Elahogiant’s channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/elahogiant?feature=watch
Indigenous Environmental Network info on gathering http://www.ienearth.org/gathering-to-protect-the-sacred-from-the-tar-sands-and-keystone-xl/
“Protect the Sacred” ~ Earth is Everywhere and We’re All On It.
January 18, 2013 at 6:03 pm (art, culture, education, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, Indigenous People, life, politics, random, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: art, Canada, channel, Chief Ruben George, Earth, Elahogiant, environment, First Nations, Ft. Randall, Gathering to Protect the Sacred, Indigenous, Indigenous Environmental Network, Keystone XL, Native Americans, news, people, Protect the Sacred, South Dakota, Tar Sands, video, Yankton, YouTube
Global ‘Idle No More’ Solidarity Day ~ 11 January 2013
January 6, 2013 at 2:37 pm (art, culture, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, Indigenous People, journalism, life, politics, random, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: 11 January 2013, art, Canada, culture, Culturite, Earth, Earth Tribe, event, Facebook, global, Idle No More, Indigenous, life, people, politics, poster, random, solidarity, support
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/461884363867603
Let the cyberswamp waters flow. In other words, spread the word. Do your thing.
Culturite at http://culturite.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/j11-idle-no-more-global-day-of-action/
Earth Tribe –>> http://www.earthtribe.co/
namaste
“You’re Not Alone” ~ Michael Bucher’s Music Medicine for Sacred Grounds
January 5, 2013 at 10:49 pm (culture, education, entertainment, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, history, Independent film, Indigenous People, Lakota, life, music, Native Americans, random, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: "Don't Forget About Me", abuse, Bucher, Cherokee, download, entertainment, free, graves, healing, history, Independent film, Indigenous, Issues, life, medicine, Michael, music, Native American, random, sacred sites, Sacred Sites extended, suicide prevention, tweet, videos, You're Not Alone, young people, youth
Lovely how one thing leads to another and another and then again another–and they’re all connected back and forth along the spider’s steel webs. Being the curious cat that I am watching one video on the Wild Horse Channel just wasn’t enough. Had to ear sniff more of them. O those Spanish mustang are so engaging! Well, eventually my ears caught wind of Michael Bucher’s music video on the channel. That discovery led to more cyberswamp exploration to Bucher’s website http://www.michaelbucher.com/ where there’s more for your ears’ feasting. O and if you tweet there’s a free music download. Yep, there is. So today my flow has gone from Facebook to Horses to Film to Music and it all traverses sacred ground in some form. I was going to save this post for another day until I viewed the “You’re Not Alone” video and considered some of the content. Figure it’s best to not save it for another day. There’s music and videos on Bucher’s website and links to “You Are Not Alone” for suicide prevention connections. Everything needed for connecting is provided http://www.michaelbucher.com/links .
Bucher’s connections include history, sacred sites, Indian graves, suicide, healing and –got the drift? Pay it forward.
You Are Not Alone, Native American Youth suicide prevention site http://www.youarenotalonenetwork.org/
“Don’t Forget About Me”
NAMASTE
Let’s Have Three Huzzahs! for the Volunteers of the New American Shakespeare Tavern! Why? Cause They Got Coats!!!
December 13, 2012 at 2:23 am (culture, entertainment, exploring interconnectedness, Indigenous People, Lakota, life, Native Americans, Pine Ridge Indian reservation, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: children, coats, culture, exploring interconnectedness, JC Penny, Lakota, life, New American Shakespeare Tavern, people, Pine Ridge, random, volunteers
The wonderful people who donated their time and energy as Volunteers for Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” the other night upon learning from Anne Fields, who also volunteers at the New American Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta, Georgia, about the coatless children in Cheryl Locke’s third grade class took swift and effective action to conclude the quest for coats. Donations were collected. Orders were placed online with JC Penny. Coats will be shipped to Ms. Locke. Arrival is expected early next week. How’s that for Volunteer Action? !
Wow!
Huzzah! for the Volunteers!
Very Loud Huzzah!! for the Volunteers!
Crazy Loud Huzzah!!! for the Volunteers!
Where these generous souls gathered to volunteer–The New American Shakespeare Tavern’s production of Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol.’
http://www.shakespearetavern.com/
A hearty Thank You to All Volunteer Souls Everywhere.
If anyone out there in cyberspace has already sent a coat on its way, don’t worry, Cheryl will find a child who needs it.
