"Whole Indian Nations have melted away like snowballs in the sun before the white man's advance. They leave scarcely a name of our People except those wrongly recorded by their destroyers. Where are the Delaware? They have been reduced to a mere shadow of their former greatness.
We had hoped that the white men would not be willing to travel beyond mountains. Now that hope is gone. They have passed the mountains and have settled upon Tslalagi land. They wish to have the usurpation sanctioned by treaty. When that is gained, the same encroaching spirit will lead them upon other land of the Tsalagi. New concessions will be asked.
Finally the whole country, which the Tsalagi and their fathers have so long occupied will be demanded and the remnant of the Ani Yuwiya, The Real People, once so great and formidable will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness. There they will be permitted to stay only a short while until they again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat for the miserable Tsalagi, the extinction of the whole race will be proclaimed.
Should we not therefore run all risks and incur all consequences rather than to submit to further loss of our country? Such treaties may be all right for men who are too old to hunt or fight.
As for me, I have my young warriors about me. WE WILL HOLD OUR LAND!
Chief Dragging Canoe, Chickamauga Tsalagi 1775
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Living In Balance
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We are living in a world that is spinning out of control. Everywhere you look, senseless violence is bringing misery and death to innocent people. I know from learning my own Creation stories that there has always been violence in this world, but the level of insanity seems to be increasing at an alarming rate.
We have become "strange, misshapen creatures." Our diets and lifestyles have made many of us fat and unhealthy. Television, video games and the internet have isolated us and has led a breakdown in society. Terrible "plagues" have come upon us. How many of you know someone with fibromyalgia, autism, ADD, or cancer?
I believe that this is largely due to people being "out of balance" with the world and each other. From the Beginning Creator taught each tribe of man how he should live. And in the beginning, we were all tribal people. We were given ceremonies to keep us balanced and to heal us when we did something "wrong" which made us sick. Our ceremonies honored each stage of life and every person was a valued member of his society. But as each indigenous culture was destroyed, our ceremonies were virtually lost. This was hongsw the Conquerors were able to defeat us.
Our ceremonies were our Power. They kept us from believing the lies we were told. A long time ago, the People knew about the lies but went along with them so they would be allowed to live. But they still remembered their own ceremonies and teachings and practiced them in private. As generations passed, the old ways were forgotten and now a vast majority of our People have become the same as their oppressors.
We are at the end of a 26,000 year cycle and are entering into a new world. It is time now for us to go back to our own teachings and ceremonies so that we may be in balance and ready for what lies ahead.
But how can we get back in balance if we are no longer part of a traditional group that practices the ceremonies and remembers the ways?
Here are five areas that each of us can work on to help ourselves get back into balance.
1. Be in harmony with your environment.
There is a commercial out now that pretty well sums up how disconnected people are from the Natural World. A happy family is reveling in the fact that the poison they used on their immaculately manicured lawn killed all the dandelions. "We hate dandelions" they chortle. But the lowly dandelion is a wonderful healing herb and is used to cleanse the blood and liver.. They destroyed the natural balance to obtain "perfection." And how many times have you heard people complain because it was going to rain and ruin their weekend plans or their hairstyle? Water is life. Without it we are all doomed. We have become too important in our own minds.
2. Be at peace with your circumstances. This isn't always easy, especially when faced with illness or one of the many storms of life we all encounter. But understanding that everything happens the way it is supposed to, even though it might not feel like it at the time, allows us to face any situation with a calmness which comes from knowing we are part of Creator and can never be separated from him.
3. Be content with the day. Count blessings instead of wishing for more or different outcomes. Tomorrow brings another chance. Worry, jealousy and fear cause chemical changes within our cells that lead to physical, emotional and mental breakdown. You don't have to let it happen.
4. Rid yourself of anger. Anger is an acid that destroys the vessel that contains it. Remember, all things will balance out in the end. If someone hurts you, the Universe will handle it. If you don't get the job, a better one is on the way.
5. Be free from anxiety. This is a hard one for most of us. It is easy to say we trust in Creator, but it is hard sometimes to let go of old fears and doubts. Learn to meditate. There are lots of exercises which you can learn to do which will help. There a millions of people in this country alone who take drugs for depression and anxiety. Learning to be in balance would save lots of money and much needless suffering.
There is a wonderful world waiting to be born. It is time to separate from the old thoughts and actions that lead to misery and suffering. But each of us has to make that journey on our own. Reach for the Light! You won't be sorry.
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"It had been Nashibitti who had taught Leaphorn the words and legends of the Blessing Way, taught him what the Holy People had told the Earth Surface People about how to live, taught him the lessons of the Changing Woman - that the only goal for man was beauty, and that beauty was found only in harmony, and that this harmony of nature was a matter of dazzling complexity.
"When the dung beetle moves, Hasten Nashbitti had told him, "know that something has moved it. And know that its movement affects the flight of the sparrow, and that the raven deflects the eagle from the sky, and that the eagle's stiff wing bends the will of the Wind People, and know that all of this affects you and me, and the flea on the prairie dog and the leaf on the cottonwood.
--Tony Hillerman in Dance Hall Of The Dead
We are living in a world that is spinning out of control. Everywhere you look, senseless violence is bringing misery and death to innocent people. I know from learning my own Creation stories that there has always been violence in this world, but the level of insanity seems to be increasing at an alarming rate.
We have become "strange, misshapen creatures." Our diets and lifestyles have made many of us fat and unhealthy. Television, video games and the internet have isolated us and has led a breakdown in society. Terrible "plagues" have come upon us. How many of you know someone with fibromyalgia, autism, ADD, or cancer?
I believe that this is largely due to people being "out of balance" with the world and each other. From the Beginning Creator taught each tribe of man how he should live. And in the beginning, we were all tribal people. We were given ceremonies to keep us balanced and to heal us when we did something "wrong" which made us sick. Our ceremonies honored each stage of life and every person was a valued member of his society. But as each indigenous culture was destroyed, our ceremonies were virtually lost. This was hongsw the Conquerors were able to defeat us.
Our ceremonies were our Power. They kept us from believing the lies we were told. A long time ago, the People knew about the lies but went along with them so they would be allowed to live. But they still remembered their own ceremonies and teachings and practiced them in private. As generations passed, the old ways were forgotten and now a vast majority of our People have become the same as their oppressors.
We are at the end of a 26,000 year cycle and are entering into a new world. It is time now for us to go back to our own teachings and ceremonies so that we may be in balance and ready for what lies ahead.
But how can we get back in balance if we are no longer part of a traditional group that practices the ceremonies and remembers the ways?
Here are five areas that each of us can work on to help ourselves get back into balance.
1. Be in harmony with your environment.
There is a commercial out now that pretty well sums up how disconnected people are from the Natural World. A happy family is reveling in the fact that the poison they used on their immaculately manicured lawn killed all the dandelions. "We hate dandelions" they chortle. But the lowly dandelion is a wonderful healing herb and is used to cleanse the blood and liver.. They destroyed the natural balance to obtain "perfection." And how many times have you heard people complain because it was going to rain and ruin their weekend plans or their hairstyle? Water is life. Without it we are all doomed. We have become too important in our own minds.
2. Be at peace with your circumstances. This isn't always easy, especially when faced with illness or one of the many storms of life we all encounter. But understanding that everything happens the way it is supposed to, even though it might not feel like it at the time, allows us to face any situation with a calmness which comes from knowing we are part of Creator and can never be separated from him.
3. Be content with the day. Count blessings instead of wishing for more or different outcomes. Tomorrow brings another chance. Worry, jealousy and fear cause chemical changes within our cells that lead to physical, emotional and mental breakdown. You don't have to let it happen.
