|
Post by dT on Feb 9, 2015 12:34:37 GMT -5
I have decided to start a discussion about the theme ... of Sacred Land.
I have been thinking a lot about this issue lately, because it has come up during the Apache protests at Oak Flats. The essential issue is this: the Nde people see this place (Oak Flats) as a Sacred Place. It is sacred to them, not simply "culturally important". For this reason, the people see this issue as a "life and death" issue. And in many ways they are correct. If the San Carlos band only lives on the rez, but they lose the essential parts of their culture and religion, then the "Apache" within them is dead.
The issue of Sacred Land is coming up a lot lately. It is happening because more and more companies from the Dominant Civilization (white society) are trying to use Indian land for profit ... oil, gas, coal, copper, iron, powerplants, water. There is always some reason why the "outside world" wants to use the resources of the land, but they only TAKE and they never GIVE BACK. This is becoming a real crisis of values now!!
I want to try to share the words of one young man from the Dineh people (Navajo). He came to the protest at Oak Flats. And he spoke about his point of view about sacred land. I cannot quote his exact words - forgive me. But I believe that what I say here is very consistent with the meaning of what he told the people.
His words ...
---------------------------
"You say to me that the land where I live is not sacred land! But how do you know this? You tell me that you have consulted the list of special Indian sites that is kept in Washington DC and since my piece of land is not on this list, then it is ONLY ordinary land.
But I tell you that this is wrong!! The land where I worship has been with my people for a long time. We know it's real meaning ... we know our own ceremonies. We know what is sacred and what is not!
Do not presume to tell me ... what is sacred in my own culture! It is not my job - to provide you with a list of my sacred places. If you would talk to us with respect and humility Then perhaps we will discuss the truth with you. But I am not required to explain myself to the outside world. I am no-one's Redskin"!!
What is sacred to us - has been sacred for centuries ... a long time. We respect and love the Earth This does not change with us. Therefore ... you do NOT have the right to take it away!"
--------------------
I am creating this thread so that both Native and non-Native visitors will have the opportunity to discuss the idea of "sacred land". It is something that will cause many protests in this century.
People will go to jail because of this issue. And YES - people will die because of this issue!! Therefore, it is important that we try to understand it better, and to communicate between cultures.
Please express your views with respect. But by all means ... say what you really think!
blessings, Pete (dT)
|
|
|
Post by dT on Feb 10, 2015 12:34:36 GMT -5
AS we look at the developing struggle over the issue of "Sacred Lands' and "Pristine Earth" ... we realize that what we are truly fighting ... is a battle against a mindset. The struggle to get people to understand why the Earth is sacred and should be protected - is really a struggle about how people see our planet and the land.
To give an example of what I am talking about ...
Imagine a stretch of desert scenery. The land is dry, and there are scattered bushes, along with rocks and low hills. For some people, such as the Dineh people (Navajo) this land might be very important, and a particular area could be sacred to them.
But for other people from a different culture, the same land appears to be "barren", "undeveloped". These ideas go with a mindset - that land has no "VALUE" unless it has been "turned into something". For example, the land was turned into farmland, or the land was turned into a mine to produce ore, or the land was paved and turned into a shopping center. People who have this mindset, believe that barren land, or natural land, is fundamentally useless, or without inherent value, unless something is DONE to it. This type of thinking is actually prevalent throughout our Dominant Culture on Earth today - it is pervasive and is carried in the media all the time. How many times have you heard words like this ... "well when my grandparents came here, there was nothing. But they fenced the land, built a house by the creek. Then they sold half of it, and that's where the town is today!'. These words are often spoken with pride. The inherent idea is that hard work will take "useless" land and make it into a civilized development.
The problem with this thinking - is that there is NO END to it. When is enough ... enough?
In the words of Sitting Bull ...
The love of possessions is a disease with them. They take tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich who rule. They claim this Mother of ours, the Earth, for their own And then they fence their own neighbors away! If America had been TWICE the size that it is, There still would not have been enough!"
THESE words come back to haunt us in the 21'st century. WHY? Because we are living on a planet with 7.2 billion people today. And in another 44 years we will ADD an extra - 2.8 billion people, bringing the total to 10 billion people!
But does anyone ask - how we can possibly sustain 10 billion people in this world? We are acting like we can throw away the Earth, and there are 5 more Earth's available. There are NOT!!
Hence the struggle .. over "Sacred Land" versus "Land that needs to be developed". Hence the struggle ... over "Pristine Earth" versus "Sell parcels of land to willing buyers".
