through education, support, and assistance in preserving the traditions, culture, language, and spirituality of Indigenous Native American Peoples, and promoting harmony, peace, and spiritual unity among all nations with the ultimate goal of global peace and healing.
David Swallow, jr., Sponsor and Spiritual Advisor
Stephanie M. Schwartz, Volunteer Editor and Webmaster
Text by: Paula J. Gruentzel, Correspondent and President
Photos by: Paula J. Gruentzel and Stephanie M. Schwartz, Correspondents
Wambli Ho News
Wambli Ho, Voice of the Eagles
The Four Directions All Nations
March and Rally in Denver, Colorado October 10, 2003:
Wambli Ho Editor's Note:
Correspondents' Articles may be reprinted (with proper attribution and sourcing) for
non-profit, educational, news, or archival purposes.
Please contact Wambli Ho for any other uses.
Funny Thing Is....
Funny thing is, I don't remember being taught the truth in any of my social studies or history classes. I remember the beginning of that silly little rhyme. But it took until I was 40 years old to finally learn the truth:
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, became desperately lost, was DISCOVERED by the First People of this continent who befriended him, fed him and his crew, and nursed them all back to health. In return, the First People were tortured, raped, and murdered by the same men they had made welcome to their homeland.
"Terrorism began October 12, 1492" - Wallace Black Elk.
Since the 1970's, Denver has hosted the Columbus Day Parade. And since 1989, the coordinators of the 4 Directions March, along with members of the Colorado American Indian Movement, have sought the compliance of the Italian community to broaden the vision from a celebration of racism and violence to one of equality and mutual respect.
Barbara and Mark Cohen, coordinators of the 4 Directions All Nations March, told Wambli Ho News, "All we are asking is that they take out the name 'Columbus' and we'll march with them in support of Italian pride. There are Italians who are willing to take out the name, but others (mostly the older generations who march in the parade) want to keep it the way it is." Just then came the announcement over Mark's radio that the marchers had stepped off and would be approaching Cuernavaca Park in lower downtown Denver from the 4 directions just after sundown.
Mark and Barbara Cohen, Coordinators of the Denver
Four Directions March
Kerry Appel
of the Human Bean
Coffee Company, Denver
Dave Woodcock and Peach help set up the torches
While we waited, Wambli Ho News spoke with Kerry Appel, owner of The Human Bean Coffee Company. I asked him why he was attending the rally. He spoke with conviction, "Because I am a human being. I have a responsibility to think, to speak, and to act. No government organization or other organization can tell me that I am not allowed to think or to speak of what I'm thinking by classifying it as a political or prohibited activity."
By now the sun had nearly set. A young man called "Peach" was helping to set some torches near the park steps. I posed the same question to him and he answered, "We need an alternative to a tradition of a hate parade. We need to revitalize the tradition."
Then from the West, I began to hear drumming and chanting: "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Columbus Day has got to go!" "The land of the free and the home of the brave are just words on a page!" As the marchers from the West approached, more participants waited in the park to fall in line behind them. As I walked the park and watched, I saw people of all the directions black, red, yellow, and white. They spoke in many languages. They played noah bells, djembes, and hand drums. Some were dressed in the traditional garb of their ancestors. But they were all here for the same reason: they had been enslaved in some way or abused in some way or persecuted for some reason. Their relatives may likely have been murdered, tortured, raped, dehumanized. Their children are taught lies through the sanitization of history books and education.
A different drumbeat and a different chant became audible from the East, then the North, and from the South. The fires of the 4 directions were blazing as I walked closer to the center where the directions would converge. On the way, I met Michael Hancock, a Denver Councilman. I stopped and asked him to tell me why he was attending the rally: "This is about the spirit of compassion and respecting the true identity of a people that inhabited this land before anyone else. This is a demonstration of true respect as opposed to Columbus Day." In his speech to the rally attendants, Mr. Hancock said, "I'm standing with you because it's right. It's time to transform Columbus Day and to celebrate values not influenced by politics." Mr. Hancock ended with a challenge to the Colorado State legislature to eradicate Columbus Day as a national holiday.
