Consider what these people are saying.....
My grandparents used to tell us stories like this about others who simply walked away from their White Lives, having spent any time with Native People, trapping, hunting, or exploring with them. Many French people preferred to stay with their Native families than go back to France or places where the French settled in the New Country. Goes without saying, once accustomed to something, its hard to leave it for another.
Hmmmm, maybe that's why so many of our Native people find it hard to make it in the "true Indian world" and no longer want their own culture and language, but prefer to stay in the dominant society and speak English. Then too, there are all the other inducements, shopping centers, autos, cell phones, i.e., the American way of life. I have often wondered why so many no longer even want to learn their own language, but prefer to speak English. Its hard to get people to stay interested in their language....I have taught for some 35 years and believe me, it is a challenge to keep things interesting for the classes I have taught. When I think of what I have to compete with in the American way of life, it kind of gets discouraging sometimes, but I won't quit teaching this language of mine and sharing my cultural ways with neshnabek, so they can learn their own ways and language.
Nin se Neaseno...
Enjoy this article:
In today's encore excerpt - many children such as Jeff Smith were captured by the Native Americans in the mid-1800s, and though heartbroken, most were treated well. Most were returned as adults, where they faced the struggle of adjusting to a way of life they had forgotten, and the second heartbreak of having lost their Native American friends and a way of life they loved:
"Eventually, most of the captured children were sent back to their families, often against their will. Usually, a federal Indian agent, working together with a friendly Indian chief, arranged their release. But the redeemed captives found it much harder to readjust to their own people's ways than it had been to adapt to Indian society. Jeff Smith put it best: 'Everything seemed mighty tame after I got back home.'
"As adults, many of the former child captives lived in limbo between their original and adoptive cultures. A number of common characteristics set them apart. They were often reserved and did not talk much. ... A journalist who interviewed Jeff Smith noted, 'It took a three year acquaintance with him to induce him to say anything.' Adolph Korn's stepsister recalled: 'Always restless, he would sometimes take up his gun, leave home and be gone for days in the woods. When he came back he said little about where he had been.'
"When [Herman] Lehmann's mother made him attend school after he returned home, he threatened to tear down all the lattice in the schoolhouse so he could see out. His teacher wrote, 'As one in prison, he pined for the companionship of his lndian friends, and their manner of life.' Most of the former boy captives eventually became cowboys and worked the great cattle drives of the 1870s and 1880s. 'We couldn't content ourselves to stay indoors, and naturally went to working cattle,' explained Jeff Smith. Like the plains Indians, they could not settle in one place. Bianca Babb's grandson recalled: 'Grandmother had the Indian travel fever in her, because she was always buying a new house and moving. She said a person gets tired of looking at the same old thing all the time.' ...
"The former captives held fast to many of their Indian customs and teachings. One man reminisced that whenever Jeff Smith came to visit, he always slept outside under a big tree: 'Sometimes, if it was raining or real cold, he would come indoors, but even then, he would sleep on the hard floor with only his blanket. He didn't like to sit at the table to eat, choosing instead to sit 'Indian style,' eating in the corner or outdoors.'
"They were tougher than the average person and had no use for luxuries. Lehmann's hands were so hardened that he could grab a coal out of a fire and use it to light a cigarette, When Jeff Smith talked about his trail-driving days, he pointed out: 'As far as I was concerned, the usual occurrences that sometimes upset the other boys in the outfit had no weight with me. I had gone through so many worse things that they were scarcely noticeable.' ...
"A number of former captives could not hold a regular job and were never very successful financially. They resented any type of work that tied them down, such as farming or routine manual labor. The former boy captives thought those sorts of jobs were undignified. Some were too generous for their own good, giving away everything they had to anyone they liked, The Indians had taught them that wealth should be shared and enjoyed in the present, not hoarded or put away for the future."
Author: Scott Zesch
Title: "Strangers in Two Worlds"
Publisher: American History
Date: June 2007
Pages: 63-64
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
A Spring Story....
Ode atsokan etoyak shote ngom ewawidayek i ekendemyek ga she webek ngotek.....
This is a short story we are sharing today so you may know some of our myhtical history.....enjoy.
Nin se Neaseno.
Bnewi pene shna gi bbomget, pene gi ksenyamget, gi gwtektowek bemadsetthek.
A long time ago, it was winter all the time, it was cold all the time and people had a hard time.
Ngodek shna eyawek weshgget kwe gi mkedeke, ije egi ndotthget notth na datthe abwamgek.
One time a young girl fasted, and she asked that the weather would be warmer.
I tthe ni mnedon egi widmagwet da shetthget na notth ewi abwamgek.
So the spirits told her what she could do to make the weather warmer.
Gagish mkedeket egi widmowat ni wgetzimen, “Abdek wetthksenyak nwi shya,” wdenan.
After her fast, she told her parents, “I have to go north,” she told them.
“Wiye shi etthe yet o bemendek ode pene e bbomgek ngigo,” kedo o weshgget kwe.
“That’s where he’s at, the one responsible for it being winter all the time, I was told,” said the young girl.
“Mishgoswen ngi mingo ewi o wabmek. Abdek nwi o mttenwa, gishpen pkenwek wi mnokme mine wi niben.”
“I was given power to go see him. I have to challenge him, if I beat him there will be spring and summer.”
“Nitthe gishpen pkenagwyen?” kedo ni wneneyem. “Jo mine wika ke wabmesim,” wdenan wneneymen.
“What if he beats you?” said her mother. “Then you will never see me again,” she told her mother.
I the egi wshitat, mteno shna washe bmowdek wgi matthidon.
Then she got ready, she took only what she could pack on her back.
Ah itthe ibe wetthksenyak gi gwtekto, o kewesi. Gwa shna shke ewse msen emawdonek.
Meanwhile, up north, the old man was having a hard time. He was barely able to gather firewood.
Pene shna gi mshkewakwten I zibe gabmejwek besotth i edat. Pene gi kche noden shi.
The river that ran by, close to his house was always frozen over. It was always windy there.
O wtthe kewesi gi tthibdebe tthik shkwede shi edat. Gawa gewi psakwnemget i shkwede.
The old man sat in his lodge, next to the fire, which was barely going.
Bama she wiye bey detewegenet shi shkwademek. “Ahow. Bidgek,” kedo o kewesi.
Just then, somebody was knocking on the door. “Ahow. Come in,” said the old man.