Pete
|
|
|
Post by dT on Feb 11, 2015 9:30:28 GMT -5
Testimony at the Oak Flats Protest From a Dineh Woman (Navajo Tribe)
the situation described in these words affects Navajo lands, not Apache lands. But many Native speakers came to the Oak Flats protest to offer solidarity and support for the San Carlos people. And the concerns for all groups - are very similar. ---------------------------
You think that because we are far from your cities Therefore our life must be good BUT we have four power plants in our region The smoke from these plants blows across our sky They take the water from our best aquifer And use it for their coal mining This is some of the best quality water in the Southwest And they have been using it for years - for coal
We told these problems to the Government health services They said it was not a problem Well I say to them ... YOU COME AND LIVE HERE! Today our people have cancers and respiratory diseases We never used to have these things
People think that because our reservation is far away That we are living in some kind of wilderness utopia But it's just not true!
Dineh Woman
|
|
|
Post by Dietmar on Feb 11, 2015 10:18:09 GMT -5
Pete,
please, take a break, you can´t force anyone to answer.
Thanks. Dietmar
|
|
|
Post by dT on Feb 11, 2015 12:19:29 GMT -5
Dietmar ... I'm not trying to force people to answer. I hope that people enjoy these thoughts, but it's entirely up to them to participate or not. I was thinking that I would share a few moments from the Oak Flats ceremony each day. But if you think this is excessive - I can stop.
BUT let me clarify one thing. Maybe I didn't explain this clearly. The protest at Oak Flats - a fight over Sacred Land - is ONGOING. This is not a meeting that happened for 2 days, and then stopped.
The Chiricahuas have occupied the site permanently. They are not leaving! At the same time, the mining company has plans to move ahead and commence clearing the land. Obviously - this is a conflict. Both sides cannot win. How this plays out ... is anyone's guess. But it is an on-going protest, and probably will lead to people being arrested. That is the most logical outcome.
BUT a Reminder ... THIS Protest is entirely peaceful. No-one is armed, no-one is violent, no-one is confrontational. Just the opposite. THANKS!!
special thanks! Pete
|
|
|
Post by jasper4 on Feb 12, 2015 22:28:33 GMT -5
Thank You for your effort and updates. The issue is as wonder what folks would do if their church or place of prayer was taken away. Yet the struggle is complex what is simple is the ways of the corrupt and greedy humans whose lunacy is never ending. I have nothing but praise for my kin and You for maling a stand. I offer prayers and pollen for all there and again Enjun
|
|
|
Post by dT on Feb 12, 2015 23:23:59 GMT -5
Jasper4 - you are correct. I thought the same thing. Imagine that a white man goes to Phoenix. He takes a bulldozer and he crushes a church! The people are angry and they say "WHY did you do this?". The man replies ... "Well I thought it was a building that was not being used. It is Monday and the place was empty!". Then the people say ... "Are you crazy? This is a sacred building!". And the man replies ... "I checked the list of churches. This building is not listed. Therefore - it cannot be a church!". If something like that happened, there would be a huge outcry. But because traditional land of the Chiricahuas is taken away, and the land appears to be barren or not used - then the politicians think this is OK.
My own sense of outrage is this. There are two main areas for the Chiricahuas: The Chiricahua Monument and the Cochise Stronghold. Both are very important to the religion of the people. Both have been taken away completely. Now the San Carlos people and the Mescalero people are living on reservations, which are really POW camps. Maybe Oklahoma too. The Apache people were a mountain people, but instead they were given only bad land at low altitude in the desert. Both these traditional areas of the Apaches could be GIVEN BACK to the Chiricahuas - or at least some sort of dual-use land rights could be worked out. Something that restores the people to their traditional land. But the state of Arizona does nothing. And instead ... now they take away the final sacred area for the San Carlos tribe (and all Chiricahuas). So the situation is outrageous.
BUT I must give credit to the folks who are "doing the time" in the protest. There are San Carlos people out at Oak Flats every day. They have the "skin in the game", because if things go wrong ... they will be arrested. The Arizona prison system is a nasty piece of work. So the San Carlos people are taking a real risk by doing this protest. But they are holding strong to their commitment. And therefore they deserve RESPECT. I will continue to try to help them, and get over to Oak Flats when I can.
Much credit to the organizers of this protest - who have made a commitment to be 100% peaceful in all actions. THANKS to every person who goes to Oak Flats and gives some help!! I pray this ends peacefully, and in a good way.
LONG LIVE the Chiricahua nation !!!
Pete (dT)
|
|
|
Post by jasper4 on Dec 31, 2015 14:07:06 GMT -5
The Apache Code of Honor
Traditional Apaches had no laws, police, judges, or jails. So how did they maintain social order? During peacetime, older people passed down a code of honor to younger ones by oral tradition and example. In the late 1900s, an Apache explained the code of conduct in this way:
“Good conduct is the result of obeying the customs, and it is up to the person
.A man would come to a bad end in the old days [if] he violated the customs
.If you obey all the rules, you get along all right
.But if a person doesn’t take hold of the customs, if he cuts loose, if he doesn’t treat other people right, he has no chance. Then the others do not help him. He is alone. He is bound to come to a bad end and perhaps be killed. A person just has to observe certain things. They aren’t lawsthey are strong, we don’t need laws.”
|
|
|
Post by dT on Feb 2, 2016 8:05:10 GMT -5
i listened to a young Apache woman describe her own experience. she returned to the Sacred Land as a ritual. She drank water from a stream with her lips. She did not put the water into a container, or a plastic vessel. Because this would destroy the purity of the water ... from a spiritual point of view. Therefore, only her lips were allowed to touch the water when she drank.
This viewpoint about the importance of a sacred Earth, and the purity of human existence with nature, is completely missing from the Dominant Civilization.
|
|
|
Post by jasper4 on May 17, 2017 13:41:20 GMT -5
In the Guadalupes there is a mountain with a rock formation resembling a huge face [Guadalupe Point]. It keeps perpetual watch for enemies from the east. In our language it is called Say-á-chee. It is a sacred mountain, even as the one in the San Andres. From a cave beneath that great face come sounds of singing and dancing such as occur in our sacred rites. Many Apaches had heard those sounds and were curious about them, but nobody had had the courage to enter that place. Long ago some Warm Springs Apache had visited their brothers and were told of the cave. Among them was a wise and good woman, a medicine woman - E-són-knh sen dé hé. She decided to visit the cave. Her friends tried to dissuade her but could not. They accompanied her to the foot of the cliff where she told them to wait and pray for her return. They obeyed, for her Medicine was good and her Power great. While she was gone they heard the songs and the drums, and experienced unusual sensations just as the Mescaleros had described them. This was understandable, for the sounds were not made by Earth People. She was gone so long that they thought her dead. They were happy when they heard her call to them. Then she appeared with a lamb in her arms. They waited respectfully for her to speak about her experience in the cave, but were too polite to question her. Apaches tell what they wish - nothing more. Her friends noticed that after this visit the Medicine Woman's cures were many, and her good deeds multiplied. The Warm Springs Chihenne people returned to their camp near Mount Meteor, in their own country. The Medicine Woman called them together and told them what Ussen had commanded: that she climb that wall and pray to the Creator of Life. "But that is impossible, my sister. No man has ever scaled that precipice." "Ussen has spoken. I obey." "Then let one man, or more, go with you." "Only Ussen can help me. Stay at the foot and pray for me." They watched her climb the steep slope to the foot of the cliff. There she lifted her arms and eyes, and she prayed. She began climbing, clinging to the wall, and finding first one foothold, then another. Far above her an opening appeared in the solid rock. Leading toward it she found steps, toeholds not there before. Sometimes it looked to those below that she could go no further, but always when her foot felt for a niche it found one. She reached the opening to the cave which was guarded by a huge bear on either side. Beyond the bears she saw a pair of mountain lions, then two huge snakes, and beyond them two more that we do not name. To enter she must pass between the rows of beasts. She was frightened, but she walked calmly with bowed head. The door closed behind her, but there was light in the cave. She could see dimly the rows of Mountain Spirits between whom she must walk. "What does our daughter seek?", they asked. "That which will benefit my people." "We all have the Power. Each of us has a different Power. We can bestow upon you only one. Speak." "What Power have you?" "That of healing smallpox. Others have other Powers." "All are good, but I seek that which heals sickness of the Spirit." Not until she reached the last aged woman did she find what she sought. "My daughter, do you realize what you ask?" Perhaps not, Mother, but in your infinite wisdom you know what will bring the greatest good to my people." "I do. If you had not been virtuous you would never have returned from the cave in Guadalupes. If you had not been brave you would never have entered this place. What you ask I shall give. It is this: at times your people may have direct communication with the Mountain