Winter is coming- Pine Ridge needs our help.

Dear DU,
This came up on another thread- some of you may remember that
I posted this information last year, that being an address
to send donations to help our human brothers and sisters
living in abject poverty here in our own back yards of America.

Recently a new DUer, started a thread titled
"A native man asks democrats"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4838363

Hundreds of you replied. Good, that is as it should be.
Today, another thread, yet another thread appeared in GD
titled "Today I faced poverty in this county"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4863789&mesg_id=4863789

As the discussion evolved, the topic of Pine Ridge was
brought up, in particular, the needs of our family there.
Our brothers and sisters there, many of them children.
I want to repost information on that thread in the hope
that the good among you will take action.

There are two ways YOU, who profess by your membership here,
can make a difference in balancing the destructive energy of
injustice by your ancestors.

Courtesy of DU new comer, Iktomiwicasa:
"The Children's Village
Box 1034
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
Phone: 605-867-1711
Contact: Melvina and Louis Winters
Runs the only foster home in the community of Pine Ridge for Lakota children living on the Pine Ridge reservation. Donations of children's clothing (age 5-18), canned goods, blankets, towels, twin sheets, bunk beds, children's toys, and games, and financial support are welcome."

And from "hardrainfalling"
--along the lines of feeding two birds with one stone--
Winona LaDuke's White Earth Land Recovery Project has a retail operation that provides employment opportunities for the people of the White Earth, MN Reservation.
I've long since begun doing all my Christmas shopping there, or whenever I have the need to purchase some kind of "thank you" gift, I order it from there (the products are super high quality and the recipients are always totally taken aback), I also buy large quantities of her pre-packaged soups for myself--great alternative to campbell's. They ship all around the world, btw, and foreign friends tend to be particularly happy about gifts from here.
So might the Winters also be able to use products purchased online from Native Harvest (like wild rice, soups, maple syrup, etc.). The food is better than canned.
The advantage for potential donors is that you can simply call in the order and they will ship it for you:
here is the URL...
(If you think this is a BAD idea, Iktomiwicasa, say so and I'll delete the post)
http://ww2.nativeharvest.com/

DU, I don't know how to explain this, but I know there are
energies out of balance- karma, if you will, that you CAN
make a difference on.
Please consider this information an opportunity to WALK THE TALK.
BHN

If you want to solve the problem,
you must address the source of imbalance.
BHN

The thread is sinking fast. As expected.

Happens *every* time. (No offense to the exceptions, i.e. people who *have* paid attention to this issue, but note that you are in a very small minority here, esp compared to the many, many other requests for aid and donations that get posted here, and the tremendous amts of money that are generated in that way).

Sigh.

Are the Indian mascots still available as avatars? Haven't had time to check.

still out there.

If the NCAA can ban them, why can't DU?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/cfootballnews.asp?articleID=139340

(I switched my prefs to include the most disgusting one, but didn't realize it ends up putting it on all my posts, and just can't stand to see it, so will go back and delete).

But I think we should submit a request to the mods to ELIMINATE the racist indian mascots from the avatar list!

It's disgusting.

Perhaps you should start poll thread and
see what the concensus on them is among the
DU mambership?
I think the Admins would honor the vote process-
After all, this IS the DEMOCRATIC underground.

On the issue of what DU does or does not care about.
I don't think folks don't care- I think it more a lack of
cognitive assimilation as far as a big picture.

Americans, in general, are not a people who understand
history in a spiritual context- there is a severe disconnect
that way. We don't honor our elderly, much less our
ancestors, or that which we do honor is a false
history or myth, much easier than a hard look at
the facts of how this country was founded.

From my perspective, what I observe is a tendency
to focus on the hangnail, oblivious to the fact that
the arm is broken.
Know what I mean?