4. Rid yourself of anger. Anger is an acid that destroys the vessel that contains it. Remember, all things will balance out in the end. If someone hurts you, the Universe will handle it. If you don't get the job, a better one is on the way.
5. Be free from anxiety. This is a hard one for most of us. It is easy to say we trust in Creator, but it is hard sometimes to let go of old fears and doubts. Learn to meditate. There are lots of exercises which you can learn to do which will help. There a millions of people in this country alone who take drugs for depression and anxiety. Learning to be in balance would save lots of money and much needless suffering.
There is a wonderful world waiting to be born. It is time to separate from the old thoughts and actions that lead to misery and suffering. But each of us has to make that journey on our own. Reach for the Light! You won't be sorry.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
"It had been Nashibitti who had taught Leaphorn the words and legends of the Blessing Way, taught him what the Holy People had told the Earth Surface People about how to live, taught him the lessons of the Changing Woman - that the only goal for man was beauty, and that beauty was found only in harmony, and that this harmony of nature was a matter of dazzling complexity.
"When the dung beetle moves, Hasten Nashbitti had told him, "know that something has moved it. And know that its movement affects the flight of the sparrow, and that the raven deflects the eagle from the sky, and that the eagle's stiff wing bends the will of the Wind People, and know that all of this affects you and me, and the flea on the prairie dog and the leaf on the cottonwood.
--Tony Hillerman in Dance Hall Of The Dead
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
THE CHEROKEE DROWNING PLACE
There were two main "Trail Of Tears" routes which passed through Arkansas. The southern route ran from Memphis to near Little Rock where it joined with the Arkansas River and ended at Fort Gibson, while the northern route of the Arkansas portion of the Trail of Tears, commonly known as the "Old Military Road," passed through Baxter and Marion Counties in northern Arkansas.
Three thousand Cherokee and Creek men, women and children, victims of the Federal Indian Removal Policy, walked the northern path. Each one had a story to tell if anyone had cared to listen. Most of the stories that were passed down have long been forgotten. I'm going to tell you about an almost forgotten incident so that you will remember and honor the Spirits of the People who died at the Cherokee Drowning Place.
Somewhere below the Jacob Wolff House just south of the town of the small town of Norfork, Arkansas, a group of Cherokee People gathered near the White Raven Stomp Grounds where the Sacred Fire of the Cherokees burned until 1902. There they waited for the flooded Norfork River to receed so they could cross on the ferry and continue their journey to Indian Territory.
The river was a main thoroughfare for the logging industry and the heavy rains had caused a log jam to form. For some reason, maybe due to alcohol or just plain meanness, a group of white settlers decided they didn't want the Indians camped there. Threats and taunting soon turned into violence as the rowdies fired their guns over the heads of the weary travelers. Afraid for their lives, Cherokee men, women and children tried to run across the log jam to safety. That proved to be a tragic mistake. As the logs began to roll and move down stream, one by one, the people fell into the Norfork River. Many of them drowned.
If their names had ever been recorded, they are long forgotten. No one knows how many perished or where their bodies lie. The Norfork River has since been dammed and a beautiful lake draws tourists and retirees - all looking for the "Good Life." But I want them to know, and I want you to know that some of us will remember the People who perished so the white man could live his "good life." . And justice will ultimately prevail".
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One can never forget the sadness and solemnity of that morning. Chief John Ross led in prayer and when the bugle sounded and the wagons started rolling many of the children rose to their feet and waved their little hands good-by to their mountain homes, knowing they were leaving them forever. Many of these helpless people did not have blankets and many of them had been driven from home barefooted. The long painful journey to the west ended March 26th, 1839, with four-thousand silent graves reaching from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to what is known as Indian territory in the West.
And covetousness on the part of the white race was the cause of all that the Cherokees had to suffer. The doom of the Cherokee was sealed. Washington, D.C., had decreed that they must be driven West and their lands given to the white man, and in May 1838, an army of 4000 regulars, and 3000 volunteer soldiers under command of General Winfield Scott, marched into the Indian country and wrote the blackest chapter on the pages of American history. Murder is murder, and somebody must answer. Somebody must explain the streams of blood that flowed in the Indian country in the summer of 1838. Somebody must explain the 4000 silent graves that mark the trail of the Cherokees to their exile. I wish I could forget it all, but the picture of 645 wagons lumbering over the frozen ground with their cargo of suffering humanity still lingers in my memory. Let the historian of a future day tell the sad story with its sighs, its tears and dying groans. Let the great Judge of all the earth weigh our actions and reward us according to our work."
------Quoted From "The Birthday Story of Private John G. Burnett, Captain Abraham McClellan's Company, 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, Cherokee Indian Removal, 1838-39."
Three thousand Cherokee and Creek men, women and children, victims of the Federal Indian Removal Policy, walked the northern path. Each one had a story to tell if anyone had cared to listen. Most of the stories that were passed down have long been forgotten. I'm going to tell you about an almost forgotten incident so that you will remember and honor the Spirits of the People who died at the Cherokee Drowning Place.
Somewhere below the Jacob Wolff House just south of the town of the small town of Norfork, Arkansas, a group of Cherokee People gathered near the White Raven Stomp Grounds where the Sacred Fire of the Cherokees burned until 1902. There they waited for the flooded Norfork River to receed so they could cross on the ferry and continue their journey to Indian Territory.
The river was a main thoroughfare for the logging industry and the heavy rains had caused a log jam to form. For some reason, maybe due to alcohol or just plain meanness, a group of white settlers decided they didn't want the Indians camped there. Threats and taunting soon turned into violence as the rowdies fired their guns over the heads of the weary travelers. Afraid for their lives, Cherokee men, women and children tried to run across the log jam to safety. That proved to be a tragic mistake. As the logs began to roll and move down stream, one by one, the people fell into the Norfork River. Many of them drowned.
If their names had ever been recorded, they are long forgotten. No one knows how many perished or where their bodies lie. The Norfork River has since been dammed and a beautiful lake draws tourists and retirees - all looking for the "Good Life." But I want them to know, and I want you to know that some of us will remember the People who perished so the white man could live his "good life." . And justice will ultimately prevail".
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
One can never forget the sadness and solemnity of that morning. Chief John Ross led in prayer and when the bugle sounded and the wagons started rolling many of the children rose to their feet and waved their little hands good-by to their mountain homes, knowing they were leaving them forever. Many of these helpless people did not have blankets and many of them had been driven from home barefooted. The long painful journey to the west ended March 26th, 1839, with four-thousand silent graves reaching from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to what is known as Indian territory in the West.
And covetousness on the part of the white race was the cause of all that the Cherokees had to suffer. The doom of the Cherokee was sealed. Washington, D.C., had decreed that they must be driven West and their lands given to the white man, and in May 1838, an army of 4000 regulars, and 3000 volunteer soldiers under command of General Winfield Scott, marched into the Indian country and wrote the blackest chapter on the pages of American history. Murder is murder, and somebody must answer. Somebody must explain the streams of blood that flowed in the Indian country in the summer of 1838. Somebody must explain the 4000 silent graves that mark the trail of the Cherokees to their exile. I wish I could forget it all, but the picture of 645 wagons lumbering over the frozen ground with their cargo of suffering humanity still lingers in my memory. Let the historian of a future day tell the sad story with its sighs, its tears and dying groans. Let the great Judge of all the earth weigh our actions and reward us according to our work."
------Quoted From "The Birthday Story of Private John G. Burnett, Captain Abraham McClellan's Company, 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, Mounted Infantry, Cherokee Indian Removal, 1838-39."
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Paiute People Remember Their Salt Songs
From the dawn of time when Ocean Woman and Coyote began the world for the Southern Paiute People, they were given many Sacred Songs to honor their ceremonies and protect their Sacred Land.
