Manataka - Preserving The Past Today For Tomorrow
JUNE ISSUE |
Manataka American Indian Council Volume XII Issue 6 JUNE 2008
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Manataka - Preserving The Past Today For Tomorrow
JUNE ISSUE |
WANNA BECOME A MEMBER OF MANATAKA?
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO JOIN!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Free Spirit Campground
Black Hills, South Dakota
June 26-29, 2008
We don't have to say or think what we don't wish to. We have a choice in those things, and we have to realize that and practice using that choice." ~-Rolling Thunder, Cherokee
Having choices makes us fully accountable. No one can make us think anything we don't want to think. No one can determine our behavior and how we act. It's not what's going on but how we look at what's going on. If someone does something and we get upset, we can change how we look at it any time we want. We can tell ourselves in the morning that the day is going to be beautiful and that we have expectations that great things will happen. Doing this daily sets our minds to
look for the joy and the excitement of each day.
MAY
WEBSITE UPDATES
| NEW ARTICLES | ||
| Bear's One Time Cure For Everything | Health Watch | |
| CDC Warns Against Fluoride Water | Fluoride Watch | |
| Driftwood Horses | Feature | |
| Exemplar of Liberty: Savages Chapter 4 | History | |
| Legends of Bigfoot-like Beings | Feature | |
| Manataka: Place of Peace Myth or Reality? | Feature | |
| More Lost History of Medicine | Elders Speak | |
| Parsely Tea - Uniary Tract Infections | Herbal Medicine | |
| Ritalin Turns Kids into Mental Zombies | Health Watch | |
| Survival at Black Mesa | Sacred Sites | |
| The Corn Mill Coyote | Legends | |
| 30 Mass Graves of Children Discovered | Feature | |
| NEW TRADING POST ITEMS | ||
| Buffalo, Bear, Deer Robes | Crazy Coyote's Leather | |
| Book Reviews - Top NDN Books | Creators Code: Survival | |
| History Books | Maggie's Soap Nuts | |
| New American Indian FLAGS | Red Hawk Crafts | |
| Native Remedies | Spiritual Path Books | |
| Women's Gifts | Speak Cherokee Today! | |
Manataka: Place of Peace - Myth or Reality?
By Linda VanBibber
Recently
we became aware of new efforts on the part of the National Park Service to
discredit the Manataka American Indian Council and the stories of the
Grandfathers we preserve.
A few years back they added a mention of Manataka and the Rainbow Woman in the new Parks Service historical display in the observation tower on Hot Springs Mountain where the stories of the Grandfathers are cited as ‘myth’.
But the Grandfathers of many tribes still tell of this sacred ground which held great meaning for all First Nations people; a place where pilgrimages were made to seek the favor of the Lady of the Rainbow. Here sacred leaders of all Nations gathered to pray and perform sacred ceremonies. This place may be called “the Place of Peace” or “the Place of the Rainbows”.
The Parks Service claims this never happened. In the history display, they claim there is no evidence that the Indians ever used the hot springs for medicinal purposes. Yet on the Parks Service web site, they note that in 1771 Jean-Bernard Bossu, during a stay with the Quapaw, reported: “The Akancas country is visited very often by western Indians who come her to take baths,” for the hot waters “are highly esteemed by native physicians who claim that they are so strengthening.” (Hot Springs Park Service web site, “American Indians at Hot Springs National Park”.)
They go on to say: The Quapaw still consider the park area to be culturally significant. They continued to visit after Bathhouse Row was established, enjoying baths at the dome edifice bearing their name. . . . The Caddo lived in the Hot Springs vicinity for many centuries prior to Quapaw influence here. Members of a least one confederation of Caddo (the Natchitoches) still lived in this region during the early 1800s, and would probably have visited the springs.
You would think that they could keep their story consistent, to say the least. Their undisciplined approach to ‘history’ and the contractions they present are frankly insulting to the intelligence of their visitors. Yet not many visitors compare the little historical ‘blurbs’ scattered in Parks Service tourist information, which we are sure they count upon.
RED
HAWK JEWELRY & CRAFTS
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CAFOs cost taxpayers billions
The
news has been full of stories recently about the rising cost of food. But
when it comes to most meat, milk, and eggs sold in the United States,
consumers have paid more for years—they just didn’t know it. CAFOs (confined
animal feeding operations) are massive facilities that create costly
pollution and public health problems as they produce most of the nation's
food animals. Our new report documents the billions of dollars of hidden
costs that CAFOs foist onto taxpayers and communities, and the misguided
government policies that enable and even encourage it. From taxpayer
subsidies for cheap animal feed to federal programs that help CAFOs manage
their pollution problems, our report reveals how expensive our current CAFO
system really is. Meanwhile, we found that modern, environmentally sound
alternatives can be cost-effective if given a chance. The report, CAFOs
Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations,
recommends that the government provide incentives for more sustainable and
efficient ways to raise animals, including pasture systems.