Bama she sesksiyen bye bidge’net. Aptthe she goniwe o sesksi mine bigeje.
And a young maiden came in. She was really snowy and cold.
Mine I wdep wabgonen gi wiwkwebso. Mine geshe gi kche mnowabmenagwse.
Around her head, she wore a halo of Trailing Arbutus. And she was also very pretty.
“Bosho ndanes,” kedo. “Gda bye os shote shkwedek.” Pishne atemget gewi I shkwede.
“Hello daughter,” he said. “Come warm up here, by the fire.” The fire itself, was almost going out.
“Ahow nge ske’wa o ndo pwagen, ke wdemamen,” kedo o kewezi.
“Okay, I’ll light up my pipe, we will have a smoke,” said the old man.
Epiche wdemawat, “Ezakttheseyan iw ebinek ode gon,” kedo o kewezi.
While they were smoking, the old man said, “When I go outside, I bring on the snow.”
“Ah i geni ezakttheseyan ebye mokit o gises,” kedo gewi o seski.
“Oh, when I go outside, the sun comes out,” said the maiden.
“Shpemek eshenkenwiyan i notth ektthe ksenyak,” kedo o kewezi.
“When I throw my arms towards the sky, the weather gets colder,” said the old man.
“Nin wi shpemek eshenkenwiyan i abwamget,” kedo o sesksi.
“Me, when I throw my arms up at the sky, the weather gets warmer,” said the maiden.
Bama she peneshiyek kwedbek etnemaswat. Gi nabmegon ni kewesiyen.
All of a sudden, birds were singing on the roof. The old man just glared at her.
“Ekanabdeman I zibe I emshkewakwtek,” kedo o kewezi.
“When I look at the river, it freezes up,” said the old man.
“Nin wi ekanabdeman i zibe i engezet o mkewm,” kedo o sesksi.
“Me, when I look at the river, the ice melts,” said the maiden.
I tthe zagetth egi nabet ekanabdek i zibe.
Then, she looked outside to look at the river.
Epi tangedok notth gewi ne gshedemget i shkwede.
As she spoke, the fire started getting warmer.
Bama she o kewezi enodek emdwetthwek i zibe pi enengezet o mkwem.
Then, the old man heard the sound of the river, as the ice started to melt.
“Ngotthi epamseyan i ektthe bonik,’ kedo o kewezi.
“When I walk somewhere, it really snows,” said the old man.
“Metth she bebashyayan ematthigek ni wabgonen,” kedo o sesksi.
“Whereever I walk, the Trailing Arbutus grows,” said the maiden.
I tthe ekanabmet ni kewesiyen eshkem ne gatthi ye.
As she looked at the old man, he started getting smaller.
Mine zagetth enabet I shna ene skebgamgek ni mishkosen.
And as she looked outside again, the grass was turning green.
I tthe egi kwansego mno gishgek. Nekmek dnemaswek peneshiyek.
And it turned into a beautiful day. You could hear birds singing all over the place.
Gatthe tthibdebet o kewesi shna mteno gasweksek i waboyan.
Where the old man sat, all that was there, spread out, was his blanket.
Edapnek i waboyan o sesksi. I shna mteno mbish shi ga askobisek ga tthe nmedbet o kewezi.
The maiden picked up the blanket, and all there was under it, was a puddle of water, where the old man sat.
“I she shna yedek egi ngezet o kewezi,” shede e o sesksi.
“Oh, the old man must have melted,” thought the young maiden.
I tthe shna nekmek i gi pamadset o sesksi. Metth ttheshe ga bme shyat wiye shi ngom etthe matthigek ni wabgonen.
Then, the young maiden traveled all over. Wherever she went, is where the Trailing Arbutus grows today.
Mine she wiye I mamo netem zakimgek e mnokmek.
And it is the first plant to come up in the spring.
I wtthe ode sesksi egi pkenwat ni mkwemi wnenwen ngom wetthe yemgo ode emnokmek. Iw ektownangek.
Because the young maiden overpowered the iceman, is why we have Spring now. That is the story that is told.
This is a short story we are sharing today so you may know some of our myhtical history.....enjoy.
Nin se Neaseno.
Bnewi pene shna gi bbomget, pene gi ksenyamget, gi gwtektowek bemadsetthek.
A long time ago, it was winter all the time, it was cold all the time and people had a hard time.
Ngodek shna eyawek weshgget kwe gi mkedeke, ije egi ndotthget notth na datthe abwamgek.
One time a young girl fasted, and she asked that the weather would be warmer.
I tthe ni mnedon egi widmagwet da shetthget na notth ewi abwamgek.
So the spirits told her what she could do to make the weather warmer.
Gagish mkedeket egi widmowat ni wgetzimen, “Abdek wetthksenyak nwi shya,” wdenan.
After her fast, she told her parents, “I have to go north,” she told them.
“Wiye shi etthe yet o bemendek ode pene e bbomgek ngigo,” kedo o weshgget kwe.
“That’s where he’s at, the one responsible for it being winter all the time, I was told,” said the young girl.
“Mishgoswen ngi mingo ewi o wabmek. Abdek nwi o mttenwa, gishpen pkenwek wi mnokme mine wi niben.”
“I was given power to go see him. I have to challenge him, if I beat him there will be spring and summer.”
“Nitthe gishpen pkenagwyen?” kedo ni wneneyem. “Jo mine wika ke wabmesim,” wdenan wneneymen.
“What if he beats you?” said her mother. “Then you will never see me again,” she told her mother.
I the egi wshitat, mteno shna washe bmowdek wgi matthidon.
Then she got ready, she took only what she could pack on her back.
Ah itthe ibe wetthksenyak gi gwtekto, o kewesi. Gwa shna shke ewse msen emawdonek.
Meanwhile, up north, the old man was having a hard time. He was barely able to gather firewood.
Pene shna gi mshkewakwten I zibe gabmejwek besotth i edat. Pene gi kche noden shi.
The river that ran by, close to his house was always frozen over. It was always windy there.
O wtthe kewesi gi tthibdebe tthik shkwede shi edat. Gawa gewi psakwnemget i shkwede.
The old man sat in his lodge, next to the fire, which was barely going.
Bama she wiye bey detewegenet shi shkwademek. “Ahow. Bidgek,” kedo o kewesi.
Just then, somebody was knocking on the door. “Ahow. Come in,” said the old man.
Bama she sesksiyen bye bidge’net. Aptthe she goniwe o sesksi mine bigeje.
And a young maiden came in. She was really snowy and cold.
Mine I wdep wabgonen gi wiwkwebso. Mine geshe gi kche mnowabmenagwse.
Around her head, she wore a halo of Trailing Arbutus. And she was also very pretty.
“Bosho ndanes,” kedo. “Gda bye os shote shkwedek.” Pishne atemget gewi I shkwede.
“Hello daughter,” he said. “Come warm up here, by the fire.” The fire itself, was almost going out.
“Ahow nge ske’wa o ndo pwagen, ke wdemamen,” kedo o kewezi.
“Okay, I’ll light up my pipe, we will have a smoke,” said the old man.
Epiche wdemawat, “Ezakttheseyan iw ebinek ode gon,” kedo o kewezi.
While they were smoking, the old man said, “When I go outside, I bring on the snow.”
“Ah i geni ezakttheseyan ebye mokit o gises,” kedo gewi o seski.
“Oh, when I go outside, the sun comes out,” said the maiden.
“Shpemek eshenkenwiyan i notth ektthe ksenyak,” kedo o kewezi.
“When I throw my arms towards the sky, the weather gets colder,” said the old man.
“Nin wi shpemek eshenkenwiyan i abwamget,” kedo o sesksi.
“Me, when I throw my arms up at the sky, the weather gets warmer,” said the maiden.
Bama she peneshiyek kwedbek etnemaswat. Gi nabmegon ni kewesiyen.
All of a sudden, birds were singing on the roof. The old man just glared at her.
“Ekanabdeman I zibe I emshkewakwtek,” kedo o kewezi.
“When I look at the river, it freezes up,” said the old man.
“Nin wi ekanabdeman i zibe i engezet o mkewm,” kedo o sesksi.
“Me, when I look at the river, the ice melts,” said the maiden.
I tthe zagetth egi nabet ekanabdek i zibe.
Then, she looked outside to look at the river.
Epi tangedok notth gewi ne gshedemget i shkwede.
As she spoke, the fire started getting warmer.
Bama she o kewezi enodek emdwetthwek i zibe pi enengezet o mkwem.
Then, the old man heard the sound of the river, as the ice started to melt.
“Ngotthi epamseyan i ektthe bonik,’ kedo o kewezi.
“When I walk somewhere, it really snows,” said the old man.
“Metth she bebashyayan ematthigek ni wabgonen,” kedo o sesksi.
“Whereever I walk, the Trailing Arbutus grows,” said the maiden.
I tthe ekanabmet ni kewesiyen eshkem ne gatthi ye.
As she looked at the old man, he started getting smaller.
Mine zagetth enabet I shna ene skebgamgek ni mishkosen.
And as she looked outside again, the grass was turning green.
I tthe egi kwansego mno gishgek. Nekmek dnemaswek peneshiyek.
And it turned into a beautiful day. You could hear birds singing all over the place.
Gatthe tthibdebet o kewesi shna mteno gasweksek i waboyan.
Where the old man sat, all that was there, spread out, was his blanket.
Edapnek i waboyan o sesksi. I shna mteno mbish shi ga askobisek ga tthe nmedbet o kewezi.
The maiden picked up the blanket, and all there was under it, was a puddle of water, where the old man sat.
“I she shna yedek egi ngezet o kewezi,” shede e o sesksi.
“Oh, the old man must have melted,” thought the young maiden.
I tthe shna nekmek i gi pamadset o sesksi. Metth ttheshe ga bme shyat wiye shi ngom etthe matthigek ni wabgonen.
Then, the young maiden traveled all over. Wherever she went, is where the Trailing Arbutus grows today.
Mine she wiye I mamo netem zakimgek e mnokmek.
And it is the first plant to come up in the spring.
I wtthe ode sesksi egi pkenwat ni mkwemi wnenwen ngom wetthe yemgo ode emnokmek. Iw ektownangek.
Because the young maiden overpowered the iceman, is why we have Spring now. That is the story that is told.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Some suggestions for personal prayer.
Many times I have been asked what folks can do for themselves in the way of personal prayer. Here are some simple suggestions one might try.
try these....nin se Neaseno.
Some simple ceremonies
These several simple ceremonies are suggestions that one can do for themselves and their families when in need. They are not the type of ceremonies that are performed by a medicine man/woman, although they can be done for you in your behalf by a spiritual leader. They are offered to you in lieu of having a spiritual leader do them for you, for those times when you might be alone and cannot reach someone who can pray more effectively for you and your needs.
Please do not underestimate the power of your own heartfelt prayers though, as many folks do not fully comprehend that a loving Spirit appreciates hearing from His/Her Creation once in awhile, just to say thanks sometimes, but also when there are pressing needs in one’s life or the lives of your loved ones.
1. Building a Neshnabe fire.
a. Flint and steel type of fire with shketagen.
b. The offering of sema afterwards.
c. *The occasional offering of food, sema and water.
d. You can also ‘smudge” yourself with cedar/sage.
2. If you have access to a “*personal pipe,
a. Build a Neshnabe type of fire again,
b. Then fill your pipe and pray,
c. You can also make a yellow prayer flag to go with it,
d. Dimensions: a flag, 12 “ x 36 “ with sema in the right corner.
*A personal pipe is not the same as a pipe carried by a medicine man.
*Not to be confused with the Ghost Supper. That is a separate ceremony itself.
Usually hosted by a family elder or a spiritual leader.
If you have a family, husband and wife with children, one of the main things I encourage folks to do is to have a “family altar”, i.e., a designated time for the family to pray together about common needs they all have. A “family altar” is not to be confused with a medicine man’s altar. In this way, the children will learn how to pray and deal with common problems and occurrences within their lives. You, the parents, have the awesome responsibility of role modeling these several ways to the children the Spirit has blessed you with. You will derive a great many blessings from following a carefully scheduled time for family prayer, and the observance of the other simple ceremonies one can do for oneself.
If one practices these types of ceremonies religiously during one’s life, it becomes a way of maintaining one’s spiritual health. One needs to pray about things occasionally on their own. One needs to search their souls and spirits once in awhile and make restitution by asking the Creative Force to forgive for wrongs committed and restoring the harmony and balance we all need in our lives.
One should always keep a supply of good flat cedar and sweet grass around their homes. It wouldn’t hurt to keep some white sage for smudging purposes also. A good tobacco or sema that does not have all those additives should also be kept around as well. All of these articles can be used for smudging and of course, one fills their personal pipe with the sema too when needed. Shketagen, with some good flint and a steel striker are essentials in the Neshnabe home. Keeping a ready supply of dry kindling and grasses one can harvest from nature is something one should think about keeping also. Being prepared to pray is a commitment one has to make and be ready to do at a moments notice within their lives.
The lesson here: Be prepared, pray always……
Iw enajmoyan….
try these....nin se Neaseno.
Some simple ceremonies
These several simple ceremonies are suggestions that one can do for themselves and their families when in need. They are not the type of ceremonies that are performed by a medicine man/woman, although they can be done for you in your behalf by a spiritual leader. They are offered to you in lieu of having a spiritual leader do them for you, for those times when you might be alone and cannot reach someone who can pray more effectively for you and your needs.
Please do not underestimate the power of your own heartfelt prayers though, as many folks do not fully comprehend that a loving Spirit appreciates hearing from His/Her Creation once in awhile, just to say thanks sometimes, but also when there are pressing needs in one’s life or the lives of your loved ones.
1. Building a Neshnabe fire.
a. Flint and steel type of fire with shketagen.
b. The offering of sema afterwards.
c. *The occasional offering of food, sema and water.
d. You can also ‘smudge” yourself with cedar/sage.
2. If you have access to a “*personal pipe,
a. Build a Neshnabe type of fire again,
b. Then fill your pipe and pray,
c. You can also make a yellow prayer flag to go with it,
d. Dimensions: a flag, 12 “ x 36 “ with sema in the right corner.
*A personal pipe is not the same as a pipe carried by a medicine man.
*Not to be confused with the Ghost Supper. That is a separate ceremony itself.
Usually hosted by a family elder or a spiritual leader.
If you have a family, husband and wife with children, one of the main things I encourage folks to do is to have a “family altar”, i.e., a designated time for the family to pray together about common needs they all have. A “family altar” is not to be confused with a medicine man’s altar. In this way, the children will learn how to pray and deal with common problems and occurrences within their lives. You, the parents, have the awesome responsibility of role modeling these several ways to the children the Spirit has blessed you with. You will derive a great many blessings from following a carefully scheduled time for family prayer, and the observance of the other simple ceremonies one can do for oneself.
If one practices these types of ceremonies religiously during one’s life, it becomes a way of maintaining one’s spiritual health. One needs to pray about things occasionally on their own. One needs to search their souls and spirits once in awhile and make restitution by asking the Creative Force to forgive for wrongs committed and restoring the harmony and balance we all need in our lives.
One should always keep a supply of good flat cedar and sweet grass around their homes. It wouldn’t hurt to keep some white sage for smudging purposes also. A good tobacco or sema that does not have all those additives should also be kept around as well. All of these articles can be used for smudging and of course, one fills their personal pipe with the sema too when needed. Shketagen, with some good flint and a steel striker are essentials in the Neshnabe home. Keeping a ready supply of dry kindling and grasses one can harvest from nature is something one should think about keeping also. Being prepared to pray is a commitment one has to make and be ready to do at a moments notice within their lives.
The lesson here: Be prepared, pray always……
Iw enajmoyan….
Monday, April 18, 2011
A sad article.....
Folks, this is indeed a sad story....if you note the very last line in this story, you shall see why it is such an incredibly sad story. Widoktadwen "community spirit" certainly does not exist in this community, for that is one thing the Spanish Conquistadors did manage to kill off. The language still survives to this day, but for the lack of community spirit between these two men, it will not survive much longer, it seems.
Nin se Neaseno.
The last two speakers of a dying indigenous language in Mexico -- Ayapaneco -- don't even talk to each other, according to The Telegraph.
Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, are the only two people remaining alive who are fluent in the language, which is called "Nuumte Oote" (translation: True Voice) in the native tongue.
The language has survived wars, famines, floods, and revolutions, reports the Sydney Morning Herald -- but it might not survive a standoff between the two men, who live only 500 meters apart in the village of Ayapa in the tropical lowlands of the southern state of Tabasco.
Ayapaneco has survived for a surprisingly long time, considering the fact that Mexican education expressly forbade indigenous children to speak anything but Spanish starting in the mid-20th century.
"It's a sad story," says Daniel Suslak, a linguistic anthropologist from Indiana University, who is involved with a project to produce a dictionary of Ayapaneco. "But you have to be really impressed by how long it has hung around."
Segovia has denied having any active animosity with Velazquez, but Suslak says the two men "don't have a lot in common."
The Herald says there are 68 different indigenous languages in Mexico, which are further subdivided into 364 variations. A handful of other Mexican indigenous languages are also in danger of extinction, but Ayapaneco is the most extreme case.
Suslak says the language is rich in what he calls "sound-symbolic" expressions that often take their inspiration from nature; for example, the word "kolo-golo-nay" is translated as ''to gobble like a turkey''.
The National Indigenous Language Institute is planning one last attempt to hold classes so Segovia and Velazquez can pass on their knowledge to other locals -- before the language completely disappears.
Segovia says he knows it's a race against time. "When I was a boy, everybody spoke it," he said. "It's disappeared little by little, and now I suppose it might die with me."
Nin se Neaseno.
The last two speakers of a dying indigenous language in Mexico -- Ayapaneco -- don't even talk to each other, according to The Telegraph.
Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, are the only two people remaining alive who are fluent in the language, which is called "Nuumte Oote" (translation: True Voice) in the native tongue.
The language has survived wars, famines, floods, and revolutions, reports the Sydney Morning Herald -- but it might not survive a standoff between the two men, who live only 500 meters apart in the village of Ayapa in the tropical lowlands of the southern state of Tabasco.
Ayapaneco has survived for a surprisingly long time, considering the fact that Mexican education expressly forbade indigenous children to speak anything but Spanish starting in the mid-20th century.
"It's a sad story," says Daniel Suslak, a linguistic anthropologist from Indiana University, who is involved with a project to produce a dictionary of Ayapaneco. "But you have to be really impressed by how long it has hung around."
Segovia has denied having any active animosity with Velazquez, but Suslak says the two men "don't have a lot in common."
The Herald says there are 68 different indigenous languages in Mexico, which are further subdivided into 364 variations. A handful of other Mexican indigenous languages are also in danger of extinction, but Ayapaneco is the most extreme case.
Suslak says the language is rich in what he calls "sound-symbolic" expressions that often take their inspiration from nature; for example, the word "kolo-golo-nay" is translated as ''to gobble like a turkey''.
The National Indigenous Language Institute is planning one last attempt to hold classes so Segovia and Velazquez can pass on their knowledge to other locals -- before the language completely disappears.
Segovia says he knows it's a race against time. "When I was a boy, everybody spoke it," he said. "It's disappeared little by little, and now I suppose it might die with me."
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Peace and not war......
Good morning folks,
I wonder how many of our politicians and generals heed these famous words of the past president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Some may but sometimes it seems we are headed toward the agonies of future battlefields as stated by Mr. Eisenhower. I think of all the relatives I have lost on the battlefield, several of whom won this Nation's highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. I've managed to live through several conflicts but don't speak much of them, as the old time warriors told me not to. There was no honor in that kind of fighting is what they told me. There was honor in the touching of an enemy before killing him, and there was greater honor in keeping the peace, than breaking it.
I honor all those who stand ready to fight for us today, because they had nothing to do with that decision, but still stand ready. That takes courage and trust, not in America's current leaders, but in our own Neshnabe values. I would join you that are there at the front, but they say I am too old now, so I'll stand ready to pray for ya all.
Neaseno.....
In today's excerpt - three days before he departed the White House, Dwight Eisenhower gave a brief speech that has become regarded as one of our nation's finest. In it he noted that after each war before World War II, America's military had been significantly downsized if not effectively disbanded. After World War II, this policy changed, and for the first time America had a vast army in place during a time of peace. While reminding citizens that there would always be crises in the world, Eisenhower nonetheless expressed concern that this large military might exercise undue influence on U.S. policy, and further reminded the country that the military should be subject to the guidance of its citizenry. Though he had faced Adolf Hitler, he voiced a profound preference for "the conference table" as opposed to "the certain agony of the battlefield," and for "trust and respect" in preference to "fear and hate." He lived out this preference as President by resisting involvement in wars in Egypt and beyond. He further expressed a concern about deficits, counseling that Americans "must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow." Here are brief passages from this speech:
"Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.
"But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs -- balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage -- balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.
"The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. ...
"A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
"Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.. ...
"Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.
"Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
"Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield."
Author: Dwight David Eisenhower
Title: Farewell Address
Date: January 17, 1961
I wonder how many of our politicians and generals heed these famous words of the past president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Some may but sometimes it seems we are headed toward the agonies of future battlefields as stated by Mr. Eisenhower. I think of all the relatives I have lost on the battlefield, several of whom won this Nation's highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. I've managed to live through several conflicts but don't speak much of them, as the old time warriors told me not to. There was no honor in that kind of fighting is what they told me. There was honor in the touching of an enemy before killing him, and there was greater honor in keeping the peace, than breaking it.
I honor all those who stand ready to fight for us today, because they had nothing to do with that decision, but still stand ready. That takes courage and trust, not in America's current leaders, but in our own Neshnabe values. I would join you that are there at the front, but they say I am too old now, so I'll stand ready to pray for ya all.
Neaseno.....
In today's excerpt - three days before he departed the White House, Dwight Eisenhower gave a brief speech that has become regarded as one of our nation's finest. In it he noted that after each war before World War II, America's military had been significantly downsized if not effectively disbanded. After World War II, this policy changed, and for the first time America had a vast army in place during a time of peace. While reminding citizens that there would always be crises in the world, Eisenhower nonetheless expressed concern that this large military might exercise undue influence on U.S. policy, and further reminded the country that the military should be subject to the guidance of its citizenry. Though he had faced Adolf Hitler, he voiced a profound preference for "the conference table" as opposed to "the certain agony of the battlefield," and for "trust and respect" in preference to "fear and hate." He lived out this preference as President by resisting involvement in wars in Egypt and beyond. He further expressed a concern about deficits, counseling that Americans "must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow." Here are brief passages from this speech:
"Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.
"But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs -- balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage -- balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.
"The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. ...
"A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.
"Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.
"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.. ...
"Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.
"Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
"Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield."
Author: Dwight David Eisenhower
Title: Farewell Address
Date: January 17, 1961
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Ahhh History, don't ya just love it!
Also, watch this DVD/VHS tape by Ray Fadden,
"They Lied To You In School"
You won't be disappointed.....
Nin se Neaseno......
In today's excerpt - after the American Revolution, the British maintained their support of the Indians along the western border of the United States, limiting the ability of Americans to expand westward. The American push against this limitation was the cause of the War 1812, though some contemporary textbooks still miss this key point:
"After the American Revolution, although Britain gave up, its Native American allies did not. Our insistence on treating the Indians as if we had defeated them led to the Ohio War of 1790-95 and later to the War of 1812. ...
"Most textbooks do state that conflict over land was the root cause of our Indian wars. [The widely used textbook] Pathways to the Present, for example, begins its discussion of the War of 1812 by telling how Tecumseh met with Gov. William Henry Harrison of Indiana Territory to complain about whites encroaching upon Indian land. Other recent textbooks likewise emphasize conflict with the Indians, who were seen as backed by the British, as the key cause of this dispute. All along the boundary, from Vermont to the Georgia Piedmont, white Americans wanted to push the boundary of white settlement ever farther into Indian country.
"This is a significant change for the better [in the content of these textbooks]; earlier textbooks simply repeated the pretext offered by the Madison administration - Britain's refusal to show proper respect to American ships and seamen - even though it made no sense. After all, Britain's maritime laws caused no war until the frontier states sent Warhawks - senators and representatives who promised military action to expand the boundaries of the United States - to Congress in 1810. Whites along the frontier wanted the war, and along the frontier most of the war was fought, beginning in November 1811 when Harrison replied to Tecumseh's complaint by attacking the Shawnees and allied tribes at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The United States fought five of the seven major land battles of the War of 1812 primarily against Native Americans.
"All but two textbooks miss the key result of the war. Some authors actually
cite the 'Star Spangled Banner' as the main outcome! Others claim that the war left 'a feeling of pride as a nation' or 'helped Americans to win European respect.' The textbook The American Adventure excels, pointing out, 'The American Indians were the only real losers in the war,' Triumph of the American Nation expresses the same sentiments, but euphemistically: 'After 1815 the American people began the exciting task of occupying the western lands.' All the other [widely-used] textbooks miss the key outcome: in return for our leaving Canada alone, Great Britain gave up its alliances with American Indian nations in what would become the United States. Without war materiel and other aid from European allies, future Indian wars were transformed from major international conflicts to domestic mopping-up operations. This result was central to the course of Indian-U.S. relations for the remainder of the century. Thus Indian wars after 1815, while they cost thousands of lives on both sides, would never again amount to a serious threat to the United States. Although Native Americans won many battles in subsequent wars, there was never the slightest doubt over who would win in the end. ...
"[There was not unanimity within the U.S. about expanding west. Some were already concerned that it might increase the influence of slaveholding states]. One reason the War of 1812 was so unpopular in New England was that New Englanders saw it as a naked attempt by slave owners to appropriate Indian land. ...
"Even terminology changed [as a result of the War of 1812]: until 1815 the word Americans had generally been used to refer to Native Americans; after 1815 it meant European Americans."
Author: James W. Loewen
Title: Lies My Teacher Told Me
Publisher: Touchstone
Date: Copyright 1995, 2007 by James W. Loewen
Pages: 121-125
"They Lied To You In School"
You won't be disappointed.....
Nin se Neaseno......
In today's excerpt - after the American Revolution, the British maintained their support of the Indians along the western border of the United States, limiting the ability of Americans to expand westward. The American push against this limitation was the cause of the War 1812, though some contemporary textbooks still miss this key point:
"After the American Revolution, although Britain gave up, its Native American allies did not. Our insistence on treating the Indians as if we had defeated them led to the Ohio War of 1790-95 and later to the War of 1812. ...
"Most textbooks do state that conflict over land was the root cause of our Indian wars. [The widely used textbook] Pathways to the Present, for example, begins its discussion of the War of 1812 by telling how Tecumseh met with Gov. William Henry Harrison of Indiana Territory to complain about whites encroaching upon Indian land. Other recent textbooks likewise emphasize conflict with the Indians, who were seen as backed by the British, as the key cause of this dispute. All along the boundary, from Vermont to the Georgia Piedmont, white Americans wanted to push the boundary of white settlement ever farther into Indian country.
"This is a significant change for the better [in the content of these textbooks]; earlier textbooks simply repeated the pretext offered by the Madison administration - Britain's refusal to show proper respect to American ships and seamen - even though it made no sense. After all, Britain's maritime laws caused no war until the frontier states sent Warhawks - senators and representatives who promised military action to expand the boundaries of the United States - to Congress in 1810. Whites along the frontier wanted the war, and along the frontier most of the war was fought, beginning in November 1811 when Harrison replied to Tecumseh's complaint by attacking the Shawnees and allied tribes at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The United States fought five of the seven major land battles of the War of 1812 primarily against Native Americans.
"All but two textbooks miss the key result of the war. Some authors actually
cite the 'Star Spangled Banner' as the main outcome! Others claim that the war left 'a feeling of pride as a nation' or 'helped Americans to win European respect.' The textbook The American Adventure excels, pointing out, 'The American Indians were the only real losers in the war,' Triumph of the American Nation expresses the same sentiments, but euphemistically: 'After 1815 the American people began the exciting task of occupying the western lands.' All the other [widely-used] textbooks miss the key outcome: in return for our leaving Canada alone, Great Britain gave up its alliances with American Indian nations in what would become the United States. Without war materiel and other aid from European allies, future Indian wars were transformed from major international conflicts to domestic mopping-up operations. This result was central to the course of Indian-U.S. relations for the remainder of the century. Thus Indian wars after 1815, while they cost thousands of lives on both sides, would never again amount to a serious threat to the United States. Although Native Americans won many battles in subsequent wars, there was never the slightest doubt over who would win in the end. ...
"[There was not unanimity within the U.S. about expanding west. Some were already concerned that it might increase the influence of slaveholding states]. One reason the War of 1812 was so unpopular in New England was that New Englanders saw it as a naked attempt by slave owners to appropriate Indian land. ...
"Even terminology changed [as a result of the War of 1812]: until 1815 the word Americans had generally been used to refer to Native Americans; after 1815 it meant European Americans."
Author: James W. Loewen
Title: Lies My Teacher Told Me
Publisher: Touchstone
Date: Copyright 1995, 2007 by James W. Loewen
Pages: 121-125
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A "What If" story.....
This was posted in the "forum" of our Ning Room for all natives to enjoy reading...
When it comes to fiction, besides the many treaties signed by the USA and its' many governmental agents, I like stories like this one....
Enjoy.....Nin se Neaseno....
This story imagines a parallel universe in which Native Americans
have conquered and settled Europe. Part of the point is that Native
Americans would not have done to Europeans what Europeans actually
did to Native Americans. The main point is (as Sherman Alexie says)
to "turn it around," in order to expose cultural double standards.
Versions of this piece were published in 1992 in Akwesasne Notes,
News From Indian Country, Report on the Americas, and other period-
icals."Wanblee Johnson" is a fictitious character thought up by Zol-
tán Grossman.
500 YEARS SINCE THE INVASION OF EUROPE:
A Letter to the Public from European Rights Activist Wanblee Johnson
It was 500 years ago that Callicoatl sailed across the ocean with three Aztec boats, and found a new continent, a new Eastern Hemisphere. The commemoration of this event is being marked with great fanfare and celebration. Every child has been taught the story: how Callicoatl convinced Montezuma II to support his journey, how the Aztec sailors nearly despaired on the journey, and how they "discovered" a strange white-skinned race in the "New World."
But that is only part of the story. It is important that in this, the 500th anniversary of Callicoat's voyage, the record be set straight.
For Callicoatl did not "discover" this continent, he invaded it. It was already inhabited by many nations of people, living our own cultures, and practicing our own religions, on our own land. Over the past five centuries, we, the Native peoples of Europe, have seen our natural resources and our spirituality stolen, and our relatives enslaved. That is hardly a history worth celebrating.
In the Pre-Callicoatlian era, great empires were ruled by the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Moors, and many other indigenous peoples of the Eastern Hemisphere. They contributed much to the world, as attested to by the great temples and pyramids they left behind. They had detailed knowledge of astronomy, law, agriculture, and religion. True, there were wars among these peoples, and persecution of those who did not follow the state religion. But they were no more oppressive than the empires of Montezuma II or the Inca Tupac Yupanki in the "Old World" 500 years ago. And, like in the Western Hemisphere, there were many peoples still living in harmony with the land, here in our hemisphere.
There were many other explorers who sailed to these shores, and even some who claimed to have arrived before Callicoatl - the Arawak, the Beothuk, and the Lenni-Lenape. But it was the Aztec flag of Anauak and the Inca flag of Tawantinsuyo that were first firmly planted on our soil. Soon after Callicoatl arrived, this land was named Omequauh after another Aztec-sponsored explorer. The Aztecs and Incas conquered and divided up South and Central Omequauh - the lands we call Africa, Iberia, and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Later, the Dakota and Ojibwe fought over and divided North Omequauh, my home continent, which we call "Europe."
Some great "European" leaders pulled together alliances of knights to resist the settlers, but our freedom fighters were never unified enough to prevail. Some of our Native peoples - among them the Irish, Corsicans, and Sardinians - were wiped out, their cultures lost to history.
You may know us as "Native Omequauhns", but we prefer to be called the "Original Europeans," or the "First Nations." We are not one people but many peoples, following different customs. We speak many tongues, which you may call "dialects," but we prefer to equate with your languages. We worship under different religions that were outlawed until recently, and are ridiculed to this day as mere superstition. The religion of my ancestors was known as "Christianity," and there are some of us who even today pray to a single god and his son.
Though we are commonly called "tribes," we have historically existed as nations, with our own borders, provinces, and capitals. The capital of my ancestors, London, was as great in its time as Cuzco or Tenochtitlan, until it was sacked by the invaders. My people, the York band of the English tribe, were once citizens of Yorkshire county (or province) in the English Nation (or "England"). Many of our peoples are not even called by their original names, but by derogatory names that others have given them. The Krauts, for instance, are more properly called the "Germans," or Deutsche in their own language. Similarly, the Frogs should be called the "French," or Français in their own tongue.
These terms are important if we are to reclaim our nationhood. But even more important is reclaiming our ancestral land rights, which have been steadily whittled away over the past 500 years. My English people, for instance, are scattered in over 50 small reservations throughout of island of Newfoundland (which we have always called "Britain"), and on the continental mainland where one-third of us were forcible relocated a century ago. Despite disease, removal, and loss of lands where we hunted and farmed, our traditional forms of local government have been carried on to this day.
Agreements we signed with the settlers guarantee that we still have access to natural resources on lands we used to own. Most of these agreements were broken, and many lands were stolen without any agreements whatsoever. Today, some descendants of the settlers don't understand why we continue to exercise these rights. Some of them even tell us to go back where we came from!
My people were forced into dependency after the warriors (who we called the "Long Arrows") slaughtered our sheep - our main livelihood. The children began to be sent to schools where they were forced to use Dakota names to replace their English names, and were beaten if they spoke English. Through the generations, many of our people became so assimilated that they began to look, dress, walk and talk like the settlers. But they still retained their identity, hidden from view.
It was only about 25 years ago that our peoples started to reclaim their European heritage. On my reservation, that meant young people starting to relearn the English language. We also began to communicate with Native peoples in South and Central Omequauh, some of whom actually form a majority in their countries. Though they speak different colonial languages (Nahuatl and Quechua), our concerns are similar.
Reclaiming our cultures means learning from our elders, and reading the great works of Chaucer and other ancient prophets. It means challenging stereotypes, such as the view that all of our people wear suits of armor, or live in thatched-roof huts. Above all, it means countering the despair on many of our reservations - the poverty, the consumption of beer and chicha, and the low self-esteem among Native youth.
This new pride has led to conflict with the governments occupying our lands. We have had to take on the Bureau of Caucasian Affairs (BCA), which has controlled our economies and prevented any independent Native voices from speaking out. We are attacked for being poor, and then criticized for methods we use to get out of poverty. We have also had to deal with collaborators among our own people, in some of the councils that the BCA established years ago to replace our traditional governments, and to sell off what is left of our land. Some of the Europeans on these councils are so obedient to authority that we call the "conches" - white on the outside, but red on the inside.
The rebirth of our European cultures has also stimulated interest on the part of mainstream non-European society. Nowadays, some children playing "Warriors and Knights" actually want to be the knights. While this trend is welcome, we also find non-Europeans romanticizing our cultures, and trying to usurp them in the same way they usurped our land. We loathe seeing non-Europeans dressing up like our own priests, and conducting the sacred catechism ceremony, for the benefit of their own curiosity. We don't appreciate seeing ethnic Dakota wearing powdered wigs, or putting on ballroom dances. And we roll our eyes whenever one of these 'wannabes' says that their great-grandmother was a Swedish princess.
There was a time when our land would be stolen and our people divided and relocated, with only a passive response. But no more. The European Wars are being rekindled, as more nations are defending the lands our ancestors are buried under. Many remember the armed confrontations at the Long Fjord Norwegian Reservation about two decades ago, or at the Lake Balaton Hungarian Reservation two years ago. If our sovereignty is not recognized, these skirmishes are likely to continue.
It should be clear to you, the non-European public, that despite 500 years of colonization, we still exist as peoples and nations. In the face of overwhelming odds - the near-extinction of our population, and the theft of our religions and lands - we have survived. When you talk about "celebrating" the arrival of Callicoatl, it sends a chill up our spines. Even Callicoatl's name, in the Nahuatl language, means "Serpent from the West." If you do not recognize that our people were here when he arrived in our land, you will never be able to recognize that we are here, in front of you, today.
When it comes to fiction, besides the many treaties signed by the USA and its' many governmental agents, I like stories like this one....
Enjoy.....Nin se Neaseno....
This story imagines a parallel universe in which Native Americans
have conquered and settled Europe. Part of the point is that Native
Americans would not have done to Europeans what Europeans actually
did to Native Americans. The main point is (as Sherman Alexie says)
to "turn it around," in order to expose cultural double standards.
Versions of this piece were published in 1992 in Akwesasne Notes,
News From Indian Country, Report on the Americas, and other period-
icals."Wanblee Johnson" is a fictitious character thought up by Zol-
tán Grossman.
500 YEARS SINCE THE INVASION OF EUROPE:
A Letter to the Public from European Rights Activist Wanblee Johnson
It was 500 years ago that Callicoatl sailed across the ocean with three Aztec boats, and found a new continent, a new Eastern Hemisphere. The commemoration of this event is being marked with great fanfare and celebration. Every child has been taught the story: how Callicoatl convinced Montezuma II to support his journey, how the Aztec sailors nearly despaired on the journey, and how they "discovered" a strange white-skinned race in the "New World."
