The Red Road

"The Online Rez"

A collection of items shared with me that I feel are worth sharing with you....

From Bernie Granados Jr.

"the Warrior's Dance" embossed acrylic on canvas                         Bernie Granados Jr.

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 Native Bulletin Board

Message from sender: Since UCLA recently hosted Mr. Treuer, I thought you all would be interested. RH
 

If They're Lost, Who Are We?

By David Treuer

When we lose cultures, we lose American plurality -- the productive and lovely discomfort that true difference brings.

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

kayissta'pssiwa a'sitápi omahkai'stoo ótssko ómahkapi'si

Thank you, Frank

 

Poetry by Merlin Eagle

"Tatanka Ran All Day"

Tatanka ran all day today,

We chased them from sun to sun,

And yesterday half the tribe went fishing,

And everyone said they had fun.

The geese were flying so thick overhead,

We could take them shooting blind,

The people were all so happy

As they laughed and danced and dined.

All the men sat around after feasting.

We smoked and we told some tales,

We each had a favorite lesson;

Each spoke of his own chosen trails.

We were listening to the women singing,

And the rustle of insect wings,

The soft little murmur of the stream at our backs,

And the wind through the trees as it sings.

With the soft sweet grass beneath us

And above us the clear blue sky.

The whole world was just relaxing,

And watching it all go by.

Then a stranger came with hair on his face.

He seemed to appear like smoke.

We gazed at the light that came with him,

And listened to him as he spoke.

He told us about a pale people

With eyes of the sea and the sky.

Who would come too soon, and want too much,

And most of our people would die.

He said we must learn what the pale people know,

Before they'll respect what we say,

Or they'll spoil the Earth, 'till it's almost too late,

And rob the light from the day.

There are good and bad pale people, he said,

Though both will come in my name.

Many will not speak the truth, my friends,

And the Earth, they will not leave the same.

But you must learn to love them,

For every man is your brother.

Though they may be unwilling,

You all must help one another.

The pathway is all about learning.

No lesson is ever a waste.

The truth will always set you free,

And the bounties of Earth, you will taste.

It's important to prepare for this learning.

The old ways are soon not enough.

The pale ones have much to teach you,

Though the lessons are usually rough.

The old ways will serve all men one day,

When the truth is finally heard.

Until then, all that I can offer,

Is the comfort of my word.

Though familiar, when the stranger spoke it,

Warmth began to spread out from my heart.

It lasted all the days he stayed with us,

And taught us of his art.

He spoke it again the day he left

Then lifted up his eyes,

And the light that traveled with him

Seemed to carry him into the sky.

We had a council fire that night,

And we smoked upon his warning.

We smoked and talked the night away,

The fire burned 'till morning.

When the sun was up and the people had gathered

Wangbli Mazaska rose to speak,

But the night was long and Wangbli was old,

And his voice was very weak.

But then his face began to change,

It seemed as if it glowed.

He stood up straight and proud again.

His head no longer bowed.

He spoke with pride and eloquence

And the wisdom of his years,

And told us we must set aside

Our prejudice and fears.

If the pale ones come, in some distant time,

We must open our hearts and give.

In Wakantanka's land of plenty

There is room for all creatures to live.

For Tatanka ran all day yesterday

And the rivers are choked with fish.

Angpetu Wi still warms our days

For what more could we wish.

How much could the pale ones need

That the Earth does not provide?

We must teach all who will listen,

How to live in balance and pride.

The rest of us stood up beside him.

We all knew his words to be true.

Then he walked to the ridge with his head held high,

Dragging his robe in the dew.

We spoke of the stranger from time to time,

But memories slowly faded.

We always seemed to have enough,

Our appetites were sated.

And Tatanka ran all day today.

Soon the berries will be ripe.

Sit down here on this thick sweet grass,

We're about to pass the pipe.

"Tatanka Ran All Day"

Copyright 1992 by Merlin Eagle

All Rights Reserved.

Glossary of Lakota Words in Order of Appearance

Tatanka.............................................................Buffalo

Wangbli Mazaska..............................................Silver Eagle

Wangbli............................................................Eagle

Wakantanka.....................................................The Great Spirit

Angpetu Wi......................................................The Sun

Noani

Our horses foam with freedom,

Yet the rugged rocks foil our flight.

Our feet are bruised and bloody,

My weapons spoiled and spent.

Relentlessly, they salivate at our scent.

These bleached and bloated barbarians

Throats thick with thirst

For the blood of our race.

I look into your fragile face

And you share my knowledge.

They are many, and after my fall

You must not bear their lingering lust.

