EARTH THIS WAS ~ ONE EARTH ~ ONE PEOPLE ~ FOR ALL LIFE

Indigenous Leaders Bring Eco-Sense to UN

UNITED NATIONS, (OneWorld) - If one is serious about addressing the climate change crisis, it might be wise to listen to those who have close and intimate knowledge of the lands and waters.

"Mother Earth is crying," says Carrie Dann, an elder of the Western Shoshone indigenous people of the United States. "She is crying because she is wounded."

Sharing Dann's concerns about the continued abuse of natural resources for commercial gains, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a leader of the native peoples of the Philippines, adds: "It's time to stop this senselessness."

Both Dann and Tauli-Corpuz are currently attending the sixth annual meeting of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, which has brought together more than 1,000 indigenous representatives from as many as 70 countries.

The indigenous leaders say their communities are least responsible for the destruction of the Earth's natural environment. Yet, whether living in the high Himalayas or on the shores of the Caribbean, in the snow-covered Arctic region or in the Pacific islands, native populations are disproportionately affected by climate change.

The loss of land and natural resources, they explain, has forced many communities to move to urban areas where they find it increasingly hard to engage in their traditional practices and live according to their belief systems.

"Removed from our land we are already removed from ourselves," says Mick Dodson, an Australian aboriginal leader and member of the UN Permanent Forum.

Experts on science and biodiversity now widely acknowledge that indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge about plant and animal species is vital to scientific understanding of how to preserve natural resources.

"Nature conservation is at the heart of the cultures and values of traditional societies," says Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biodiversity.

The biodiversity treaty, which has been signed or ratified by 190 countries, not only recognizes the significance of traditional knowledge, but also asserts the need to respect and maintain indigenous innovations.

Though appreciative of the objectives laid out in the treaty, indigenous leaders say they lament the fact that the world body has failed to recognize their right to exercise full control over their traditional lands and resources.

"Although in recent decades some progress has been made in the area of legal recognition of indigenous peoples' right to the protection of their lands, territories, and natural resources," notes Tauli-Corpuz, "in practical terms, this recognition has not translated into reality."

Threats to indigenous peoples' lands and territories, according to Tauli-Corpuz, include such things as mineral extraction, logging, toxic contamination, privatization, and development projects, as well as the use of genetically modified seeds and technology.

Last year, when the UN General Assembly met in September, many had raised hopes that it would unanimously endorse the draft declaration on the universal rights of the world's indigenous peoples, but that did not happen.

Though already approved by the UN Human Rights Council, the United States, Canada, Australia, and some other nations refused to accept the text because it included a clause calling for the recognition of indigenous peoples' right to self-determination.

Indigenous leaders say unless the world body recognizes their peoples' right to self-determination, international efforts to reverse the loss of biodiversity and overcome the challenges of climate change will remain futile because their resources will continue to be exploited by private businesses.

Most of the world's natural resources are found within indigenous peoples' traditional territories, where multinational corporations are allowed by governments to engage in logging, mining, and other operations that contribute to environmental degradation and climate change.

In most cases, according to indigenous leaders, such operation take place without the prior and informed consent of the native communities who are most knowledgeable about their immediate environment and the animal and plant species that surround their lives.

A recent UN study points out that since appearing on Earth, human beings have never destroyed the web of life as much as during the past 50 years, substantiating the concerns raised by indigenous leaders here.

In fact, according to the 2007 UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report, which involved more than 1,300 scientists from 95 countries, before the industrial era, nearly 47 percent of the Earth's land surface was covered with forests; today the planet is left with only 10-percent forest coverage.

The report shows that every year at least 10 million hectares of the world's forest are lost to unsustainable modes of economic development.

These forests are home to about 80 percent of plant and animal species. Most are also home to a significant population of indigenous people, who have intimate knowledge about other forms of life around them.

"The link between biodiversity and traditional knowledge is evident," says Djoghlaf, in whose view the Earth is a "spiritual mother who not only gives life and therefore food, but also provides the cultural and spiritual identity of its occupants."

Believing that indigenous peoples' dependence on the sustainable management and use of biological sources "can protect and enhance" biodiversity, he adds: "Their cultures and cosmo-visions are therefore essential in the global effort to halt biodiversity loss and natural habitat destruction."

Haider Rizvi, OneWorld US May 18, 2007

~LISTEN~
~MAKE A DIFFERENCE~TAKE THE LEAP!

AWAKEN TO PEACE AND LOVE
TARA

~CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS~

AN INDIAN FATHER PLEADS WITH HIS SON'S TEACHER TO RECOGNIZE THE BOY'S CULTURAL TRADITION AND PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