For untold generations, the Paiute People sang their songs and kept their world in balance. Then the white invaders came and with them came destruction. And as the People died, the songs were nearly lost.
The Spirits of those long ago men, women and children do not rest well along the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Desert regions. Many were butchered in the name of God and Greed. Little children were ripped away from their parents and put in boarding schools where many of them died alone and frightened, their tiny bodies interred in Mother Earth without the proper songs to take them into the Spirit World.
There are some of the Paiute People who remember many of their Sacred songs. But there was only one, an old man named Willis Mayo, who remembered all 142 of the Salt Songs, those Sacred Songs which tell the complete cycle of Paiute cosmology and especially the last 4 songs which help the Dead make the journey to the Upper World.
Now these songs have been recorded and all 13 bands of Southern Paiute have them and will use the Salt Songs to purify themselves and their land. And the Spirits of their Ancestors will finally be at Peace.
This is a fulfillment of their Prophesies.
But I wonder, what songs will the people of the United States sing.....those who belong to the great stew pot who do not know their own Creation Stories?
What will they sing to make the economy strong, the leaders less greedy, the wars end, and the insanity that leads people to throw their children off of bridges to stop?
I don't think there are any songs to cover this mess. But those of us who are a part of the People have our Songs. We have our Ceremonies and our own Stories which tell each tribe of us how to live. And we each need to be doing these things. If there is any hope at all for Mother Earth and Her Children, there isn't a moment to lose.
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The Salt Songs have been archived at the University of California Berkeley Language Center and were distributed to the thirteen bands of Southern Paiutes so that they may continue to live through the breath of the singer.
For untold generations, the Paiute People sang their songs and kept their world in balance. Then the white invaders came and with them came destruction. And as the People died, the songs were nearly lost.
The Spirits of those long ago men, women and children do not rest well along the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Desert regions. Many were butchered in the name of God and Greed. Little children were ripped away from their parents and put in boarding schools where many of them died alone and frightened, their tiny bodies interred in Mother Earth without the proper songs to take them into the Spirit World.
There are some of the Paiute People who remember many of their Sacred songs. But there was only one, an old man named Willis Mayo, who remembered all 142 of the Salt Songs, those Sacred Songs which tell the complete cycle of Paiute cosmology and especially the last 4 songs which help the Dead make the journey to the Upper World.
Now these songs have been recorded and all 13 bands of Southern Paiute have them and will use the Salt Songs to purify themselves and their land. And the Spirits of their Ancestors will finally be at Peace.
This is a fulfillment of their Prophesies.
But I wonder, what songs will the people of the United States sing.....those who belong to the great stew pot who do not know their own Creation Stories?
What will they sing to make the economy strong, the leaders less greedy, the wars end, and the insanity that leads people to throw their children off of bridges to stop?
I don't think there are any songs to cover this mess. But those of us who are a part of the People have our Songs. We have our Ceremonies and our own Stories which tell each tribe of us how to live. And we each need to be doing these things. If there is any hope at all for Mother Earth and Her Children, there isn't a moment to lose.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
The Salt Songs have been archived at the University of California Berkeley Language Center and were distributed to the thirteen bands of Southern Paiutes so that they may continue to live through the breath of the singer.
The Return Of The 7th
Over 500 years ago, intrepid explorers stumbled upon a new land that was richer than any place they could have imagined. The People who met them on the beach were primitive by European standards. They lived in crude huts, wore grass skirts and shells and walked barefoot through the jungle. Yet these humble folks, who had never seen a proper house, attended a school or church or trembled at the foot of a monarch, were wealthier by far than any of the Spaniards who braved the dangers of the sea in search of treasure.
Drooling at the thought of vast riches, the invaders, who imagined themselves superior to these simple people, believed their god wanted them to have all the wealth these new lands had to offer and immediately began raping, pillaging, and murdering these innocents described as “In Dios”, in God, by Christopher Columbus.
Spurred on by this first discovery, more and more ships were dispatched to “discover” new lands. Europeans, whose “civilization” had resulted in slavery of the peasant class, pollution of the rivers by human waste, horrible plagues, and wide spread starvation, were only too eager to grab a piece of the Promised Land. Because Indigenous People understood the concept of living in balance with Mother Earth, we had not exploited Her. There were no castles, no strip mines, no fences, no clear cut forests. Clearly we were not using the land.
We all know the story by heart. Nation after nation was conquered. Some tribes were completely wiped out. It began in the northeast with the early Indian Wars. Colonists declared days of Thanksgiving after Indian men, women and children were massacred, their heads often displayed on poles or kicked around the streets by white children in a macabre ball game.
We endured it when priests and nuns brought small pox infected blankets to our villages; when soldiers, by order of presidents and congress, imprisoned our Ancestors before sending them on Death Marches; when brown skinned children were ripped from the arms of loving parents and sent to “Indian Schools” where many of them perished alone and terrified, their little bodies unceremoniously buried in unmarked graves.
Nation after nation went on forced marches toward unknown lands, concentration camps and death.
In California white miners held “Indian Hunts” and murdered our People so there would be less opposition to gold mining.
Still we survived.
The 7th Cavalry, led by General George Armstrong Custer, employed Indian Scouts to help locate tribes on scheduled for imprisonment or extermination. I trouble understanding these Indians. Were they like the Nazi's who turned in members of their own families to curry favor with the Gestapo? Did these scouts actually believe the US government cared about them? After all, the official policy of the day was the “Only good Indian is a dead Indian”. In the end, these employees of the US Army were just as hated and expendable as any other Indian.
Ancient history? It is said that those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat if. We must not have learned these lessons since the same thing is happening to People in this country today.
Once again our Nation is being pillaged by a lesser people who only see us as a source of wealth. Banks and big business have been nationalized. Enormous debts are being racked up. Our children’s futures are bleak. Our money is being printed as fast as the presses can run, even though there is no real wealth to back it. Because of Federal programs such as Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac banks were “encouraged "to make home loans to people who couldn’t afford them, knowing full well that these homes would be lost.
Taxes are being raised to immoral highs punishing people who work hard. After all, it is the hard working people who make the money to pay for endless streams of social programs for those who can’t or won’t work. Many of these hard working people start businesses which employ others, but some of them are being forced out of business. New strict energy regulations will see the demise of many more businesses which makes me wonder where the government is going to find more funds to confiscate when this nation is bankrupt. Redistribution of wealth only works as long as there are people with money. When they are driven to their knees, which will pay for the ever expanding government welfare programs?
No matter how the United States came to be, our system of government was carefully crafted to make sure we would never be taken over by tyrants. The Iroquois People helped the whites write the Constitution which was based on their Great Law of Peace. As long as we follow the Constitution, our Nation will stand. But we are drifting further and further away from her provisions. Today we have political leaders who are morally corrupt, sexually perverse, and pander to special interest groups instead of serving the people. Yet we keep on electing them.
During the 1940’s we very nearly lost this country. My father’s generation fought 4 long years to preserve the United States Of America and keep it free from Communism. “The Greatest Generation” sacrificed everything for us. Today I am ashamed. Without a shot being fired, our country is being handed over to those who want to build a Socialist Nation.
During the Indian Wars, our People fought to the death to protect their children. But the children of today are being raped and their futures pillaged while the adults who are supposed to protect them are either doing nothing or cheering it on.
Some of us will fight to protect our children. We will not die whimpering. The soldiers are coming! Be strong!
Drooling at the thought of vast riches, the invaders, who imagined themselves superior to these simple people, believed their god wanted them to have all the wealth these new lands had to offer and immediately began raping, pillaging, and murdering these innocents described as “In Dios”, in God, by Christopher Columbus.