Roll some change for “Water is Life” by Paper Rocket Productions
August 10, 2012 at 3:08 pm (art, culture, entertainment, environment, exploring interconnectedness, food, Independent film, Indigenous People, life, movies, music, Native Americans, photography, random, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: "Water", Blues Festival, Deidra Peaches, Dirty Water, documentary, environment, film, food, fundraiser, history, Independent film, Indigenous People, Jake Hoyungowa, life, movie, music, Native Americans, Navajo, Paper Rocket Productions, photography, pollution, quality, Sarcred, Shemekia Copeland, To ei 'iina ate', video, Water is Life
Click image to view film teaser and to contribute.
The Impact
Our documentary explores the sacredness of water and how the industrialization of the Navajo Nation continues to disrupt our traditional way of life. We feel it is important for our audience to visually experience a piece of the Navajo Way Of Life. It is vital to the documentary to include the connection between Navajo Mythology and the importance of the lands that have been desecrated by industrial development.Many Navajo families do not have access to potable running water and are forced to haul unregulated and untreated water for their daily needs. Many elderly Navajo’s are forced to allow livestock to drink from toxic water sources, thus contributing to numerous health risks among families throughout the Navajo Reservation.
From a youth perspective we’re telling a story of a Navajo Philosophy that is being endangered by an overwhelming change in politics, resource management and modern society. We understand the obligations our ancestors passed onto us and have devoted much of our time to tell this story about our people.
Jake and I have been working on the documentary since Mid-2010. Throughout our travels we have met people who have been exposed to uranium and have since developed cancer. It’s heartbreaking for us to witness how close to home this issue has become. We feel so connected with these issues, that we have dedicated nearly all of our time and personal resources to this story.
Both Jake and I have lost grandparents to uranium, to cancer, and we each feel an obligation to use our skills as filmmakers to capture the stories of our people. So that somewhere down the road, when we ourselves are old, we can tell these stories of the importance of the land, and the water that binds us together.
Make contact with Paper Rocket Productions at http://www.paperrocketproductions.com/
Water is Life is an inside film job by Deidra Peaches and Jake Hoyungowa. Please consider putting some fresh water in their film tanks. Change adds up when we share. Time is short so share however you can now. Where’s that Tweety-bird?
What’s in your water?
Shemekia Copeland’s “Dirty Water” at the Blue Mountain Blues Festival in Danielsville, PA, 2011.
Fort Defiance, AZ — What elected officials fear = opposition to SB 2109. Gee, I wonder why. Not.
April 27, 2012 at 8:40 pm (art, culture, education, environment, ethics, history, Indigenous People, journalism, life, Native Americans, nature, photography, politics, random, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: "Water", art, AZ, Belonging to the Land, Ben Nuvamsa, Bonnie Jean Canyon, cover, culture, defiance, design, Donovan, education, environment, Facebook, Fort, Fort Defiance, history, Hopi, HR 4067, independent, Indigenous, Izilwane, journalism, legal, letters, life, meeting, nature, Navajo, Navajo Truth, news, Our Water Rights, people, Pete, Petition, photograph, photography, police, politics, religion, Renaldo Chapman, rights, SB 2109, SignOn. org, video, Writing, Zoe Kransey
Click image designed by Donovan Pete to use as cover on facebook.
Regarding Fort Defiance meeting to discuss SB 2109:
Posted on Navajo Truth SB 2109 facebook page along with the photos, links, observations and thoughts of many other people. http://www.facebook.com/#!/navajotruth
via Bonnie Jean Canyon:
The police presence at the Fort Defiance meeting was intense and intimidating. This was mentioned by more than one person when the public was allowed to address the NNVP and other officials. I feel it was uncalled for and excessive. Im still trying to figure out why they also needed 2 or 3 fire trucks and also 3-4 ambulances? They must know already just how strongly the people are opposed to this? All the emergency response vehicals took up so much space it was very difficult to find parking. There was a pretty good turn out but it was after 5 that people started showing up even though the meeting started at 4 and Im assuming its because most work until 5. They ran out of chairs and many remained standing for most of the meeting. I feel the power point slide show they presented was meant to sell the bill more than it was to educate and inform. The people present strongly opposed the bill and many who wished to voice their concerns and ask questions were not allowed to speak. I was very happy to see young people in attendence including 2 that came all the way from Phoenix to speak and also a student from Dine College. At least 3 people spoke up towards the end and called out to the NNVP that they had not been allowed to speak. Once again proof that more forums are needed and also that more time should have been given to the public to speak and ask questions. It seems that most feel, that despite the claims of all the uncertainties of letigation, most would rather continue the fight for water claims in court than to waive them and settle.
Photo from Renaldo Chapman–on Navajo Truth SB 2109 facebook–Security at Fort Defiance meeting.
