Wettiko

Painting by John Rogers Cox

On encountering the destructiveness of European colonialists, Native Americans concluded that the invaders must have a disease. They called it Wettiko: a delusional belief that cannibalizing the life force of others is a logical and morally upright way to live. The Native Americans believed that Wettiko derived from people’s inability to see themselves as enmeshed, interdependent parts of the natural environment. Once this disconnect has occurred, nature is no longer seen…