pioneers are involved, as most pioneers have failed to learn “Diné Bizaad,” the Navajo language. Additionally, in their eagerness to serve and be helpful, the pioneers often dominate the various conversations and activities – thus by default, the pioneer’s way of doing things becomes the model of what the Faith must be like. The pioneers also tend to have a mental image of how things “should” be done, according to their understanding of the Writings, and are eager to see that such things are done right at the start – even if the organic maturation of the community or of the Assembly might suggest the need for a different pattern, pace or sequence of activity and developmental work. In such settings, the potential for leadership and service by the indigenous friends remains hidden or dormant, as they patiently observe the pioneers going about their various efforts to build the community!

Some of the Navajo Bahá'ís are concurrently participants in the ceremonial or communal activities of other faith traditions in the area, including traditional Navajo ceremonial events. Most of the Navajo households are below the conventional “poverty line,” and the Bahá’í community is not immune to the economic struggles and tensions that arise in daily life. There has often been considerable pressure on the pioneers to assist with various Navajo family needs, sometimes but not always financially. In the past, some of the Bahá'í pioneers have helped build or renovate the homes of Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í friends in the community. On reflection, the pioneers remain committed to being of service whenever needed, but they aren’t sure whether the Navajo friends are growing in self-reliance and mutual cooperation. Generally speaking, the social and economic needs of the community seem “bottomless,” and the friends just don’t have the time or resources to “help everybody equally.”

Recently the friends have been deepening on the Bahá’í principles of community-based social and economic development, and consultation has resulted in identifying housing as an important need, both within and outside the Bahá’í community. The pioneers are going through the growing pains of learning to be non-intrusive facilitators of community process (“wind in the sails”), and are beginning to show signs of community maturation -- as servants of transformation.

There is considerable knowledge and experience in the community pertaining to the construction of traditional Navajo hogans and other simple cabin structures – although no one is a union-certified carpenter, plumber or electrician. Some of the pioneers have recently become familiar with potentially helpful, affordable and energy-efficient building technologies, including strawbale and rammed-earth construction methods. There are philanthropic networks, such as Builders Without Borders, who might be available to assist with community-based, innovative homebuilding projects.

The issue of Housing is on the next Bahá’í Assembly agenda, where there will be discussion on how to respond to this assessed need. Consult on the spiritual and social issues raised in this scenario and come up with a set of best practices on how to approach SED in this context. You have 45 minutes: First discuss the issues in your identity as an Orlando group, and then consult in the role identity of the Baha'i community (LSA?) facing the scenario, perhaps by assigning some of your group members to the roles of the individuals or stake holders identified and see how you would address the issues and questions defined above. Prepare a 10 minute report you will present back to the room on your consultative process and conclusions. Consider using drama and role-play to demonstrate the process, although it is not required in your presentation. List all the principles utilized in your consultation and show how you determined they were linked not only to the issue but to the other principles brought to bear on the issue.

Questions you might use in your discussion:

Scenario Three: FGM

The form of female genital mutilation (FGM) or female genital cutting (FGC) practiced in Benin, a prominent West African kingdom, is Type II (commonly referred to as excision). Type II is the excision (removal) of the clitoris together with part or all of the labia minora (the inner vaginal lips). It is generally performed without the use of anesthesia. The age and ceremonial context in which the procedure takes place vary with the location. It is usually performed when a girl is between six and eight years of age or later (between 10 and 15 years of age). The cost of the ceremony related to this practice can run as high as approximately US $1000. Some families go into debt in order to bear the costs of this ceremony. Among other groups, the traditional birth attendant (TBA) or a member of the family performs the procedure. Often this person receives some payment in kind.

The country chapter of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (lAG) conducted a survey in 1992. It estimated that the percentage of women who have undergone this procedure is close to 30 percent. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the percentage is closer to 50 percent. However, this figure appears high to many locally based physicians and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The 1992 survey found that while Type II or excision is widely practiced, the practice is not uniformly distributed throughout the country. It occurs in the northern part where your local Baha’i community is budding, but as a very small minority group.

ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS:

Certain ethnic groups ascribe to the belief that this practice is good for the health of girls and women and for older girls, is a part of the socialization process marking the transition to adulthood. Some older citizens defend the practice and stress the advantages of having a woman “cut” to ensure her faithfulness to her husband. Some claim that Islam or indigenous religions demand or recommend it.

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES:

The government’s position is to eliminate this practice in the country. It has undertaken some activities through health workers in rural areas to inform the public about the harmful effects of the practice, but the coverage is still very light. In April 2000, the Social Affairs Minister attended a ceremony in which 17 women turned in their cutting tools in exchange for small grants (approximately US$175). At that time several traditional authorities, i.e. chiefs and kings, denounced the practice in a joint statement as “a backward, harmful and cruel practice.”

The African regional office of WHO launched a regional plan of action against all forms of FGM/FGC on March 17, 1997 during a symposium in a major city. The plan comprises three phases to be completed over a 20-year period. It focuses on coordination and reinforcement of inter-organization and inter-government involvement in West Africa. The country WHO chapter’s part of the plan calls for a national evaluation of the prevalence of FGM/FGC; national legislation to eliminate the practice and collaboration of government, NGOs and private sectors to establish or reinforce community-based prevention activities such as: community surveillance, information, evaluation and notification programs. (Taken from http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/10222.pdf )

Opposing view:

“There has in recent times been a hue and cry about the practice of genital surgery on women in Africa. The prevailing perspective in America has been absolute condemnation. What is bothersome is not so much that people have a negative opinion of the practice, but that the issue is misrepresented as a form of child abuse or a tool of gender oppression. The language and tone of the outcry in most cases reflects a total lack of respect for the culture of other peoples. Even more bothersome is the false portrayal: the falsification of statistics and a successful demonization of the practitioners. There may be an on-going debate about the effects or necessity for the procedure, but the essential truth is that the practitioners do not perform genital surgery on their girls, (nor on their sons for that matter) to oppress them or do them any harm. For them the procedure is carried out for the noblest of reasons, the best of intentions and in good faith. The fact that it can be performed in public in the countries that permit it demonstrates that the practitioners do not consider it dirty laundry or a dark hidden secret.” (Taken from http://www.ccsu.edu/afstudy/upd3-2.html )

Nahid Toubia, president of RAINBOW (Research, Action and Information Network for Bodily Integrity of Women), is a Sudanese physician whose research has become a standard for understanding FGM. After wondering for years why some women themselves defend the practice -- flying in the face of health risks, prohibitive laws, and even religious leaders' advice -- she came to the conclusion that women who insist on practicing FGM, do so because it is their only means of obtaining acceptability and material gain through marriage, in a patriarchal social setting. According to Toubia, while adopting prohibitive laws, women in FGM practicing communities must be given benefits that will compensate for not complying with social norms. If FGM is practiced by women to gain acceptability in society, then in addition to imposing laws we must give them education, improve their chances of working, and equip them with means to reject the practice, she says. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/643/eg3.htm

The right or wrongness of FGM has already been decided in the court of world opinion -- for example in the "Beijing Protocol" on violence against women and five resolutions on human rights from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). There are three criminal laws against FGM in the United States (where, according the the CDC, 120,000 FGMs take place each year). Britain and France are vigorous in the prosecution of FGM practice. 14 African nations have outlawed FGM. In Kenya, a good study indicated that 15% of all women who endured the practice died, in the early '90s. (Women who have sought assistance from the Baha'i-inspired Tahirih Justice Center say they have personally known 1-10 people who have died from FGM.) The Universal House of Justice has also given guidance on the practice in 7 letters on the subject, essentially prohibiting FGM.

Another related concern is the need to protect rather than punish women. Who must be penalized for breaking the law? If a parent is imprisoned upon conviction, the daughter/victim will pay a heavy price. "Legislation that ignores the crucial needs of women will result in making them criminals and end up punishing the same victims that we aim to protect," advises Toubia, who cautions that "an isolated act of criminalizing FGM without empowering women or involving the community could easily create an environment that is hostile to women."

