Metis....District 14, Connecticut
April Newsletter
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Happy Spring everyone! The news says its is Spring but the temperatures are only in the 40's. I am looking for at least 60's!! Then it will feel like Spring. I have Spring fever so bad...I can't wait to get out at the picnic table and enjoy the sun, birds, and warm weather. We have a craft/social every Saturday and it will be so nice to be outside for that!!
Hope your Spring is something you are looking forward to...remember to pray for the ones that can't enjoy it.
Happy Spring again,
Shiakoda
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Body Identified as Missing Person
The property owner tells us he doubts the body's been there since Roundstone went missing in mid-November. His neighbor, a former law enforcement officer, said he saw the body three weeks before the property owner said he found it this weekend.
The family of Timothy Roundstone began searching for him in mid-November. "I know deep down in my heart that there's something wrong because Timothy wouldn't do this to me," his mother, Linda Caldwell told us at the time.
Monday, months later, county coroners confirmed Caldwell's worst fear. Her son tentatively confirmed dead and found just down the road from the apartment complex where he was last seen.
"When I got over there I wept because what I saw was my son," said Tyrone Jacobsen the property owner. Jacobsen said he saw a body tucked into a corner of his property on Saturday at about noon. He said he immediately recognized Roundstone, and thought of his own son. He said he told Caldwell, "I wish ma'am it were possible for me to give you a piece of my heart."
Jacobsen's neighbor, Jim Garvey, said he saw the body on the cluttered property about three weeks ago as he hung his laundry. He said he just assumed it was a mannequin.
Garvey spent 27 years in California Law Enforcement and has just released his third murder mystery novel. He said he's surprised the extensive search didn't uncover the body. "They came down and started searching the whole neighborhood," he said. "We walked all the way back here," he said pointing to the general area in which the body was found.
Jacobsen said Roundstone was lying face-up with his jacket by his side when he found him. "His skin was perfect," he said, "he was laid out straight as if in a casket at a funeral home."
The coroner said Roundstone died of exposure last November. For a family that's been searching for an answer since Timothy went missing, it's not the one they hoped for.
We spoke with Roundstone's family Monday. They said they're not ready to speak publicly yet.
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Crow roundup of horses smooth operation
By JAN FALSTAD Of The Gazette Staff The Billings Gazette
Monday, March 21, 2011 5:00 pm
A large band of horses formerly owned by James Leachman of Billiings is driven toward holding pens where the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Crow Tribe will identify them and sell them. The 700 horses have been trespassing on tribal lands and private ranches and were impounded by the BIA.
In a colorful roundup on Monday morning, about 50 Crow horsemen spent the day gathering about 700 horses in bands of 80 to 200 and driving them through a gap in the rimrocks toward their last home before they are sold.
The mares and colts trotted, galloped, snorted and whinnied, but willingly followed the lead rider into the wooden pens.
Jay Stovall, 71, who grew up on this land and now owns the former Leachman Cattle Co. ranch 16 miles east of Billings, said the sight was thrilling.
"I've never seen these many horses running out here. This is something to see," he said. "What's important is that the Crow Tribe is handling those horses and doing a wonderful job of it."
Crow Tribal Vice Chairman Calvin Jefferson said everything went smoothly.
"They will be here for about another five days, leaving it for the owner to come and stake claim, give him a chance to redeem them," he said.
Edward Parisian, regional director of the Rocky Mountain region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said James Leachman of Billings will legally have five days to redeem his horses, if he can pay the costs associated with their care and roundup and the damage that they have caused to the rangeland.
Last year during his bankruptcy hearing, Leachman said he was broke.
With the help of two months of eating 150 tons of donated hay, the horses came back from the brink of starvation last winter. Leachman has pleaded not guilty to 14 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, carrying a maximum penalty of seven years and $7,000 in fines. His jury trial is scheduled for June 3.
Beginning Thursday, the horses will be sorted by age and gender, identified and have temporary neck bands attached.
The Leachman leg bands, some of them now too tight, will be cut off and their brands inspected.
The horses have been roaming on the Home Place Ranch 16 miles east of Billings, tribal lands and neighboring ranches for several years.
The BIA impounded the horses in early March after serving Leachman with a legal notice that his horses were trespassing on tribal lands and neighboring ranches. In late December, Shepherd veterinarian Jeff Peila first warned that hundreds of the horses trapped in one pasture with no grass were on the verge of mass starvation.
Seven horses were found near death, and four were shot on the recommendation of Peila.
With a smile on his face on Monday morning, the veterinarian said there was only one brown mare so far who needed his help and was limping, apparently with a hoof abscess.
"But there would have been a third of them dead and the rest wouldn't have been strong enough to sell if they hadn't been fed," he said.
The Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings collected about 500 tons of donated hay and more than $55,000 in cash donations and has been feeding the horses for two months with the help of the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.