Engineered seeds can survive in soil for 10 years
Scientists in Sweden found genetically engineered canola plants springing up
in a test field 10 years after engineered seeds were originally
planted—despite efforts over time to clear the field of transgenic plants.
The canola plants were engineered to tolerate the herbicide glufosinate. In
the years following the canola planting, the field was plowed and used to
grow wheat, barley, and sugar beets, and farm staff routinely searched for
and removed canola plants. Yet after a decade canola plants were still
sprouting in the field. The persistence and dispersal of genetically
engineered plants into the environment is one of the serious problems with
this technology, and may contribute to contamination of conventional crops.
~From Union of Concerned Scientists, Food & Environment Electronic Digest, May 2008
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The Standing Nation (trees)
and the Give away bird (turkey)
By Waynonaha Two Worlds
Manataka Correspondent
Last
night I lay awake listening to the world of the night. Frogs singing, night
birds calling, and the sounds we cannot hear in the day time ever present in the
wind.
This morning I woke up to a gray over cast rainy day.
The rain falls constantly now in the spring months, damping the thirsty ground
that quickly drinks up the moisture.
Winter has been slow to leave the North Country, challenging the trees and
plants that struggle up from the rich soil.
My hands ache to put seeds in the soil and watch them grow. My feet need to be
walking on the earth with nothing between me and my source of life.
The garden spot sits untilled waiting for the dampness to sink deeper into the
still frozen land. I listen to the song of the frogs and they say, “just a
little longer to wait then all can be done”.
My daily walks take me along the river where there are still small patches of
ice clinging to the cold rocks. Snow patches hide here and there in the awaking
plants and trees.
Soon the salmon and trout must make the journey up the small streams to spawn.
The main rivers run high and wild with the constant rain, making it impossible
for this to happen.
No offense intended for any individuals or tribes.
Very Presidential
Presidential
candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain were flying to a
debate.
Barack looked at Hillary, Chuckled and said, "You know I could throw a $1,000
bill out of the window right now and make somebody very happy."
Hillary shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I could throw ten $100 bills out of
the window and make ten people very happy."
John added, "That being the case, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out of the
window and make a hundred people very happy."
Hearing their exchange, the Cherokee pilot rolled his eyes and said to his
Paiute copilot, "Such big-shots back there. I could throw all three of them out
of the window and make 156 million people very happy!"
"I'm voting for the Pilot!"
~Submitted by Bobby Joe Runninbear
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Lots More Videos - DVD and VHS - Fast Delivery |
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The Spiritual Essence of Gardening
By Gram Selma, Ocali
Many of us have our gardens in the ground and producing already. With the current economy most family units would be very wise to grow as much as they can. not only for themselves, but an abundance to put up if at all possible.
Our ancestors prided themselves in their gardening skills and knowledge. Each tribal nation having their own favorites and ones that were better suited to the particular climatic location.
The gardens were huge, many the size of modern day football fields. The entire encampment or village worked in the garden. Elders, men, women and children all had a role in its success.
The corn or maize especially were perceived to have spiritual properties and life essence all its very own, therefore it was cultivated with the utmost respect and care. They talked to and even sung too their plants.
All of the crops were treated as children in the sense. They had spiritual essence, their own unique life force, their own ultimate purpose, their own individual gifts or nutrients to share with all. The plants' need for nurturing and their response to human voice and song were important.
The triplets or three sisters being placed in the same earth womb, to grow together and lend support to each other from birth to harvest. Those triplets being maize , beans and squash. All three very different at maturity yet of common womb, growth and support. Each taking its individual needs from the same earth womb. Yet, assisting each other thru out the growth to maturity.
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mmmnnnnmm |
Magdala Rameriz |
by Magdala Rameriz, Maya Priestess
It is to point the direction where people can find their questions and answers, in the place where the cause and effect takes place at the same time.
For human being needs to reach themselves.
The inner worlds that resides in the virtual reality is being unfold and uncover for the many, for the new perception has been achieve in the authentic humans.
The feminine, the virtual reality, is unfolding as a lotus flower! All over the world, she has became a bridge of many worlds.
People are ready to reach themselves. People are understanding their experiences in the spirit, as well as a new perspective of spirituality has been born.
ECO-NOTES:
Organic Cotton Clothing By
Conventional cotton grown in the U.S. ranks third
behind corn and soybeans in total amount of pesticides
sprayed. I
rarely buy organic cotton clothing because of the price,
but just received an e-mail from Maggies
Functional Organics announcing a new online
"outlet" for reduced pricing that looks fairly
reasonable:
You can find some Maggies products in Whole Foods; the
prices online are less as you don't have to pay the
Whole Foods mark-up. Maggies is also listed on Co-Op
America's National Green Pages
_______________________________________________________
Thanks for going Green! --Liora
Leah
What
to do about the clothing we wear? Buy organic cotton
clothing if you can afford it, or... buy
"recycled" clothing from thrift stores or re-sale
stores. Hold off on buying clothing until you
ab-soul-utely have to! I wait until my stuff is nearly
in tatters before I replace it, or I've "outgrown" it
(at age 51 I'm not likely to get any taller, just
wider)--yeah, not exactly fashionable, but easier on the
environment and on my budget!