Spurred on by this first discovery, more and more ships were dispatched to “discover” new lands. Europeans, whose “civilization” had resulted in slavery of the peasant class, pollution of the rivers by human waste, horrible plagues, and wide spread starvation, were only too eager to grab a piece of the Promised Land. Because Indigenous People understood the concept of living in balance with Mother Earth, we had not exploited Her. There were no castles, no strip mines, no fences, no clear cut forests. Clearly we were not using the land.
We all know the story by heart. Nation after nation was conquered. Some tribes were completely wiped out. It began in the northeast with the early Indian Wars. Colonists declared days of Thanksgiving after Indian men, women and children were massacred, their heads often displayed on poles or kicked around the streets by white children in a macabre ball game.
We endured it when priests and nuns brought small pox infected blankets to our villages; when soldiers, by order of presidents and congress, imprisoned our Ancestors before sending them on Death Marches; when brown skinned children were ripped from the arms of loving parents and sent to “Indian Schools” where many of them perished alone and terrified, their little bodies unceremoniously buried in unmarked graves.
Nation after nation went on forced marches toward unknown lands, concentration camps and death.
In California white miners held “Indian Hunts” and murdered our People so there would be less opposition to gold mining.
Still we survived.
The 7th Cavalry, led by General George Armstrong Custer, employed Indian Scouts to help locate tribes on scheduled for imprisonment or extermination. I trouble understanding these Indians. Were they like the Nazi's who turned in members of their own families to curry favor with the Gestapo? Did these scouts actually believe the US government cared about them? After all, the official policy of the day was the “Only good Indian is a dead Indian”. In the end, these employees of the US Army were just as hated and expendable as any other Indian.
Ancient history? It is said that those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat if. We must not have learned these lessons since the same thing is happening to People in this country today.
Once again our Nation is being pillaged by a lesser people who only see us as a source of wealth. Banks and big business have been nationalized. Enormous debts are being racked up. Our children’s futures are bleak. Our money is being printed as fast as the presses can run, even though there is no real wealth to back it. Because of Federal programs such as Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac banks were “encouraged "to make home loans to people who couldn’t afford them, knowing full well that these homes would be lost.
Taxes are being raised to immoral highs punishing people who work hard. After all, it is the hard working people who make the money to pay for endless streams of social programs for those who can’t or won’t work. Many of these hard working people start businesses which employ others, but some of them are being forced out of business. New strict energy regulations will see the demise of many more businesses which makes me wonder where the government is going to find more funds to confiscate when this nation is bankrupt. Redistribution of wealth only works as long as there are people with money. When they are driven to their knees, which will pay for the ever expanding government welfare programs?
No matter how the United States came to be, our system of government was carefully crafted to make sure we would never be taken over by tyrants. The Iroquois People helped the whites write the Constitution which was based on their Great Law of Peace. As long as we follow the Constitution, our Nation will stand. But we are drifting further and further away from her provisions. Today we have political leaders who are morally corrupt, sexually perverse, and pander to special interest groups instead of serving the people. Yet we keep on electing them.
During the 1940’s we very nearly lost this country. My father’s generation fought 4 long years to preserve the United States Of America and keep it free from Communism. “The Greatest Generation” sacrificed everything for us. Today I am ashamed. Without a shot being fired, our country is being handed over to those who want to build a Socialist Nation.
During the Indian Wars, our People fought to the death to protect their children. But the children of today are being raped and their futures pillaged while the adults who are supposed to protect them are either doing nothing or cheering it on.
Some of us will fight to protect our children. We will not die whimpering. The soldiers are coming! Be strong!
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Elder Brothers Warning
The Heart Of The World
The Elder Brothers Warning
Deep in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern Columbia, there lives a tribe of People called the Kogi. Direct descendants of the Tairona People, they survived the Spanish Holocaust by climbing high into the mountains where they still live just as they have for thousands of years.
Ruled by Shamans known as Mamas, these People, who call themselves the "Elder Brothers" believe that the mental world, called "Aluna," is the real world and what we see around us is only a reflection of that.
Taken from their mothers at birth, the chosen children are raised in a dark cave for 9 years. Being deprived of light and interaction with others makes them keenly aware of the Spirit World and prepares them for their roles as protectors of the Mother.
The Kogi Mamas believe that they live in "The Heart Of The World" and if they quit doing their ceremonies and prayers, Mother Earth will perish. Every minute of every day is spent in contemplation and communication with the Spirits.
For centuries the Spirits have been telling the Kogi that mankind, known as "The Younger Brother," is fouling his nest. Even in their remote villages in the highest mountains it is evident that the air is stagnant; the trees are being clear-cut; the land is less productive and the rains are not falling like they should.
Finally the warnings became so strong that the Kogi Mama's allowed a British film maker to record their dire warnings that if things don't change very quickly, it will be too late.
The resulting film called "From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning," is shown from time to time on Link TV and is well worth your time.
The Kogi have a Prophecy concerning the Eagle and the Condor. It is said that when the Eagle and the Condor once again fly together, the body will become whole. Mankind will once again live in Peace and Harmony.
The Sacred Stone Calendar of the Mexica People, incorrectly known as the "Aztec Calendar," tells us that a new 52 year cycle began on October 13,1992, which would be a time of rebirth of consciousness amongst the two-legged and the Eagle and Condor Prophecy would be manifested.
Today only 180 condors survive in the wild in North America, up from 23 in the 1980's. Recently, the Yurok Tribe, one of the lower Klamath River tribes who call the Condor Sacred, has received a grant from the U.S. Government in the hope of restoring the Condor, which has not soared above their Sacred Ancestral land on the northern California coast since 1914.
The Sacred Fires are being relit. The Sacred Ceremonies are being remembered and the Eagle and the Condor may once again have the chance to soar together.
The Mother may be Healed. It is up to us. <><><><><><><><><><><><<><><><><><>><><><><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>><><<><><>
"Up to now we have ignored the Younger Brother. We have not deignedt even to give him a slap. But now we can no longer look after the world alone. The Younger Brother is doing too much damage. He must see, and understand, and assume responsibility. Now we will have to work together. Otherwise, the world will die."- Kogi Mama
The Elder Brothers Warning
Deep in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern Columbia, there lives a tribe of People called the Kogi. Direct descendants of the Tairona People, they survived the Spanish Holocaust by climbing high into the mountains where they still live just as they have for thousands of years.
Ruled by Shamans known as Mamas, these People, who call themselves the "Elder Brothers" believe that the mental world, called "Aluna," is the real world and what we see around us is only a reflection of that.
Taken from their mothers at birth, the chosen children are raised in a dark cave for 9 years. Being deprived of light and interaction with others makes them keenly aware of the Spirit World and prepares them for their roles as protectors of the Mother.
The Kogi Mamas believe that they live in "The Heart Of The World" and if they quit doing their ceremonies and prayers, Mother Earth will perish. Every minute of every day is spent in contemplation and communication with the Spirits.
For centuries the Spirits have been telling the Kogi that mankind, known as "The Younger Brother," is fouling his nest. Even in their remote villages in the highest mountains it is evident that the air is stagnant; the trees are being clear-cut; the land is less productive and the rains are not falling like they should.
Finally the warnings became so strong that the Kogi Mama's allowed a British film maker to record their dire warnings that if things don't change very quickly, it will be too late.
The resulting film called "From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning," is shown from time to time on Link TV and is well worth your time.
The Kogi have a Prophecy concerning the Eagle and the Condor. It is said that when the Eagle and the Condor once again fly together, the body will become whole. Mankind will once again live in Peace and Harmony.
The Sacred Stone Calendar of the Mexica People, incorrectly known as the "Aztec Calendar," tells us that a new 52 year cycle began on October 13,1992, which would be a time of rebirth of consciousness amongst the two-legged and the Eagle and Condor Prophecy would be manifested.