It was not surprising that, at the moment the eagle staff and the black flag of the West arrived, the wind kicked up causing the flags and banners to snap in its wake. The marchers converged at the 4 fires while additional participants circled around them, creating the shape of a human medicine wheel. At that moment I saw a medicine standing before my eyes: a great wheel of human beings who had come together in unification, celebration, harmony, and with purpose. A mother danced the jingle dance with her young daughter to the rhythm of the drums which had united in the AIM song. As the speakers approached the cement steps of the park, the people crowded in to get closer. Speakers and guests included Lakota Robert Cross, Richard Castaldo (Italian survivor of the Columbine High School tragedy), Lakota long-time AIM activist Russell Means, Lakota Spiritual Elder Wallace Black Elk, Michael Hancock, Southern Ute Kenny Frost, the Red Earth Women, Attorney Kathleen Cleaver, poets from the Ambassadors of Hope, Raging Grannies of Denver, Nita Gonzalez, Lakota Charles Bear Robe, JoAnn Tall, Lakota Yank Badhand, Danzantes Aztec Dancers, and Colorado AIM director, Professor Glenn Morris.
These names are familiar to many of us. They are people who have been fighting hatred, genocide, and racism in their own ways across the country; some for many years. I had to marvel at the fortitude and diligence of these people. Year after year, they march in protest against the celebration of a murderer which some call a hero. Day after day, they work to promote unity and respect for all people. I was thinking that most ordinary people would have gotten fed up and quit a long time ago. Then I remembered the words of Dave Hill, a Choctaw Indian from Wyoming: "Sometimes the Great Mystery gives us things that test our patience. These tests make us stronger. That's why we cannot give up. The children, even those who are not born yet, need us not to give up."
Jennifer Black Elk
(daughter of Wallace Black Elk) and granddaughter,
Wanbli Akin Wi
Southern Ute Kenny Frost,
Marilyn Black Elk (daughter of Wallace Black Elk),
and Lakota Spiritual Elder,
Wallace Black Elk
Lakota AIM Political Activist
Russell Means
Danzantes Aztec Dancers
To all those extraordinary people who continue to work for the respect and rights that most Americans take for granted, Wambli Ho News says, "Thank you, all of you speakers, marchers, attendants, and all who will join with them in the near future because their consciences can remain idol no longer."
And Wambli Ho News ends this article asking the question,
"For our children and for those children who haven't arrived here yet, can more and more of us each day be a little more extraordinary too?"
To become involved,
contact www.transformcolumbusday.org
or call 303-321-1TCD or 303-964-8993
Granny's Insights
Commentary by Audrey Link, Treasurer and Correspondent
I started life 63 years ago in Johannesburg South Africa. My parents were from Cleveland Ohio, my great-grandparents were from East Germany. I spent my childhood in public schools, with my last two years at a Catholic convent boarding school. At the age of 16, money had run out and a job was found for me as an apprentice florist. Back in the 'olden days', persons going to work with no job skills always served an apprenticeship. I earned 24 Pounds a month, ($50.40). My room at home had been rented out and I had a bed in the dining room. I was expected to be up and my bed made before breakfast was served. I was also expected to pay room and board from my earnings, and buy my own clothes etc.
I was very excited when my grandmother, who lived in south Florida, asked my father if I could come and live with her. I arrived in the USA in 1958. Back then I thought I was very world-wise and very smart. (I also spoke two languages, English and Afrikaans). America turned out to be a cultural shock. Strangers talked so fast, I could not get the meanings of their words, and when I did get the meanings of their words I discovered they had a different interpretation than I did. My grandmother had well-water that smelled like rotten eggs, (I learned later the smell was sulphur). It took me three months before I could drink the water without gagging, and for those three months I wished every day that I could go back to Africa where I could get a decent drink of water. I have no idea what was put into South African city water, however I believed it was 'good' water because I had become used to the taste.
