Final answer:
Berlo and Phillips highlight that totemism is key in facilitating communication between humans and non-humans within Native North American belief systems. Totemism recognizes spiritual kinship with entities such as animals and plants and is deeply woven into Indigenous philosophies which view all elements of the world as animated and interconnected.
Step-by-step explanation:
Berlo and Phillips explain that a totemistic state aids in communication between human and non-human beings in Native North American belief systems. Totemism involves a group acknowledging kinship with a spirit being, often an animal or plant, which serves as the cultural group's emblem. This totemistic relationship is integral to the social structure, interweaving with the concept of kinship among each other, and is rooted in the complex spiritual relationships that shape many Indigenous groups' philosophical worldviews.
In the Indigenous philosophy, a shared relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world is ever-present. Native American belief systems often incorporate animism, the belief that all elements of the natural world, including plants, animals, rocks, and celestial bodies, have spirits or are animated in some way. These relationships also appear in oral histories and totemic practices and are reflected in the various forms of social organization, art, and spiritual practices among Indigenous peoples.