Today only 180 condors survive in the wild in North America, up from 23 in the 1980's. Recently, the Yurok Tribe, one of the lower Klamath River tribes who call the Condor Sacred, has received a grant from the U.S. Government in the hope of restoring the Condor, which has not soared above their Sacred Ancestral land on the northern California coast since 1914.
The Sacred Fires are being relit. The Sacred Ceremonies are being remembered and the Eagle and the Condor may once again have the chance to soar together.
The Mother may be Healed. It is up to us. <><><><><><><><><><><><<><><><><><>><><><><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>><><<><><>
"Up to now we have ignored the Younger Brother. We have not deignedt even to give him a slap. But now we can no longer look after the world alone. The Younger Brother is doing too much damage. He must see, and understand, and assume responsibility. Now we will have to work together. Otherwise, the world will die."- Kogi Mama
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tweeters Beware
Until yesterday I was on Tweeter. I am an activist and used my sight to express my opinions of what is happening in our country and also to promote the release of Leonard Peltier, the AIM member who has already served 33 years in prison for a crime that even the government admits he didn't commit.
I received a message from a well known Lakota Activist that Twitter is not a public venue and I should think about taking my Twitter Page down. I check this man's Twitter and he was already gone.
This man has suffered greatly at the hands of the US government and knows full well how quickly they can come down on you. So I deleted my page.
Just a warning to anyone out there.....
By law the US government has to retain the email addresses of anyone who contacts a government sight. There is also talk to using "cookies" so they can tell who visits what sight. So protect yourselves........ We are living in dangerous times.
I received a message from a well known Lakota Activist that Twitter is not a public venue and I should think about taking my Twitter Page down. I check this man's Twitter and he was already gone.
This man has suffered greatly at the hands of the US government and knows full well how quickly they can come down on you. So I deleted my page.
Just a warning to anyone out there.....
By law the US government has to retain the email addresses of anyone who contacts a government sight. There is also talk to using "cookies" so they can tell who visits what sight. So protect yourselves........ We are living in dangerous times.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Time Is At Hand
Many of us have been watching and waiting for the fulfillment of the prophesies passed down to us from numerous tribes and visionary Chiefs and Medicine People. Many brave Men and Women gave their lives so that we might survive to witness these times.
Dragging Canoe still holds his land. Geronimo's spirit fights on. The great Chiefs hold council in the Spirit World and make medicine to help us. If you listen, you can hear them.
Tecumseh organized a Pan American Indian Nation in order to drive the white man back from where they came. He foretold a great shaking of the earth preceded by the streaking of a comet and sent his message to the tribes carved on cedar sticks.
The signs came, but our People panicked. The chance was lost. But Tecumseh was not wrong. His vision came 200 years too early.
Now the time is at hand. Get yourselves ready. Rid your lives of habits that make you foolish and weak. They serve only the white man's purpose.
Know in your heart who you are. You cannot be both white and red. Learn your own Creation Stories. Follow your own Prophets...
Be always ready, for when it comes, it will come quickly.
Aho!
Dragging Canoe still holds his land. Geronimo's spirit fights on. The great Chiefs hold council in the Spirit World and make medicine to help us. If you listen, you can hear them.
Tecumseh organized a Pan American Indian Nation in order to drive the white man back from where they came. He foretold a great shaking of the earth preceded by the streaking of a comet and sent his message to the tribes carved on cedar sticks.
The signs came, but our People panicked. The chance was lost. But Tecumseh was not wrong. His vision came 200 years too early.
Now the time is at hand. Get yourselves ready. Rid your lives of habits that make you foolish and weak. They serve only the white man's purpose.
Know in your heart who you are. You cannot be both white and red. Learn your own Creation Stories. Follow your own Prophets...
Be always ready, for when it comes, it will come quickly.
Aho!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Time Is Near - Prepare
Many of us have been watching and waiting for the fulfillment of the prophesies passed down to us from numerous tribes and visionary Chiefs and Medicine People. Many brave Men and Women gave their lives so that we might survive to witness these times.
Dragging Canoe still holds his land. Geronimo's spirit fights on. The great Chiefs hold council in the Spirit World and make medicine to help us. If you listen, you can hear them.
Tecumseh's organized a Pan American Indian Nation in order to drive all the white man back from where they came. He foretold a great shaking of the earth preceded by the streaking of a comet. He sent his message to the tribes carved on cedar sticks.
The signs came, but our People panicked. The chance was lost. But he was not wrong. Tecumseh's vision came 200 years too early.
But the time is at hand. Get yourselves ready. Rid your lives of habits that make you foolish and weak. They serve only the white man's purpose.
Know in your heart who you are. You cannot be both white and red. Learn your own Creation Stories. Follow your own Prophets...
Be always ready for when it comes, it will come quickly.
Aho!
Dragging Canoe still holds his land. Geronimo's spirit fights on. The great Chiefs hold council in the Spirit World and make medicine to help us. If you listen, you can hear them.
Tecumseh's organized a Pan American Indian Nation in order to drive all the white man back from where they came. He foretold a great shaking of the earth preceded by the streaking of a comet. He sent his message to the tribes carved on cedar sticks.
The signs came, but our People panicked. The chance was lost. But he was not wrong. Tecumseh's vision came 200 years too early.
But the time is at hand. Get yourselves ready. Rid your lives of habits that make you foolish and weak. They serve only the white man's purpose.
Know in your heart who you are. You cannot be both white and red. Learn your own Creation Stories. Follow your own Prophets...
Be always ready for when it comes, it will come quickly.
Aho!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Family Sues For Return Of Geronimo's Skull
Family Sues For Return of Geronimo's Skull
One hundred years ago on February 17, 1909, legendary Chiricahua Apache Warrior Chief Geronimo, died of pneumonia in a filthy cell while a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Today his descendants are fighting to take him and his fellow warriors back home.
Citing provisions of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Harlyn Geronimo and 19 members of his family are suing the federal government as well as the elite top secret Skull & Bones Society for the return of their ancestor.
According to an article in the Washington Post, great -grandson Harlyn Geronimo said at a news conference “Presently, he’s still imprisoned. The only way to put this into closure is to relieve the remains and his spirit so that he can be taken back to his homeland, on the Gila Mountains, at the head of the Gila River.”
"If remains are not properly buried," Harlyn continued, " the spirit is just wandering, wandering, until a proper burial has been performed."
I want them to understand we mean business," said Harlyn Geronimo, who lives in New Mexico. "We're very serious. We're tired of waiting and we're coming after them."
In 1886, after decades of resistance to foreign intruders, Geronimo and 35 warriors were forced to surrender to General Nelson Miles near the Arizona - New Mexico border. Eventually shipped to Fort Sill, Geronimo and his men spent the rest of their lives in chains at the military outpost.
According to a popular legend, members of the Skull & Bones, a secret society associated with Yale University, stole Geronimo's skull, some other bones and funerary items from his grave and took them to their High Street Tomb in New Haven Connecticut. It has long been rumored that pledges to the secret society must perform various rituals which include kissing Geronimo's skull.
Skull & Bones membership includes 3 generations of the Bush family, Prescott Bush, son George H. W. Bush, class of '48 and grandson George W. Bush, class of '68.
Because Geronimo was buried on a U.S, military base, President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of the Army Pete Geren are also named as defendants in the suit.
The Fort Sill Apache Tribe opposes the move.
Stay tuned......
Family Sues For Return of Geronimo's Skull
One hundred years ago on February 17, 1909, legendary Chiricahua Apache Warrior Chief Geronimo, died of pneumonia in a filthy cell while a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Today his descendants are fighting to take him and his fellow warriors back home.