Since arriving in the United States I have lived in Florida, Ohio, Texas, New York State, North Carolina, and New Mexico before moving to Colorado. I have worked in the medical field, floral design, residential remodeling/repair, and taught crafts. My children are part Cherokee from their father's side of the family. My youngest son introduced me to the teachings of the Red Road, back in the mid-1980's. The experience of my first lodge started me back on a path of belief in the Creator. I had totally lost all belief when my 9 year old daughter died of a stroke. It has taken me many years of searching for truth before I found the path I am now walking. My path is a simple but not an easy one. I have been guided to, and chosen to, follow a path of 'Peace on Earth, Respect for All Life, (Earth, Water, Air, Plants, Animals, Humans).'
I was often confused in my personal search for Truth, as one teaching often contradicted another teaching, yet they both sounded so reasonable and believable. I finally asked a man, who I considered a wise being, "How do you really know what is true?" The reply I got was, "I do not know how to tell you what is true. I only know that I take everything that comes my way and check it out with my heart. If it resonates with my heart I let it in, for it is my truth. If it does not resonate with my heart, I let it go by as it is someone else's truth." That was the best advice I have ever been given.
I have met many people: rich, poor, highly educated, and some with little or no education, some with large families, some with no families, some healthy, some ill. No matter who the person was, on the days where everything was going well in their lives, having hope and joy and believing was easy. On the days where everything went wrong and they were feeling helpless and hopeless, believing was hard to do.
So, is there really a difference in people? Basically, no. However there is a difference in how people view life, family values, spiritual values, raising children, ways of dress, education, ambitions, etc. When it comes to finding freedom, peace of mind and heart, people are more similar than different. Everyone likes to be treated with kindness, to feel safe, to feel valued, to be healthy, to be happy.
I am reminded of a story I was sent a long time ago, (by Author Anthony DeMello in the "Heart of the Enlightened")....
Buddha was once threatened with death by a bandit. "Then be good enough to fulfill my dying wish," said Buddha, "cut off the branch of that tree". One slash of the sword and it was done. "What now?" asked the bandit. "Put it back again," said Buddha. The bandit laughed, and said. "You must be crazy to think anyone can do that."
"On the contrary," said Buddha, "It is you who are crazy to think that you are mighty because you can wound and destroy. The mighty know how to create and heal."
Only within the similarities of the human minds and hearts is it possible to heal and create a better world in which to live.
It is my wish on this life's walk that I may learn and understand the ideas and beliefs of another, to be able to treat all others with respect, while at the same time allowing new perspectives that resonate with my heart to enter and expand my mind, and let all that does not resonate with my heart to pass me by, without judgement. I invite all who wish to join in such a walk. Our paths may be different yet we are all walking towards a similar goal: a world of Peace and Harmony, with Respect for ALL Life, (Earth Water Air Plants Animals Humans).
As Summer Ceremony Season comes to a close, it is time to look foward and prepare for winter. He Ska Tokala Society, in conjunction with Wambli Ho, Voice of the Eagles, will be having a toy drive this year. As we all know, winter is long and bitterly cold on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Therefore, we will also be collecting warm gloves, hats, and jackets.
These, along with the toys, will be distributed in the Porcupine District of the Pine Ridge Reservation by David Swallow, jr. and Wambli Ho Volunteers.
Please remember these children see the same commercials as your children see. They have the same desires and wants and hopes yet they often receive nothing at all. Let's brighten their lives. All gifts, large and small, will be gratefully received.
If you include a notation as to the cost of the gifts, Wambli Ho will be happy to send you a receipt for your records.
Please send all articles unwrapped so that the gifts can be matched appropriately to the children.
Deadline for receiving packages is December 12th.
