UPCOMING EVENTS
The
Gathering of the Peacemakers:
Healing Santa Cruz With One Love
Santa Cruz, California - Labor Day - September 04, 2006
Free Admission! Click on poster for more info
San Lorenzo River Park in downtown Santa Cruz, California on
Labor Day. Native American elders, Tibetan monks, religious leaders and local
teachers of love. Performances by local and
internationally-known conscious artists whose message reinforces our own.
Already Grammy-award nominee reggae artist Luciano and recording artist
Mikey General to perform. All
speakers and performers donate their time and talent for free. We believe that if the peacemakers - those
people teaching love in the community - can gather together and revitalize
each other as well as encourage others to join them as peacemakers, they can
have a positive effect on the entire community manifesting in lower crime,
drug abuse, domestic abuse, etc. We encourage each person to heal the small
piece of the planet the Creator has assigned them by simply loving and
forgiving as much as they can.
roskind@boone.net
Quinault Nation Hosts Eighth Annual Indian Tourism Conference
Featuring Best
Practice Workshops, Networking and Trade Show
Ocean Shores, Washington
September 17-20, 2006
The American Indian
Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) will hold their
annual Indian Country tourism development and promotion
conference at the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino September
17-20, 2006. Hundreds of tourism and economic development
professionals are expected to converge this year at Ocean Shores
to participate in a discussion of Indian Country tourism best
business practices.
More information on the conference and
how to register is available at
www.aianta.org or by calling Gloria Cobb at (715)
588-3324.
Read More...
Manataka Fall Gathering - "Time of Harvest
and Renewal"
October 20 - 22, 2006
Bald Eagle Mountain Park and Campgrounds
Hot Springs, AR
Read
More....
Bridging the
Americas - Reuniting the Eagle and the Condor
Gathering of The Elders at Lake Titicaca, Peru
March 19 – 23, 2007
“When the Eagle once again
flies with the Condor, a lasting peace will reign in the
Americas and will spread throughout the world to unite
humanity.”
Legends state that Aramu Muru assisted many Native American
tribes after they arrived in Peru during the time of the
destructions of Mu and the Old Red Land (Atlantis). He then
united these tribes into a very advanced culture that proceeded
to build many of the towering megalithic temples that still
adorn the landscape of Peru today. Although most of us have
forgotten our past connections, the spirit of Aramu Muru has
never left us, and he continues to watch over all the Americas
from his Illumination Temple located above Lake Titicaca.
Moreover, the great Solar Disc of Mu is also said to still
continue to exist and is currently located on the bottom of the
sacred lake. Since1992, when the Pachacuti or “World
Transformation” anciently prophesied by the Incas first
commenced, Aramu Muru and the Illumination Temple have made
their presence known again and the Solar Disc has begun
emanating powerful streams of spiritual light that will
eventually unite the Americas and uplift the entire world. Soon
the prophecy will be complete; the Eagles (North America) will
reunite with the Condors (South America) and the tribes will
once again become one. Join us on the Spring Equinox of 2007 at
Lake Titicaca as we connect with our ancient past, reunite the
tribes, and help fulfill the sacred destiny of the Americas.
Contact the Institute for Cultural Awareness. 928-646-3000
http://www.ica8.org
info@earthdance8.org
SEE MORE NON-POWWOW EVENTS HERE
2006 POWWOW NOW CALENDAR - LARGEST ON
THE WEB
 |
 SACRED SEX
by Magdala Ramirez
Sacred Sex - Ancient
Teachings for Women is a book about the emerging of the
feminine that is taking place today all over the world.
The women are truly creating the new world. And as this
new world is created, the women are in need of the
ancient wisdom that holds the understanding of the
sacredness of the feminine and the knowledge of how the
women must understand and embrace their divinity. Sex is
the door from which human beings entered into this
realm, and the way to move on is to become one again
within the self. Sacred love is the way of becoming one
with the self - uniting both the feminine and masculine
sides of yourself. We have waited a long time for this
book to be written and for this story to be told. When
the feminine was hidden, the human beings could not find
that part of themselves to create this sacred bonding.
Now, with the emerging of the feminine, human beings can
embrace love as the bonding, making the inside self and
the outside self the same. Peace can be brought into the
world. Soft Cover, 190 pages, ISBN: 1419639242
|
Inspiration
THE COLLECTOR
By Marilyn L. Kish
Mason
People collect the most curious
things,
Such as thimbles and spoons, old
toys and rings,
An assortment of dishes that are packed up in boxes,
With old stamps and rare coins and pocket watches.
