We are grateful to bring
you this issue of the Smoke Signal News.
Beautiful and extraordinary events are happening at the Place
of Peace -- all preparing for that glorious moment when
prophesy will be fulfilled and the sacredness of this magnificent
Valley of the Vapors will emerge to bring about peace and love among
humans worldwide.
We hope you like the changes in the
new Smoke Signal News. For your convenience and reading pleasure,
we have done away with the excessively long newsletters
to be replaced with shorter, timely articles. We are here to
preserve and protect the sacred Manataka mountain. ~editor
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Native American HIV
Awareness Day
March 20, 2012 - 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Austin Hotel, 305 Malvern, Hot Springs National Park, AR
Hosted by the Delta Region AIDS Education & Training Center
As we hike the trails of Manataka Mountain
today, we find no monuments to the gentle people who were once the keepers of
Manataka (Place of Peace). Only the Grandfathers now tell the story of the
Rainbow Woman who blessed and guarded the Valley and the healing waters of
Nówâ-sa-lon,
the hot springs.... Read More...
Several
important stories of Manataka speak of the great feminine
spirit, IxChel, Mother God, Holy Mother of the Mountain, the Rainbow Woman of
Manataka.... Read More...
Les
Lobaugh is, according to Mary Louise
Uhlig of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the most
"influential, important and
anonymous Native lawyer in America".
Read
More....
Berkowitz
details the unorthodox world of Indian traders and how it
collided with the NPS’s twisted politics. He dissects both the
government’s refusal to accept Indian culture and the resulting
intrusions into centuries–old business practices that value
people over the almighty dollar.Read More...
Have you ever
wondered why some people tend to attract others? Look more closely. It may
be that they laugh easily and frequently even when they are surmounting
numerous challenges connected with their health and aging.
Read More...
Relieving the Burden of Self
is a combination of stories, anecdotes, pictures, labyrinths, and more. It
encourages action, journaling and introspection. Using this guide asks just
a few minutes daily, but if you desire, you can ramp up your efforts to
elicit profound spiritual unfolding.
Read More...
FEATURE STORY
The
Conscious Being
By Lee
Standing
Bear
Moore
and the
Spirit
of
Takatoka
The whole world is
speaking...
Be still a
moment
Listen with your
heart
There are beings
all around you
Do not be afraid
to hear them
The ancestors,
the elders, the
living spirits of
nature
With their guidance,
we will thrive
Together.
Listen deeply
Be in conversation
with the World.
Modern
science
has a
brought
great
wealth
of
understanding
to the
physics
of the
universe.
Comprehension
of the
laws of
nature
has
advanced
human
progress
in
countless
arenas
of human
endeavor.
However,
science
cannot
explain
why
these
laws
exist or
how the
laws of
nature
came
into
being.
In this article, we discuss the source of human existence on earth in terms of consciousness in its various forms, and advance the concept of using the power of conscious thought in concert with large numbers of other humans to create a new mass consciousness, a new paradigm of human behavior, and a new world.
Understanding the source of existence, the reality of space-time and the underlying consciousness of the universe has been the pursuit of philosophers and theologians for ages. As humans, we understand the laws of nature that serve as a basis for mathematics, medicine, astronomy, physics, and a plethora of other sciences, that shares the same source as human consciousness. However, we fail to employ, at least on a mass-basis, ways to use the awesome power of conscious thought to alter our own realities. Read More...
"[The Old People] would
gather words as they walked a sacred path across the Earth, leaving nothinig
behind but prayers and offerings." ---- Cleone Thunder, Northern
Arapahoe
Whenever we walk on the Earth,
we should pay attention to what is going on. Too often our minds are
somewhere else, thinking about the past or thinking about the future. When
we do this, we are missing important lessons. The Earth is a constant flow
of lessons and learnings which also include a constant flow of positive
feelings. If we are aware as we walk, we will gather words for our lives,
the lessons to help our children; we will gather feelings of
interconnectedness and calmness. When we experience this, we should say or
think thoughts of gratitude. When we do this, the next person to walk on the
sacred path will benefit even more.
My Creator,
today, let me be aware of the sacred path.
DID YOU KNOW?
The
Mexican-Apache Cold Cure
by I.M. Crisosto
Pena, daughter of Crisosto Pena and great-great granddaughter of
Geronimo
My father,
Crisosto Pena, a Mexican-Apache, believed that chili could cure
anything. He said that it was packed full of vitamins and therefore
a cure-all, especially for colds.
One day he
returned from work and found his wife and five children in bed with
the flu. He felt so bad for them that he took out the bag of hot
chili pods and soaked them
in hot water for 15 minutes. Then he put them into a grinder and
ground them with the water they were soaked in. He gave each one of
his family members a spoonful with a piece of tortilla.
About an hour
later the family was moving about. The children were out playing
around, and his wife was cooking dinner.
From that day
on, I too believe that
chili is a cure-all,
especially for colds. As a preventive medicine, you can mix the
chili with garlic and onions. It not only tastes good, but also
keeps colds away.
OPINION
Suspension of American
Indian Student for
Speaking Native Language
is Ignorant and
Intolerant
Miranda
Washinawatok
Menominee
On January 19, 2012 a
Menominee Indian seventh
grader named Miranda
Washinawatok was benched
and suspended from a
Catholic School in
Shawano, Wisconsin, for
speaking her Native
Menominee language with
two other girls from the
Menominee reservation.
Shawano is a small town
located several miles
south of the
reservation; and like
many off-reservation
communities, there is a
longstanding history of
racist attitudes against
Indians, although we
like to think that the
relations have improved
over the years.
Unfortunately, this
incident shows that
racism is alive and well
in Wisconsin. That this
also happened in a
parochial school makes
it a wake-up call for
everyone who believed
that America has moved
beyond such displays of
ignorance. Historical
precedents to this type
of action are plentiful
– think of all the
Native children who were
cruelly punished for
speaking their languages
in the shameful days of
Indian boarding schools
in the 20th
century. Yet, the bad
heartedness behind this
history persists when a
12 year-old child is
subjected to such
treatment in 2012.
By Dr. Angela Finley
Molette, Black Warrior Woman, Tuscaloosa Ohoyo
Old theories (like the Bering Strait theory-as the sole
entry point for ancient emigrants, must be laid to rest
when "one size" does not fit all or whenever a
preponderance of evidence proves new theories more
viable, probable or having a higher degree of likelihood
than not, such as the case involving true aboriginal
development and/or settlement of the Americas.
We include the whole of the Americas as our realm, which
expands beyond the entirety of the American mainland at
the center and reaches out to enjoin (in no particular
order) ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, Carthage (Africa),
India, Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, Melanesia and
Polynesia throughout the Pacific Islands over to Easter
Island, South and Central America, Canada, Mexico, the
Atlantic Coast, Florida and the Caribbean as additional
DNA contributors and parental influence(s).
Read More...
FEATURE STORY
Choices
about Death, Dying, Grief, and Loss
Bt Dr. Cheryl
Dusty, Manataka Member
I recently lost my grandmother
and mother within 5 days of each other shortly before
Christmas. Granny was just short of 99 years old and mom was
86. Granny was very ready to cross over and mom was a
surprise, although she had Alzheimer’s.
Even though I have done hospice volunteer work and am very
aware of the stages of dying as well as the grief process,
there's nothing like a firsthand reminder of the how it
affects us all.
4 years ago, when I was diagnosed with AML (leukemia) and
given a 20% chance at survival, I had plenty of personal
time to get to the acceptance phase of believing that I
would die. It was a strange process for me because I've
heard my Angels speak to me since about the age of 5 or 6,
and the confusion came because the age of transition wasn't
holding true, after all the other information had. So I had
to move into an acceptance phase that each soul has the
option of changing the contracts that we created
before
we came to be human beings. Then came the remembrance that,
given free will, I was the one who held the key to the
future, in whatever form I chose.
Read More...
FUNNY BONES
Bear? What Bear?
Submitted by Joseph GrayWolf Vinson
Along
about the year 1990, or thereabouts, The Ugly Otter was living in New Mexico
near Albuquerque. He knew a young couple, Richard and Mary Jo, who had a son
about 9 years old, and a daughter about 6 or 7 years old. We had known each
other for several years, and went on outings and various outdoor activities
together frequently. I liked to rock hunt, and they liked to tag along for
the enjoyment of the mountain and desert landscapes where I liked to hunt.
So, one Saturday we all decided that
we would venture up into the Jemez Mountains which were several miles
northwest of Albuquerque. Most of the land there is either National Forest
land, or Indian land. We were planning on just exploring to see what we
could see in an area we had not visited before. After studying maps and
planning the trip, we decided to go thru the small village of Ponderosa,
take a Forest Service road back into the National Forest, and explore while
enjoying the scenery and the perfect weather, etc.
Read More...
My name
is Shelby Noyes and I was reading your website and I had a small
question about animal spirit guides. What does
it mean when you feel as though you can transform into the
guide? I have a lot of dreams in which my guide and I work
together, but there are many more in which I am actually able to
be one with my guide and become for moments at a time the form
of my guide. I read a lot about finding one's guide and it
was very insiteful and helpful, but I think I've already found
my guide. ~ Shelby Noyes
Chief Seattle
gave his now famous speech in 1854 during
treaty negotiations with the U.S.
government, which was intent on forcing the
Native people of Washington's Puget Sound
onto reservations. This book puts Chief
Seattle's life into the context of his time
and gives a brief history of the region and
its many tribes with particular emphasis on
Chief Seattle's tribe, the Suquamish.
Includes the complete speech and many rare,
turn-of-the-century photographs of village
life. 52 black and white photographs.
Published
November
2000 by
Book Publishing Company
(TN).
Paperback, 128 pages, 10.9 ounces.
ISBN:
9781570670954 Price: $13.95
By Manataka Elder,
The Rev. Dr. Fred D. Wilcoxson
PhD
“Grown
men can learn from very little children for the hearts of little
children are pure. Therefore, the Great spirit may show to them many
things which older people miss.” ~Black Elk, Oglala Sioux, Holy Man
When we grow up we believe that being grown up means a more complex
life, more of this and more of that. We are graded on how well we
perform, what we have amassed, or how far under budget we are.
Children see the value in joyfully playing in a pasteboard box or
chasing a reflected light. Use the wisdom of your childhood to
temper the lusts of age. Go see if you can find that pasteboard box,
open it up, and slide down the hill. Take the time to enjoy life,
have faith, trust, and hope… and most of all love.
The Fisherman and the Business Man
There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small
Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a
small boat towards the shore having caught quite a few big fish.
Read More...
The
early morning sky slips fingers of light through the old cotton wood
trees, bits of this pale light filtering through the small window
over my bed. The soft sounds of morning drifted up to my ears as I
wiped away the webs of the dream time and entered the day time.
Conscious of my
feet on the cool wood floors that smelled of pine oil, I walked to
the window. Through the first morning light, I see the grasses of
the prairie waving like fingers in the soft morning breeze.
Opening the window
I feel the cool wet morning air on my face, it fills my room with
the smell of damp pungent Earth and sweet prairie flowers.
Birds stir in the
cotton woods, magpies and crows caw loudly for their morning scraps
of bread. The heat hold silent on the hills, as if waiting for the
sun to appear.
Material appearing here is distributed without profit or
monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest in viewing
the material for research
and educational purposes. This is in accordance with Title
17 U. S. C. section 107. Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine
of international copyright law.
Choices
about Death, Dying, Grief, and Loss
Along
about the year 1990, or thereabouts, The Ugly Otter was living in New Mexico
near Albuquerque. He knew a young couple, Richard and Mary Jo, who had a son
about 9 years old, and a daughter about 6 or 7 years old. We had known each
other for several years, and went on outings and various outdoor activities
together frequently. I liked to rock hunt, and they liked to tag along for
the enjoyment of the mountain and desert landscapes where I liked to hunt.
“Grown
men can learn from very little children for the hearts of little
children are pure. Therefore, the Great spirit may show to them many
things which older people miss.” ~Black Elk,
The
early morning sky slips fingers of light through the old cotton wood
trees, bits of this pale light filtering through the small window
over my bed. The soft sounds of morning drifted up to my ears as I
wiped away the webs of the dream time and entered the day time.