Citing provisions of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Harlyn Geronimo and 19 members of his family are suing the federal government as well as the elite top secret Skull & Bones Society for the return of their ancestor.
According to an article in the Washington Post, great -grandson Harlyn Geronimo said at a news conference “Presently, he’s still imprisoned. The only way to put this into closure is to relieve the remains and his spirit so that he can be taken back to his homeland, on the Gila Mountains, at the head of the Gila River.”
"If remains are not properly buried," Harlyn continued, " the spirit is just wandering, wandering, until a proper burial has been performed."
I want them to understand we mean business," said Harlyn Geronimo, who lives in New Mexico. "We're very serious. We're tired of waiting and we're coming after them."
In 1886, after decades of resistance to foreign intruders, Geronimo and 35 warriors were forced to surrender to General Nelson Miles near the Arizona - New Mexico border. Eventually shipped to Fort Sill, Geronimo and his men spent the rest of their lives in chains at the military outpost.
According to a popular legend, members of the Skull & Bones, a secret society associated with Yale University, stole Geronimo's skull, some other bones and funerary items from his grave and took them to their High Street Tomb in New Haven Connecticut. It has long been rumored that pledges to the secret society must perform various rituals which include kissing Geronimo's skull.
Skull & Bones membership includes 3 generations of the Bush family, Prescott Bush, son George H. W. Bush, class of '48 and grandson George W. Bush, class of '68.
Because Geronimo was buried on a U.S, military base, President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of the Army Pete Geren are also named as defendants in the suit.
The Fort Sill Apache Tribe opposes the move.
Stay tuned......
Saturday, January 17, 2009
People Party As America Slips Away
Crowds are gathering by the hundreds of thousands in anticipation of the rebirth of hope that the election of Barack Obama as President has bought to this country.
Being from Illinois and having spent many hours in the building from which both Presidents Lincoln and Obama gave their acceptance and farewell speechs, I couldn't help but notice the similarities of events.
The election of LIincoln brought immediate division between the Northern and Southern States. And while it is generally believed that the Civil War was fought to free the slaves, that isn't true at all. The main issue was governmental control - the differences between those who wanted a strong central government and those who knew that local control was better for the people...... Freeing the slaves was a calculated act to further break the back of the South. Freed Blacks were needed to work in the sweat shops of the North where they made little more than they did picking cotton.
From segregation and discrimination, Black People have now realized a long held dream, one that Martin Luther King forsaw shortly before his death. People who never admitted having Black blood before are now boasting of it. Being Black is cool!!!!
All day I have listened to people brag about how great this country is and how deserving we are because we are Americans.... The ideals of Democracy are strong and growing stronger. We can turn this recession around and once again be the Shining City on the Hill. God is with us for we are good.....
I have yet to hear anyone speak about how this great Nation came to be. Not one word has been uttered concerning how this country was stolen from People who had been given this land by Creator and had cared for it since time began.
No one mentioned the murders, the plagues, the raping, the pillaging and hundreds of other crimes again humanity that the good people who founded this country committed so that they might live the American Dream.
I didn't hear one word about Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, or the numerous "Trails Of Tears' virtually all Native Nations were forced to walk. No one spoke about the Killing Expeditions carried out in California by whites who got a kick out of seeing how many men, women and children they could murder on a nice Sunday outing after church.
I didn't hear one word about how our children were stolen from their parents and sent to schools where they were forbidden to speak their language or practice their spiritual beliefs. Many of these precious ones died alone and lay buried in unmarked graves.
No one mentioned the forced sterilization Native Women and Girls were forced to endure. No one spoke of the alcoholism and drug abuse that the inferior conquerors gifted us with......
I heard about when blacks and women were given the vote, but no one mention Native People. No one pointed out that it was illegal for an Indian to live in Missouri until the late 1920's. Nor that our Sacred Fires, Ceremonies and Sweat Lodges were illegal.
None of these offenses rated any mentnion at all.
But rest assured that any Nation founded on such evil deeds fed by greed and lust for power, cannot stand for long. It is coming apart before our very eyes, yet few can see it.
Our prophesies tell us that one day soon Creator will return our land to the Original Caretakers. For the Cherokee and all Indigenous Cultures, balance is the key to it all. In Cherokee it is known as u ti lv hi..... And it will happen....... No one can stop it.
So this week the people will party and hope will be born anew. But the signs are all around us and there will be no escaping the wrath of Mother Earth.
Pray for the People.
Being from Illinois and having spent many hours in the building from which both Presidents Lincoln and Obama gave their acceptance and farewell speechs, I couldn't help but notice the similarities of events.
The election of LIincoln brought immediate division between the Northern and Southern States. And while it is generally believed that the Civil War was fought to free the slaves, that isn't true at all. The main issue was governmental control - the differences between those who wanted a strong central government and those who knew that local control was better for the people...... Freeing the slaves was a calculated act to further break the back of the South. Freed Blacks were needed to work in the sweat shops of the North where they made little more than they did picking cotton.
From segregation and discrimination, Black People have now realized a long held dream, one that Martin Luther King forsaw shortly before his death. People who never admitted having Black blood before are now boasting of it. Being Black is cool!!!!
All day I have listened to people brag about how great this country is and how deserving we are because we are Americans.... The ideals of Democracy are strong and growing stronger. We can turn this recession around and once again be the Shining City on the Hill. God is with us for we are good.....
I have yet to hear anyone speak about how this great Nation came to be. Not one word has been uttered concerning how this country was stolen from People who had been given this land by Creator and had cared for it since time began.
No one mentioned the murders, the plagues, the raping, the pillaging and hundreds of other crimes again humanity that the good people who founded this country committed so that they might live the American Dream.
I didn't hear one word about Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, or the numerous "Trails Of Tears' virtually all Native Nations were forced to walk. No one spoke about the Killing Expeditions carried out in California by whites who got a kick out of seeing how many men, women and children they could murder on a nice Sunday outing after church.
I didn't hear one word about how our children were stolen from their parents and sent to schools where they were forbidden to speak their language or practice their spiritual beliefs. Many of these precious ones died alone and lay buried in unmarked graves.
No one mentioned the forced sterilization Native Women and Girls were forced to endure. No one spoke of the alcoholism and drug abuse that the inferior conquerors gifted us with......
I heard about when blacks and women were given the vote, but no one mention Native People. No one pointed out that it was illegal for an Indian to live in Missouri until the late 1920's. Nor that our Sacred Fires, Ceremonies and Sweat Lodges were illegal.
None of these offenses rated any mentnion at all.
But rest assured that any Nation founded on such evil deeds fed by greed and lust for power, cannot stand for long. It is coming apart before our very eyes, yet few can see it.
Our prophesies tell us that one day soon Creator will return our land to the Original Caretakers. For the Cherokee and all Indigenous Cultures, balance is the key to it all. In Cherokee it is known as u ti lv hi..... And it will happen....... No one can stop it.
So this week the people will party and hope will be born anew. But the signs are all around us and there will be no escaping the wrath of Mother Earth.
Pray for the People.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Awakening Our Powers
We all have incredible powers. But most people don't understand that. They accept whatever is done to them in the name of God - powerless they think to change anything. But "God", as most understand "him", doesn't have much to do with anything.
As we enter into this new era, which the Cherokee, as well as other cultures, refer to as the 4th World, more and more People are "waking up." And with this awakening comes a thirst for knowledge. It is out there, but more importantly, True Knowledge comes from within since we have had it safely stored inside of us since the beginning of time.
It is said that when a student is ready, a Teacher will appear. Look for your own Teacher. Prepare the soil of your Spirit, plant seeds of Intent and watch.......
As we enter into this new era, which the Cherokee, as well as other cultures, refer to as the 4th World, more and more People are "waking up." And with this awakening comes a thirst for knowledge. It is out there, but more importantly, True Knowledge comes from within since we have had it safely stored inside of us since the beginning of time.