For some insight into the land, people, history and political economics involved in this issue consider this article at – Izilwane –Connecting the human animal to theglobal ecosystem–
“Belonging to the Land, Part One: The Elders of Black Mesa” by Zoe Kransey
http://www.izilwane.org/belonging-to-the-land-part-one-the-elders-of-black-mesa.html
“Part Two: Big Mountain”
http://www.izilwane.org/belonging-to-the-land-part-two.html
“Part Three: We’re Still Here.”
http://www.izilwane.org/belonging-to-the-land-part-three-were-still-here.html
Our Water Rights has a hard copy letter writing campaign underway. For information on SB 2109 and HR 4067, and the addresses for snail mail visit www.ourwaterrights.org
SignOn.org petition to Stop SB 2109 http://signon.org/sign/tell-arizona-senators.fb9?source=s.fb&r_by=4272644
note: This information, quotes, photos, etc has been posted with prior permission-agreement with Navajo Truth in order to share information.
Protect Mother Earth, Stop SB 2109, Protect Sacred Sites, No Racism, No Foreclosures, et. al. March Rally Flagstaff, AZ April 28, 2012, 3 pm
April 27, 2012 at 5:24 pm (art, culture, education, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, food, history, Indigenous People, life, Native Americans, nature, politics, random, religion)
Tags: "Water", 2012, 28, April, art, AZ, culture, event, Flagstaff, food, history, Hopi, human rights, Indians, Indigenous, March, Native Americans, Navajo, Navajo Truth, news, people, politics, poster, rally, random life, religion, rights, SB 2109, Stop SB 2109
Click poster for more images at Navajo Truth SB 2109 on facebook.
Now this is what an alliance looks like. Take note of all the interconnected issues and groups involved in this event. Some people are getting together for mutual support. Something tells me this sort of bridge building is not taught in The Huppenthal Mind Control School Plan. But taking an axe to the Ethnic Studies programs in the state of Arizona sure might have thrown some serious fuel on this bonfire. Protecting Mother Earth is everyone’s common ground. Unless, of course, you’re McCain, Kyl, a Bush, BP, Shell, Chevron, Trans-Canada, Canadian PM Harper, Kinder-Morgan, Enbridge, Palin — whatever will it take to wake these folks up? Oil spills inside their homes? Mandatory gas masks for everyone? Water rationing?
Not in Arizona? Then spread the news cause I don’t think this rally will be aired on CNN, ABC, NBC or Fox news unless it’s a 5 second soundbite IF the police crack open some pepper spray.
Patricia Gualinga Montalvo of Sarayaku, Ecuador speaks about The Living Forest, Laws, Oil Companies, International Allies and The Rights of Mother Earth. Translation provided.
April 22, 2012 at 9:51 pm (art, culture, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, Indigenous People, life, nature, photography, politics, random, religion)
Tags: Alliance, Allies, April, Conference, culture, day, Earth, Ecuador, Environmental, forests, Gualinga, Haskell, IEN, Indigenous, interconnectedness, law, Legalizing Rights of Mother Earth, life, Living Forests, Montalvo, Mother, nature, Nature Conservancy, network, Pachamama, Painted Hills, Patricia, people, photography, picnic, politics, random, rights, Sarayaku, spritual, Tar Sands, video
Painted Hills, Grey @ eva wojcik
Earth Day musing: Yes, that little dark streak near the top is a human. We are much like ants on Earth. Unfortunately in many ways we’re lethal ants destroying everything in our path.
For those of you suffering from limited attention spans please do not let the length of this video deter you from hearing Patricia’s speech given at the Indigenous Environmental Network Conference on the Rights of Mother Earth Restoring Indigenous Life Ways of Responsibility and Respect. There are several important things well worth learning in her speech and replies to questions. One very significant element is how a village of 1,200 has developed international alliances for support of all kinds. I think it’s an art many others need to foster in their own communities. We need to make the most of our common ground in order to protect Earth. Respect, support, communication, tolerance for our differences are not easy to acquire. If the only thing we have in common is a love for Mother Earth–then we better make the most of it. Unlike the Nature Conservancy I think we need to do a great deal more than enjoy picnics outside in order to ‘celebrate’ Earth Day. The Tar Sands operation is just one hard harsh reality we need to face head on. Now, when it’s possible to picnic on the Tar Sands site then that would be something to celebrate indeed. We’re a long long way from that picnic. Presently I don’t think we’d be welcome at the Tar Sands site unless our baskets contained a few tons of solid gold currency.