Spirits." How can that be? We are Earth People." "You are of Earth, but you have reached this place where no other before you has been deemed worthy to come. We will come to you. Listen, remember, and obey: When your young girls have attained womanhood you are to make a feast for the worth - the chaste. You will observe the rite of which I tell you. It is for the maidens, their sponsors, and the medicine men. It is to commemorate the sanctity of the gift of producing new life. The medicine men are to sing many prayers, a hundred seventy-four, or more, during the four days of the ceremonial. You are to teach them these songs. While they sing the maidens are to dance, and the fourth night the singing is to continue until dawn. During this right the men will retire to a secret place and dress for their dance. There are to be four groups of four men each, for four is your sacred number. They will wear buckskin skirts, moccasins, and a mask surmounted by a high crown of sticks, painted with sacred symbols. Their bodies are to be blackened and symbols painted upon chest and back. The men are to be accompanied by one or more clowns, with bodies painted white, and heads covered with masks. These will be boys learning the rites so that they may in time be admitted to the company of the dancers. They are to serve the men, to return to them any wand that may be dropped by the dancers, and to relieve the solemnity of the occasion. This dance is to be performed only after night has fallen. The participants are to be treated with respect that would be shown if they were the Mountain Sprits they impersonate. No sign of recognition may be given them, not even by their mothers. Through the minds of the dancers, messages will be transmitted to the minds of the maidens who for the four days partake of the qualities of the White Painted Woman. The maidens will tell the medicine men of the messages they receive, and these must be obeyed, for they are for the benefit of the entire tribe. All who attend the dances will receive good." "All? The evil too?" "All. Even though an enemy be present he is to participate in the blessings." Then she gave the woman songs and symbols, more information than any one mind could have retained without Divine aid, and the Medicine Woman returned to her people. And again the cliff became un-scalable.
|
|
|
Post by Merle on May 21, 2017 4:59:19 GMT -5
Thank you so much, Jasper4, for sharing this with us, i really appreciate that very much :-)
|
|
|
Post by chicheman on May 21, 2017 13:56:17 GMT -5
Jasper, thank you for sharing that, this is precious and very appreciated and teaches us of true Nde Spirit and Tradition. Thank you !
|
|
|
Post by jasper4 on Jun 1, 2017 13:34:14 GMT -5
Jasper, thank you for sharing that, this is precious and very appreciated and teaches us of true Nde Spirit and Tradition. Thank you ! Your welcome my friend
|
|
|
Post by Pete (dT) on Jun 3, 2017 11:27:44 GMT -5
Jasper4
i am slow to reply. it was a big effort to return to the USA. I drove many miles.
Now, I want to thank you for your effort to write this tradition from the Apache history. Thank you for sharing. These memories and traditions are very precious.
We are reminded about how imortant the Earth is, this planet is the home for all people. At this time, we see with sadness and shock, that the President of the USA is opposed to actions that will save the Earth. But everywhere that I travel, people tell me the same things. Yes ... they are seeing big changes with the weather. Yes, it is becoming for difficult to have clean air, clean water, and to grow crops. People in many places in California, Arizona and Texas have said this to me. And in South America, where I lived for 16 months, the Indians said the same thing. The weather is changing, the world is changing. And still, society is not doing much to save life!
We have all forgotten how precious, and how sacred, the Earth really is.
Pete (dT)
|
|
|
Post by jasper4 on Jun 6, 2017 12:55:37 GMT -5
Jasper4 i am slow to reply. it was a big effort to return to the USA. I drove many miles. Now, I want to thank you for your effort to write this tradition from the Apache history. Thank you for sharing. These memories and traditions are very precious. We are reminded about how imortant the Earth is, this planet is the home for all people. At this time, we see with sadness and shock, that the President of the USA is opposed to actions that will save the Earth. But everywhere that I travel, people tell me the same things. Yes ... they are seeing big changes with the weather. Yes, it is becoming for difficult to have clean air, clean water, and to grow crops. People in many places in California, Arizona and Texas have said this to me. And in South America, where I lived for 16 months, the Indians said the same thing. The weather is changing, the world is changing. And still, society is not doing much to save life! We have all forgotten how precious, and how sacred, the Earth really is. Pete (dT) DT thanks for the heads up and I thought you may be interested. I am not here to much due to be grandfather. I have one in warzone for his 10th depolyment which is of my highest concern. Prayers and blessings
|
|