Your challenge and tasks in the consultation:

The local LSA encounters a new Baha’i family that still wishes their daughter to undergo this procedure. Indigenous people are in the majority on the Assembly. The girl does not wish to undergo the procedure and an older sister has indicated she intends to runaway, her desire is hearsay or second-hand information. The girl is still a minor and is not brought to the consultation. The older sister made the LSA member swear not to divulge the source of the information, especially she intends to help her sister escape from her own family. One of the Baha’is on the LSA knows of several other cultural contexts in which the people abandoned the cutting practice but maintained the ritual that represents the rite of passage into womanhood.

Consult on the issues and chose the Baha’i principles that have a bearing on the issues. Your task is not to decide the rightness or wrongness of the practice (that has already been decided), but rather how to approach the issue in communities where this value is a source of social disunity between traditional values and social progress. In our nervousness around such controversies, how do we Baha'is avoid taking the easy route of entering the public debate as if our own values were not clear, simply because we are afraid of imposing or even expressing our own values -- especially if contrary to a local tradition? In terms of administration, are we often too quick to impose sanctions on believers in our own community, when the Writing implore moderation and House of Justice emphasizes patience in terms of a community's natural growth towards maturity? How does obedience to government enter into the equation? What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in such issues. How should Baha'is become involved? Consult on "best approaches."

You have 45 minutes. First discuss the issues in your identity as an Orlando group, and then consult in the role identity of the Baha'i community (LSA?) facing the scenario, perhaps by assigning some of your group members to the roles of the individuals or stake holders identified and see how you would address the issues and questions defined above. Prepare a 10 minute report you will present back to the room (workshop participants) on your consultative process and conclusions, being sure to answer the questions above. Consider using drama and role-play to demonstrate the process, although it is not required in your presentation. List all the principles utilized in your consultation and show how you determined they were linked not only to the issue but to the other principles brought to bear on the issue. (Other references: www.tahirih.org )

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

Scenario Three: (this one is the subject to of a National Geographic film.)

Shamanism does work, if for no other reason that people believe in it. Will show anthropologists’ insightful comments: Wade Davis, for example, comments on common belief that ancestors have influence from next world, and also points out the dichotomy that often arises between orthodox religious beliefs and individual expression – as a universal cultural phenomenon Baha’i pioneers might encounter anywhere in the world.

Context – Zimbabwe: People have access to modern medicine but when medicine fails they turn to traditional healers. Case study: Highly educated girl thinks evil forces have a powerful influence on her life. She speaks English. She is healed through process, in contrast to modern medicine.

Context – Philippines: Mother of boy thought to be demon possessed seeks exorcist that is outlawed by the local Catholic priest. Priest believes that boy is suffering from psychological trauma associated with his father’s death.

Should Shamanism be preserved within Baha’i communities? Is there a place for traditional medicine in indigenous societies that have entered the modern world in almost every other respect? What would the advice be to Baha’i parents that came to the Local Spiritual Assembly and expressed their desire to take their child to the Shaman, when the local orthodoxy frowns on it?

Your challenges and tasks in the consultation:

What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in such issues. How should Baha'is become involved? Consult on "best approaches."