The BIA is paying the tribe $45,000 to round up the horses and feed them until a March 31 sale that could be moved to April 2 and 3.
Memories of the roundup will stay with Jason Shigley, who was shooting video for the Crow Tribe to document the day.
"This is a historic event," he said. "The Crow people are horse people. Everything that has to do with the horse is in our makeup."
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BIA superintendent on Fort Peck Reservation indicted in theft
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana has been indicted for stealing from the tribal loan program.
Florence A. White Eagle, 63, has been charged with conspiracy to convert tribal credit program proceeds by federal employees, theft from an Indian tribal organization, bribery, concealment of public corruption, public acts affecting a personal financial transaction and misprision of a felony,
The Billings Gazette reported.
Federal prosecutors say White Eagle was part of a scheme that stole more than $1 million from the tribe's loan program over 10 years. Three BIA employees and at least seven other people have been charged in connection with the case.
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Wealthy gambler in talks to pay $1.2M owed to Mohegan Tribe
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A wealthy gambler is apparently going to pay the $1.2 million he owes the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut.
Jerome Powers, a Florida millionaire, lost the money while gambling at Mohegan Sun.
The tribe moved to seize his assets but he filed an appeal, claiming the dispute couldn't be heard in the Connecticut court system.
Powers appears to have changed his mind, however. "Jerry is currently in settlement discussions with Mohegan Sun to drop his appeal and pay his gambling obligations in full," a spokesperson for Plum TV, told The New York Post.
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Reservations in South Dakota home to large youth population
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Eight of the top 10 cities in South Dakota with large youth populations are on reservations, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
On the Pine Ridge Reservation, 43 percent of the population in Oglala is under 18. On the nearby Rosebud Sioux Reservation, 42 percent of the population in Rosebud is under 18.
"I see the higher numbers as a positive because you have a greater chance to influence the future, you have these kids when they're young and willing to learn," Pigeon Big Crow, child care program director for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, told The Rapid City Journal. "I'm excited to see the outcome of all the services we're providing now."
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Native Sun News: Oglala Sioux Tribe chooses a treasurer again
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The following story was written and reported by Ernestine Chasing Hawk. All content © Native Sun News.
PINE RIDGE, SOUTH DAKOTA — For the second time since submitting his application, Mason Big Crow was selected for the position of Oglala Sioux Tribe treasurer.
Controversy arose on Feb. 14 after Big Crow was selected the first time when it was discovered that he was not currently an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Francis Pumpkinseed, OST election commission chairman, informed council at that time that he had sent a letter notifying Big Crow of his disqualification as a candidate due to his enrollment status.
A motion was passed after that meeting so council could decide how to proceed with office of treasurer and former treasurer Dean Patton remained in as acting. The other candidates for the offices of secretary, fifth member and sergeant at arms were selected and sworn in at that time.
At the meeting on Monday there was much discussion on how to proceed and there was even talk about having to re-advertise the position of treasurer thereby delaying the process for another two weeks.
However Eagle Nest Council Representative Ruth Brown reprimanded the council and said they needed to stop playing games.
"We are wasting time. We already selected a treasurer and it was over. Whether we like it or not," she said. She made a motion to abide by the OST Constitution and By-Laws which passed and the selection process for the treasurer began.
Big Crow told the council during his interview on Monday that he never received the letter sent by the election commission. He admitted that when he submitted his application that he was not enrolled but was in the process of relinquishing his enrollment from the Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma and that his reenrollment with the Oglala was pending. When asked to produce his CRU number Big Crow sent around his tribal ID as verification.
Eight candidates were interviewed for the position of treasurer including Mason Big Crow, Gerald "Jump" Big Crow, Pamela Giago, David Pourier, Lloyd Goings, Kim Clausen, Fred Brown and Crystal Eagle Elk.
As each candidate was interviewed they were asked the how they would deal with what the Oglala call the "Black Hole" the general fund where most of the tribal assets are deposited. After all was said and done Mason Big Crow was again selected as treasurer beating out the second highest vote getter Pamela Giago, 10 to 8.
The tribe’s newest treasurer said he is happy that the council voted him in and that he would be working with them very closely.
When asked if he was ready to face the challenge of helping his tribe which has been racked by fiscal woes including being on "at risk" status for many of their 638 contract programs straighten up their finances, his reply was positive.
"It’s nothing that we haven’t been already been doing for the past two years. I have been working closely with the acting treasurer Dean Patton and we actually sat down with tribal council and with their approval have been doing what they’ve requested us to do," he said. "It is going to be a tough road but we will get it done."
(Ernestine Chasing Hawk can be reached at managingeditor@nsweekly.com.)
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Fort Peck chairman picked for FWP panel
12:00 AM, Mar. 24, 2011
Written byMICHAEL BABCOCK
Tribune Outdoor Editor
Gov. Brian Schweitzer has appointed A.T. "Rusty" Stafne of Wolf Point to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission to replace former Commissioner Willie Doll, whose term expired in December.