There are buttons and bows and
pictures galore,
Their house is soon full, but they keep buying more.
But where is the joy their
possessions should bring,
When they fill up their lives with such trivial things?
I know a man, who boasts of no
solid gold pens,
His contentment is found in gathering friends.
His worth is not measured by what he may own,
He gives of himself and will always be known,
As a man of kindness and deep
affection,
And we are blessed to be part of his collection.
Submitted by Sheri
Awi Anida Waya Burnett
MANATAKA.ORG
WEBSITE JULY UPDATES
REPRINT
George Carlin on Indians…
Now
the Indians. I call them “Indians” because that's what they are.
They're Indians. There's nothing wrong with the word Indian.
First of all, it's important to know that the word Indian does not
derive from Columbus mistakenly believing he had reached “India.”
India was not even called by that name in 1492 - it was known as
Hindustan.
The
word Indian comes from Columbus' description of the people he found
here. He was an Italian, and did not speak or write very good Spanish, so in
his written accounts he called the Indians, “Una gente in Dios.” “A people
in God.” In God. In Dios. Indians. It's a perfectly noble and respectable
word.
As far as calling them “Americans”
is concerned, do I even have to point out what an insult this is? We occupy
their hemisphere, kill sixty to a hundred million or so of them, destroy
five hundred separate cultures, herd the survivors onto the worst land we
can find - and now we want to name them after ourselves? It's appalling.
Haven't we done enough damage? Do we have to further degrade them by tagging
them with the repulsive name of their conquerors? But are they really
“conquered?!” What about the ones still here – are they chopped liver!?
You know, you'd think it would be a fairly simple thing to come over to this
continent, commit genocide, eliminate the forests, dam up the rivers, build
our malls and massage parlors, sell our blenders and whoopee cushions,
poison ourselves with chemicals, and let it go at that. But no. We have to
compound the insult!
I'm glad the Indians have gambling casinos now. It makes me happy that
dimwitted white people are losing their rent money to the Indians. Maybe the
Indians will get lucky and win their country back. Probably wouldn't want
it. Look at what we did to it.
Submitted by Scott Treaty
Eco-Notes:
Healing Homes
Submitted by Lori Leah Zack
Janus
Welton, Eco-Architect, discusses Healthy Building Design
Principles utilizing the concept of Bau-Biologie (Building Biology)
************************************************************************************
ECOLOGY-Healthy
Building Design Principles
Indoor
Air Pollution The Problem:
Until 25 years ago- indoor air pollution was a limited phenomena.
Two things have basically changed to contribute to this increasing
health problem.
- First of all, thousands of chemicals and plastics have been
incorporated into building materials since WWII.
- And secondly, Since the Energy crisis of the 70's , super-
insulated and sealed buildings were built with the intention of
energy efficiency, and could not "breathe" out the chemicals and in
with the fresh air.
The Solution: Two basic Schools of Thought have arisen to solve
Indoor air pollution.
- The first concept known as isolation and filtering is best applied
to isolate from a toxic outdoor world. There are some people with
such severe health problems living in areas where the outdoor
pollution is magnified where this technique makes a good deal of
sense. The concept is to eliminate the pollutants from the building
envelope and seal the building tightly from within. Then clean ,
filtered air is mechanically pumped in -keeping the structure under
slightly positive pressure to control air infiltration.
-
The second concept has been the natural and historic approach in
indigenous buildings through-out the world. This has also been
re-introduced and popularized by the German Bau-Biologie (Meaning
literally Building Biology) movement. In this approach, the building
is thought of as a third skin and viewed as a permeable organism and
constructed of natural, non-toxic materials that breathe. Thus the
building skin interacts with the natural world and facilitates a
balanced exchange of air and humidity. This methodology is preferred
by Environmental Architects and Building Biologists.
Common Sources of Pollution in Standard Construction: The
Problem:
Standard building and construction materials have been developed
that contain toxic, volatile organic compounds , and petrochemicals
that will out gas when newly constructed or installed . Such common
building materials do have non-toxic , but these need to be
specified by the architect and it takes a TEAM commitment from the
Developer/ Owner, Architect Designer, and Construction Contractor to
achieve the goals of creating a non-toxic project that is healthy
and free of sources of indoor air pollution. Specifications can be
made by certified Environmental Architects or Bau-Biologists and
Costs for such substitutions can run anywhere from 0 to 25% over
standard construction costs depending on the strategies and
specifications.