Scenario Five (Education of girls in subordinate status):
In many developing countries, such as India, rural women in many areas are not afforded the same education opportunities as men, or more specifically girls and boys. Girls are expected to help their mothers and be engaged in such tasks as fetching water but this means that they are not allowed to go to school, according to local tradition. This is partly a pragmatic and practical issue since the only source of water is miles away from the village and it takes 6 hours each day to fetch the water. How then can she be in school? One girl can carry only one jar of water per trip. Your group is the Local Spiritual Assembly, which consists of six local believers and three Baha’i pioneers that have lived in the area for five years. Two of the pioneers are husband and wife from England, the original colonial power in the region. The other is a Persian Baha’i that married a local four years ago. (They have a three-year old daughter.) This is the first year that the village has formed an Assembly. The village is now approximately 50% Baha’i, so potential conflict with local tradition and division within the wider community exist when Baha’is adopt and even recommend new behaviors and practices. Some members of the Assembly feel that the local traditions must be preserved; others think that equality means equal education. The consultation includes the creation of a special school for that would allow girls to attend, increasing the role of boys in the water gathering practice, the cost of digging of a well closer to the village and/or a local storage tank. What other issues and solutions do you see? What are the issues that come up to challenge the unity of the community? What are the principles that should guide the Assembly consultation and the Baha’i community’s behavior within the wider social context? How are these principles interlinked? What attitudes, qualities of character, behaviors, and Baha’i principles should the pioneers be careful demonstrate since they are still regarded as “outsiders” by many in the village, even by their fellow Assembly members? Do they have special responsibilities that the local people do not, or should they regard themselves as exactly equals – as members of one human family?

Issues: Introducing Baha’i values and practices (re: gender equity, for example). Education of children. Respect for tradition. Unity within the Baha’i community and with the wider community.

Your tasks today: You have 45 minutes. First discuss the issues in your identity as an Orlando group, and then consult in the role identity of the Baha'i community (LSA?) facing the scenario, perhaps by assigning some of your group members to the roles of the individuals or stake holders identified and see how you would address the issues and questions defined above. Prepare a 10 minute report you will present back to the room (workshop participants) on your consultative process and conclusions, being sure to answer the questions above. Consider using drama and role-play to demonstrate the process, although it is not required in your presentation. List all the principles utilized in your consultation and show how you determined they were linked not only to the issue but to the other principles brought to bear on the issue.

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

Scenario Six:

(Context: United States – Navajo Reservation)

The Native American Church, which evolved in the 20th century as a blend of various Indian traditions (such as from northern Mexico, the North American plains and Navajoland) with concepts and rituals of Christian churches, advocates the use of Peyote, a psychotropic drug, as part of their religious ceremonies. One member of a Local Spiritual Assembly is a "roadman" (i.e., "shaman/medicineman/minister") in the Native American Church and regularly performs the Peyote sacred rites among his "own people."

Membership in the NAC has grown rapidly in the past couple of generations, and many Native American Bahá'ís have been attracted into its circle. As a Bahá'í International Counsellor once observed, "They are warming themselves at other fires," insofar as they hadn't felt inspiration and a sense of community at the "Bahá'í fires." Indeed, aside from the ritual use of peyote as an instrument for accessing the divine, the NAC promotes a number of spiritual teachings quite compatible with those of the Bahá'í Faith, and many NAC members credit their church membership for their success in overcoming alcoholism and other personal and family problems.

Some Native Bahá'ís see the NAC as a bridge between the "old ways" and the New World Order, i.e., a religious community that resonates with "things native" such as drumming and Native-style singing, imagery and symbolism tied to the forces of nature, mysticism, spiritual healing and communal celebration, while not literally being tied to any one tribal tradition - thus "preparing" some of the Native people for a transition from localized tribal attachments to more global spiritual connections. Others see it as a distraction, or worse, a dangerous affiliation, pointing to the cumulative harm that repeated peyote use might have on NAC participants. Some Native friends are resentful that the Bahá'í Institutions have occasionally seen fit to ostracize or discipline Native Bahá'ís who have continued to derive benefit from NAC participation, while others wonder why some Native Bahá'ís are "allowed" to maintain their NAC connections while at the same time claiming to be Bahá'ís.

Over time, it has been a difficult and sometimes contentious and divisive subject within the Bahá'í community, between the Bahá'ís and the Native American Church, and even within Native Bahá'í families. Then, too, non-Native pioneers or traveling teachers have occasionally taken it upon themselves to directly "inform" the Native friends what they can and cannot do with respect to the NAC. True, there are messages from the Universal House of Justice forbidding the use of peyote, noting that one cannot simultaneously be a Bahá'í while also being an enrolled member of a distinct formal religious community, advising that material substances cannot be instruments for accessing spirituality, etc. But the manner - and timing - in which this guidance has been communicated among the Native friends has been the cause of considerable turmoil and resentment among some of the friends, and indeed dozens of Native friends have left the Faith over the issue.