BHN

take heart, hardrainfallin

i've given up more times than i can count

but spirit counts in numbers our hearts can't figure

so here i am, again, and grateful

from the lost-&-found-&-lost
& found again

thanks to voices like yours and BHN's

relative in KY,
ana

fuck the mascots! really.

and this is turning into an amazing thread....so thanks again BHN and everyone.

Let's make it happen.

:grouphug:

the "mascots" need to go - & i mean, be gone (here on DU, first & quickest, IMHO)

i think that a poll-thread on this subject is more than worthwhile, in this community of minds at this particular time.

vv (Cherokee "yes"), this IS turning into an amazing thread :-)

& i do thank you, hardrainfallin and everyone here, and BHN especially, for these clear initiatives and one-hearted commitment

each and all of you earn the name unali, Cherokee for "true friend", "friend of one's soul"

friends and peace-warrior-champions of our collective soul in this time, in this land, and of each elder and child and all persons (many people now called "Americans" - both within and without tribal identity, &/or of multi-mixed-heritage, like me) of all ages, but of indian heritage,

&/or of indian heart ~~~ how does any of us know who we've been? or when, or where? only honor the memory that arises from within your own soul, and call that sense of being your soul's family, and act upon it as that which binds you most deeply to the meaning of your own present existence: in this way, you cannot go wrong. only keep listening, and allow yourself to feel what you feel each day. and act in harmony with what you feel and what your intelligence knows, day after day, night by night; many rounds of light and dark together

the ancestors call us, to do what we can do each day - through the way of spirit, in the acts of hearts and hands, and in mindfulness that as children of Earth, "we are all related"

in these times, i feel the ancestors of all the Principle Peoples of Turtle Island are singing in powerful harmony from their deepest, highest places. that is, from within Earth herself, and from within our own souls.

their way is not easy. but their memory & their wisdom is tenacious and true.

who are we, if we do not hear them now? and find some way (however "small") to act upon what we hear in our hearts?

sending also personal thanks, due to very deep family sadness here, and so i needed to hear someone calling in present time, and help to focus, and to imagine, and to dig deep within memory's sense of resources - a cause, at the bottom of the bottom of all other causes, ringing from Elisi's (Grandmother Earth-Spirit's) memory within this land.

i have boxes to go through, kindred minds to call on, and good work to do this week, & i thank you. it is far better than falling asleep each night with the selfish, homesick prayer to leave this planet, to not wake up in the flesh again. "thank you" (wa do) doesn't begin to express it. if this feeling (and admission of it, without shame either private or public) speaks to anyone else who reads this,

:hug: i wrap my arms around you and i am walking beside you: please know that you are not alone, and that we - the likes of us who feel too deeply and are prone to despair of Earth and longing for Home-again: we are needed, and needed to BE*HERE*NOW ... from this arrhythmical worn-out but still-whole-heart: our "human brokenness" has great fertility and usefulness in the way of spirit: only think what we can do or give or share of personal honor and true meaning to someone else, friend-met or friend-unmet :hug:

there's a Cherokee phrase (& i've forgotten the Cherokee) but it means "grace in a time when one has done nothing to deserve it"

that's what i'm feeling right now

:grouphug: unali spirits of DU & all our relatives :grouphug:

ana in KY, no longer feeling so much in "exile" :-)



:cry: Eastern Tsalagi (Cherokee) souls together in remembrance of the sacrifice of Tsali, and his family, and all of his descendants :cry:

I normally refrain from this admission, because frankly I
am sick to death of the "I am part this and that nation" wannabe
weekend sweat lodge warriors, dream catcher hanging from the SUV
rear view mirror, catch a bit of this and that new agers. let's
go to a "pow-wow" talkers.

Fact is- my great grandmother was full blooded Cherokee.
You would never know it to look at me.
Doesn't matter to me.
I do know what comes to me in my dreams and that is
all I need to know about my trail.
Nothing to prove with plenty to do.
BHN

There are PLENTY of opportunistic "wannabe"
"sell out" indigenous people out there.
I will not go into details, but I was given a dream
about a sacred Blackfoot practice-
What a farce the follow up on that with the Tribal Council that
turned out to be. Irrelevant in my path, simply
more information.
Corruption is NOT unique to the "white" American culture.