Common Building materials in standard construction that can cause
health problems are broken down in the following categories:
The
main sources of such pollutants are:
VOC's = Volatile Organic Compounds are chemicals with carbon
hydrogen bonds at the molecular level. These chemicals found in
carpets and all kinds of products out-gas and release a slow dose of
chemicals into the indoor environment and continue to do so for
months. Most VOC's are synthetic petrochemicals used in
formaldehyde, phenol, acetone, etc. and are used as adhesives in
plywood, particle board and other wood composite products. Composite
wood products are chemically treated woods such as particleboard,
chipboard, plywood, sill plates, and chemically treated manufactured
sheathing products. Presently about 80,000 synthetic Voc's are
commercially available and found in standard products:
- Solvent based Paints, sealants, finishes, adhesives, solvents
- carpets and carpet pads
- plywood , particle board, wood paneling
- insulation
- Asphalt and products containing asphalt such as impregnated
sheathing, roofing tars, asphalt driveways, etc.
- Building materials containing mildew, mold, or particles which
will create an environment that prevents mold growth.
- Toxic Cleaning products and Solvents
- Pollutants from Combustion By-products such as gas, oil, coal;
woods and fuels burned indoors consume valuable indoor oxygen unless
outdoor air is added. All combustion appliances contribute to indoor
air pollution especially in airtight energy efficient buildings.
Fireplaces, woodstoves can give off hazardous fumes and need to be
well ventilated. Garages should be isolated from the living spaces
to prevent noxious fumes
- synthetic fabrics, dry cleaned garments
- air fresheners, aerosol products, cleaning products and body care
products
- insecticides , moth balls , pesticides are classified as Voc"s but
are even more of a health threat
READ MORE....
*************************************************************************
This excerpt is a
companion piece to "Creating Healthy Buildings" that will appear in next
months' Smoke Signal
or Janus Welton's
website, go to:
http://www.JanusWeltonDesignWorks.com
Excerpt
from: "Healing Homes" with Feng Shui and Ecology by Janus Welton,
A.I.A., Architect, EcoArch DesignWorks
Submitted by Lori Leah Zack
GRANDMOTHER'S SPEAK:
By Grandmother Selma
INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND POINTING
Gesture is a symbolic action with
intellectual action, by which a thought, feeling or intention is voluntarily
expressed in a accepted (within the given culture) form. However, gestures
can also be holding a relationship of arbitrariness between themselves and
the acts or objects they refer to.
Gestures are formed by actual
movement, be it that of facial muscles, of limbs, of head or the entire
physical body. These movements usually express or emphasize feelings,
thought or intentions. At times they are employed to accompany speech, at
other times they may present themselves in silence.
Gesture become complicated due to
the fact that it is metaphorical, silent, natural, universal, clear.
figurative, picturesque, affective, iconic, pantomimic, cheiromimic, visual
language, innate language, syntalk, and an essential adjunct to human
audible language that is expressive motion.
Gesturing at someone or even a
specific object is considered disrespectful within the Native American
Indian culture. if that gesture is the pointing of a finger. It is
absolutely taboo in ceremonial practices. Most Native American Indians
consider gestureless speech as " lifeless" speech, unspirited and indicates
non -involvement, shows reluctance and can be perceived of as insulting.
The absence of gestures would add
to our world becoming static and colorless.
"The social anthropologist, Edward
Hall states, sixty percent of all communications non-verbal "
1
Gestures and body language
communicate as effectively as words....or perhaps more so. They are woven
into our social lives and interaction with all we come in contact with.
The universal singular gesture,
the miracle mien, the giant of all gestures is the simple smile.
The traditional Native American
Indian using hand gestures, or even signing was not strict regarding the
position of the fingers or hand. For there was movement involved as well.
The consistent elemental variable
was not the position, but the motions The execution as well as the
conception were the indication of meaning. The position of the
fingers was somewhat immaterial. There were hand gestures that the
position of the fingers were of paramount importance, but those gestures
were linked to sign language and conveying concrete images such as members
of the four legged species and or danger.