It is said that when a student is ready, a Teacher will appear. Look for your own Teacher. Prepare the soil of your Spirit, plant seeds of Intent and watch.......
Druid Thoughts
In the dead of winter the work of the druids continues. While our people shelter in warm lodges, we whisper to the seedlings in the frozen earth. We light the fires that will guide the reluctant Sun back from the realms of frost. We supervise birth and burial, keeping the living and the dead in harmony with the Earth and the Otherworld. Druids, by Morgan Llwelyn
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The True Story Behind Thanksgiving
It's Thanksgiving time again. Most of us associate the holiday with happy Pilgrims and Indians sitting down to a big feast. And that did happen - once.
The story began in 1614 when a band of English explorers sailed home to England with a ship full of Patuxet Indians bound for slavery. They left behind smallpox which virtually wiped out those who had escaped. By the time the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusettes Bay they found only one living Patuxet Indian, a man named Squanto who had survived slavery in England and knew their language.
He taught them to grow corn and to fish, and negotiated a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Nation. At the end of their first year, the Pilgrims held a great feast honoring Squanto and the Wampanoags. But as
word spread in England about the paradise to be found in the new world, religious zealots, called Puritans, began arriving by the boatload. Findng no fences around the land, they considered it to be in the public domain. Joined by other British settlers, they seized land, capturing strong young Natives for slaves and killing the rest.
But the Pequot Nation had not agreed to the peace treaty Squanto had negotiated and they fought back. The Pequot War was one of the bloodiest Indian wars ever fought. In 1637 near present day Groton, Connecticut, over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. In the predawn hours the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries who ordered them to come outside. Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusettes Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" because 700 unarmed men, women and children had been murdered.
Cheered by their "victory", the brave colonists and their Indian allies attacked village after village. Women and children over 14 were sold into slavery while the rest were murdered. Boats loaded with as many as 500 slaves regularly left the ports of New England. Bounties were paid for Indian scalps to encourage as many deaths as possible. Following an especially successful raid against the Pequot in what is now Stamford, Connecticut, the churches announced a second day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate victory over the heathen savages. During the feasting, the hacked off heads of Natives were kicked through the streets like soccer balls.
Even the friendly Wampanoag did not escape the madness. Their chief was beheaded, and his head impaled on a pole in Plymouth, Massachusetts -- where it remained on display for 24 years.
The killings became more and more frenzied,with days of thanksgiving feasts being held after each successful massacre. George Washington finally suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre. Later Abraham Lincoln decreed Thanksgiving Day to be a legal national holiday during the Civil War -- on the same day he ordered troops to march against the starving Sioux in Minnesota.
This story doesn't have quite the same fuzzy feelings associated with it as the one where the Indians and Pilgrims are all sitting down together at the big feast. But we need to learn our true history so it won't ever be repeated.
This Thanksgiving, when you gather with your loved ones to Thank God for all your blessings, think about those people who only wanted to live their lives and raise their families in peace.
They, also took time out to say "thank you" to Creator for all their blessings.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
We come on the ship they call the Mayflower.
We come on a ship that sailed the moon.
We come in the ages most uncertain hour
And sing an American tune.
But it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed.
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest.
That's all. I'm trying to get some rest.
-------"An American Tune" by Paul Simon
The story began in 1614 when a band of English explorers sailed home to England with a ship full of Patuxet Indians bound for slavery. They left behind smallpox which virtually wiped out those who had escaped. By the time the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusettes Bay they found only one living Patuxet Indian, a man named Squanto who had survived slavery in England and knew their language.
He taught them to grow corn and to fish, and negotiated a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Nation. At the end of their first year, the Pilgrims held a great feast honoring Squanto and the Wampanoags. But as
word spread in England about the paradise to be found in the new world, religious zealots, called Puritans, began arriving by the boatload. Findng no fences around the land, they considered it to be in the public domain. Joined by other British settlers, they seized land, capturing strong young Natives for slaves and killing the rest.
But the Pequot Nation had not agreed to the peace treaty Squanto had negotiated and they fought back. The Pequot War was one of the bloodiest Indian wars ever fought. In 1637 near present day Groton, Connecticut, over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. In the predawn hours the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries who ordered them to come outside. Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusettes Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" because 700 unarmed men, women and children had been murdered.
Cheered by their "victory", the brave colonists and their Indian allies attacked village after village. Women and children over 14 were sold into slavery while the rest were murdered. Boats loaded with as many as 500 slaves regularly left the ports of New England. Bounties were paid for Indian scalps to encourage as many deaths as possible. Following an especially successful raid against the Pequot in what is now Stamford, Connecticut, the churches announced a second day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate victory over the heathen savages. During the feasting, the hacked off heads of Natives were kicked through the streets like soccer balls.
Even the friendly Wampanoag did not escape the madness. Their chief was beheaded, and his head impaled on a pole in Plymouth, Massachusetts -- where it remained on display for 24 years.
The killings became more and more frenzied,with days of thanksgiving feasts being held after each successful massacre. George Washington finally suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre. Later Abraham Lincoln decreed Thanksgiving Day to be a legal national holiday during the Civil War -- on the same day he ordered troops to march against the starving Sioux in Minnesota.
This story doesn't have quite the same fuzzy feelings associated with it as the one where the Indians and Pilgrims are all sitting down together at the big feast. But we need to learn our true history so it won't ever be repeated.
This Thanksgiving, when you gather with your loved ones to Thank God for all your blessings, think about those people who only wanted to live their lives and raise their families in peace.
They, also took time out to say "thank you" to Creator for all their blessings.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
We come on the ship they call the Mayflower.
We come on a ship that sailed the moon.
We come in the ages most uncertain hour
And sing an American tune.
But it's all right, it's all right
You can't be forever blessed.
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest.
That's all. I'm trying to get some rest.
-------"An American Tune" by Paul Simon
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Dire Predictions
Two days left until the Presidential election. All the visions I've had this past week have been dark ones. If Obama wins, here will be rioting in major metropolitan areas. If he loses, there will be rioting in major metropolitan areas...... The Spirits at the Bounding Bush were in mourning for us...... They have already gone through their own holocausts and know we are facing our own.
It is too late to do much preparing now. Either we're ready or we're not..... The government is prepared for what is to happen. Several of us feel very strongly that martial law will be imposed....... All the elements arein place for a "Perfect Storm" and it has been prophysied for years..... We are the ones who will see it. But I'd rather it be our generation to fight this battle that our grandchildren.
Many of the prophesies say that December 21, 2012 will be the beginning of the New World. That means we have 4 years of upheavel to go through. Let's get her done!
It is too late to do much preparing now. Either we're ready or we're not..... The government is prepared for what is to happen. Several of us feel very strongly that martial law will be imposed....... All the elements arein place for a "Perfect Storm" and it has been prophysied for years..... We are the ones who will see it. But I'd rather it be our generation to fight this battle that our grandchildren.
Many of the prophesies say that December 21, 2012 will be the beginning of the New World. That means we have 4 years of upheavel to go through. Let's get her done!
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Bounding Bush Ceremony
It's a beautiful October 31st here in my valley. This is the weekend of our Bounding Bush Ceremony which is sort of a Cherokee Memorial Day. Chickamauga Peoples from all over the country will begin arriving here today. Even with the high gas prices, those who are dedicated to honoring the Sacred Ceremonies make the effort and pay the price to gather here.