Pachamama Alliance on fb https://www.facebook.com/PachamamaAlliance
Pachamama Alliance website http://pachamama.org/
Rain + Poetry = Navajo Water Songs
April 17, 2012 at 7:48 pm (creative writing, culture, education, environment, history, Independent film, Indigenous People, life, music, Native Americans, nature, poetry, random, religion, Uncategorized, Writing)
Tags: "Water", Blue Horses Rush In, Camille, Child of Water, creative writing, culture, Dine, Dust Precedes the Rain, education, history, Independent film, Indigenous, life, Luci, Manybeads, music, Native Americans, nature, Navajo, outtayourbackpack, people, poem, poet, poetry, rain, random, religion, song, Tapahonso, University of AZ, video, videos, Writing
Dine’ poet Luci Tapahonso’s “Dust Precedes the Rain” seems appropriate for both a tip of the cyber hat to April as National Poetry Month –and to focus on the joys of water, especially rain–water that falls from the sky.
“The water from the sink is no good for making pottery.
It just ruins it,” my children’s Acoma grandmother would say.
Thereafter she sent the kids to replace the full bowls of rainwater
that had filled since it began to rain.
Her son said that when he was a child, the rain smelled
and tasted so good–he and other kids played outside,
laughing and running around–and they stopped once in a while to lick
the cool adobe walls . The sides of the smooth houses were
fragrant and nurturing. From atop the mesa at Acoma Pueblo,
it is possible to see almost seventy miles in each direction.
It is the same on the reservations surrounding Phoenix.
Long before the rains come, the gentle desert wind
carries the scent of rain, wild plants flutter anxiously,
and pets frolic, acting silly. To the west, the thunderheads
loom dark and full. Thin waves of dust precede the rain,
rolling tumbleweeds and bits of paper, and the children run and skip,
allowing the wind to push them along. They yell and laugh.
The lilting sounds ae carried eastward by the blowing slants
of rain–their laughs and shouts caught in the leaves of sturdy trees.
They linger in the crevices of small hills and arroyos
and finally swirl into the slopes of the purple mountains nearby.
It must have been the same when the Hohokamiki lived here
where the expressway crosses over. The children played
in the dust- charged breezes, shouting and running in circles,
and when the rains began, they paused, their faces turned upward
to taste the cool clean rain.
Their quiet gratitude for brimming pots of water remains
now in the crumbling re-buried walls fo their small homes.
The still concentration with which they painted pottery
remains in the small toys and tiny woven sandals that are unearthed:
their spirits remain in the dry grains of dirt
that were dug up by shovels, backhoes, and bulldozers.
This is evident in the persistence of the bright wild plants
that push their way out of the dry ground.
This is evident in the new growth that springs up
along the arroyos and streams following sudden rains.
This is evident in the island of peaceful silence
that the museum cradles amid the city’s frenzy.
This is evident in the restless energy of the busloads
of children who visit the old homes of the Hohokamiki today.
They recognize the old history that is theirs.
They recognize the old history that is ours.
@Luci Tapahonso, “Dust Precedes the Rain” from Blue Horses Rush In, University of Arizona Press
Link for Luci Tapahonso at University of Arizona:
http://www.ais.arizona.edu/people/luci-tapahonso
Child of Water video uploaded by outtayourbackpack, Camille Manybeads sings.
Refresh Mother Earth with the Black Mesa Water Coalition, yá’át’ééh
April 14, 2012 at 6:24 pm (art, culture, education, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, history, Independent film, Indigenous People, journalism, life, Native Americans, photography, politics, random, religion, Uncategorized)
Tags: "Water", art, Black Mesa Water Coalition, business, coal, culture, Dine, Economy, education, environment, exploring interconnectedness, girl, Green, history, Hopi, Independent film, Indigenous Environmental Network, jobs, justice, kiss, Mother Earth, nature, Navajo, news, Paper Rocket Productions, Peabody, people, photography, politics, random, religion, Roberto Nutlouis, sustainable, video, weaving
Video by Paper Rocket Productions LLC
Please meet some of the people who form the Black Mesa Water Coalition. Roberto Nutlouis and others attended the Indigenous Environmental Network Conference on the Rights of Mother Earth in April. They’re deep into water issues in Navajo and Hopi Country and creating Green businesses to support their traditional communities working to develop sustainable economies. Since they are a part of these communities they have a vested interest in their future. We are all a part of the community of Earth. So we are all connected. We are all related.
Learn more on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/blackmesawc/info
Have you kissed Mother Earth today?
Link to Navajo language page http://library.thinkquest.org/J002073F/thinkquest/Language.htm
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