I cannot betray your trust.

A single shot as you look into my eyes

Forgiving as your weight grows in my arms

And the burden touches my heart.

The red smear spreads on the weaver's art.

A breath of wind stirs your hair.

I paint my face with your blood

As the dust turns to mud in my eyes.

Merlin Eagle

Copyright May, 1978

NOTES
My Life Is My Sun Dance

Prison Writings of LEONARD PELTIER

Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity.
But silence is impossible.
Silence screams.
Silence is a message,
Just as doing nothing is an act.

Let who you are ring out and resonate
in every word and every deed.
Yes, become who you are.
There's no sidestepping your own being
or your own responsibility.

What you do is who you are.
You are your own comeuppance.
You become your own message.

You are the message.

--Leonard Peltier

"Ride to Home" by Leonard Peltier
 

Words to Live by....

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.



Huna Prayer
by Max Freedom Long

If I have hurt someone today
With thought or word or deed,
Or failed another in his need,
I now repent.

If I can take those steps again,
Tomorrow will I make amends
And heal with love those hurts.
I do this pledge.

And if a hurt has struck me deep
And no amends are made,
I ask the light to balance all.
I count the debt as paid.

Parental Spirits whom I love,
And who I know love me,
Reach through the door I open wide.
Make clear my path to Thee.
 

Thank you, Raven Blue Wolf

        Granados Photo

THE END OF THE HOLLYWOOD TRAIL

by Hanay Geiogamah


In the wake of HBO' s disappointing and history-deranging adaptation of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, American Indian actors, writers, aspiring directors and producers arrive at the end of the trail for their decades-long struggle to gain a footing in Hollywood: our cause is lost in the American film and television industry.
It is now time for us to abandon our stake in the Hollywood camp, this distressed outpost, now time for us to gather on the open beach at Santa Monica and there bury in the sand our hopes for participation and inclusion, then head out of town with our heads held a high as we can hold them. We will be better off re-locating our work back to the reservations, to the tribal communities and scattered remnants of land allotments that were given to us in treaties with the United States government over a hundred years ago in the epic tragedy which Dee Brown described so vividly and thoroughly in his iconic history. And there, hopefully safe from the misbegotten creative and economic forces of the industry, we must knuckle down and produce our own films, our own television dramas, write our own accounts of our history, and present them in images that we create and that we will control. We have an audience of two million American Indians waiting.
With Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, the power brokers of the industry have demonstrated that their entertainment values and demands prevail over anything we say or do, write or create, that our history is for them to tell, to fictionalize, to distort with false love stories and character portrayals, and to trivialize all that is complex and tragic. HBO did not ask for or seek the help and guidance of any of the experienced American Indian creative professionals who might have helped steer them away from this debacle. Yes, Indian actors played the Indians, but that was all.
With breathtaking arrogance, Bury My Heart's narrative forcibly inducts American Indians into the brotherhood of savagery as a way of universalizing them and making them like all other people.
Genocide is dramatized as just as much the result of the mean-spirited and physically cruel behavior of American Indians, who were fighting for their very survival, as it was of the inhumanity of the American armies. The last shreds of Indian nobility are eliminated once and for all.
A feature article on the making of Bury My Heart titled "The Last Stand" in the May 27 Los Angeles Times gives a brief, perplexing account of how Hollywood came to the view that American Indians can now be justly and fairly seen as co-agents of their own destruction. As a two-hour condensation of the book, "The film didn't have time to dwell on the spiritual, Earth-friendly image of Native Americans," says the article's author, Graham Fuller. "Nor does it offer a politically correct perspective," he adds. The Sioux, we're told, were "as rapacious as their white conquerers."
This view is scaldingly laid out with the portrayal of Sitting Bull as a baby killer, as a coward who hid in his tipi at the height of the Battle of Little Bighorn, and as a greedy buffoon who lusts for the white man's money and approval.
The scriptwriter, Daniel Giat, confidently tells The Times, "My primary objective was to fully dimensionalize these people. Sitting Bull was vain. He was desperate to hold onto the esteem of his people and win the esteem of the whites. But I think in depicting his desperation and the measures he took in acting on it, it makes it all the more sad and tragic, and I think we identify with him all the more for it."
To complete this grim, determined view, the film presents every Indian cliche imaginable in graphic, full-bodied images without context or explanation: brutal scalpings; stoic, saddened faces of Indian elders; sick, dying babies; herds of wild horses surging across open prairies; vast armies of Indian warriors mounted along high vistas; war ponies being ceremonially painted; desperate ghost dancers, and heartless Indian agents and schoolteachers. We've seen them all far too many times
And to all of this, unbelievably, the article tells us, "The passel of Lakota and other Indian consultants hired for the project obviously didn't object too strenuously." No credible American Indian historians, scholars or film makers are quoted in The Times article. I was astonished to see the names of two highly respected scholars and historians listed in the film's credit crawl and was grateful that this embarrassment for them would not be seen by many.
As students in the early 1970s, members of my generation of American Indians carried paperback copies of Bury My Heart in our backpacks as talismans of hope. Thirty-seven years later, we must sadly accept that HBO, the avatar of original television programming and creative innovation, has failed to deliver a truthful, even recognizable telling of Dee Brown's history. The more cynical among us back then forecast that this would happen, and, alas....
By letting go of our Hollywood dreams, we American Indians can take control of our stories and images and establish creative sovereignty. Affordable digital cameras and production equipment and scripts written by the Indian writers whom Hollywood rejected and left blowing in the wind will help us to become free and independent tellers our our own stories. The failure of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee urgently tells us that we must, must do this. Aho, thank you.