The issue is sometimes discussed within this local Native Bahá'í community, and it promises to "come to a head" if just left alone. Other members of the LSA are not certain where their responsibility lies.

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

In terms of administration, are we often too quick to impose sanctions on believers in our own community, when the Writing implore moderation and House of Justice emphasizes patience in terms of a community's natural growth towards maturity? What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in such issues. How should Baha'is become involved?

Scenario Seven: (from a National Geographic film)

Issue: Scarification of children / group identity. Is the culture destroyed if the practice is abandoned?

In modern industrialized countries tattooing and scaring is associated with Hell’s Angels and criminals, etc. In traditional cultures, such as that of the Iban in Borneo, Malaysia, marking the skin or body art has been a way of identifying the culture or group to which one belongs. It says you are a member of that group. Participation in the tattooing and scaring was obligatory, sometimes signifying a rite of passage, or entrance to manhood. In times of war, tribes used tattoo identification as safety factor. Warriors had to quickly identify others as friend or foe. A mistake in identification could cost you your life. Such markings often indicate a particular cast or set of skills, or signal levels of achievement, etc. Tattooing and scaring is one of the last ways a culture can maintain its identity as a culture. For some tribes, if you were to lose the tattoos you would lose your culture.

Hypothetical Issue based on this real context:

Cutting the flesh to leave permanent scars on the face or abdomen is likewise practiced as a means of identity with the culture. A traditional woman in Africa wants to have her 2 year old child’s face cut with 50 knife cuts (forehead and cheeks). It is very painful. The procedure is done without anesthesia by a local elder, in the tribe that has been doing this practice for centuries. The mother and father have just become Baha’is, has have many in the village and they come together to the LSA for advice. The mother wants to have this procedure, while the father does not. Traditionally the mother is not as interested as the father and does not even attend these events, but the father is rather horrified by the prospect. Normally a mother does not attend this ceremony but this mother wants to. Psychologists have warned the father that the procedure could not only scar the skin permanently but wound the child emotionally, even causing a break in the trust with the mother because the child will know she is a consenting party while in attendance. The LSA must give the couple advice. Consideration must be given to the non-Baha’i members of the tribe.

Issues: What is best for the child? How does the community respect the wishes of the parents? How does the Baha’i community respect the values of the dominant religious tradition within the culture? How does the Baha’i position affect the reputation of the budding Baha’i community in the area, and should (and how should) we be concerned with this?

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

Scenario Eight:

(Honduras or some other South American country: )

- Urban shift versus rural living. A family with five children, now grown, is trying to deal with the issue of whether it should encourage or discourage their kids to go to 'find jobs in the city' or not. Should they be encouraged to stay in the rural areas? The SAT program from FUNDAEC seems to focus more on the latter... is that in harmony the Baha'i Writings? Is urban living essentially evil?

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

Scenario Nine:

(Ecuador or some other South American country: )

- Low-self esteem in indigenous communities. Your ability to learn often correlates with your motivation and your belief in your own abilities to learn. How to counteract decades/centuries of colonialism/indentured servant-hood? How can the Baha'is contribute without coming across as condescending/paternalist? OR should they not be afraid of coming across in that fashion? Should they forget the old generation and focus on the new? Are there such things as people without hope?

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

Scenario Ten:

(Context: United States -- Navajo Reservation)

Navajos are interested in improved and cost-effective housing and have considered starting up casinos like other tribes have around the country. This is an increasing problem around the country -- both the economic progress of Native American tribes and how casinos have impacted the surrounding communities. How have the Baha'is and Baha’i consultation come into the process?