Dear teacher,
I would like to introduce you to my son, Wind-Wolf. He is probably what you would consider a typical Indian kid. He was born and raised on the reservation. He has black hair, dark brown eyes, an an olive complexion. And like so many Indian children his age, he is shy and quiet in the classroom. He is 5 years old, in kindergarten, and I can't understand why you have already labeled him a "slow learner."
At the age of 5, he has already been through quite an education compared with his peers in Western society. As his first introduction into this world, he was bonded to his mother and to the Mother Earth in a traditional native childbirth ceremony. And he has been continuously cared for by his mother, father, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and extended tribal family since this ceremony.
From his mother's warm and loving arms, Wind-Wolf was placed in a secure and specially designed Indian baby basket. His father and the medicine elders conducted another ceremony with him that served to bond him with the essence of his genetic father, the Great Spirit, the Grandfather Sun, and the Grandmother Moon. This was all done in order to introduce him properly into the new and natural world, not the world of artificiality, and to protect his sensitive and delicate soul. It is our people's way of showing the newborn respect, ensuring that he starts his life on the path of spirituality.
The traditional Indian baby basket became his "turtle's shell" and served as the first seat for his classroom. He was strapped in for safety, protected from injury by the willow roots and hazel wood construction. The basket was made by a tribal elder who had gathered her materials with prayer and in a ceremonial way. It is the same kind of basket that our people have used for thousands of years. It is specially designed to provide the child with the kind of knowledge and experience he will need in order to survive in his culture and environment.
Wind-Wolf was strapped in snugly with a deliberate restriction upon his arms and legs. Although you in Western society may argue that such a method serves to hinder motor-skill developement and abstract reasoning, we believe it forces the child to first develop his intuitive faculties, rational intellect, symbolic thinking, and five senses. Wind-Wolf was with his mother constantly, closely bonded physically, as she carried him on her back or held him in front while breastfeeding. She carried him everywhere she went, and every night he slept with both parents. Because of this, Wind-Wolf's educational setting was not only a "secure" environment, but it was also very colorful, complicated, sensitive, and diverse. He has been with his mother at the ocean at daybreak when she made her prayers and gathered fresh seaweed from the rocks, he has sat with his uncles in a rowboat on the river while they fished with gill nets, and he has listened to elders as they told creation stories and animal legends and sang songs around the campfires.
He has attended the sacred and ancient White Deerskin Dance of his people and is well-acquainted with the cultures and languages of other tribes. He has been with his mother when she gathered herbs for healing and watched his tribal aunts and grandmothers gather and prepare tradtional foods such as acorn, smoked salmon, eel, and deer meat. He has played with abalone shells, pine nuts, iris grass string, and leather while watching the women make beaded jewelry and traditional native regalia. He has had many opportunities to watch his father, uncles,and ceremonial leaders use different kinds of colorful feathers and sing different kinds of songs while preparing for the sacred dances and rituals.
As he grew older, Wind-Wolf began to crawl out of the baby basket, develop his motor skills, and explore the world around him. When frightened or sleepy, he could always return to the basket, as a turtle withdraws into its shell. Such an inward journey allows one to reflect in privacy on what he has learned and to carry the new knowledge deeply into the unconscious and the soul. Shapes, sizes, colors, texture, sound, smell, feeling, taste, and the learning process are therefore functionallly integrated - the physical and spiritual, matter and energy, conscious and unconscious, individual and social.
This kind of learning goes beyond the basics of distinguishing the difference between rough and smooth, square and round, hard and soft, black and white, similarities and extremes.
For example, Wind-Wolf was with his mother in South Dakota while she danced for seven days straight in the hot sun, fasting, and piercing herself in the sacred Sun Dance Ceremony of a distant tribe. He has been doctored in a number of different healing ceremonies by medicine men and women from diverse places ranging from Alaska and Arizona to New York and California. He has been in more than 20 different sacred sweat-lodge rituals - used by native tribes to purify mind, body, and soul-since he was 3 years old, and he has already been exposed to many different religions of his racial brothers: Protestant, Catholic, Asian Buddhist, and Tibetan Lamaist.
It takes a long time to absorb and reflect on these kinds of experiences, so maybe that is why you think my Indian child is a slow learner. His aunts and grandmothers taught him to count and know his numbers while they sorted out the complex materials used to make the abstract designs in the native baskets. He listened to his mother count each and every bead and sort out numerically according to color while she painstakingly made complex beaded pelts and necklaces. He learned his basic numbers by helping his father count and sort the rocks for a medicine sweat, say, or 13 for the summer solstice ceremony. (The rocks are later heated and doused with water to create purifying steam.) And he was taught to learn mathematics by counting the sticks we use in our traditional native hand game. So I realize he may be slow in grasping the methods and tools that you are now using in your classroom, ones quite familiar to his white peers, but I hope you will be patient with him. It takes time to adjust to a new cultural system and learn new things.
He is not culturally "disadvantaged," but he is culturally "different." If you ask him how many months there are in a year, he will probably tell you 13. He will respond this way not because he doesn't know how to count properly, but because he has been taught by our traditional people that there are 13 full moons in a year according to the native tribal calendar and that there are really 13 planets in our solar system and 13 tail feathers on a perfectly balanced eagle, the most powerful kind of bird used in ceremony and healing.
But he also knows that some eagles may only have 12 tail feathers, or seven, that they do not all have the same number. He knows that the flicker has exactly 10 tail feathers; that they are red and black, representing the directions of east and west, life and death; and that this bird is considered a "fire" bird, a power used in native doctoring and healing. He can probably count more than 40 different kinds of birds, tell you and his peers what kind of bird each is and where it lives, the seasons in which it appears, and how it is used in a sacred ceremony. He may have trouble writing his name on a piece of paper, but he knows how to say it and many other things in several different Indian languages. He is not fluent yet because he is only 5 years old and required by law to attend your educational system, learn your language, your values, your ways of thinking, and your methods of teaching and learning.
So you see, all of these influences together make him somewhat shy and quiet- and perhaps "slow" according to your standards. But if Wind-Wolf was not prepared for his first tentative foray into your world, neither were you appreciative of his culture. On the first day of class, you had difficulty with his name. You wanted to call him Wind, insisting that Wolf somehow must be his middle name. The students in the class laughed at him, causing further embarrassment.
While you are trying to teach him your new methods, helping him learn new tools for self-discovery and adapt to his new learning environment, he may be looking out the window as if daydreaming. Why? Because he has been taught to watch and study the changes in nature. It is hard for him to make the appropriate psychic switch from the right to the left hemisphere of the brain when he sees the leaves turning bright colors, the geese heading south, and the squirrels scurrying around for nuts to get ready for a harsh winter. In his heart,in his young mind, and almost by instinct, he knows that this is the time of year he is supposed to be with his people gathering and preparing fish, deer meat, and native plants and herbs, and learning his assigned tasks in this role. He is caught between two worlds, torn by two distinct cultural systems.
Yesterday, for the third time in two weeks, he came home crying and said he wanted to have his hair cut. He said he doesn't have any friends at school because they make fun of his long hair. I tried to explain to him that in our culture, long hair is a sign of masculinity and balance and is a source of power. But he remained adamant in his position.
To make matters worse, he recently encountered his first harsh case of racism. Wind-Wolf had managed to adopt at least one good school friend. On the way home from school one day, he asked his new pal if he wanted to come home to play with him until supper. That was OK with Wind-Wolf's mother, who was walking with them. When they all got to the little friend's house, the two boys ran inside to ask permission while Wind-Wolf's mother waited. But the other boy's mother lashed out: "It is OK if you have to play with him at school, but we don't allow those kind of people in our house!" When my wife asked why not, the other boy's mother answered, "Because you are Indians, and we are white, and I don't want my kids growing up with your kind of people."
So now my young Indian child does not want to go to school anymore (even though we cut his hair). He feels that he does not belong. He is the only Indian child in your class, and he is well aware of this fact. Instead of being proud of his race, heritage, and culture, he feels ashamed. When he watches television, he asks why the white people hate us so much and always kill our people in the movies and why they take everything away from us. He asks why the other kids in school are not taught about the power, beauty, and essence of nature or provided with an opportunity to experience the world around them firsthand. He says he hates living in the city and that he misses his Indian cousins and friends. He asks why one young white girl at school who is his friend always tells him "I like you, Wind-Wolf, because you are a good Indian."
Now he refuses to sing his native songs, play with his Indian artifacts, learn his language, or participate in his sacred ceremonies. When I ask him to go to a powwow or help me with a sacred sweat-lodge ritual, he says no because "that's weird," and he doesn't want his friends at school to think he doesn't believe in God.
So, dear teacher, I want to introduce you to my son, Wind-Wolf, who is not really a "typical" little Indian kid after all. He stems from a long line of hereditary chiefs, medicine men and women, and ceremonial leaders whose accomplishments and unique forms of knowledge are still being studied and recorded in contemporary books. He has seven different tribal systems flowing through his blood; he is even part white. I want my child to succeed in school and in life. I don't want him to be a dropout or juvenile delinquent or to end up on drugs and alcohol because he is made to feel inferior or because of discrimination. I want him to be proud of his rich heritage and culture, and I would like him to develop the necessary capabilities to adapt to, and succeed in, both cultures. But I need your help.
What you say and what you do in the classroom, what you teach and how you teach it, and what you don't say and don't teach will have a significant effect on the potential success or failure of my child. Please remember that this is the primary year of his education and development. All I ask is that you work with me, not against me, to help educate my child in the best way. If you don't have the knowledge, preparation, experience, or training to effectively deal with culturally different children, I am willing to help you with the few resources I have, or direct you to such resources.
Millions of dollars have been appopriated by Congress and are being spent each year for "Indian Education." All you have to do is take advantage of it and encourage your school to make an effort to use it in the name of "equal education." My Indian child has a constitutional right to learn, retain and maintain his heritage and culture. By the same token, I strongly believe that non-Indian children also have a constitutional right to learn about our Native American heritage and culture because Indians play a significant part in the history of Western society. Until this reality is equally understood and applied in education as a whole, there will be a lot more schoolchildren in grades K-2 identifed as "slow learners."
My son is not an empty glass coming into your class to be filled. He is a full basket coming into a different environment and society with something special to share. Please let him share his knowledge, heritage, and culture with you and his peers.

Robert Lake (Medicine Grizzlybear) A member of the Seneca and Cherokee Indian Tribes.
From Teacher Magazine, September 1990
He was an associate professor at Gonzaga University's School of Education in Spokane, Washington; when this was written.


A special thank you goes out to my teacher and mentor Dr. Henrietta Mann (Full Blooded Southern Cheyenne)for a copy of this essay. Peace to you always.

AWAKEN TO PEACE AND LOVE
TARA

KARUK WOMAN

Of the Earth, but from the stars, we honor and protect the Earth for future generations.....and so it is.
Women of the Karuk Tribe, in beauty we live.

PEACE
TARA

SEEING WITH YOUR HEART

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a
green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and
deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the
man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.
- William Blake, 1799, The Letters

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
- Kahlil Gibran

What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection
of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.
- Gandhi

Learn to see, and then you'll know that
there is no end to the new worlds of our vision.
- Carlos Castaneda

Your vision will become clear only when you look
into your heart. ... Who looks outside, dreams.
Who looks inside, awakens.
- Carl Jung

When there's nothing to see, look.
- Dakota Indian saying

The heart has eyes which the brain knows nothing of.
- Charles H. Perkhurst

If you gaze for long, the abyss also gazes into you.
- Nietzsche

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.
- Thoreau

KNOW THAT WE COULD ALL LEARN TO "SEE" BETTER...
IMAGINE MORE...
FEEL IT WITH OUR HEARTS...
PEACE
TARA

FROM THE STARS~WE CARRY THE LIGHT

ANGELS OF THE LIGHT

THERE WAS ONLY LIGHT
AND RADIANT WAVES OF LOVE
WE WERE THE LIGHT
WE WERE THE LOVE
AND WE WERE ONE
WE WERE A MAGNIFICENT,
GLOWING,
LOVING SUN
SENDING FORTH OUR LIGHT TO ALL
SO THE UNIVERSE WOULD KNOW
ETERNAL TRUTH
HELD BY THE WISDOM OF LOVE,
THE LOVE THAT I AM
THE LOVE THAT WE ARE,
LIGHT FROM A GLOWING, LOVING STAR

THE POWER OF OUR LOVE
BLAZED INTENSE AND BRIGHT
OUR STAR COULD NO MORE CONTAIN
THE LOVE AND LIGHT,
AND WE WERE MANY
WE WERE MAGNIFICENT,
GLOWING
LOVING ANGELS
CARRYING FORTH TO ALL, OUR STAR
SO THE UNIVERSE WOULD KNOW
ETERNAL WISDOM
EMBRACED BY THE TRUTH OF LOVE,
THE LOVE THAT I AM,
THE LOVE THAT WE ARE,
LIGHT FROM A GLOWING, LOVING STAR

IN THE DEPTH OF LOVE WE CAME
TO SAVE THIS WORLD FROM INNER DEATH,
TO TRANSMUTE MATTER INTO LIGHT,
TO LIFT ITS LOW VIBRATION
BEYOND THE DARK OF NIGHT
AND SPARE THIS ICY, DENSER REALM
ITS PLUNGING, HOPELESS FLIGHT

IN GIVING SO MUCH LIGHT AND LOVE
WE'VE NEARLY ALL FORGOT
OUR MAGNIFICENT, GLOWING, STARRY PAST
BELIEVING WHAT WE'RE NOT
AND NOW WE MUST REMEMBER
THE TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE-
ANGELS BEINGS CO-CREATING,
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF A STAR
WE ARE MAGNIFICENT,
GLOWING,
LOVING CHILDREN
OF A NEARLY FORGOTTEN SUN
WHOSE LIGHT GOES FORTH TO BRIGHTEN ALL
SO THE WORLD WOULD KNOW IT'S ONE,
ENFOLDED BY THE POWER OF LOVE,
THE LOVE THAT I AM,
THE LOVE THAT WE ARE
LIGHT FROM A GLOWING, LOVING STAR

Unknown


REMEMBER WHERE YOU CAME FROM
AND REACH FOR THE STARS ONCE AGAIN

PEACE
TARA

THE FIRST MEDICINE LODGE

THE FIRST MEDICINE LODGE


The chief god of the Blackfeet is the Sun. He made the
world and rules it, and to him the people pray. One of
his names is Napi—old man; but there is another Napi
who is very different from the Sun, and instead of
being great, wise, and wonderful, is foolish, mean, and
contemptible. We shall hear about him further on.

Every year in summer, about the time the berries ripen,
the Blackfeet used to hold the great festival and
sacrifice which we call the ceremony of the Medicine
Lodge. This was a time of happy meetings, of feasting,
of giving presents; but besides this rejoicing, those
men who wished to have good-luck in whatever they might
undertake tried to prove their prayers sincere by
sacrificing their bodies, torturing themselves in ways
that caused great suffering. In ancient times, as we
are told in books of history, things like that used to
happen among many peoples all over the world.

It was the law that the building of the Medicine Lodge
must always be pledged by a good woman. If a woman had
a son or a husband away at war and feared that he was
in danger, or if she had a child that was sick and
might die, she might pray for the safety of the one she
loved, and promise that if he returned or recovered she
would build a Medicine Lodge. This pledge was made in a
loud voice, publicly, in open air, so that all might
know the promise had been made.

At the time appointed all the tribe came together and
pitched their lodges in a great circle, and within this
circle the Medicine Lodge was built. The ceremony
lasted for four days and four nights, during which time
the woman who had promised to make the Medicine Lodge
neither ate nor drank, except once in sacrifice.

Different stories are told of how the first Medicine
Lodge came to be built. This is one of those stories:

In the earliest times there was a man who had a very
beautiful daughter. Many young men wished to marry her,
but whenever she was asked she shook her head and said
she did not wish to marry.
"Why is this?" said her father. "Some of these young
men are rich, handsome, and brave."
"Why should I marry?" replied the girl. "My father and
mother take care of me. Our lodge is good; the
parfleches are never empty; there are plenty of tanned
robes and soft furs for winter. Why trouble me, then?"

Soon after, the Raven Bearers held a dance. They all
painted themselves nicely and wore their finest
ornaments and each one tried to dance the best.
Afterward some of them asked for this girl, but she
said, "No." After that the Bulls, the Kit-Foxes, and
others of the All Comrades held their dances, and many
men who were rich and some great warriors asked this
man for his daughter, but to every one she said, "No."
Then her father was angry, and he said, "Why is this?
All the best men have asked for you, and still you say
'No.'" Then the girl said, "Father, listen to me. That
Above Person, the Sun, said to me, 'Do not marry any of
these men, for you belong to me. Listen to what I say,
and you shall be happy and live to a great age.' And
again he said to me, 'Take heed, you must not marry;
you are mine.'"
"Ah!" replied her father; "it must always be as he
says"; and they spoke no more about it.

There was a poor young man. He was very poor. His
father, his mother, and all his relations were dead. He
had no lodge, no wife to tan his robes or make his
moccasins. His clothes were always old and worn. He had
no home. To-day he stopped in one lodge; then to-morrow
he ate and slept in another. Thus he lived. He had a
good face, but on his cheek was a bad scar.
After they had held those dances, some of the young men
met this poor Scarface, and they laughed at him and
said, "Why do not you ask that girl to marry you? You
are so rich and handsome."
Scarface did not laugh. He looked at them and said, "I
will do as you say; I will go and ask her."
All the young men thought this was funny; they laughed
a good deal at Scarface as he was walking away.

Scarface went down by the river and waited there, near
the place where the women went to get water. By and by
the girl came there. Scarface spoke to her, and said,
"Girl, stop; I want to speak with you. I do not wish to
do anything secretly, but I speak to you here openly,
where the Sun looks down and all may see."
"Speak, then," said the girl.
"I have seen the days," said Scarface. "I have seen how
you have refused all those men, who are young and rich
and brave. To-day some of these young men laughed and
said to me, 'Why do not you ask her?' I am poor. I have
no lodge, no food, no clothes, no robes. I have no
relations. All of them have died. Yet now to-day I say
to you, take pity. Be my wife."
The girl hid her face in her robe and brushed the
ground with the point of her moccasin, back and forth,
back and forth, for she was thinking.
After a time she spoke and said, "It is true I have
refused all those rich young men; yet now a poor one
asks me, and I am glad. I will be your wife, and my
people will be glad. You are poor, but that does not
matter. My father will give you dogs; my mother will
make us a lodge; my relations will give us robes and
furs; you will no longer be poor."
Then the young man was glad, and he started forward to
kiss her, but she put out her hand and held him back,
and said, "Wait; the Sun has spoken to me. He said I
may not marry; that I belong to him; that if I listen
to him I shall live to great age. So now I say, go to
the Sun; say to him, 'She whom you spoke with has
listened to your words; she has never done wrong, but
now she wants to marry. I want her for my wife.' Ask
him to take that scar from your face; that will be his
sign, and I shall know he is pleased. But if he
refuses, or if you cannot find his lodge, then do not
return to me."
"Oh!" cried Scarface; "at first your words were good. I
was glad. But now it is dark. My heart is dead. Where
is that far-off lodge? Where is the trail that no one
yet has travelled?"
"Take courage, take courage," said the girl softly, and
she went on to her lodge.

Scarface was very unhappy. He did not know what to do.
He sat down and covered his face with his robe, and
tried to think. At length he stood up and went to an
old woman who had been kind to him, and said to her,
"Pity me. I am very poor. I am going away, on a long
journey. Make me some moccasins."
"Where are you going—far from the camp?" asked the old
woman.
"I do not know where I am going," he replied; "I am in
trouble, but I cannot talk about it."
This old woman had a kind heart. She made him
moccasins—seven pairs; and gave him also a sack of
food—pemican, dried meat, and back fat.
All alone, and with a sad heart, Scarface climbed the
bluff that overlooked the valley, and when he had
reached the top, turned to look back at the camp. He
wondered if he should ever see it again; if he should
return to the girl and to the people.
"Pity me, O Sun!" he prayed; and turning away, he set
off to look for the trail to the Sun's lodge.

For many days he went on. He crossed great prairies and
followed up timbered rivers, and crossed the mountains.
Every day his sack of food grew lighter, but as he went
along he looked for berries and roots, and sometimes he
killed an animal. These things gave him food.
One night he came to the home of a wolf. "Hah!" said
the wolf; "what are you doing so far from your home?"
"I am looking for the place where the Sun lives,"
replied Scarface. "I have been sent to speak with him."
"I have travelled over much country," said the wolf; "I
know all the prairies, the valleys, and the mountains;
but I have never seen the Sun's home. But wait a
moment. I know a person who is very wise, and who may
be able to tell you the road. Ask the bear."
The next day Scarface went on again, stopping now and
then to rest and to pick berries, and when night came
he was at the bear's lodge.
"Where is your home?" asked the bear. "Why are you
travelling so far alone?"
"Ah," replied the man, "I have come to you for help.
Pity me. Because of what that girl said to me, I am
looking for the Sun. I wish to ask him for her."
"I do not know where he lives," said the bear. "I have
travelled by many rivers and I know the mountains, yet
I have not seen his lodge. Farther on there is some
one—that striped face—who knows a great deal; ask him."
When the young man got there, the badger was in his
hole. But Scarface called to him, "Oh, cunning striped
face! I wish to speak with you."
The badger put his head out of the hole and said, "What
do you want, my brother?"
"I wish to find the Sun's home," said Scarface. "I wish
to speak with him."
"I do not know where he lives," answered the badger. "I
never travel very far. Over there in the timber is the
wolverene. He is always travelling about, and knows
many things. Perhaps he can tell you."
Scarface went over to the forest and looked all about
for the wolverene, but could not see him; so he sat
down on a log to rest. "Alas, alas!" he cried;
"wolverene, take pity on me. My food is gone, my
moccasins are worn out; I fear I shall die."
Some one close to him said, "What is it, my brother?"
and looking around, he saw the wolverene sitting there.
"She whom I wish to marry belongs to the Sun," said
Scarface; "I am trying to find where he lives, so that
I may ask him for her."
"Ah," said the wolverene, "I know where he lives. It is
nearly night now, but to-morrow I will show you the
trail to the big water. He lives on the other side of
it."
Early in the morning they set out, and the wolverene
showed Scarface the trail, and he followed it until he
came to the water's edge. When he looked out over it,
his heart almost stopped. Never before had any one seen
such a great water. The other side could not be seen
and there was no end to it. Scarface sat down on the
shore. This seemed the end. His food was gone; his
moccasins were worn out; he had no longer strength, no
longer courage; his heart was sick. "I cannot cross
this great water," he said. "I cannot return to the
people. Here by this water I shall die."
Yet, even as he thought this, helpers were near. Two
swans came swimming up to the shore and said to him,
"Why have you come here? What are you doing? It is very
far to the place where your people live."
"I have come here to die," replied Scarface. "Far away
in my country is a beautiful girl. I want to marry her,
but she belongs to the Sun; so I set out to find him
and ask him for her. I have travelled many days. My
food is gone. I cannot go back; I cannot cross this
great water; so I must die."
"No," said the swans; "it shall not be so. Across this
water is the home of that Above Person. Get on our
backs, and we will take you there."
Scarface stood up. Now he felt strong and full of
courage. He waded out into the water and lay down on
the swans' backs, and they swam away. It was a fearful
journey, for that water was deep and black, and in it
live strange people and great animals which might reach
up and seize a person and pull him down under the
water; yet the swans carried Scarface safely to the
other side. There was seen a broad, hard trail leading
back from the water's edge.
"There," said the swans; "you are now close to the
Sun's lodge. Follow that trail, and soon you will see
it."

Scarface started to walk along the trail, and after he
had gone a little way he came to some beautiful things
lying in the trail. There was a war shirt, a shield, a
bow, and a quiver of arrows. He had never seen such
fine weapons. He looked at them, but he did not touch
them, and at last walked around them and went on. A
little farther along he met a young man, a very
handsome person. His hair was long; his clothing was
made of strange skins, and his moccasins were sewed
with bright feathers.
The young man spoke to him and asked, "Did you see some
weapons lying in the trail?"
"Yes," replied Scarface, "I saw them."
"Did you touch them?" said the young man.
"No," said Scarface; "I supposed some one had left them
there, and I did not touch them."
"You do not meddle with the property of others," said
the young man. "What is your name, and where are you
going?" Scarface told him. Then said the young man, "My
name is Early Riser (the morning star). The Sun is my
father. Come, I will take you to our lodge. My father
is not at home now, but he will return at night."
At length they came to the lodge. It was large and
handsome, and on it were painted strange medicine
animals. On a tripod behind the lodge were the Sun's
weapons and his war clothing. Scarface was ashamed to
go into the lodge, but Morning Star said, "Friend, do
not be afraid; we are glad you have come."
When they went in a woman was sitting there, the Moon,
the Sun's wife and the mother of Morning Star. She
spoke to Scarface kindly and gave him food to eat, and
when he had eaten she asked, "Why have you come so far
from your people?"
So Scarface told her about the beautiful girl that he
wished to marry and said, "She belongs to the Sun. I
have come to ask him for her."
When it was almost night, and time for the Sun to come
home, the Moon hid Scarface under a pile of robes. As
soon as the Sun got to the doorway he said, "A strange
person is here."
"Yes, father," said Morning Star, "a young man has come
to see you. He is a good young man, for he found some
of my things in the trail and did not touch them."
Scarface came out from under the robes and the Sun
entered the lodge and sat down. He spoke to Scarface
and said, "I am glad you have come to our lodge. Stay
with us as long as you like. Sometimes my son is
lonely. Be his friend."

The next day the two young men were talking about going
hunting and the Moon spoke to Scarface and said, "Go
with my son where you like, but do not hunt near that
big water. Do not let him go there. That is the home of
great birds with long, sharp bills. They kill people. I
have had many sons, but these birds have killed them
all. Only Morning Star is left."
Scarface stayed a long time in the Sun's lodge, and
every day went hunting with Morning Star. One day they
came near the water and saw the big birds.
"Come on," said Morning Star, "let us go and kill those
birds."
"No, no," said Scarface, "we must not go there. Those
are terrible birds; they will kill us."
Morning Star would not listen. He ran toward the water
and Scarface ran after him, for he knew that he must
kill the birds and save the boy's life. He ran ahead of
Morning Star and met the birds, which were coming to
fight, and killed every one of them with his spear; not
one was left. The young men cut off the heads of the
birds and carried them home, and when Morning Star's
mother heard what they had done, and they showed her
the birds' heads, she was glad. She cried over the two
young men and called Scarface "My son," and when the
Sun came home at night she told him about it, and he
too was glad.
"My son," he said to Scarface, "I will not forget what
you have this day done for me. Tell me now what I can
do for you; what is your trouble?"
"Alas, alas!" replied Scarface, "Pity me. I came here
to ask you for that girl. I want to marry her. I asked
her and she was glad, but she says that she belongs to
you, and that you told her not to marry."
"What you say is true," replied the Sun. "I have seen
the days and all that she has done. Now I give her to
you. She is yours. I am glad that she has been wise,
and I know that she has never done wrong. The Sun takes
care of good women; they shall live a long time, and so
shall their husbands and children.
"Now, soon you will go home. I wish to tell you
something and you must be wise and listen. I am the
only chief; everything is mine; I made the earth, the
mountains, the prairies, the rivers, and the forests; I
made the people and all the animals. This is why I say
that I alone am chief. I can never die. It is true the
winter makes me old and weak, but every summer I grow
young again.
"What one of all the animals is the smartest?" the Sun
went on. "It is the raven, for he always finds food; he
is never hungry. Which one of all the animals is the
most to be reverenced? It is the buffalo; of all the
animals I like him best. He is for the people; he is
your food and your shelter. What part of his body is
sacred? It is the tongue; that belongs to me. What else
is sacred? Berries. They too are mine. Come with me now
and see the world."
The Sun took Scarface to the edge of the sky and they
looked down and saw the world. It is flat and round,
and all around the edge it goes straight down. Then
aid the Sun, "If any man is sick or in danger his wife
may promise to build me a lodge if he recovers. If the
woman is good, then I shall be pleased and help the
man; but if she is not good, or if she lies, then I
shall be angry. You shall build the lodge like the
world, round, with walls, but first you must build a
sweat-lodge of one hundred sticks. It shall be arched
like the sky, and one-half of it shall be painted red
for me, the other half you shall paint black for the
night." He told Scarface all about making the Medicine
Lodge, and when he had finished speaking, he rubbed
some medicine on the young man's face and the scar that
had been there disappeared. He gave him two raven
feathers, saying: "These are a sign for the girl that I
give her to you. They must always be worn by the
husband of the woman who builds a Medicine Lodge."
Now Scarface was ready to return home. The Sun and
Morning Star gave him many good presents; the Moon
cried and kissed him and was sorry to see him go. Then
the Sun showed him the short trail. It was the Wolf
Road—the Milky Way. He followed it and soon reached the
ground.

It was a very hot day. All the lodge skins were raised
and the people sat in the shade. There was a chief, a
very generous man, who all day long was calling out for
feasts, and people kept coming to his lodge to eat and
smoke with him. Early in the morning this chief saw
sitting on a butte near by a person close-wrapped in
his robe. All day long this person sat there and did
not move. When it was almost night the chief said,
"That person has sat there all day in the strong heat,
and he has not eaten nor drunk. Perhaps he is a
stranger. Go and ask him to come to my lodge."
Some young men ran up to the person and said to him,
"Why have you sat here all day in the great heat? Come
to the shade of the lodges. The chief asks you to eat
with him." The person rose and threw off his robe and
the young men were surprised. He wore fine clothing;
his bow, shield, and other weapons were of strange
make; but they knew his face, although the scar was
gone, and they ran ahead, shouting, "The Scarface poor
young man has come. He is poor no longer. The scar on
his face is gone."
All the people hurried out to see him and to ask him
questions. "Where did you get all these fine things?"
He did not answer. There in the crowd stood that young
woman, and, taking the two raven feathers from his
head, he gave them to her and said, "The trail was long
and I nearly died, but by those helpers I found his
lodge. He is glad. He sends these feathers to you. They
are the sign."
Great was her gladness then. They were married and made
the first Medicine Lodge, as the Sun had said. The Sun
was glad. He gave them great age. They were never sick.
When they were very old, one morning their children
called to them, "Awake, rise and eat." They did not
move.
In the night, together, in sleep, without pain, their
shadows had departed to the Sandhills.

~George Bird Grinnell~ "Project Gutenberg"

PEACE
TARA

BEFORE THE WHITE MAN

BEFORE THE WHITE MAN

NO PEOPLES ON EARTH EVER ENJOYED A FREEDOM LIKE WE INDIANS ENJOYED BEFORE THE WHITE MAN CAME TO THIS COUNTRY. EVERYTHING WAS FREE. WE WERE FREE AND SO WERE THE ANIMALS AND THE BIRDS AND THE RIVERS AND THE WHOLE WONDERFUL LAND FROM END TO END. ALL FREE. ALL PURE. ALL HAPPY. THIS WAS THE FREEST AND PUREST AND HAPPIEST PLACE IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. WE WERE THE GREAT SPIRIT'S FOREST CHILDREN, LIVING FREE ACCORDING TO HIS LAW.

THEN COLUMBUS AND HIS GANG HIT THIS COUNTRY BY ACCIDENT. WE'RE SORRY THAT THEY DID. OUR INSTRUCTIONS DIDN'T TELL US WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE WHITE MAN. WE WELCOMED HIM WHEN HE CAME HERE. WE FED HIM. WE TOOK CARE OF HIM. WE BELIEVED GOD HAD SENT HIM TO HELP US. GOD GAVE THE WHITE MAN POWERS WE NEVER SAW BEFORE-MATERIAL POWERS. HE WAS SUPPOSE TO USE THE MATERIAL POWERS TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR ALL OF US. HE WAS SUPPOSE TO USE THE MATERIAL POWER IN THE SERVICE OF THE SPIRITUAL POWER. HE DIDN'T. INSTEAD, HE USED HIS MATERIAL POWERS TO STEAL OUR LAND AND OUR FREEDOM.

NOW THE GREAT CHIEFTAINS ARE GONE. OUR BUFFALO ARE GONE. THE COUNTRY WE LOVED IS LOST. THEY BUILT ROADS OVER THE FADING TRAILS WHERE WE ONCE WALKED. OUR WEAPONS, OUR BOWS AND ARROWS, OUR TOMAHAWKS ARE IN MUSEUMS. THEY SELL OUR ARROWHEADS AND EVEN OUR BONES FOR SOUVENIRS. MAYBE IF WE DIDN'T REMEMBER HOW IT ONCE WAS IT WOULDN'T BE SO BAD FOR US. WE COULD JUST BECOME LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. ONLY ONE THINGS SADDER THAN REMEMBERING YOU ONCE WERE FREE, AND THAT'S FORGETTING YOU ONCE WERE FREE. THAT WOULD BE THE SADDEST THING OF ALL. THAT'S ONE THING WE INDIANS WILL NEVER DO.

~LAKOTA WISDOM KEEPER ~ MATTHEW KING ~

Just a little history.
PEACE AND FREEDOM AGAIN FOR ALL!
TARA

WINGS OF THE AIR

THE LIFE OF AN INDIAN IS LIKE THE WINGS OF THE AIR. THAT IS WHY YOU NOTICE THE HAWK KNOWS HOW TO GET HIS PREY. THE INDIAN IS LIKE THAT. THE HAWK SWOOPS DOWN ON ITS PREY; SO DOES THE INDIAN. IN HIS LAMENT HE IS LIKE AN ANIMAL. FOR INSTANCE, THE COYOTE IS SLY; SO IS THE INDIAN. THE EAGLE IS THE SAME. THAT IS WHY THE INDIAN IS ALWAYS FEATHERED UP; HE IS A RELATIVE TO THE WINGS OF THE AIR.

Black Elk Oglala Sioux holy man

````

ALL BIRDS, EVEN THOSE OF THE SAME SPECIES ARE NOT ALIKE, AND IT IS THE SAME WITH ANIMALS AND WITH HUMAN BEINGS. THE REASON WAKANTANKA DOES NOT MAKE TWO BIRDS, OR ANIMALS, OR HUMAN BEINGS EXACTLY ALIKE IS BECAUSE EACH IS PLACED HERE BY WAKANTANKA TO BE AN INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUALITY AND TO RELY UPON ITSELF.

Shooter Teton Sioux

Remember; your power is inside of you; don't give it away!

PEACE
TARA

ALL LIFE IS EQUAL

ALL LIFE IS EQUAL

"ANOTHER OF THE NATURAL LAWS IS THAT ALL LIFE IS EQUAL. THAT'S OUR PHILOSOPHY. YOU HAVE TO RESPECT LIFE - ALL LIFE,
NOT JUST YOUR OWN. THE KEY WORD IS "RESPECT." UNLESS YOU RESPECT ALL LIFE AS MUCH AS YOUR OWN LIFE, YOU BECOME A DESTROYER, A MURDERER.

Oren Lyons ~ Onondaga

~~~~

THE GREATEST STRENGTH

"I MYSELF HAVE NO POWER. IT'S THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME WHO HAVE THE POWER. REAL POWER COMES ONLY FROM THE CREATOR. IT'S IN
HIS HANDS. BUT IF YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT STRENGTH, NOT POWER,
THEN I CAN SAY THAT THE GREATEST STRENGTH IS GENTLENESS."

"I AM WORKING FOR THE CREATION. I REFUSE TO TAKE PART IN IT'S DESTRUCTION."

"THESE ARE OUR TIMES AND OUR RESPONSIBLITIES. EVERY HUMAN BEING HAS A SACRED DUTY TO PROTECT THE WELFARE OF OUR MOTHER EARTH, FROM WHOM ALL LIFE COMES. IN ORDER TO DO THIS WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY - THE ONE WITHIN US. WE MUST BEGIN WITH
OURSELVES...."

Leon Shenandoah ~ Six Nations Confederacy

~~~~

THE SOUND IS FADING AWAY
IT IS OF FIVE SOUNDS
FREEDOM
THE SOUND IS FADING AWAY
IT IS OF FIVE SOUNDS

Chippewa song

~~~~

...I AM POOR AND NAKED, BUT I AM THE CHIEF OF THE
NATION. WE DO NOT WANT RICHES BUT WE DO WANT TO TRAIN OUR CHILDREN RIGHT. RICHES WOULD DO US NO GOOD. WE COULD NOT TAKE THEM WITH US TO THE OTHER
WORLD. WE DO NOT WANT RICHES. WE WANT PEACE AND LOVE.

Red Cloud (Makhpiya-luta) Sioux Chief

~~~~

THE OUTLINE OF THE STONE IS ROUND,
HAVING NO END AND NO BEGINNING:
LIKE THE POWER OF THE STONE
IT IS ENDLESS. THE STONE IS PERFECT IN ITS KIND
AND IS THE WORK OF NATURE,
NO ARTIFICIAL MEANS BEING USED IN SHAPING IT.
OUTWARDLY IT IS NOT BEAUTIFUL,
BUT ITS STRUCTURE IS SOLID,
LIKE A SOLID HOUSE IN WHICH ONE MAY SAFELY DWELL.

Chased-by-Bears Santee-Yanton Sioux

~~~~

WHEN I WAS A YOUNG MAN I WENT TO A MEDICINE-MAN
FOR ADVICE CONCERNING MY FUTURE. THE MEDICINE-MAN
SAID: "I HAVE NOT MUCH TO TELL YOU EXCEPT TO HELP
YOU UNDERSTAND THIS EARTH ON WHICH YOU LIVE. IF A
MAN IS TO SUCCEED ON THE HUNT OR THE WARPATH, HE
MUST NOT BE GOVERNED BY HIS INCLINATION, BUT BY AN
UNDERSTANDING OF THE WAYS OF THE ANIMALS AND OF HIS
NATURAL SURROUNDINGS, GAINED THROUGH CLOSE OBSERVATION.
THE EARTH IS LARGE, AND ON IT LIVE MANY ANIMALS. THE
EARTH IS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF SOMETHING WHICH AT
TIMES BECOMES VISIBLE TO THE EYE."

Lone Man (Isna la wica) Teton Sioux

~~~~

GREAT SPIRIT, GREAT SPIRIT, MY GRANDFATHER, ALL OVER
THE EARTH THE FACES OF LIVING THINGS ARE ALL ALIKE...
LOOK UPON THESE FACES OF CHILDREN WITHOUT NUMBER AND
WITH CHILDREN IN THEIR ARMS, THAT THEY MAY FACE THE WINDS AND WALK THE GOOD ROAD TO THE DAY OF QUIET.

Black Elk Oglala Sioux holy man

PEACE AND MAY WE ALL WALK IN BEAUTY ALWAYS
HUM CHI
TARA

I'Itoi ` THE MAN IN THE MAZE` JOURNEY THROUGH THE CYCLE OF LIFE

The story of I'itoi is also the story of every human being, traveling through life as though through a maze, taking many turns while growing stronger and wiser as death, at the center of the maze, comes closer. Trace the light path. You will find one more turn at the end, away from the center. Here we can look back on the trail and have one last chance for reflection and an opportunity to find acceptance of the last step.

The figure above is known as the "Man in the maze," an emblem of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Southern Arizona (formerly known as the Papago Indians). The design, depicting a man exiting a labrynth, is most often seen on basketry dating back as far as the nineteenth century, and occasionally in Hopi silver art. Labrynths are common motifs in ancient petroglyphs (Native American rock art), and often resemble those found in ancient Greece and other parts of the world.

This symbol is said to represent a person's journey through life. Although the design appears to be a maze, it is actually a unicursal figure with many twists and turns; these are said to represent choices made in life. The center is dark, as the journey is one from darkness to light.

There is a Pima Indian legend that explains when a
person is born into this world, they enter a maze of
life. The entrance is at the top where Se-eh-ha (Elder Brother) is waiting to show the way. The legend tells of the dead ends, detours and obstacles. It's the struggle to understand what can affect the physical, emotional, and spiritual growth that can guide them through the maze. At each turn, there is an opportunity to understand and appreciate the cycle of life, and to gain strength to move toward their goals. If the path is traveled in harmony and with a balance with nature, the legend says that dreams and ambitions will be found at the center of the maze, where E-e-thoi (Sun God) waits. He then passes them on to the next world.
There is no one meaning to the Man in the Maze.
Interpretations of the image vary from family to family.

A common interpretation is as follows: The human figure stands for the O'odham people. The maze represents the difficult journey toward finding deeper meaning in life. The twists an turns refer to struggles and lessons learned along the way. At the center of the maze is a circle, which stands for death, and for becoming one with Elder Brother I'itoi, the Creator. Other O'odham see the image of a man as representative of an individual, or all of mankind, or I'itoi himself.

The "Man In The Maze" is a visual representation of the Tohono O'odham Indians belief in life, death and the life after death. The man at the top of the maze depicts birth. By following the pattern, beginning at the top,the figure goes through the maze encountering many turns and changes, as in life. As the journey continues, one aquires knowledge, strength and understanding. Nearing the end of the maze, one retreats to a small corner of the pattern before reaching the dark center of death and eternal life. Here one repents, cleanses and reflects
back on all the wisdom gained. Finally, pure and in
harmony with the world, death and eternal life are
accepted.

The Tohono O'odham refer to the Man in the Maze as the T'itoi. The design depicts the story of each human being traveling through life as through a maze, taking many turns while growing stronger and wiser, but always approaching death, as represented by the dark center. In the Maze, the path of life begins at the periphery and progresses towards the center, but each major turn of the path is away from the center. Despite this seeming contradiction, the end of the path is the center of the maze, which is death. As one approaches death, one is able to look back on the completed journey with its many turns and to find acceptance of the last step.
The Gila River Indian Community -- the Akimel O'odham -- refer to the Man in the Maze as the Se:he or the Elder Brother, who is their Creator. The journey of life is a journey through a maze, beginning at birth and continuing through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and finally ending in old age. The four major turns in the path represent the four directions, and the center of the maze represents death. Death is the beginning of a new journey and, thus, the cycle repeats itself.

One of my favorite pieces of artwork. Look into the maze and figure out how much of the above rings true to your soul, for it is the circle of life that we must all endure in this human form on the physical plane. Hoping we all enjoy our little "trip" through the maze and have fun while doing it. Remember harmony and balance will keep you on the path you were meant to be on...all is as it should be, until we return "home" to the stars" from which we came.

PEACE
TARA
 THE BEST OF KRISHNAMURTI ~  KNOW WHEN NOT TO COOPERATE

>>>>><<<<<  

 
 
Know When Not to Cooperate

Reformers—political, social, and religious—will only cause more sorrow for man unless man understands the workings of his own mind. In the understanding of the total process of the mind, there is a radical, inward revolution, and from that inward revolution springs the action of true cooperation, which is not cooperation with a pattern, with authority, with somebody who "knows." When you know how to co-operate because there is this inward revolution, then you will also know when not to cooperate, which is really very important, perhaps more important. We now cooperate with any person who offers a reform, a change, which only perpetuates conflict and misery, but if we can know what it is to have the spirit of cooperation that comes into being with the understanding of the total process of the mind and in which there is freedom from the self, then there is a possibility of creating a new civilization, a totally different world in which there is no acquisitiveness,
no envy, no comparison. This is not a theoretical utopia but the actual state of the mind that is constantly inquiring and pursuing that which is true and blessed.

The Book of Life - November 5
dailyquote-join@jkrishnamurti.org

CREATE A NEW WORLD,  NOT THE ONE THIS ADMINISTRATION IS WANTING TO CREATE.

IT IS GETTING HARDER TO ACCOMPLISH WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, NO BORDER PATROLS CAN DO THE JOB THEY WERE TRAINED AND HIRED TO DO, IN FACT THEIR HANDS ARE TIED, (THANKS TO THIS ADMINISTRATIONS ORDERS FORCED UPON THEM.)

 WE ARE BEING LED INTO THE NWO AND EVERYONE IS AFRAID TO STAND UP,  SPEAK UP AND STOP IT, DUE TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.  HEY, WE LET IMMIGRANTS INTO OUR COUNTY, ALWAYS HAVE, BUT IT'S TIME TO DO IT THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE, LEGALLY, BY VETTING THEM, ALWAYS, MAKING SURE THEY LEARN ENGLISH AND SPEAK ENGLISH, KNOW OUR LAWS, IF THEY DON'T WANT TO ASSIMILATE, SEND THEM BACK TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM, WE DON'T WANT THEIR IDEOLOGIES, SHARIA LAW, ETC. WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IS A TRAVESTY. IT MUST BE STOPPED, OR THE US WILL BECOME A THIRD WORLD SHIT HOLE, MAYBE THAT'S WHAT 'THEY' WANT, YA, I KNOW IT IS.  TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT 2016, THERE IS 'NO' OTHER CLEAR CHOICE.

 THE US HAS HAD ENOUGH, THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY MORE TAXES TO ASSIST THESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS WHO ARE LIVING OFF OF THE HARD WORKING AMERICAN PEOPLE. WE ARE HAVING A HARD ENOUGH TIME TAKING CARE OF OUR OWN. IN FACT WE ARE NOT TAKING CARE OF OUR OWN, TAKE A LOOK AT THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE HOMELESS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.

 WHY ARE ALL THESE HEALTHY ILLEGALS NOT FIGHTING FOR THEIR OWN COUNTRIES STABILITY AND CULTURES IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES, INSTEAD OF LEAVING THEIR WIVES, FAMILIES AND CHILDREN BACK HOME?

ONE MORE QUESTION, 'WHY ARE THE RICH OIL SHEIKH'S/LEADERS OF THESE NATIONS NOT PROVIDING FOR THEIR PEOPLE?  WHY ARE THEY SENDING AND TELLING THEIR PEOPLE TO MOVE INTO EUROPE AND THE US?  THESE RICH COUNTRIES HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH LAND AND MONEY TO PROVIDE FOR THEM, SO WTF IS HAPPENING HERE?

 WHY DO YOU THINK THE US BORDER PATROL HAS ENDORSED TRUMP, IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ON THE FRONT LINES AND KNOW WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING ON OUR US BORDERS AND HAVE BEEN TOLD TO STAND DOWN BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, NO DIFFERENT THAN MOST EUROPEAN NATIONS.  WHY? THE MSM WILL NEVER REPORT THE TRUTH TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OR THE EUROPEAN PEOPLE.

NO, I AM NOT A RACIST, BUT I BELIEVE IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE RULE OF LAW. BTW, IT'S BEEN 3 1/2 YEARS SINCE I'VE POSTED TO THIS BLOG, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY, I'VE HAD IT, AS MILLIONS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS HAVE HAD IT. WE NEED TO STOP THIS NOW, OR SAY GOODBYE TO THE US AS WE KNOW IT, FOREVER.

 MY MIND IS SET, ' I KNOW WHEN NOT TO COOPERATE.'  DO YOU?

 AT LEAST TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT IT, OUR COUNTRIES FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!

TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!
TARA

Posted by Tara ~ at 11:11 AM Links to this post

SHELL PEOPLE THEY CALL US

NAY DOSH

I dance for those who can't
I dance for those who've been here before and
for those to come.

With each step, each heartbeat
I'm one with the spirit.

This is the center of the universe,
a ceremony of world renewal.

It's close to dusk, the women are dressing their hair,
putting on their finest shells, laughing and smiling to
try and calm the butterflies, like their grandmothers before
them.

The sacred fires are built outside
as there is one for men and one for women.

The people are filling up the dance house,
waiting patiently for their grandchildren and relatives
to dance for them.

The medicine is burned to cleanse the dance house,
the people, the future generations.

The prayer song is given,
the men move to the rhythm of the music.
Then come the women to make the line complete.

We connect our arms, the men and the women,
the line is dancing all in time with the singer,
this is unity - at it's finest.

The dancers are praying with every step, every heartbeat
we dance for our ancestors, for the future generations and
for the new year.

The dancers shadows reflect the spirit of our ancestors,
as they are smiling with them, as the fire is burning,
wordless prayers are spoken and the abalone shells are
glistening all over this land.

Selene Rilatos - Siletz Nation

I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS

I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS

I KISSED THE STARS GOODNIGHT
LAID MY BODY ON THE GROUND
THE ATMOSPHERE SO PEACEFUL
NOT A SOUND AROUND
I REST MY HEAD UPON THE BED OF FALLEN LEAVES
THE MOONLITE CASTING SHADOWS
GLEEMING THRU THE TREES

I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS
THAT’S WHERE THE WORLD BEGINS AND ENDS FOR ME
I FEEL THE FRESHNESS OF THE CLOTHING OF THE EARTH
I SEE THE BEAUTY THAT WAS GIVEN FOR ME TO SEE

THE BIRDS AWAKE UPON THE BREAK OF DAWNS DAYLIGHT
TO POLISH OFF THE PEACEFUL DREAMS OF YESTERDAYS NIGHT
ALL ABOUT GATHER ABOUT TO WELCOME YOU TO THEIR OWN
AND EVERYWHERE IS FULL OF LIFE
WHEREVER YOU GO YOU’RE NOT ALONE

I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS
THAT’S WHERE THE WORLD BEGINS AND ENDS FOR ME
I FEEL THE FRESHNESS OF THE CLOTHING OF THE EARTH
I SEE THE BEAUTY THAT WAS GIVEN FOR ME TO SEE

AND I APPRECIATE THAT THIS PRECIOUS LAND WAS GIVEN TO ME

copyright M.AVERY 2005

AN OLD CREE SAYING

ONLY AFTER THE LAST TREE HAS BEEN CUT DOWN
ONLY AFTER THE LAST RIVER HAS BEEN POISONED
ONLY AFTER THE LAST FISH HAS BEEN CAUGHT
ONLY THEN,
WILL YOU FIND THAT MONEY CANNOT BE EATEN
CREE

THE ANCIENT ONE

The Ancient One

by Bearwalker

Ancient One sat in the shade of his tree in front of his cave. Red People came to him and he said to Red People, "Tell me your vision."

And Red People answered, "The elders have told us to pray in this manner, and that manner, and it is important that only we pray as we have been taught for this has been handed down to us by the elders."

"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.

Then Black People came to him and he said to Black People, "Tell me your vision."

And Black People answered, "Our mothers have said to go to this building and that building and pray in this manner and that manner. And our fathers have said to bow in this manner and that manner when we pray. And it is important that we do only this when we pray."

"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.

Then Yellow People came to him and he said to Yellow People, "Tell me your vision."

And Yellow People answered, "Our teachers have told us to sit in this manner and that manner and to say this thing and that thing when we pray. And it is important that we do only this when we pray."

"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.

Then White People came to him and he said to White People, "Tell me your vision."

And White People answered, "Our Book has told us to pray in this way and that way and to do this thing and that thing, and it is very important that we do this when we pray."

"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.

Then Ancient One spoke to the Earth and said, "Have you given the people a vision?" And the Earth said, "Yes, a special gift for each one, but the people were so busy speaking and arguing about which way is right they could not see the gift I gave each one of them." And the Ancient One asked same question of Water and Fire and Air and got the same answer. Then Ancient One asked Animal, and Bird, and Insect, and Tree, and Flower, and Sky, and Moon, and Sun, and Stars, and all of the other Spirits and each told him the same.

Ancient One thought this was very sad. He called Red People, Black People, Yellow People, and White People to him and said to them. "The ways taught to you by your Elders, and your Mothers and Fathers, and Teachers, and Books are sacred. It is good that you respect those ways, for they are the ways of your ancestors. But the ancestors no longer walk on the Face of the Earth Mother. You have forgotten your own Vision. Your Vision is right for you but no one else. Now each of you must pray for your own Visions, and be still enough to see them, so you can follow the way of the heart. It is a hard way. It is a good way.