Hanay Geiogamah
Professor of Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Director, UCLA American Indian Studies Center
323/463-1914
hgeiog@ucla.edu
 

 Painting by Frank Mitchell

Who Said This?

Dear.....fellow Americans/ souls of this earth.

“It is not a day for politics. This one opportunity, my only event of today, to speak briefly to you about the mindless menace of violence in America, which again stains our land and everyone of our lives. It is not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown.
They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed. No one, no matter where he lives or what he does can be certain who next will suffer from senseless act of bloodshed. And yet it goes on and on and in this country of ours.
WHY?
What has violence ever accomplished?
What has it ever created?
Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily, whether it is done in the name of the law or in defiance of the law by one man or by a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence, whenever we tear at the fabric of our lives which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, whenever we do this, then the whole Nation is degraded.
Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike.
Too often, we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force.
Too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of other human beings. But this is clear: VIOLENCE BREEDS VIOLENCE; repression breeds retaliation, and only a cleansing of our whole society can remove this sickness from our souls. For when you teach a man to hate and to fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies that he pursues…when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your home or family, then you also learn to confront others, not as fellow citizens but as enemies to be met not with cooperation, but with conquest, to be subjected and to be mastered.
We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, Alien men with whom we share a city, but not a community.
Men bound to us in common dwelling but not in a common effort.
We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force.
Our lives on this planet are too short, the work to be done is too great to let the spirit flourish any longer in this land of ours.
Of course, we cannot banish it with a program nor with a resolution…
But perhaps remember if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moments of life, that they seek, as do we,
nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment that they can.
Surely, this bond of common fate, surely, this bond of common goals can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at the least,
To look around at those of us, of our fellow men, and surely, we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become, in our hearts, brothers and countrymen once again.
BOBBY KENNEDY: 1968
And look at us now…how sad, how very sad.
In the world I live in, I am surrounded by violence. I have hated violence since birth but admit in some ways I have been socialized into participating in it….regrettably….even if it is in self defense Violence to me can be verbal for as they say “the pen is mightier than the sword” I also find violence in words as they can wound or even kill a person to an extent Physically, Mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Verbal abuse sometimes feels like a knife in the back but the wound sometimes heals slower. I write about violence because it seems that the world has embraced it and I cannot find a place of peace. Even if such a place existed Knowing that violence went on would lend itself to my inability to find peace. I am not one who can close a blind eye to the violence in America nor the world. My spirit or soul is even unhappy with nature although I love it's beauty in nature there is violence, something must die for something to live and this too to me is violence.
Neglect too can be violent as in every 5 minutes a child dies of hunger and I find this violent too. People in this wealthy country die daily because they are not provided with medical care. I saw a movie recently about 1968.That is nearly 40 years ago but the speech made in 1968 only drove home, what I dislike…VIOLENCE.

 

How can people be so heartless
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold

How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no

And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who care about evil
And social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend

How can people be so heartless
You know I'm hung up on you
Easy to give in
Easy to help out

And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who say they care about social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend

How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no

Peaceful...awaiting re-birth/

Peace, Frank Mitchell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong. "
 

Chief Dan George
" Love is perfected in forgiveness, matures in knowledge, lives in tolerance and is nourished by understanding and charity. There isn't love without compassion"
"When a man meets a force he cannot destroy, he destroys himself"

TWO WOLVES



This is the best I have ever heard it explained!


One evening an old Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grand son thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Submitted by Merlin Eagle
 

Message from the Hopi Elders


 You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.