Scenario: A small number of Navajos who are Baha’is owns a small tract of land, too small to do much of anything, so that seek to purchase a large tract of land adjacent to the city limits populated with extremely conservative non-Indian folks (conservative citizens). The city folks reject the idea and urge their city council (who like the idea) take whatever it takes to block the sale of any such land to the Tribe because they believe the Tribe wants the land for the sole purpose of building a casino (stereotype). The Tribal Council wants the property to building a Tribal Community College. The Tribal Council argues that the College will not only educate their young people but attract instructors, and all the other support staff, etc thereby creating jobs and improving the local economy. The college will include a small convention hall to attract national meetings by different organizations which will also improve the economic picture. The area will then need more hotels, apartments, etc. In addition to the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce also likes the idea but some of them are related to the Conservative Citizens who oppose the sale of land.

The Conservative Citizens are very suspicious and based on what they read and hear, they are sure the Tribe just wants to build a casino!!! Consultation is required among the conservative citizens, the City Council, the Chamber and the Tribal Council.

If Baha'is are not only developing Baha'i communities but serving the larger community (in this case the Navajo community), how can they help without seeming to interfere or intrude? Or, can we create a direct link, for instance, like some Navajo Baha'is either come to an LSA or are already on an LSA and ask for consultation? How can the Baha'i law against gambling ultimately help the Navajo community? How is it possible for Baha'i influence on the wider community consultation to produce an outcome based on Baha'i law, without forcing this outcome into the consultation? How can the Baha'is contribute without coming across as condescending/paternalist? OR should they not be afraid of coming across in that fashion? Should they forget the old generation and focus on the new? Are there such things as people without hope?

What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in such issues. How should Baha'is become involved? Consult on "best approaches."

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in such issues. How should Baha'is become involved?

Scenario Eleven:

Of course, in Japan, as everywhere folks are encouraged to study hard and excel in all things. A good education has many possible outcomes. One of the very natural possible outcomes is working for a large corporation. Whether this is as an accountant or engineer or scientist or artist or in marketing or sales or whatever there are few (just one that I know of) exceptions to the rule that working for a large Japanese company means giving up all other purpose in life. This is demanded as a matter of course by the corporations and any expression of extra-corporate identity is strongly discouraged and a person who makes a habit of putting any sort of Baha’i activity before the least of corporate activities (such as whiling away ones time until the boss has gone home) will quickly find his career on a downward trend. This is no doubt the reason why the vast majority of active Japanese male Baha’is are not in such jobs. The unfortunate fact is that such jobs represent a very significant element of the opportunity available to a person to be economically viable—to make his way materially. In fact it represents a vast middle ground between such professions as physician and lawyer or the academia and more menial work such as factory worker. Consult on the best way to help the Baha'i community interface with this norm.

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in such issues. How should Baha'is become involved?

Scenario Twelve:

(Context: USA )

You are the Local Spiritual Assembly. 20 people want to work on a SED project. How would you go about organizing them and monitoring their work? Define your own cultural context and come up with a project. Identify the principles called upon to determine what the project would be and how to carry it out. For example, how would you assess the needs of a community and determine the resources that the Baha'i community might bring to bear on the wider community development?

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion:

What are the principles that must be applied when Baha'is become involved in SED. How should Baha'is become involved in community affairs and community needs? How do they begin a project others might not see as a need?

Scenario Thirteen (Navajo politics)

(Context: United States -- Navajo Reservation)

Many, many years ago the U.S. Government created two Reservations, one completely surrounding the other - Navajo surrounds the Hopi. There was officially created many years later a "joint-use area" where it wasn't real clear to whom it "belonged". Congress began messing with the problem about 15-20 years ago and it began to divide the people who were living in the area (who were mostly Navajos) against the Hopis. In an attempt to win the favor of one of the U.S. Senators who was up for re-election many Navajo Baha'is began to actively campaign for his Senatorial bid. The committee working with NABI (Native American Baha'i Institute) called a Council and had to address the issue through consultation in light of the Baha'i teachings on non-involvement in politics.

Consult -- on "best approaches."

Other Questions you might use in your discussion: