From: "wsdp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: FW: Bear Butte please publish or distribute Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:14:33 -0700
FYI - Update from Bear Butte - please prepare to attend the Summit of Nations at Bear Butte August 1-4th, 2006. More info to follow - or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] directly. Thank you for your continued support. Western Shoshone Defense Project P.O. Box 211308 Crescent Valley, NV 89821 775-468-0230 775-468-0237 (fax) www.wsdp.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Owe Aku Bring Back the Way [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 11:10 PM To: Subject: Bear Butte please publish or distribute Debra White Plume Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way Manderson, SD 57756-0325 605-455-2155 Voice Ph 605-455-1287 Fax Ph [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.bringbacktheway.com Gathering of Nations to Defend Bear Butte Opening Ceremonies by Debra White Plume writing from Bear Butte Six men entered the arbor, each carrying a staff that represented a Sun Dance Society, the Brave Heart Society, the Intertribal Coalition to Defend Bear Butte, the Kit Fox Society, Viet Nam Veterans, and a Dream Staff. The pounding of the drum and the words to an ancient prayer song led the men into the circle at Mato Paha, Bear Butte, for the Opening Ceremonies of the Gathering of Nations to Defend Bear Butte. The Fourth of July activities were a celebration of the survival of our way of life, and provided the opportunity for everyone to begin the dialogue of working collectively to protect our sacred lands, and thus, our ways of life. Chief Oliver Red Cloud spoke to the hundreds of people gathered there in the hot, blinding sun that was made even hotter by the blowing winds that rarely cease swirling around Mato Paha. He reminded all that this land is 1851 and 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty Land, retained by our ancestors and our Cheyenne and Arapaho allies for us and our generations. A noted historian in the West, Rex Allan Smith, told stories of his young manhood when he knew and spoke with our Grandfathers when they were middle-aged men telling of their war stories: Battle of the Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn), Wagon Box Fight, Battle of 100 Dead. He also spoke of how it is important for not only Indians but the SD and US citizens to protect bear Butte from the continuing encroachment. Smith spoke of the dignity of the Lakota people and urged all to continue that dignity in spite of the oppression facing the people and the land today. Many speakers shared their wisdom, courage, and respect that day. Rosalie Little Thunder, Lakota leader and activist, spoke of how we learn humanity from this Mountain. Attorneys Tom Van Norman and Bruce Ellison addressed the crowd regarding their lawsuit seeking a referendum vote in Meade County for liquor/malt beverage licenses. Nick Tilsen on the Lakota Action Network spoke of how many tribal nations and traditional people came together to fight the beer and liquor licenses for the Broken Spoke Saloon owner Jay Allen, the Glencoe Campground expansion of owner Gary Lippold, and how the Meade County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve those applications in the face of opposition of not only tribal nations, but many Meade County residents as well. He said he was traveling that day to the Indigenous Environmental Network conference as Cass Lake, Minnesota and would word of the Gathering of Nations to Defend Bear Butte to allies over there. Families from many tribal nations, traditional societies, spiritual societies, and many American environmentalist groups and individuals had been at Mato Paha for days, some for weeks, preparing the campground for the Gathering's Opening Ceremonies. Many will stay for the Summit of Nations on August 1-4, some will leave to return home, and be back again as time permits. Some traveled for days only to stay and pray for a day or two. All came with the strongest weapon of all-love for the land and ancient way of life. There was a Making of Relatives ceremony, Bucky Means from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe took Alex White Plume, Oglala Lakota, from Pine Ridge, as his Uncle, to fill the vacancy in his life, he said, from the deaths of his Uncles. Amid the many tents, tipis, and RV's, people talked and laughed awaiting the supper meal of buffalo soup and fry bread. Following the meal, the evening hours were devoted to the young people at camp. There were many songs shared by Jenny Ghost Bear, a young Mayan couple from Mexico, James Roy, Misun Bowker, and speeches by Wani Loud Hawk, TJ Afraid of Hawk, Vic Camp, Russell Blacksmith and many others. The older folks sat under the arbor or by their nearby camps, watching the brilliant, beautiful Star Nation move slowly across the sky. TJ Afraid of Hawk spoke of a day when she was faced with folks on her "rez" who were casting doubt on the organizing work she was doing around the issue of stopping the desecration of Bear Butte. She said her daughter was holding a rose, and she pointed the rose at her mothers' heart and said, "this is your heart, you pray with your heart; this is your head, you think with your brain; use your heart and your brain, and never give up". Unknown to TJ an her young daughter, many grandmothers in camp shed quiet tears, their hearts strengthened by this young girl who encouraged her mother, and us all, with her words of wisdom. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. 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