 Now you must go back and tell people that THIS is the hour.

 And there are things to be considered:

 Where are you living?

 What are you doing?

 What are your relationships?

 Are you in right relation?

 Where is your water?

 Know your garden.

 It is time to speak your truth.

 Create your community.

 Be good to each other.

 And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

 This could be a good time!

 There is a river flowing now very fast.

 It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.

 They will try to hold onto the shore.

 They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

 Know the river has its destination.

 The elders say we must let go of the shore,

 Push off into the river.

 Keep our eyes open,

 And our heads above the water.

 See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally,

 Least of all ourselves.

 For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey

 Comes to a halt.

 The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!

 Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.

 All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.


 We are the One’s we’ve been waiting for.

 
 The Elders

 Oraibi, Arizona

 Hopi Nation
 

Hopi Elders Say Earth Changes Are Upon Us

by Simon Hunt



During the past week there have been a few events that deserve our

attention, thought, and examination.



In an unprecedented and totally unexpected way, Hopi Elders for the

first time in history have openly shared their sacred, and

heretofore secret prophecies with the world. Robert Ghost Wolf, noted

Native

American Prophet and author, arranged for two Hopi Elders to appear

for three hours on the nationally aired Art Bell show (out of

Pahrump, NV) and freely discuss their sacred, and heretofore secret

prophecies. It has been said by many who have had limited access to

the prophecies in the past, that the Hopi prophecies of the coming

earth changes are among the most ancient and accurate available. The

Elders have come forth at this time because they believe that we

have passed the point of no return and major changes are imminent,

beginning within the next few months. It is their hope to "soften"

the effects by appealing to all to return to a simpler, more

spiritual way of life.



Last month at Spiritual Endeavours (and returning again this coming

month) noted author, environmentalist, and channeller, Rev. Fred

Sterling carried much the same message. Rev. Sterling

emphasized that "The Great Shift" has already begun. It is happening

now. In other related recent events, Gordon Michael Scallion, Robert

Ghost Wolf, and other modern day prophets began predicting major

Earth Changes, especially noticeable in the state of California

among other places, beginning this summer. And now the Hopi Elders

have gone on national radio with the same message.



So, the Earth is changing? The Great Shift is upon us? What is one

to do? I offer the following in reply.



First of all, if you are in denial - get over it. Open up your eyes.

Take a look around. How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Perhaps it's a little different than it's ever been for your

locality? Try to find out what's really going on. You wont find out

by watching Hard Copy, or even the Evening News. You'll have to get

away from the latest political scandal of who is sleeping with whom

and dig just a little deeper to find the things of real importance.



Did you know that tornadoes have been spotted, for the first time in

history, that are spinning the wrong way?



Did you know that there are places in Mexico where the ground

temperature is heating up in excess of 200 degrees?



Did you know that during a seven day period in early June there were

772 earthquakes recorded on the California - Nevada border near

Mammoth Lake? (Gordon Michael Scallion and others are predicting a

volcanic eruption there this summer.)



Did you know that on May 31st, the jet stream (an extremely fast

wind current that flows through the upper atmosphere) touched ground

for the first time in recorded history?



Did you know that all over North America, migratory birds have

stopped returning to their nesting grounds? And that salmon are no

longer returning to their spawning grounds? And indigenous tribes

throughout the world have stopped having children?



Okay, so much for denial. Once you accept that change is happening,

LET GO OF FEAR. Realize that it is a time of change and not

necessarily a time of fear. Fear clouds good judgment and puts

heavy blocks between the inner intuition, which will be so important

during this time, and your conscious mind. The earth changing will

not kill you; it changes all the time! But fear, denial, and not

being open to your Inner Self and your intuition may.



Once accepted, and FEAR IS NOT AN ISSUE, investigate. Learn all you

can about what is happening. The Internet can be an invaluable tool

here. For the price of a VCR you can now interact with the

world on intimate terms from your living room or office. Through the

Internet, you'll be able to discover what you'll never hear on the

six o'clock news. You will no longer be at the mercy of news

programs governed and determined by entertainment ratings. . .



. . . A word of caution may be helpful when you begin your

investigating. When one steps out from under the umbrella of

mainstream media and begins to learn what is really happening in the

world, there is often the tendency towards anger. "Why hasn't anyone

told me this before?" "Why isn't this on the News?" "There's a

conspiracy going on to keep us in the dark!" My advice here is to

let it pass. Finding out who's responsible and the inner workings of

the

government or large conglomerate corporations is a tangent that will

not only waste time, but probably lead you into deeper anger and

fear and further away from love and truth.



Instead, take the path advised by the Hopi Elders and offered to the

world on June 15 over national radio. Rediscover your

spirituality. "If you change now, and change your life around, it

will help in the alleviation of much of the terrible outcome from

the cataclysms. There is a lot in store for all of us. And the

intensity

of this will be a lot less if we can all settle down and behave, and

not be in the actions that we are right now." The Hopi Elder went on

to explain that it makes no difference whether your

spirituality falls in line with an organized philosophy or religion,

or if it is something that you have come up with and practice on

your own. "Practice your spirituality, whatever it may be, like you

have never practiced it before." And realize that your consciousness

affects the outcome. Your consciousness affects everything. Realize

that your thoughts, words and actions of today contribute to what

the world will be like tomorrow.



There you have it. Four easy steps to surviving the earth changes

and all the prophecies. Keep your eyes open. Let go of fear.

Learn all you can. Live your spirituality.

It all sounds pretty simple. It almost sounds like it could even be

fun.

And that's a very important point to keep in mind. Fun.



True spirituality is fun. Very big fun. Joy is probably a better

word; bliss perhaps even better. If your spiritual path is not

leading you on a path of joy, I would suggest that it's perhaps time

to start shopping around. I have come to the understanding (and it

has taken a lot of sorrow to get here) that experiencing joy is the

most spiritual thing that one can do in the course of their day. Joy

is infectious. It changes and charges the very air that you walk

through. It lightens the hearts of those around you. And in these

troubled times I can think of no better healing energy to saturate

the Earth with. Joy! Why not take a few moments during each day just

to pause and think of something that makes you very happy? Try it.

You'll like it. It might even become a habit.



Well, I guess there's only one more point that need to be addressed

here. It's usually the position adopted by most sceptics and those

in denial as a justification for their position. "What if the Hopi

Elders are wrong?"" What if Gordon Michael Scallion, Robert Ghost

Wolf, Edgar Cayce, and all those other modern day prophets are

wrong?



What if the weather changes back to the way it has been in

the past? What if the birds, and the fish and babies come back? What

if there are no big earth changes? What if absolutely nothing

happens at all?



To this I can only reply, "Wouldn't that be nice?" We'd all be able

to breathe a collective sigh of relief and joy, take a look around

at the Heaven we've created here on Earth, and take great satisfaction

in the fact that we didn't have to go through Hell to get there.

Yes indeed, "WOULDN'T THAT BE NICE?"



Simon Hunt....
ONLY LOVE PREVAILS

More Hopi Prophecies from Wovoca.com
 

Excerpts of Ghost Dance Songs

Sioux
Kiowa
Paiute
Promise, Fulfillment,
and Thanks

Sent to me by Raven Blue Wolf, a.k.a. Frank Mitchell.

A Sioux Sequence

THE FATHER COMES SINGING
There is the father coming,
There is the father coming.
The father says this as he comes,
The father says this as he comes,
"You shall live," he says as he comes,
"You shall live," 'he says as he comes.

HE PROMISES REUNION
The father says so-Eyayó !
The father says so-Eyayó !
The father says so.
The father says so.
You shall see your grandfather-Eyayó !
You shall see your grandfather-Eyayó !
The father says so,
The father says so,
You shall see your kindred-Eyayó !
You shall see your kindred-Eyayó !
The father says so,
The father says so.

PEACE AND TRUTH WILL RETURN
My son, let me grasp your hand,
My son, let me grasp your hand,
Says the father,
Says the father.
You shall live,
You shall live,
Says the father,
Says the father.

I bring you a pipe,
I bring you a pipe,
Says the father,
Says the father.
By means of it you shall live,
By means of It you shall live,
Says the father,
Says the father.

MEN WILL LIVE AS THEY SHOULD
I love my children - Ye'ye' !
I love my children - Ye'ye'!
You shall grow to be a nation - Ye'ye'!
You shall grow to be a nation - Ye'ye'l
Says the father, says the father,
Haye'ye' Eyayo'yo'! Haye'ye' Eyayo'yo!

THE LAND VALL BE FRUITFUL AGAIN
This is to be my work - Yo'yoyo'!
This is to be my work- Yo'yoyo'!
All that grows upon the earth is mine - Yo'yoyo' !
All that grows upon the earth is mine - Yo'yoyo' !
Says the father - Yo'yoyo'!
Says the father - Yo'yoyo'!
Eya Yo'yoyo'!
Eya Yo'yoyo' !

MY GREAT GIFTS ARE LIFE AND PEACE
It is I who make these sacred things,
Says the father, says the father.
It is I who make the sacred shirt,
Says the father, Says the father.
It is I who made the pipe.
Says the father, says the father,

THE POWER OF THE FATHER IS AWESOME
You see what I can do - Ye'yeye'!
You see what I can do - Ye'yeye' !
You see them, you see them,
Ha'eye'ya heyeye! Ha'eye'ya he'yeye!

In Faith and in Wind

A Kiowa Sequence

THE WAY IT WILL HAPPEN; PRAY TO
SPEED THE DAY
The father will descend,
The father will descend.
The earth will tremble,
The earth will tremble.
Everybody will arise,
Everybody will arise.
Stretch out your hands.
Stretch out your hands.

IT WILL BE THE WORK OF THE FATHER. NOT MAN
The spirit army is approaching,
The spirit army is approaching.
The whole world is moving onward,
The whole world is moving onward,
See! Everybody is standing watching,
See! Everybody is standing watching.
Let us all pray,
Let us all pray,

THE FATHER WILL PITY THE LEAST ONE
My father has much pity for us,
My father has much Pity for us,
I hold out my hands toward him and cry,
I hold out my hands toward him and cry.
In my Poverty I hold out my hands toward him and cry,
In my poverty I hold out my hands toward him and cry.

THE LEAST SHARE HIS COMPASSION
Heye' heye' heye' hey' Aho'ho!
Heye' heye' heye' hey' Aho'ho!
Because I am poor,
Because I am poor,
I pray for every living creature,
I pray for every living creature,
Ao'ri yo ! Ao ri yo !

THE OLD WAYS WILL RETURN
He makes me dance with arrows,
He makes me dance with arrows,
He calls the bow my father,
He calls the bow my father,
Grandmother, persevere,
Grandmother, persevere,

I TRUST IT IS HAPPENING
The spirit host is advancing, they say,
The spirit host is advancing, they say.
They are coming with the buffalo, they say,
They am coming with the buffalo, they say,
They are coming with the (new) earth, they say,
They are coming with the (new) earth, they say.

AND I WAIT WITH THE WIND AND MY FAITH
The wind, that wind
Shakes my tipi, shakes my tipi,
And sings a song for me.
And sings a song for me.

A Paiute Sequence

INCANTATION TO NATURE TO REJOIN MAN
Fog ! Fog !
Lightningl Lightningl
Whirlwind! Whirlwind!

WIND RISES FIRST IN THE HIGH PLACES
There is dust from the whirlwind,
There is dust from the whirlwind,
There is dust from the whirlwind,
The whirlwind on the mountain,
The whirlwind on the mountain,
The whirlwind on the mountain.

THEN IT VIBRATES IN ROCKS
The rocks are ringing,
The rocks are ringing,
The rocks are ringing,
They are ringing in the mountains,
They are ringing in the mountains,
They are ringing in the mountains..

AND IT BREAKS THEIR RESISTANCE
The black rock, the black rock,
The black rock, the black rock.
The rock is broken, the rock is broken,
The rock is broken, the rock is broken.

WITH THE SPEED OF WIND, AS CONCEALING AS SNOW, NEW EARTH COVERS THE OLD
The whirlwind! The whirlwind!
The whirlwind! The whirlwind!
The snowy earth comes gliding, the snowy earth
comes gliding;
The snowy earth comes gliding, the snowy earth
comes gliding.

NEW GROWTH COVERS NEW EARTH
The cottonwoods are growing tall,
The cottonwoods are growing tall,
The cottonwoods are growing tall.
They are growing call and verdant,
They are growing tall and verdant,
They are growing tall and verdant.

ALL CREATURES AGAIN SHARE THE EARTH IN THEIR JOY
A slender antelope, a slender antelope,
A slender antelope, a slender antelope,
He is wallowing he upon the ground,
He is wallowing upon the ground,
He to Wallowing upon the ground,
He is wallowing upon the ground.

"A MAN is only as good as his word"
Promises are too many times broken in this 21st century.
I am naive in trusting people but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.
RavenBlueWolf Osda GolanvSagonigeiWaya
The ancient Tsalagi (Cherokee)

Legend of the Atsina
Tlugv (Cedar Tree)? 