Please send all packages to:
Wambli Ho, Voice of the Eagles
C/O Stephanie M. Schwartz
663 Box Elder Creek Drive
Brighton, CO 80601
Words to Ponder....
Contributed by Jim Beard, Vice-President and Correspondent
Above Little Hawk, three red tail hawks circled, riding the currents of air that rose from the knoll. They were lower than usual, and it seemed to Little Hawk that he could see every feather on the elegant birds. The air currents were invisible to Little Hawk, but the birds rode them as skillfully as deer leaping over a fallen tree, or fish swimming up a river.
As one of the Hawks hovered above him, Little Hawk saw its tail feathers move every so slightly. First one on the left, then one in the middles, then one on the left again, shifted position. The more Little Hawk watched, the more he could see how these movements kept the hawk just where it wanted to be as the air moved around it.
"The hawk is dancing with the wind!" he exclaimed.
At that moment, the hawk moved its wings slightly. It didn't flap them. It just moved them a little bit. At once it began to circle upward. Little Hawk watched as it grew smaller and smaller. When it was very high in the sky, two more hawks joined it, and they flew away together.
Little Hawk thought about what he had seen for a long time. He thought about it all fall and winter. He was still thinking about it in the spring. Something very big was happening inside him. Little Hawk was learning something about his own life from the hawk - how to ride the wind.
Hawks are masters at flying. They can glide. They can climb and dive. They can land in trees. They are masters of their wing feathers and their tail feathers, but they are not masters of the wind.
The wind goes where it wants. Sometimes the wind blows from the north and sometimes from the south. Sometimes it comes from the east and sometimes from the west. Sometimes it flies straight up, and sometimes it roars straight down. It can disappear and reappear from nowhere.
No matter how it blows, hawks love to fly. They move with the wind, but not like leaves in the autumn breeze. Leaves in the wind go where the wind goes, and sometimes that happens to hawks, too. Sometimes it doesn't. The journey of a leaf depends on the wind. Hawks have wills of their own.
The journey of a hawk depends on both the hawk and the wind. Sometimes the wind takes the hawk where it wants to go, and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, the hawk doesn't mind. Either way, hawks are masters at flying, always in control of their wing feathers and tail feathers.
Elegant spirits do this, too. Their wing feathers and tail feathers are what they think, say, and do. They always think, say, and do things to create harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life. No matter what comes up, that is what they do. They are in control of what they think, say and do, even though they are not in control of what comes up in their lives. Sometimes unpleasant things come up. Other times happy things come up. Either way, they ride the wind. They do the best they can, and then they let the wind take them where they need to go.
The wind is your life. It is all the things that happen between the time that you are born and the time that you go home. Elegant spirits don't know what will come up next, the same way that hawks don't know which way the wind will blow next. This doesn't bother them because they don't try to control their lives any more than hawks try to control the wind.
The hawk that hovered above Little Hawk did not try to control the wind. It controlled only itself. Elegant spirits control only themselves, too. They do not try to control others. They don't have hidden agendas. They don't think, say, or do things to manipulate other people. They do their best, but they aren't attached to what happens after that. Like the hawks, they do the best that they can, then they ride the wind. The hawk never stopped using its wing feathers and its tail feathers. that is how they ride the wind. They do not fight their lives. They use them to soar....
Colorado State University and Colorado State Forest Service
Nursery and Conservation Tree and Shrub Planting Program
Trees and Shrub Seedlings at incredible savings!
Ideal for Reservation Land as well as Personal Use!
Seedling sales are restricted however. To qualify you must:
Have two acres or more of land.
Use the seedlings for conservation practices only, such as windbreaks.
No seedling purchased from the nursery can be resold as a living tree or used for general landscaping.
Seedlings are only available in minimum lots of 30 to 50, depending on the kind ordered.
Among the listings are the red osier dogwood (red willow), sand cherry, plum, buffalo berry, currant, cottonwood, lodge pole pine, and hundreds of other great ones very suitable for the Northern Plains.