In dominant cross cultural
American society the gesture of pointing with hand and index finger is a
common and accepted practice. It is taboo in many other ethnic
cultures, such as the oriental and the traditional Native American Indian.
The true traditionalist draws the
observers attention to the point of concern or interest thru facial
gestures, cutting the eyes in the precise direction, a slight nod of the
head toward the intended focus point, all were and are the accepted non
-verbal method of polite directional orientation. Not Pointing.
The importance of being
culturally respectful can not be over emphasized.
1.
Quote from Edward Hall " source: axtell, Roger E.: Gestures:
2.
The Do's and Taboos of Body language Around the
World by John Wiley and Sons, 1991
3.
Katz, M. (n.d.) Treading with care upon the
Earth: working in Indian Country Respectfully to meet the Challenges and
seize the Opportunities.
Copyrighted by Selma
Palmer, 2006
Manataka
Video
Store
We Are Never Alone
By Waynonaha Two Worlds
We
are never alone really alone for all around us and about us are the spirits
of things to come and things that have been.
It is in this balance that we are suspended between heaven and Earth to live
and enjoy the beauty of this, our Earth Mother.
The air filled with spirit, surrounds our every breath, protecting us as if
in the womb of our mother.
We have but to reach into the Field Of Plenty to create our own reality.
From this rich awaiting gift we receive all that is there for us to share
and love in life.
Our spirit waits the beginnings of new life, from which all creation flows.
Love and blessings Waynonaha
Thank you Kenja for the beautiful art.
Waynonaha Two Worlds. Copyright (c) 2006 by Waynonaha Two
Worlds. All publication rights reserved.
FEATURE
STORY...
Today Is a Good Day to Die
By Lee Standing Bear Moore as told to Takatoka
I cannot remember when it was the first time I
heard the Indian phrase, “Today is a good day to die.” The phrase was used in
the context of a warrior’s desire to die an honorable and brave death. For
many decades I accepted this idea, but as age and death-threatening ailments
became commonplace, my idea of its meaning changed drastically."
I was born at the Bell Mission near Los Angeles
and the product of a family forced to move west from our ancestral home in
Arkansas. In the 1940’s, many Indian and poor people of Oklahoma and Arkansas
were “encouraged” by the government to relocate to the west coast to fill
wartime jobs. The mass relocation was similar to the Dust Bowl days of the
1930’s when the dispossessed were drawn west from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New
Mexico and Arkansas. As John Steinbeck wrote in his 1939 novel The Grapes of
Wrath:
"…families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Carloads, caravans, homeless and
hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two
hundred thousand. They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless -
restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do - to lift, to push, to pull, to
pick, to cut - anything, any burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We
got no place to live. Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all
for land."
I learned the meaning of death as I grew up in
gang-infested areas of Los Angeles County. There was little honor or bravery
associated with the senseless deaths I witnessed as a youngster. The first time
I experienced death was in 1956 as I sat in the emergency room of the Studebaker
Hospital awaiting stitches from a bicycle accident. A boy from our school
brought Jerry in with the hook of crow bar planted in his head. There was
little doctors could do for him. As a 10-year old, the experience of seeing a
schoolyard buddy bloodied from head to toe with gore was horrific. Jerry laid
on a bench not three feet from where I sat and as I stared into his eyes blood
streamed down his head across gang tattoos on his arms and dripped into a pool
on the floor. He died holding my hand. As my formative school years past,
shootings, stabbings, and bludgeoning deaths were nearly everyday occurrences.
My heart and brain were anesthetized to death by the age of fifteen.
After I entered the U.S. Army at the age of
nineteen, I became intimately acquainted with death. As a platoon sergeant
during the Vietnam War, I knew death was always an inch away during the many
firefights and major operation battles. As months passed in the steaming
jungles, an awareness of death consumed every moment. Friends dropped like
flies. A single breath often separated my consciousness from death. As a matter
of self-preservation and sanity, I was forced to become a friend of death and
even welcomed it on several occasions.
On May 13, 1968, a mountaintop signal site
called Nui Ba Den where I was temporarily stationed was overran by two regiments
of North Vietnamese Regulars. The nearly 100 defenders were slaughtered. If
not killed outright, many were tortured and some taken prisoner.
After the short battle was over, I wandered
alone on the mountain for several days searching for food and water and removing
booby traps from the bodies of dead comrades. At one point, when NVA patrols
came dangerously close to my position several times, I was ready to give up my
life. I felt like there was no hope for rescue and the prospects of being
tortured was consuming me. It was then that I stood against the horizon
and roared at the top of my lungs, “Take me now! Shoot me now! Today
is a good day to die!” My screams were heard on echoes across the
6,000-foot mountain but
by the grace of the Creator
the enemy had no ears. Strangely, the enemy did not take my life but allowed me to
live.
It was NOT a good day to die.
Obviously, I was among the survivors but the
gruesome memories haunted me for years and the faces of death are often seen in
my dreams making me a life-long causality of that unnecessary and brutal war.
As years passed, I knew death many times. Family,
friends and co-workers crossed life’s threshold due to illness, accidents and
sometimes circumstances that were not always brave or honorable.
Regardless of my close experiences with death
over the years, the meaning of the term “Today is a good day to die” eluded me.
That is until just recently.
During the past four months, I had three close
encounters with death because of a bad heart and blood ailments received during
the war. My heart was shocked back into rhythm during the last hospital visit.
I knew during these encounters that death would not take me. Over the years,
the Creator of All Things visited me many times. One time as I stood in the
fire circle on the sacred Manataka Mountain the wind swirled around my body like
a small tornado and the night sky opened to a voice that gave many instructions.
Other voices sang many songs. And finally the time of my death was
spoken. I have not completed all the instructions and thus my crossing time has
not arrived. Each day I am allowed to continue my path and quest is a gift.
I do not think I have ever feared death. I
steadfastly hold the ways of the Beauty Path in my heart and thus fear of death
is insignificant. The depth and breadth of Indian philosophy and spiritual
belief has always served me well in times of crisis. Just as the water of life
is not distressed by its many changes, from liquid to solid to vapor in the
eternal circle, I am not afraid of my body changing into spirit. After all, the
same water that appeared a the time of Creation remains on earth today.
The idea that my spirit will one day
join with those of my ancestors and other loved ones is an appealing thought.
My opinions and hard-won beliefs about the
Beauty Way have become rock solid over the years. However, my idea of the
meaning of the term, “today is a good day to die” has changed.
I now know that this term does not necessarily
refer to an action such has bravery or define some abstract ideal of honor. In
my mind, the term does not have anything to do with the designs of mankind, but
instead acknowledges the will of the Creator in a good way.
“Today is a good day to die” means that we are
ready in our mind, heart and spirit to become one with the Eternal Spirit of the
Creator. It means we are prepared to enter the never-ending and timeless River
of Spirit to float forever. The Creator may later require our energy and spirit
in the form of another creation so we may become the fodder and substance of
something entirely new, return as fragment of another being or some other
transformation as the will of the Creator may dictate. Who can say otherwise?
In keeping with the nature of all creation,
energy and spirit never die as they are simply reformed repeatedly in a
perpetual sacred symphony conducted by our Great Grandfather in heaven.
This definition of the term, “Today is a good
day to die” is yet another example of the tremendous spiritual growth we have
experienced because of the gift of knowledge and practice of the Beauty Path of
the Indian.
Today IS a good day to die.
HISTORY....
THE HISTORY OF THEIR PEOPLE
The Tachi Yokut Indians have inhabited the
San Joaquin valley for centuries. Their forefathers made their living
peacefully through farming, hunting, fishing, and gathering grains, nuts and
fruits. Their lands consisted of fertile valleys, marshlands and rolling
foothills. With the arrival of the American settlers, they gradually lost
the land where they once lived. Their land was given away by the government
or sold to farmers and ranchers, sometimes as bounty for killing their
people. By the end of the 19th century, the Tachi Yokut Tribe was split
across the central and southern parts of California.
Here in the San Joaquin Valley, their
people were marched on foot from the valley to the foothills to make way for
farmers and ranchers. When oil was discovered near Coalinga, they then were
marched back to a desolate spot in the central valley near the present
location of our reservation.
The Citizenship Act of 1924 gave all
Indians American citizenship rights while allowing them to retain their
tribal citizenship but it made little difference in the way they were
treated by the government. As part of their integration into white society,
the federal government sent their children to government schools, their
religion was banned, and the teaching of their language and culture was all
but forbidden.
Even after the land grabs and removal
efforts had ceased, the damage had been done. The division of their people,
the suppression of the Indian culture, and the influence of white society
left their people with few ties to the past. Aspirations for the future were
being destroyed by the resulting economic hardships and prejudice
For generations their people have tried to
support themselves as seasonal field laborers. Government regulations
produced long term economic stagnation on the reservation, resulting in 85%
unemployment, a crumbling infrastructure, and a cycle of poverty which
ground away at the hope for a better future for their children.
~Submitted by Jim Ewing
From: The Asylum Dream Catcher,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TA_DreamCatcher/
Legends
of Old:
Creation Story and The Importance of Dreaming
Abenaki Legend
Told by Elliot Joubert
The Great Spirit, in a time not known to us looked about and saw nothing. No
colors, no beauty. Time was silent in darkness. There was no sound. Nothing
could be seen or felt. The Great Spirit decided to fill this space with
light and life. From his great power he commanded the sparks of creation. He
ordered Tôlba, the Great Turtle to come from the waters and become the land.
The Great Spirit molded the mountains and the valleys on turtle's back. He
put white clouds into the blue skies. He was very happy. He said,
"Everything is ready now. I will fill this place with the happy movement of
life." He thought and thought about what kind of creatures he would make.
Where would they live? What would they do? What would their purpose be? He
wanted a perfect plan. He thought so hard that he became very tired and fell
asleep.
His sleep was filled with dreams of his creation. He saw strange things in
his dream. He saw animals crawling on four legs, some on two. Some creatures
flew with wings, some swam with fins. There were plants of all colors,
covering the ground everywhere. Insects buzzed around, dogs barked, birds
sang, and human beings called to each other. Everything seemed out of place.
The Great Spirit thought he was having a bad dream. He thought, nothing
could be this imperfect.
When the Great Spirit awakened, he saw a beaver nibbling on a branch. He
realized the world of his dream became his creation. Everything he dreamed
about came true. When he saw the beaver make his home, and a dam to provide
a pond for his family to swim in, he then knew every thing has it's place,
and purpose in the time to come. It has been told among our people from
generation to generation. We must not question our dreams. They are our
creation.
From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories
OPINION PAGE...
|
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR...
Dear Editor
By way of background, please let me state 2
things right away. I look forward to reading your newsletter as soon as
it arrives. The second thing is that I am in the process of
rediscovering my heritage and have started my own spiritual journey to
that end.
I was struck by a contrast in the August
newsletter that seems oddly strange. In the final paragraph about the
appalling suicide rates among Indian youth there is a strong depiction of
the poverty and despair apparent on the reservation. The final question
about how it could not have and effect is very telling.
Following this article is the feature of jokes. As
with the majority of newsletters it has an overwhelming number of jokes
about the conditions of poverty on the reservations. I have always
understood that making fun of current conditions is a normal standard of
humor and have enjoyed it myself many times. However, I can't help but feel,
the overall tone diminishes the seriousness of the problem. It left me sad.
Humor is a difficult concept at best but making
fun of the despair on the reservation seems a little too much at this time.
Perhaps. when the crisis is a thing of the past we can all look back and
share the smile. I am hoping the level of jokes can change somewhat until
then.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.
[Editor's Note: Most of the
jokes about rez life usually come from the rez itself. We are not
poking fun at someone else -- they are poking fun at themselves. Our
people have always found a way to laugh about the most serious of
issues. It is who we are. It is a part of what makes us strong.
The "crisis" on reservations has existed since the first one was created
in 1679. There is nothing in the behavior of either the government,
organized religions or dominant culture as a whole to indicate the
"crisis" will ever end. Quite to the contrary, government and organized
religions have turned the suffering of our people into a business. For
example, Catholic Social Services has contracts all over the country
with local and state social services departments to find foster homes
and adoptive homes for Indian children. They use unlicensed and
untrained 'social workers' who made assessments that are consistently
slanted toward legally removing the children from their homes that may
contain one or more alcoholics or some other family dysfunction.
Catholic Social Services makes big bucks for each rez child depending on
location and 'demand'. So, what else is there to do but laugh about
it? Take away our ability to laugh at ourselves? We think
not.]
|
Dear Manataka,
The Business of Powwow
"Everyone please rise...gentlemen, remove your hats
please" the emcee's voice filled the arena. It was Friday night, and
Grand Entry was about to begin.