The Bounding Bush Ceremony is one of my favorite of the Seven. It is a very healing ceremony, especially if you have recently lost a loved one. Each person invites the spirit of a loved one to be here. A special Fire is built by an arbor and one by one we each enter the arbor after offering our loved one a plate of his special foods. And the spirit of the one who has passed meets with us in the arbor. At that time we can say all the things we didn't get a chance to say before parting. Often the spirit of our ancestors will give us advice or warning. At the very least we leave the arbor with a knowing that they are not gone - they are with us if we will only take the time to connect with them.
On Sunday morning we have the Race Of The Dead where we ceremonially walk the spirits of our loved ones back toward the West. Every year a sign is given so that we know they indeed were with us. Several times it has been the Hawk who flew ahead of us while we were walking them westward. When we had gone as far as we could go the hawk peeled off and glided silently westward. One year thousands of Dragonflies surrounded us and carressed us with their wings.
As Autumn turns into Winter, we contemplate our own winter ahead. Knowing our loved ones are here with us makes it easier to let go. Death is not the end - only a change of scenery. Love never dies.
The Bounding Bush Ceremony is one of my favorite of the Seven. It is a very healing ceremony, especially if you have recently lost a loved one. Each person invites the spirit of a loved one to be here. A special Fire is built by an arbor and one by one we each enter the arbor after offering our loved one a plate of his special foods. And the spirit of the one who has passed meets with us in the arbor. At that time we can say all the things we didn't get a chance to say before parting. Often the spirit of our ancestors will give us advice or warning. At the very least we leave the arbor with a knowing that they are not gone - they are with us if we will only take the time to connect with them.
On Sunday morning we have the Race Of The Dead where we ceremonially walk the spirits of our loved ones back toward the West. Every year a sign is given so that we know they indeed were with us. Several times it has been the Hawk who flew ahead of us while we were walking them westward. When we had gone as far as we could go the hawk peeled off and glided silently westward. One year thousands of Dragonflies surrounded us and carressed us with their wings.
As Autumn turns into Winter, we contemplate our own winter ahead. Knowing our loved ones are here with us makes it easier to let go. Death is not the end - only a change of scenery. Love never dies.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Return Of Racism
For 14 years I wrote a weekly newspaper for The Hill and Holler Review. The following is a reprint of a column I wrote a year or two ago, but it is relevent today.
The Return Of Racism
Acts of racism have been much in the news lately. Crosses have been burned, nooses hung in trees and swastikas carved into doors to instill fear into minority Peoples.
One might have thought those dark days were behind us, but it seems they have only been lying in wait like the monster who lives in the closet.
Also this week, Dog the Bounty Hunter made news because of a private (he thought) phone call he made to his son in which he used the N word (and others) to convey his disapproval of his son's current girlfriend. Since his private opinions go against today's "group think" philosophies, he has pretty much flushed his television series down the toilet.
What is happening here?
Native Peoples valued and still value individualism. Everyone is given respect, or at least allowed to live, even though they might think and act in different ways. As long as one didn't violate clan laws and taboos, he was considered an important member of the group.
With these rights come responsibility. What is best for all is usually the underlying thought of indigenous Peoples.
Europeans have a different concept of "Individualism." The core belief that man has dominion over everything has allowed him to flourish no matter the cost to others as well as Mother Earth.
While tribal societies operate on a clan system and consensus thinking, white society allows the few to govern the many. This has allowed the destruction of whole tribes of man and much of Mother Earth in the name of greed. Today, most of the wealth is concentrated in a small segment of white society.
Yet when the whites first came here, they found just the opposite. Chiefs lived in the same kind of homes that the rest of the People lived in. In the event of hard times, food and other resources were shared by all. Everyone had a voice in the decision making.
But European greed couldn't allow that kind of thinking to continue.
The belief that one must "conform" to "popular ideology" in thought, word and deed is crucial to the success of today's society. The philosophy of indoctrination, not education has helped lead us to this time in history.
Have you ever wondered why so many of our children go through school and can't read past the third grade level, or write a decent paragraph, or count change? But they all know that smoking causes cancer, abortion is wrong and Muslims are "evil"......
This is indoctrination - a far cry from the reading, writing and arithmetic that used to be taught in public schools.
And now we are witnessing the results of that forced thinking. Maybe mankind should be more evolved, but we aren't. Whenever you forcibly mix people of different cultures together and try to pretend that this is the "Great Melting Pot," all cultures are devalued. Only those at the top benefit.
Now, as times get hard again and the fear of not having enough grows, so to will the ugliness and violence which has it's roots deep in that fear.
And I'm afraid that no amount of 'forced thinking" is going to stop it this time.
"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."
----Bertrand Russell
The Return Of Racism
Acts of racism have been much in the news lately. Crosses have been burned, nooses hung in trees and swastikas carved into doors to instill fear into minority Peoples.
One might have thought those dark days were behind us, but it seems they have only been lying in wait like the monster who lives in the closet.
Also this week, Dog the Bounty Hunter made news because of a private (he thought) phone call he made to his son in which he used the N word (and others) to convey his disapproval of his son's current girlfriend. Since his private opinions go against today's "group think" philosophies, he has pretty much flushed his television series down the toilet.
What is happening here?
Native Peoples valued and still value individualism. Everyone is given respect, or at least allowed to live, even though they might think and act in different ways. As long as one didn't violate clan laws and taboos, he was considered an important member of the group.
With these rights come responsibility. What is best for all is usually the underlying thought of indigenous Peoples.
Europeans have a different concept of "Individualism." The core belief that man has dominion over everything has allowed him to flourish no matter the cost to others as well as Mother Earth.
While tribal societies operate on a clan system and consensus thinking, white society allows the few to govern the many. This has allowed the destruction of whole tribes of man and much of Mother Earth in the name of greed. Today, most of the wealth is concentrated in a small segment of white society.
Yet when the whites first came here, they found just the opposite. Chiefs lived in the same kind of homes that the rest of the People lived in. In the event of hard times, food and other resources were shared by all. Everyone had a voice in the decision making.
But European greed couldn't allow that kind of thinking to continue.
The belief that one must "conform" to "popular ideology" in thought, word and deed is crucial to the success of today's society. The philosophy of indoctrination, not education has helped lead us to this time in history.
Have you ever wondered why so many of our children go through school and can't read past the third grade level, or write a decent paragraph, or count change? But they all know that smoking causes cancer, abortion is wrong and Muslims are "evil"......
This is indoctrination - a far cry from the reading, writing and arithmetic that used to be taught in public schools.
And now we are witnessing the results of that forced thinking. Maybe mankind should be more evolved, but we aren't. Whenever you forcibly mix people of different cultures together and try to pretend that this is the "Great Melting Pot," all cultures are devalued. Only those at the top benefit.
Now, as times get hard again and the fear of not having enough grows, so to will the ugliness and violence which has it's roots deep in that fear.
And I'm afraid that no amount of 'forced thinking" is going to stop it this time.
"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."
----Bertrand Russell
Autumn in the Ozarks
It's cold here in my valley. It has frosted 3 times already. The wild cherry trees have lost their beautiful red leaves while the walnuts are bright yellow in the sun. When their nuts hit my metal roof, it sounds like an explosion.
I finally got my book, The Rag Picker's Christmas" released. While I am pleased with how good it came out, I am disappointed at the price my publisher put on it. It is inconceivable to me that a woman who lives in a 2 room cabin below the poverty line and has written a book about an incident that occurred during the Great Depression would see it priced so high that no one will be able to buy it!
Would any of you who have had similar experiences with publishers, please let me know how you handled it?
I finally got my book, The Rag Picker's Christmas" released. While I am pleased with how good it came out, I am disappointed at the price my publisher put on it. It is inconceivable to me that a woman who lives in a 2 room cabin below the poverty line and has written a book about an incident that occurred during the Great Depression would see it priced so high that no one will be able to buy it!
Would any of you who have had similar experiences with publishers, please let me know how you handled it?
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