 The story says that people,
wanting to get the most out of life, asked the Creator
to make it day all the time.  In love the Creator
granted their request.  People worked endlessly in
their gardens and it turned hot, very hot.  They found
it difficult to sleep and they became angry and fought
amongst one another.  When they realized their mistake
they cried out to the Creator to make it night all the
time.  Again, with love and generosity the Creator
granted their request, even though there were doubts
about it.  It turned cold, the crops stopped growing
and many of the people became sick and died.  Again,
the people cried out and asked that the Creator make
it day and night as before.  Everything returned to
normal, as the Creator had intended in the beginning,
and the people treasured every day and rested every
night, knowing the wisdom of creation and the law of
twos.  The Creator was sad that so many had died and
so he took their spirits and placed them in a tree,
the atsina tlugv.  Many Tsalagi, to this day, know
that when they look on that tree they are looking on
their ancestors.

 Frank Mitchell

Regarding Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto":

The movie, "Apolcalypto", (according to the NY Post, a movie about
human sacrifice among the ancient Maya) is about to premiere tonight
at Chickasaw Nation's River Wind Casino amidst Hollywood-style
hoopla. Oklahoma Indian actors have been wooed by Mel Gibson and are
about to make a big splash on the big screen with potential for even
bigger and better roles for Natives in film.

I understand Gibson's claim that the movie is about a society's
excesses and the costs of war (the movie has also been billed as an
anti-war film). I can stand with him on those aspects.

But what message is "Apocalypto" really sending about Native peoples
of Mexico and Central America? This is but one thing we Indian people
in the North must consider and question before we jump on Gibson's
bandwagon.

I have been to Central America. I have visited the Maya in their
homes where I saw mountains of beautiful fruits and vegetables being
grown, not for the Mayas' consumption, but for export, most likely to
the U.S. The Maya could not eat those fruits of their labor. They
cannot afford to. In the village I visited, the Maya shared a
communal kitchen where most days the women cooked meals of beans and
tortillas because that is what the family's hard labor in the fields
afford them.

I heard the cries of women whose husbands had been "disappeared" and
murdered by government troops or by paramilitaries. In Guatemala they
are struggling to recover after almost 40 years of civil war incited
by the 1954 U.S. CIA overthrow of a democratic government
subsequently wiping from the face of the earth 140 Mayan villages.
The Maya fled to bordering countries and some were held in death
camps for removal, much like our own ancestors' Trails of Tears. This
is contemporary history! Today! Intertwined with our own!

No, the extreme impoverished lives most Mayans live are not due to
the "excesses of their ancestors," as stated in an ABC segment with
Mel Gibson about "Apocalypto," but rather to the same
institutionalized racism of church, military, and government, which
could not even recognize our own Indian ancestors as human,
justifying their wholesale slaughter, Christian conversion via
boarding schools, and the taking of our lands.

Before we rush to pat Gibson on the back we should understand that
the same religious, government, military, and corporate institutions
who systematically conspired to take our lands and destroy our
culture here in the North, also have had a hand in the demise of the
ancient and contemporary Maya people. When the Spaniards invaded
Central America in the 16th century, ancient Maya texts were burned
so that the people would forget their history and a new history, more
palatable to Europeans, could replace it.

Because my community work gives me the opportunity to occasionally
network with Indigenous peoples from below the imposed U.S. border
with Mexico, I have been made aware that some Maya people are not
happy with this film. This pretty much answers the question why Mr.
Gibson chose to hire North American Indians, making it necessary to
teach them a Mayan language, when if the film was thought to be
welcomed by the Maya, he could have hired Maya people since the film
was made in their territories.

As with our own struggles here in the North, Indigenous peoples in
Mexico, Central, and South America are still struggling to regain
their languages, cultures, and to protect and maintain their lands.
How will a film, which depicts the Maya as blood-thirsty primitives,
impact their work, their lives, their image, our perception of them?
What impacts will that portrayal have on the people in power who have
an obligation to make policy for the Maya in Mexico or Guatemala, or
elsewhere in Central America, where most policy is implemented at the
business end of a gun?

So, because we have a genetic, cultural, and historical relationship
with all the peoples of Turtle Island, we have an obligation to view
this film with discerning eyes and a critical mind. Since the movie
is done and will premiere nationally next Friday, we can use this as
an opportunity for consciousness-raising and education about our
commonalities with the Indigenous peoples from below the border.

For instance, do you know that in some of those countries Indigenous
peoples comprise 40-80% of the population? In the case of the Maya, a
lot if not most, speak Maya as their first language. The women still
dress in the traditional huipil. In Chiapas, where the Maya
communities are occupied by the Mexican government (with aid from the
U.S.), a large part of the region's resources are sucked out from
under the Mayas' feet to generate electrical power for the rest of
the country while the Chiapas Maya live without running water or
electricity.
The atrocities against the Maya are not of their own making. Christian
conversion is not the cure (also implied by the ABC piece), for if
that were true their struggle would not be ongoing today since they
have been invaded by missionaries for 500+ years.