Being "Native" is not a pass to being a true spirit these days.
Look into the archived talks by Mad Bear and Rolling Thunder to learn more about that topic.

BHN

Indeed, it is not unique.

And what, in this nation, is "white"? And what is (upon thoughtful examination) "American" and what is "culture"? I question everything.

Thank you for the direction toward Mad Bear and Rolling Thunder.

Almost two years ago my sister married a half-blood (i do NOT like the blood-quotients, they lie too often; and real history teaches us that they are irrelevantly inaccurate, anyway) Apache. His father is full-blood, but was "fostered" out of the tribe into a "mainstream" caucasion american family in his very early years; the father assimilated, or mal-assimilated, denying his tribal identity and repudiating his birth culture.

His son (my brother-in-law) came to his age of questioning, alienation, and rebellion. Ultimately, in his 20s, he returned "to the tribe", was re-adopted and graciously accepted, spent a year or two living with his tribal Apache relatives.

At that time he was earning his masters degree, with a view toward his PhD in geo-physics/engineering.

He emerged several years later, having re-adopted his tribal clan surname; but from working with the Apache people, having grown nothing but contempt for their traditions, customs, history, mythology; and considering them "hopeless" as to their openness to "modern technology that would benefit them".

This re-adopted "son" who received and accepted (and now legally uses) his sacred Apache clan name as his surname is, sickeningly to me, a thoroughgoing materialist, a self-styled "atheist" who adheres singularly & aggressively to what he deems "the rational, scientific viewpoint" on ALL issues; one who contemptuously rejects everything that has been freely, generously, trustingly opened to him as a "returning" tribal grandson.

My "christian" sister has problems with her Apache husband teaching the thoughts of "atheism" to her three children from her previous marriage. She is an engineer who broke every "glass ceiling" of her generation (b. 1960) to become a very powerful liason between neo-corp-contracted government work (a high-clearance "blackhat" who cannot talk about her real work even to her own family) & the nuclear industry where she began her career.


These travesties you speak of strike very close to home, for me.

It is a bitter thing. And sad beyond words. And (IMO) dangerous.

Within the year my brother-in-law will have earned his PhD. And most likely he will use this to harm (via employment through government contracted corporations) rather than to help his own relatives of the Apache people.

Tears dry up, guts twist, & minds bend in the face of such spiritual perversions.

Yes: "Corruption is NOT unique to 'white' american culture."

But too often, the complex indoctrinations of the "white" culture steal the souls of people of all kinds of heritage and experience.

Again, thank you for your response, BHN.

John "Rolling Thunder" Pope you are refering to?

His son is involved in Nanish Shontie-
Familiar with it?
http://www.nanish.org
BHN:hi:

is more than just blood quantum. It is also connection to and acceptence by native communities and family ties. Being native is not a solo act.

We have pretty much shut the door to non-natives to many of our ceremonies because of the abuse and exploitation by wannabe types. Unfortunately, some of our own people have been willing to sell out for monetary or other personal gain.

I am also mixed race, my friend Charlie at Red Lake says, w/ re my decidedly white appearance, "the genes have been unkind."
But I know who I am. And I wouldn't have had to have needed to trace my lineage five generation, through Leech Lake, back to the Little Traverse Band. It's taken many years, but my community accepts me, and I have even since found living relatives on the Rez.

Saxon St. Germaine, tribal elder at LCO, when I began posing these questions to her...now almost fifteen years ago...said: I don't need the US gov to tell me who my grandchildren are.

and with that, she was of course referring to the BQ issue, what I call (borrowing from Jim Northrup, Fond du Lac), the "pint low syndrome"

My take: with the current state of affairs, we need every drop of Indian blood that is still on this planet, dead or alive.