By buying "recycled" clothing, the consumer demand for
new clothing diminishes--the consumer is "buying out" of
the "consumer mentality" that grips Western culture.
"Recycle, reduce, reuse" applies to all aspects of
consumer consumption, not just the usual
paper/glass/aluminum, etc.
If we must buy new, the more of us who buy new clothing
that is made from organic cotton, the higher the
consumer demand, the more acreage of organic cotton is
grown, the less pesticides/herbicides are used, and
hopefully the cost of organic cotton clothing goes down
over time as more of it is manufactured.
Where to Buy
Organic Clothing Online:
http://www.maggiesorganics.com/products_item.php?cat_id=9
For a listing of 109 other organic
cotton/hemp/silk/bamboo/Fair Trade/sweatshop-free
clothing, go to Co-op America's National Green
Pages and put "Clothing" in the "Category"
section:
http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/
For
more information read
Organic Trade Association's "Cotton
and the Environment":
http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/cotton_environment.html
Earth Keeper
By Carol Perez Petersen
Manataka Correspondent
For the women and their families of all races and customs of traditions, I am in prayer for you and the Earth. The collective consciousness of women is having an effect on the weather. I was born of the Earth; through the red, black, white, and yellow races, through lineages of customs, ritual celebrations in homage to Mother Nature. I recognized then remembered - I am my body's spirit tenderness. I was in a cocoon struggling for autonomy; listening and watching through the lens of my being, a soul of humanity. A butterfly is emerging through the chrysalis of Mother Earth.
Wisdom is fragile, like the wings of a butterfly. Humanity is vulnerable to the wings of spirituality. We are leaning on a breeze, of wise words of elders, yet seemingly, we are still unable to fly. To ride its bounty one must become transparent like a light on the waves of inspiration. Wisdom is a living symphony of synchronicity; comes the signs and symbols, bird songs and tornados. Be attentive and receive them through the senses of your being. I am abandoned to the soul of the earth. She is a feminine atmosphere, contracting and expanding through women and men alike.
I
am an Earth Keeper, a peacemaker, a Blue Monarch under no man’s
dominion. I feel just like you do; I feel misery and anger
justified by madness, and sticky threads of it has taken hostage
of our children’s future. I am not of the race of men, yet my
being is among them. Their contempt’s are to dominate and betray
women of spirit and in doing so the soul of humanity.
On Cold Winter Nights Snuggle Up with These Great Indian Movies
Colorado resolution compares Indians' deaths to Holocaust
By Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press
DENVER -- The Colorado Legislature passed a resolution Wednesday comparing the deaths of millions of American Indians to the Holocaust and other acts of genocide around the world.
The nonbinding measure passed 22-12 in the Senate and 59-4 in the House after some lawmakers protested that it unfairly condemned all Europeans for injustices against Indians.
The resolution says Europeans intentionally caused many American Indian deaths and that early American settlers often treated Indians with "cruelty and inhumanity."
It specifically mentions the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation in 1838 and the 1864 Sand Creek massacre in Colorado. It also refers to deaths due to disease that were intensified by forced migrations, food deprivation and enslavement by Europeans.
"Colleagues, this resolution is a recognition that up 120 million indigenous people have died as a result of European migration to what is now the United States of America," said sponsor Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, a Comanche Indian.
Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said the resolution painted all Europeans with a broad brush.
Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, said the resolution wasn't meant to blame all Europeans.
Members of a group of American Indians who came to the Capitol to watch the vote said they wanted recognition of what happened to their ancestors.
"It's nothing personal to the people of today but we have to recognize the past," said Theresa Gutierrez, who works with American Indian students at the University of Colorado in Denver.
A resolution formally apologizing to American Indians for centuries of government mistreatment was passed by the U.S. Senate in February but has not cleared the House.
California Tribe Angry after
Two Latest Killings by Deputies
By David Kelly, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
A wild gun battle between
Riverside County sheriff's deputies and a pair of suspects on the Soboba
Indian Reservation left two people dead and tribal members frustrated
and demanding answers Tuesday.
The Soboba band's chairman calls the situation 'war' with 'the 7th Cavalry' of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-soboba14-2008may14,0,5062286.story
Visit LA Times at
http://www.latimes.com
TEACHING ABOUT AMERICAN INDIANS
Teaching Resources for Educators
Here are resources if you've ever wanted classroom-teaching activities on
American Indians beyond the Thanksgiving holiday or the history of American
Indian Education or best teaching practices addressing American Indian learners.
Resources include books, magazines, articles, bibliographies, maps, etc.
Although often times there is overlap, these resources are organized in four
categories:
Teaching About American Indians
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for American Indian Learners
Researching American Indian Education
Other Resources
Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of
living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled
with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep
and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different
way.
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
~Submitted by Romaine Garcia
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JUNE 2008 SMOKE SIGNAL - PAGE 1