We should remember, if we haven't already recognized, that some of
the Brown people coming across the lower border as "illegals" are
probably Maya as well as descendants of other Native Nations. To
justify atrocities against Native peoples, (and to manipulate the
citizenry into looking the other way) the elite have historically
sought ways to portray us as less than human.

The Mayan peoples of Central America are still caught in the cross-
fires of war as are many Indigenous communities throughout "Latin
America." Please take this occasion to research the School of the
Americas where torture was (is) taught to Latin American military
(and others from around the world) and carried out against Indigenous
peoples such as the Maya. It will profoundly affect you.

Let's make this an opportunity to learn more about
contemporary Mayan struggles as well as the current struggles of
Indian communities throughout the Americas. They are among the
thousands of Indigenous peoples who are going to the international
community to seek redress for their grievances.

As we watch this new movie we are obligated to do so
with an informed mind. Our history is the Mayan history.

JK Dowell
Founder/Director
Eagle and Condor Indigenous Peoples' Alliance
Tahlequah, OK
http://www.7genfund.org/aff-eag-con-ind.html

YOUNG BRAVES SHOUTING

WAR CRIES

REVERBERATIONS, ECHOES

THE ANCIENT SONGS

THE MORNING MIST, LIFTING UP

JOINING THE CHANT

OF THE ANCIENT FATHERS

THEIR PURE MEDICINES

THE AGE-OLD REMEDIES

WARRIOR'S HEARTS

STANDING TRUE

AND THE HEAVENS WATCHED

AS THE AGE OF THE ONENESS

OF MAN AND EARTH

PASSED UPON THE PLAINS.

NOW ONLY SUFFERING

AND PAIN REMAIN

MAN'S TREK THROUGH DARKNESS

IN A QUEST FOR LIGHT

LEAVING SCARS AND DESOLATION

ALONG THE LOST WAY

SEEMING ALMOST HOPELESS

YET HOPE, THE THREAD

CLINGING TENACIOUSLY,

TO THAT FRAGILE MAN-CREATURE

NEVER GIVING UP

IN A FUTURE, NOT QUITE AS DISTANT

AS WHEN THE RED FATHERS

WERE TO EXPERIENCE LIFE

WITHOUT THE FREEDOM OF THE STARS

SEEING THE LINEAGE OF AGES

AMIDST GENOCIDAL RAGE

SEEING BLIND HATE IN COMMAND

MEN'S MINDS GONE DEAD

AMIDST WRITHING AGONY

THE FACING OF THE UNKNOWN

THAT FAINT GLIMMER

SHINING THROUGH

BECKONING THE SPIRIT

OF ALL MEN, TO PERSEVERE

IN THAT QUEST FOR ENLIGHTENMENT

WAITING FOR THE AWAKENING

JOINING THE CHANT

WITH THE ANCIENT FATHERS.

COPYRIGHT BERNIE GRANADOS JR. WRITTEN 11-04-81

DAWN

I'VE OFTIMES CONSIDERED

THAT AWESOME SILENT SPLENDOR

OF CRISP, COLD, FIRST LIGHT

DWINDLING STARS,

MAKING HASTE THEIR DEPARTURE

THE EARLY STIRRINGS OF A NEW DAY

THE BIRDS INTONE A NEW SONG

FAR FROM NECROPOLIS.

COPYRIGHT BERNIE GRANADOS JR. WRITTEN 01-28-78

NATIVE AMERICAN CODE OF ETHICS
By Terri Jean, author, advocate, lecturer



1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone; pray often, The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

 

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

 

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

 

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

 

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

 6. Respect all things that are placed upon earth - whether it is people or plant.

 

7. Honor other people's thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them.

 

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

 

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

 

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

 

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

 

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

 

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

 

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

 

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self and Physical self all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

 

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

 

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others, especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

 

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

 

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

 

20. Share your good fortune with others.

MAY THE GREAT SPIRIT SMILE DOWN ON YOU AND KEEP YOU AND YOURS SAFE

 

MAY THE TRAIL RISE UP TO MEET YOU

 

MAY THE WIND BE ALWAYS AT YOUR BACK

 

MAY THE SUNSHINE WARM UPON YOUR FACE

 

MAY THE RAIN FALL SOFT UPON YOUR FIELDS

 

AND UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN...MAY THE GREAT SPIRIT HOLD YOU IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND

 

MAY YOU ALWAYS WALK IN BEAUTY...