Stafne is the chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes, and is a rancher who raises cattle and horses. He was unavailable for an interview Wednesday.
The Fort Peck Tribes are a sovereign nation, with their own Fish and Game Commission and separate regulations regarding fishing and hunting on the reservation.
The term of FWP Commissioner Dan Vermillion also expired in December. Schweitzer reappointed Vermillion to the commission.
The Montana Senate will be asked to confirm Stafne's appointment and Vermillion's reappointment.
Schweitzer's office did not respond to a request for a comment on why Doll was not reappointed.
Other FWP commissioners said they did not hear about Stafne's appointment until earlier this week.
"Willie Doll was an outstanding commissioner and he spoke to the rancher and landowner issues with wisdom and intelligence," said Ron Moody, Region 4 FWP Commissioner.
Moody said he does not know Stafne. FWP Commission Chairman Shane Colton of Billings was unavailable for comment.
Doll said he did not hear about not being reappointed or about Stafne's appointment until Friday night, when he received a call from the governor's office.
"It was a surprise and a shock to a lot of people," Doll said Wednesday. "All (the caller) said was, 'Mr. Doll, you have been replaced on the Commission. You are no longer a commissioner.'
"I asked if had done something wrong and she said, 'No, it is Brian's choice' and that was it. It is about as cold and unprofessional as you could get," Doll said.
Stafne joins the Commission in time for the April 14 meeting in Helena.
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Connecting With Our Animal Spirit Guides
.....Messenger.....Shadow.....Journey.....Lifetime.....
..... DOVE ....
Love...Joy...Gentleness...Prophecy...Maternal Instincts...Future with Clarity...Patience...Security
Dove Medicine comes to us to teach us many life lessons, related to home and family. It puts us in touch with our creative energies, and has the ability to stir our emotions. It brings us hope for new beginnings, and can help us with the art of communication, cooperation, compassion, and forgiveness. This medicine can help us learn to "walk between the worlds" of the physical and spiritual.
When Dove Medicine is present in our lives, we are being asked to go within, and try to release any emotional dis-harmonies, whether it be in the past, or in the present. Doves carry the energy of promise, inner-healing, and general healing on all levels, having to do with emotion...physical, mental, and spiritual.
Doves are content when their relationships and home environments are calm and peaceful, and the same is true with the humans who have strong Dove Medicine.
Doves are often easily hunted by predators, as they have very little in the way of defense. A dove person can sometimes appear defenseless, and can often have creative ideas stolen from those who would not care to do their own work, but rather take the easy way out and use these ideas.
Dove people have a sense of innocence about them, which can make them attractive to those who would like to "prey" upon them, and they must realize that not everyone will have their best interests at heart. Flirting can be misconstrued, and they can sometimes easily attract those who would be interested in having them as a proverbial "meal."
Doves tend to breed prolifically, which consistently insures continuation of the species. The males will engage in a mating dance, as they puff up their neck feathers, bob their heads up and down, dance in circles, and coo loudly. They can be totally oblivious to what is actually going on around them. This ability can be helpful, as when highly focused, creativity and productivity are more easily achieved.
Doves are ground-feeders, which signifies a strong connection to the earth. The voice of the dove has been referred to as "The Rain Song," symbolizing that no matter what the current situation is, 'new water' or 'new life' is always possible. Their 'singing' can heard throughout the day, but most especially the first thing in the morning, and the last thing before nightfall, when the veils of the physical and spiritual worlds are very thin. The cooing can sound comforting or very mournful, and your perception at any given time can often mirror energies that are currently present in your own life.
Some other messages Dove Medicine may bring could be the possibility of travel, or relocation to a new home. A new relationship could begin, or an old one possibly rekindled. Perhaps help or assistance is on its way from unexpected sources, in the way of rescue or transformation. It can afford strength in the ability to leave a destructive or difficult life situation. A death may be at hand in the near future, whether it be a physical death of someone close to you, or perhaps a symbolic or a spiritual death, within yourself.
Those with strong Dove Medicine will often seem to find a strong connection with the number "7" and will notice that it appears to them frequently. "7" is a mystical number that sometimes indicates an opening between the physical world and the mystical realm.
Doves are often associated with "Pleiades"...the brightest open constellation in the night sky, also sometimes called "The Seven Sisters." There are many stories that explain how this cluster of stars came to be.
In Greek Mythology, the daughters of Pleione and Atlas were being pursued by Orion for seven years. They finally escaped when Zeus agreed to transform them into Doves. The seven sisters (Asterope, Alcyone, Maia, Electra, Taygete, Celaeno and Merope) flew up into the sky to become the constellation Pleiades.
An Onondaga Legend...
A long time ago a party of Indians went through the woods toward a good hunting-ground, which they had long known. They traveled several days through a very wild country, going on leisurely and camping by the way.
At last they reached Kan-ya-ti-yo, "the beautiful lake," where the gray rocks were crowned with great forest trees. Fish swarmed in the waters, and at every jutting point the deer came down from the hills around to bathe or drink of the lake. On the hills and in the valleys were huge beech and chestnut trees, where squirrels chattered, and bears came to take their morning and evening meals.
The chief of the band was Hah-yah-no, "Tracks in the water," and he halted his party on the lake shore that he might return thanks to the Great Spirit for their safe arrival at this good hunting-ground. "Here will we build our lodges for the winter, and may the Great Spirit, who has prospered us on our way, send us plenty of game, and health and peace." The Indian is always thankful.
The pleasant autumn days passed on. The lodges had been built, and hunting had prospered, when the children took a fancy to dance for their own amusement. They were getting lonesome, having little to do, and so they met daily in a quiet spot by the lake to have what they called their jolly dance. They had done this a long time, when one day a very old man came to them. They had seen no one like him before. He was dressed in white feathers, and his white hair shone like silver. If his appearance was strange, his words were unpleasant as well. He told them they must stop their dancing, or evil would happen to them. Little did the children heed, for they were intent on their sport, and again and again the old man appeared, repeating his warning.
The mere dances did not afford all the enjoyment the children wished, and a little boy, who liked a good dinner, suggested a feast the next time they met. The food must come from their parents, and all these were asked when they returned home. "You will waste and spoil good victuals," said one. "You can eat at home as you should," said another, and so they got nothing at all. Sorry as they were for this, they met and danced as before. A little to eat after each dance would have made them happy indeed. Empty stomachs cause no joy.
One day, as they danced, they found themselves rising little by little into the air, their heads being light through hunger. How this happened they did not know, but one said, "Do not look back, for something strange is taking place." A woman, too, saw them rise, and called them back, but with no effect, for they still rose slowly above the earth. She ran to the camp, and all rushed out with food of every kind, but the children would not return, though their parents called piteously after them. But one would even look back, and he became a falling star. The others reached the sky, and are now what we call the Pleiades, and the Onondagas Oot-kwa-tah. Every falling or shooting star recalls the story, but the seven stars shine on continuously, a pretty band of dancing children...
* Onondaga is an Iroquoian language of the Northeast Woodlands. It has been reported that only about 50 or so Onondaga Elders still speak the language fluently, mostly in Canada. However, on both sides of the Canadian and United States border, there are young people working to keep their ancestral language alive.
Have a Blessed Spring Season!
Dancing-Night-Crow
... Thank You... Shiakoda, for filling in for me and writing last month's "Animal Spirit Guide" story for the "Wolf Spirit Newsletter"...
Taput-Ni !
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Seminole Tribe 'offended' by military comparison to terrorists
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Seminole Tribe of Florida will ask the Department of Defense to withdraw portions of a brief that compared Seminole ancestors to the terrorist group al-Qaeda.
The comparison showed up in a case in the U.S. Court of Military Commissions Review. Government lawyers likened the situation to the treatment of two British men who were hanged in 1818 for helping the Seminoles resist the U.S. military.
"Not only was the Seminole belligerency unlawful, but, much like modern-day al Qaeda, the very way in which the Seminoles waged war against U.S. targets itself violate the customs and usages of war," the brief stated.
The argument drew an angry response from the tribe. "To equate the historic struggle of our ancestors in resisting General Andrew Jackson’s unlawful invasion of our homeland to al Qaeda terrorism is a vicious distortion of well-documented history," general counsel Jim Shore told The Miami Herald.
"The Government’s strained comparison of Native Americans to al Qaeda is disrespectful to our Tribe, all American Indians and our American Indian military veterans, as well as those in active military service," Shore added.
After the National Congress of American Indians complained, government attorneys submitted another brief in which they said they weren't trying to "equates" the behavior of the Seminoles to those of al-Qaeda. The brief also said the government "in no way questions or impugns the valor, bravery and honorable military service of Native Americans, past and present."
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Organizers cancel World Indigenous Nations Games in Canada
Friday, March 25, 2011
The World Indigenous Nations Games have been canceled.
The games were to take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2012. But organizers weren't able to secure government funding and they ran into logistical problems.
"As time got closer and closer, from a host planning perspective there was obviously a lot of logistical things that need to be looked at — facilities and venues and where to host athletes and house them and those kinds of things," Jeff Hnatiuk, chair of the WIN games steering committee, told CBC News.
The event was to take place over 10 days.
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Oglala Sioux activist being held without bond for elder protest
Friday, March 25, 2011
Duane Martin Sr. of the Strong Heart Warrior Society is being held without bond in connection with a protest against the elderly meals program of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Martin's first bond hearing was March 18 but he wasn't present. The tribe's detention facility apparently failed to release him for the hearing and he was denied bond after tribal prosecutors said he posed a threat to the community.
Martin's supporters are asking a tribal judge to reconsider the bond request. He is facing charges of criminal trespass, breaking and entering, rioting, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and elder abuse.
Martin was the only person arrested for the ongoing occupation of the building that houses the elder meals program. Activists are accusing the staff of elder abuse, denying meals, keeping unsanitary conditions and serving undercooked food.
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Al Jazeera: Fort Peck Tribes battle to restore bison in Montana
Friday, March 25, 2011
"In the remote northeast corner of Montana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Robert Magnan has built a fence.
Stretching nearly 42 kilometers across more than 2,000 hectares of Montana's snow swept plains, it's taken two years and $200,000 raised by the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck to complete the fence.
Now Magnan waits for the last piece of the plan.
Hundreds of kilometers south of the Fort Peck reservation, where Montana and Wyoming meet in Yellowstone National Park, we find what Magnan is waiting for. Staggeringly large, burly, and grand – bison.
An icon of the country's western wild land. Magnan, who heads up the tribes' Fish and Game Department, hopes that the land enclosed by the fence will one day provide a new home to just a few of the park's iconic bison herd.
Yellowstone's roughly 3,900 bison, also known as buffalo, are the last herd directly descended from the tens of millions of American wild bison that once thundered across the Great Plains.
But the road from Yellowstone to the far reaches of Fort Peck's pasture is so far closed.
Winter in the Rockies is not for the faint of heart. Even for these bison, who have survived the harsh winds and sub-zero climate for seemingly time immemorial, it is an annual rite of survival that now brings tests beyond temperature.
During especially harsh winters – just like this season – bison often leave the park in search of food.
Once they reach the greener grass, they face a new challenge – not winter, but people.
The foraging bison are rounded up into corrals by state livestock authorities riding horse or helicopter and tested for brucellosis. The disease, which can be passed between species, causes livestock to abort their young – a condition that cattle ranchers are understandably not eager to encounter in their herds."
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Google supports Cherokee written language in search engine
Friday, March 25, 2011
You can now search Google using the Cherokee Syllabary, the written Cherokee language.
Translators from the Cherokee Nation worked with the company to add the language and a special Cherokee keyboard to its search engine. The syllabary was developed by Sequoyah in the early 1800s.
"I believe that efforts like those of Google are essential to keeping our language alive," Chief Chad Smith said in a press release. "We have been working hard to get our young people interested in learning our Native tongue but we cannot be successful unless they can read and write in the medium of their era – all the digital devices that are currently so popular."
The Cherokee language can also be used on the Apple iPhone.
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Diane Humetewa named advisor for Arizona State University
Friday, March 25, 2011
Diane Humetewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe, has been named special advisor for American Indian Affairs. at Arizona State University.
Humetewa, who was the first Indian woman to serve as a U.S. Attorney, will help President Michael M. Crow work with tribes. She'll lead the ASU Tribal Liaison Advisory Committee and serve on the Provost’s Native American Advisory Council.
Humetewa also will focus on Indian student retention at ASU.
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Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about eleven (11)
things they did not and will not learn in school.
He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings
created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and
how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.
The world will expect you to accomplish something
BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.
You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a
boss
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.
Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping:
They called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so
don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as
they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about
how cool you thought you were.
So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your
parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but
life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer.
*This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real
life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers
off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.
*Do that on your own time.
Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life.
In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to
jobs.
Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds.
Chances are you'll end up working for one.
If you can read this... Thank a Teacher.
If you can read this in America... Thank a Soldier!
And for life and everything else you have... Thank God!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The sacred fire used to heat the rocks represents the eternal fire that burns at the center of the universe."
-- Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA Our Sweat Lodge represents the womb of Mother Earth. This is the place of forgiveness. The altar is the place where the Grandfathers are heated. The Sweat Lodge and the altar represent the whole story of the universe. The Sweat Lodge and the ceremonies are sacred. The Great Spirit gave these things to us to help us. He taught us to do the ceremonies in harmony with Mother Earth. We need to know and understand these things.
Great Spirit, let me understand harmony
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Prayer Request 03/07/11
We are asking everyone to say a prayer for "Darkhorse" 3rd Battalion 5th
Marines and their families. They are fighting it out in Afghanistan &
they have lost 9 marines in 4 days.
Semper Fi, God Bless America and God Bless the United States Services
Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever.
Justin Allen, 23,
Brett Linley, 29,
Matthew Weikert, 29,
Justus Bartett, 27,
Dave Santos, 21,
Chase Stanley, 21,
Jesse Reed, 26,
Matthew Johnson, 21,
Zachary Fisher, 24,
Brandon King, 23,
Christopher Goeke, 23,
Sheldon Tate, 27,
All are Marines that gave their lives for YOU this week.
Please honor THEM by forwarding this.
Thank you, Jerry Halt
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Editorial: IHS bars media from tribal meeting in South Dakota
Friday, March 25, 2011
"U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Indian Health Service, met this week with tribal leaders from an eight-state region. IHS Director Yvette Roubideaux attended the meetings, but a spokesman for her office said it was not Roubideaux' decision to close the meeting.
An official from Health and Human Services said the meeting was closed at the request of tribal leaders. It's unfortunate that the reticence of some tribal leaders prevailed. It's also unfortunate that HHS and IHS officials didn't do more to convince tribal leaders of the value of open meetings.
Merle St. Claire, tribal chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, said public input about problems at IHS is needed.
He accused federal officials of paying lip service to tribal complaints, and said they would have accomplished more for Native people if the meetings had been opened to the public.
"They're jumping through hoops to make it look like they're doing something," he said. "Tribal members, non-tribal members, and the press should have been involved."
Indian tribes are sovereign nations that aren't obligated to comply with federal open meeting laws. But we can't help but wonder if federal officials had their own reasons for shutting out the media. Tribal leaders likely shared a long list of complaints about the quality of health care for Native Americans.
We won't call the closed meetings an effort to cover that up, but it certainly does nothing to reassure tribal members or the broader public that the problems are being adequately addressed."
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FUNNYS:
This is mythical and deep.
Truly beautiful...
A man asked an American Indian what was his wife's name.
He replied, "She called Five Horses".
The man said, "That's an unusual name for your wife. What does it mean?"
The Old Indian answered, "It old Indian Name. It mean... NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG
*~ *~ *~ *~ *~
A Really Bad Day
There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stays like that for half of an hour.
Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry."
"No, it's not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office. My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I leave the building, to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away."
"I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar. And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison."
*~ * ~ *~ *~ *~
Bob was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was
really pissed.
She told him "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the
driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in 6 seconds AND IT BETTER BE THERE !!"
The next morning he got up early and left for work. When his wife woke
up, she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box
gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway.
Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, brought
the box back in the house.
She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.
Bob has been missing since Friday.
*~ *~ * ~ *~ *~
A blonde, wanting to earn some money, decided to hire herself out as a handyman-type and started canvassing a wealthy neighborhood. She went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any jobs for her to do.
"Well, you can paint my porch. How much will you charge?"
The blonde said, "How about 50 dollars?" The man agreed and told her that the paint and ladders that she might need were in the garage. The man's wife, inside the house, heard the conversation and said to her husband, "Does she realize that the porch goes all the way around the house?"
The man replied, "She should. She was standing on the porch."
A short time later, the blonde came to the door to collect her money.
"You're finished already?" he asked. "Yes," the blonde answered, "and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats. "Impressed, the man reached in his pocket for the $50. "And by the way," the blonde added, "that's not a Porch, it's a Ferrari."
*~ *~ *~ *~ *~
Girls night out
Two women friends had gone out for a Girls Night Out, and had been decidedly over-enthusiastic on the cocktails. Incredibly drunk and walking home they suddenly realized they both needed to pee. They were very near a graveyard and one of them suggested they do their business behind a headstone or something. The first woman had nothing to wipe with so she took off her panties, used them and threw them away. Her friend however was wearing an expensive underwear set and didn't want to ruin hers, but was lucky enough to salvage a large ribbon from a wreath that was on a grave and proceeded to wipe herself with it. After finishing, they made their way home.
The next day the first woman's husband phones the other husband and said, "These damn girls nights out have got to stop. My wife came home last night without her panties." "That's nothing," said the other. "Mine came back with a sympathy card stuck between the cheeks of her butt that said, 'From all of us at the Fire Station, Well never forget you!
*~ *~ *~ *~ * ~
Some of these would make good 'powwow' jokes!!
Two cowboys come upon an Indian lying on his stomach with his ear to the ground.One of the cowboys stops and says to the other, "You see that Indian?" "Yeah," says the other cowboy. "Look," says the first one, "he's listening to the ground. He can hear things for miles in any direction."
Just then the Indian looks up. "Covered wagon," he says,
"about two miles away. Have two horses, one brown, one white. Man, woman, child, household effects in wagon."
"Incredible!" says the cowboy to his friend. "This Indian knows how far away they are, how many horses, what color they are, who is in the wagon, and what is in the wagon. Amazing!"
The Indian looks up and says, "Ran over me about a half hour ago."
*~ *~ *~ *~ * ~
A guy traveling through the prairies of the USA stopped at a small town and went to a bar. He stood at the end of the bar, ordered a drink, and lit up a cigar.
As he sipped his drink, he stood there quietly blowing smoke rings. After he blew nine or ten smoke rings into the air, an angry American Indian stomped up to him and said, "One more remark like that and I'll smash your face in!"
*~ * ~ *~ *~ *~
The tourist was admiring the Indian's necklace.
"What is it made of?" she asked.
"Alligator's teeth," the Indian replied.
"I suppose," she said patronizingly, "that they mean as much to you as pearls do to us."
"Oh, no," he objected. "Anybody can open an oyster."
*~ *~ * ~ *~ *~
"Dad, do you think that the American Indians were superior to the white men who took this land from them?" asked the young boy.
"You bet," replied the father. "When the Indians were the sole occupants of this land, they had no taxes, no national debt, no centralized government, no military draft, no foreign aid programs,no banks, no stock markets, no nuclear weapons, and their women did all the work. What could be more superior to that?"
*~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~
A film crew was on location deep in the desert. One day an Old Indian went up to the director and said,
"Tomorrow rain."
The next day it rained.
A week later, the Indian went up to the director and said, "Tomorrow storm."
The next day there was a hailstorm.
"This Indian is incredible," said the director. He told his secretary to hire the Indian to predict the weather.
However, after several successful predictions, the old Indian didn't show up for two weeks.
Finally the director sent for him. "I have to shoot a big scene tomorrow," said the director, "and I'm depending on you.
What will the weather be like?"
The Indian shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know," he said. "Radio is broken."
*~ * ~ * ~ *~ *~
An Australian travel writer touring Canada was checking out of the Vancouver Hilton, and as he paid his bill said to the manager, "By the way, what's with the Indian chief sitting in the lobby?
He's been there ever since I arrived."
"Oh that's 'Big Chief Forget-me Not'," said the manager.
"The hotel is built on an Indian reservation, and part of the agreement is to allow the chief free use of the premises for the rest of his life. He is known as 'Big Chief Forget-me Not' because of his phenomenal memory. He is 92 and can remember the slightest details of his life."
The travel writer took this in, and as he was waiting for his cab decided to put the chief's memory to the test.
"G'dye, myte!" said the Aussie, receiving only a slight nod in return. "What did you have for breakfast on your 21st birthday?"
"Eggs," was the chief's instant reply, without even looking up, and indeed the Aussie was impressed.
He went off on his travel writing itinerary, right across to the east coast and back, telling others of Big Chief Forget-Me-Not's great memory. (One local noted to him that 'How' was a more appropriate greeting for an Indian chief than'G'dye myte.')
On his return to the Vancouver Hilton six months later, he was surprised to see 'Big Chief Forget-me Not' still sitting in the lobby, fully occupied with whittling away on a stick.
"How," said the Aussie.
"Scrambled," said the Chief.
*~ * ~ * ~ *~ *~
A tourist stopped off at a small railroad station where, sitting by the side of the tracks, there were Indians selling their wares.
The tourist saw a blanket he liked very much, and was told that the price was a hundred dollars. The tourist offered fifty.
The Indian said, "Price is one hundred. Bargains like Manhattan you no get anymore!"
*~ *~ *~ * ~ *~
A Native American Indian came to New York for the first time and checked into a hotel. Tired from a long bus ride, he went right to his room. On the bed was a blanket. The Indian picked it up and walked down to the lobby.
Putting the blanket on the check-in-counter, he told the clerk,
"Last man in room leave overcoat!"
*~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~
Four Indian chiefs went into a restaurant for a bite.
The maitre d' asked, "Do you have a reservation?"
One Indian chief answered, "Certainly. In Arizona!"
* ~ *~ *~ * ~ *~
As the Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding along towards the north, they spotted a war party of 50 Apaches coming at them. They turned south and spotted a war party of 100 braves coming at them. Then, they turned east and spotted a war party of 150 braves coming at them. Finally, they turned west and spotted a war party of 200 braves coming at them.
The Lone Ranger turned to his friend and said, "Well, Tonto, this is the end, there's not much we can do."
Tonto looked back at the Lone Ranger, and replied, "What you mean WE, white man?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RECIPES:
Winter Corn Chowder
Yield: 1 pot
1 1/2 c Dried corn 6 sl Bacon
4 c Milk 1/2 ts Salt
3 c Broth 2 c Chopped onion
2 ts Sugar
Rinse corn and combine with broth in saucepan; bring to boil. Remove to heat and allow to stand for 2 hours, then cook for 45 minutes. Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. Drain. Cook onion in drippings. Add to corn and simmer 5 minutes. Add milk, sugar, and salt; sprinkle with bacon.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Wild Sage Bread
1 pkg dry yeast 1 t salt
1 c cottage cheese 1/4 t baking soda
2 egg 1/4 c lukewarm water
1 tb melted lard or shortening 2 1/2 c flour
1 tb sugar
8 t crushed dried wild sage
Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Beat together egg and cheese until smooth, add melted shortening and yeast.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, adding flour mixture slowly and beating vigorously after each addition until stiff dough is formed. Cover dough with cloth and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until double in bulk. Punch dough down, knead for one minute and put into buttered pan or casserole. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Brush top with melted shortening and sprinkle with crushed, roasted pinon nuts or coarse salt.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Wild Apple Cornbread
Yield: 1 loaf
2 c Yellow cornmeal 1 T Cold water
2 Eggs, beaten 2 c Buttermilk
1/4 c Granulated sugar 1 c Wild apples, peeled & grated
1 ts Baking soda 2 T Margarine, melted
1/2 ts Salt Honey
Mix together in top of double boiler the cornmeal, sugar, salt, milk and margarine. Set over hot water and cook for 10 minutes. Cool. Add eggs, soda (dissolved in water), and apples. Pour into greased baking dish and bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with wild honey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and
bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like
the company you keep in the empty moments.