But not like most California powwows. Before the
eagle staff, before the flags, before all of the other dancers, there
came two grass dancers, Giles Bullshield and Gregory Whitehorse, and to
the beat of Wildhorse Singers on their northern drum they danced around
the arena before us, preparing the way, making ready for the rest of the
dancers, the way it used to be done in the old days...before there were
manicured athletic fields and polished stadium floors.
Spectators were few. The temperature had peaked at
113 degrees in a location near the ocean where the thermometer in June
rarely passes eighty degrees. After a nine year absence at the college,
many people had forgotten about the powwow, or didn't hear about it soon
enough, or had graduations, funerals and televised sports events to
attend to. But above all, the heat was daunting. Still, the grass
dancers danced. After they had completed their circle around the arena,
the eagle staff and the flags, the gourd dancers and the California
dancers, the head staff and the rest of us filed in behind them, proud,
joyful; temporarily unaware of the heat.
The Children Of Many Colors Powwow started in
1994. From our first tiny gathering it was a fabulous success. But in
1997 we decided that the effort involved, the tension mounting in the
ten member board, the politics of dancing, and the death of several
lifetime members within a single year was more than we could shoulder.
It was simply too much work. At the height of its popularity, we laid
the gathering to rest, possibly forever.
And for the next seven years, every time I went to
a native gathering, I heard the same question. "When will you bring the
Redbird powwow back?"
We realized it must have been a good gathering, a
necessary part of Native American life in Southern California, where
half of all urban natives live. In 2004 we brought the powwow back to a
new location, Castaic Lake, a wonderful state-owned park operated (at
the time haphazardly) by the Los Angeles Department of Parks and
Recreation.
We ran into trouble from the start. It took a year
and a half to be allowed to submit an application; at the point that it
was accepted, we had ten weeks left to put on the powwow. The gathering
was a success. The financial hardship endured was astronomical, and
personal. As a result of decisions made by the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors only weeks before the gathering, there were no
lifeguards. Two little girls drowned adjacent to the powwow area; one
of them could not be revived.
Bringing the powwow back again, in 2006, was
ultimately a personal decision I made as the founder of Redbird. It was
a decision to persevere on behalf of the Native American community, and
yet, it was one that depended on the support of the larger community for
its financial success.
In the business of powwow, you have to have both.
If you aren't a casino, if you aren't independently wealthy, and if you
don't have your own land, you need the support of everyone; vendors,
dancers, head staff, volunteers and visitors.
Our return to Moorpark College after nine years was
both a cultural success and a financial burden; one that was shared by
vendors, head staff, and Redbird alike. Sunday saw a better crowd, but
by Saturday evening some vendors had pulled up their stakes and gone
home. It was a gathering that their vendor fees had made possible. It
was a powwow where, historically, vendors made more than they did at
much larger events.
In the business of powwow, there are two levels of
experience. There is keeping the circle strong and good, and there is
covering the finances. In the circle, there was remarkable support from
the people whose land we were standing on; the Chumash, often
overlooked at California powwows, and often over-shadowed by the powwow
culture, which is not their own. We were graced not only with their
presence but with their participation and support.
We were graced with gourd dancers that came from as
far away as San Diego, bringing their entire families; we were graced
with a head staff who stayed strong and stayed to the end despite being
informed on Sunday morning of our financial position as of late Saturday
night.
We were graced with the performance of Hummingbird
Singers and their incredible accapello flag song, and with Crooked Hat,
the southern drum who came on Friday night and stayed through Sunday for
no other reason than to sing and be a part of the circle. We were
graced with the unwavering strength of Victor Chavez and Michael Reifel,
and the tireless and beautiful presence of Thirza Defoe, Kathy Peltier,
Sam Bear Paw and Saginaw Grant. We were graced by the presence of gourd
dancers, of old friends and of new ones.
On Monday morning I sent an email to Moorpark
College. I let them know we would very much like to return again next
year. It may have sounded crazy to them to state our enthusiasm for
coming back when in fact we were $2,500.00 in the red, had suffered
through a record heat wave, and had vendors walk away on Saturday
night. There is one thing for certain about the business of powwow. It
isn't easy. There are no guarantees. But if you are going to make a
commitment, you have to stand by it, and stand strong.
We hope to be able to return to Moorpark College
next year. We hope to see you there.
(Letters in support
of keeping the powwow at Moorpark College can be sent to Dave Leyba,
Director of Auxiliary Services, Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Park
Drive, Moorpark, CA 93021 or sent via email to
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