But that is only part of the story. It is important that in this, the 500th anniversary of Callicoat's voyage, the record be set straight.
For Callicoatl did not "discover" this continent, he invaded it. It was already inhabited by many nations of people, living our own cultures, and practicing our own religions, on our own land. Over the past five centuries, we, the Native peoples of Europe, have seen our natural resources and our spirituality stolen, and our relatives enslaved. That is hardly a history worth celebrating.
In the Pre-Callicoatlian era, great empires were ruled by the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Moors, and many other indigenous peoples of the Eastern Hemisphere. They contributed much to the world, as attested to by the great temples and pyramids they left behind. They had detailed knowledge of astronomy, law, agriculture, and religion. True, there were wars among these peoples, and persecution of those who did not follow the state religion. But they were no more oppressive than the empires of Montezuma II or the Inca Tupac Yupanki in the "Old World" 500 years ago. And, like in the Western Hemisphere, there were many peoples still living in harmony with the land, here in our hemisphere.
There were many other explorers who sailed to these shores, and even some who claimed to have arrived before Callicoatl - the Arawak, the Beothuk, and the Lenni-Lenape. But it was the Aztec flag of Anauak and the Inca flag of Tawantinsuyo that were first firmly planted on our soil. Soon after Callicoatl arrived, this land was named Omequauh after another Aztec-sponsored explorer. The Aztecs and Incas conquered and divided up South and Central Omequauh - the lands we call Africa, Iberia, and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Later, the Dakota and Ojibwe fought over and divided North Omequauh, my home continent, which we call "Europe."
Some great "European" leaders pulled together alliances of knights to resist the settlers, but our freedom fighters were never unified enough to prevail. Some of our Native peoples - among them the Irish, Corsicans, and Sardinians - were wiped out, their cultures lost to history.
You may know us as "Native Omequauhns", but we prefer to be called the "Original Europeans," or the "First Nations." We are not one people but many peoples, following different customs. We speak many tongues, which you may call "dialects," but we prefer to equate with your languages. We worship under different religions that were outlawed until recently, and are ridiculed to this day as mere superstition. The religion of my ancestors was known as "Christianity," and there are some of us who even today pray to a single god and his son.
Though we are commonly called "tribes," we have historically existed as nations, with our own borders, provinces, and capitals. The capital of my ancestors, London, was as great in its time as Cuzco or Tenochtitlan, until it was sacked by the invaders. My people, the York band of the English tribe, were once citizens of Yorkshire county (or province) in the English Nation (or "England"). Many of our peoples are not even called by their original names, but by derogatory names that others have given them. The Krauts, for instance, are more properly called the "Germans," or Deutsche in their own language. Similarly, the Frogs should be called the "French," or Français in their own tongue.
These terms are important if we are to reclaim our nationhood. But even more important is reclaiming our ancestral land rights, which have been steadily whittled away over the past 500 years. My English people, for instance, are scattered in over 50 small reservations throughout of island of Newfoundland (which we have always called "Britain"), and on the continental mainland where one-third of us were forcible relocated a century ago. Despite disease, removal, and loss of lands where we hunted and farmed, our traditional forms of local government have been carried on to this day.
Agreements we signed with the settlers guarantee that we still have access to natural resources on lands we used to own. Most of these agreements were broken, and many lands were stolen without any agreements whatsoever. Today, some descendants of the settlers don't understand why we continue to exercise these rights. Some of them even tell us to go back where we came from!
My people were forced into dependency after the warriors (who we called the "Long Arrows") slaughtered our sheep - our main livelihood. The children began to be sent to schools where they were forced to use Dakota names to replace their English names, and were beaten if they spoke English. Through the generations, many of our people became so assimilated that they began to look, dress, walk and talk like the settlers. But they still retained their identity, hidden from view.
It was only about 25 years ago that our peoples started to reclaim their European heritage. On my reservation, that meant young people starting to relearn the English language. We also began to communicate with Native peoples in South and Central Omequauh, some of whom actually form a majority in their countries. Though they speak different colonial languages (Nahuatl and Quechua), our concerns are similar.
Reclaiming our cultures means learning from our elders, and reading the great works of Chaucer and other ancient prophets. It means challenging stereotypes, such as the view that all of our people wear suits of armor, or live in thatched-roof huts. Above all, it means countering the despair on many of our reservations - the poverty, the consumption of beer and chicha, and the low self-esteem among Native youth.
This new pride has led to conflict with the governments occupying our lands. We have had to take on the Bureau of Caucasian Affairs (BCA), which has controlled our economies and prevented any independent Native voices from speaking out. We are attacked for being poor, and then criticized for methods we use to get out of poverty. We have also had to deal with collaborators among our own people, in some of the councils that the BCA established years ago to replace our traditional governments, and to sell off what is left of our land. Some of the Europeans on these councils are so obedient to authority that we call the "conches" - white on the outside, but red on the inside.
The rebirth of our European cultures has also stimulated interest on the part of mainstream non-European society. Nowadays, some children playing "Warriors and Knights" actually want to be the knights. While this trend is welcome, we also find non-Europeans romanticizing our cultures, and trying to usurp them in the same way they usurped our land. We loathe seeing non-Europeans dressing up like our own priests, and conducting the sacred catechism ceremony, for the benefit of their own curiosity. We don't appreciate seeing ethnic Dakota wearing powdered wigs, or putting on ballroom dances. And we roll our eyes whenever one of these 'wannabes' says that their great-grandmother was a Swedish princess.
There was a time when our land would be stolen and our people divided and relocated, with only a passive response. But no more. The European Wars are being rekindled, as more nations are defending the lands our ancestors are buried under. Many remember the armed confrontations at the Long Fjord Norwegian Reservation about two decades ago, or at the Lake Balaton Hungarian Reservation two years ago. If our sovereignty is not recognized, these skirmishes are likely to continue.
It should be clear to you, the non-European public, that despite 500 years of colonization, we still exist as peoples and nations. In the face of overwhelming odds - the near-extinction of our population, and the theft of our religions and lands - we have survived. When you talk about "celebrating" the arrival of Callicoatl, it sends a chill up our spines. Even Callicoatl's name, in the Nahuatl language, means "Serpent from the West." If you do not recognize that our people were here when he arrived in our land, you will never be able to recognize that we are here, in front of you, today.
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