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Being Indian is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings.
It is allowing the heart to be the distributor of energy on this planet, to allow feelings and sensitivities to
determine where energy goes: bringing aliveness up from the Earth and from the Sky, putting it in and giving it out fromt he heart"
~Brooke Medicine Eagle~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pray For:
Chief Strong Horse...strength and health
Tony Cricket...health and healing
Chief Standing Bear...health and wisdom
Barbara...healing
Harry...health and wisdom
Spirit...health, healing, wisdom and strength
Bob C...health and healing
Bobbi...health and strength
Chanel...strength, wisdom and health
Snake...wisdom and strength
Pray for all that are incarcerated that they find peace and a new way.
Wisdom for all our Clan Mothers, Chiefs and Council members.
Wisdom for our Spiritual Leaders to help others find their way.
Our troops fighting for our freedom.
Our Ancestors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KITCHEN MEDICINE:
CARAWAY
Use seeds in food, oil, infusion of seeds, tincture
Two chemicals in caraway seeds have been known to soothe the digestive tract and to help expel gas. It may also be used for relief of menstrual cramps due to the fact that caraway might relax the uterus.
Warnings: none
CATNIP (catnip, catswort, catmint, field balm )
Use infusion of flowers and leaves (for you not your cat )
When used in teas, it is considered a cold and cough remedy because it relieves chest congestion and lessens phlegm.
Warnings: some people may experience upset stomach but catnip is considered non toxic
CHAMOMILE (anthemis, matricaria, ground apple )
Use infusion or tincture of flowers, herbal bath
This herb is a highly used cure all and every household should seriously consider having it around. It has been used externally to treat wounds and inflammations, and internally for indigestion and ulcers. Chamomile is also used to relieve menstrual cramps, arthritis and is an effective sedative.
Warnings: People who have previously suffered anaphylactic reactions from ragweed should think twice about using this herb as well as its close relative yarrow. Large amounts have caused some nausea and vomiting.
CHICORY (endive, chicory )
Makes an excellent salad addition, infusion, tincture
Chicory is most commonly used to reduce the bitter taste of caffeine in coffee. It aids in cleansing the urinary tract, digestion, a mild laxative and is also taken for rheumatic conditions and gout/
Warnings: none
CINNAMON (Ceylon cinnamon, Saigon cinnamon, cassia )
Use infusion of powdered herb, sprinkle on cuts and scrapes for treatment
Cinnamon is used for infection prevention, pain relief, a digestive aid and may help calm the uterus
Warnings: when put on the skin may cause redness and burning
CLOVE (caryophyllus, clavos )
Use as oil , infusion
It has been used for toothaches, oral hygiene, a digestive aid and an infection fighter. It is also used to treat hernia, ringworm and athletes foot.
Warnings: Children under the age of 2 should never be given clove for medicinal purposes. The oil may cause upset stomach when taken internally and rash when used externally.
CORIANDER (cilantro, Chinese parsley )
Use as infusion
Used for indigestion, flatulence , and diarrhea and externally for muscle and joint pains.
Warnings: if coriander cause minor discomforts such as upset stomach use less or stop using it.
CRANBERRY
Use, juice
Used for urinary tract infections, incontinence, high vitamin C content
Warnings: none
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of our old, old holy men said, "Every step you take on earth should be a prayer. The power of a pure and good soul is in every person's heart and will grow as a seed as you walk in a sacred manner. And if every step you take is a prayer, then you will always be walking in a sacred manner.
Charmine White Face (Oglala Lakota 1991)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything is laid out for you. Your path is straight ahead of you. Sometimes it's invisible but it's there. You may not know where it's going, but you have to follow that path. It's the path to the Creator. It's the only path there is.
Chief Leon Shenandoah (Onondaga) 1990
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For my daughter:
I hope she knows how much she is loved and missed. Hurry home Spirit. '
A PRAYER
Oh Great Spirit
whose voice I hear in the winds,
and whose breath gives life to all the world,
~hear me~
I come before you, one of your children.
I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold
the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise, so that I may know the things
You have taught my People.
The lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength not to be superior to my brothers and sisters,
but to be able to fight my greatest enemy,
myself.
Make me ever ready to come to you,
with clean hands and straight eyes,
so when life fades as a fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, that's it for this month. I hope next month brings the warm temperatures we are all waiting for. (here in the north east anyway)
As always, if you would like to submit a prayer or article or birthday, etc. please let me know.
shiakoda@att.net
Blessings and good health to all,
Shiakoda Autumn Wolf Moon Q.