That said: No matter what. No matter what my community has to say about me and who I am, no matter that I have (paper) documentation of Indian lineage, no matter what. If a practicing Rez Indian says: NO. you may not participate in this ceremony or that. I accept that. At face value.

It's never happened, but if it would, I would accept it.

And you'd probably never see me in full regalia at a Powwow, as much as I love to entertain the thought of a jingle dance and a jingle dress. I walk the perimeter of the powwow. And I dance the intertribal. Or, if I'm invited, a giveaway or some other special occasion dance.

I'd be more inclined to "sponsor" a Rez Indian to purchase materials for her dress.

that sums it up for me, if anything does :-)

vv, i normally refrain, too, in this self-divided ignorant time of the boneheaded "proveits" (both Appalachian & southern plantation-culture mixed-blood descendant-genealogists are the worst) and the sadly deluded "new age" pow wowers (have met a few, & one was too many)

thank you for your response

means a lot to me, and encourages me (laughing-kinda-ferociously-but-i-hope-compassionately) on the

"nothing to prove with plenty to do" front

:hug: BeHereNow :hug:

ps: mine are so mixed up and so close ~and~ so far back & multi-generational-layered inter-mixed multi-eastern-tribal (some "extinct" now) that i'll never be able to "prove" anything (largely thanks to The Geno-Ethnocidal Government), so i just listen inside. you too. it's good to hear. thank you. 'cause that's it, that is the way. whoever & wherever you are, BHN, wado, and may our great-grandmothers hold constant council together, and in our hearts :-)

pps: Hillary missed it, you know.
It Takes A Peace Village.

:kick:

I'll do what I can and yes I remmeber that thread alright!

:kick:

Sorry, but I must one again confess ignorance...
BHN

miigwitch is Ojibwe for thank you.

I don't know much Ojibwe, but consider this one of the most important words .

:hug:

BHN speak for
BIG old wet and sloppy kiss-
:loveya:

somebody on the Pine Ridge could use it.
BHN

I can gather them up and send them off. Happy to do so. bookmarking.

Some people I don't know and some people I do helped me out during Katrina. It was deeply appreciated so I'm looking for a location to "pay it forward".

Hopefully I can get out of my current state of hurricane head and pinballing thought processes to settle in and be functional again. I'm very unorganized right now. Not that I was ever organized

I would like to help.

i have a bunch of kids clothes that we were going to send to new orleans, but last we heard, they did not want clothes. so this is a wowowonderful opportunity! :woohoo:

Kicked.

I work with http://www.spirit-rising.org/

You are assigned a child at Pine Ridge with specific requests for clothes, birthday gift, holiday gift and school supplies. The coordinator is a retired social worker and the couple who started are Native Americans.

All you send goes directly to the child. I believe that monetary donations are accepted for the bed project and other emergency needs such as power bills, etc.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, to remember Leonard Peltier.
Leonard by the way, has been moved to the USP in
Lewisberg, PA.
He lost ALL of his art supplies in the move.
Should you care to donate to help him replenish
his art supplies...
Send a check to his legal defense specifying "supplies."
Leonard Peltier C/O
Toni Zeidan
LPDC 2626 N. Mesa #132
El Paso, TX 79902

To write Leonard: and offer your love and support:
Leonard Peltier
#89637-132
USP Lewisberg
P.O.Box 132
Lewisberg. PA 17837

DU it.
BHN

I have visited Pine Ridge...abject poverty does not even begin to describe the place.

near the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians in Bowler, Wisconsin.
About 40% of our students are Native American, and several of our students have been to Pine Ridge, to help out as best they can. I will definitely do what I can. I will get in touch with the local tribe and see what I can to coordinate between them and our school to help out those who need it so much. It is a great bunch of people we have in our community.

Welcome to new DUer-
Iktomiwicasa.
Look him up in the user profiles and PM him.
I am sure he can help direct you in the the most
productive uses of your resources.

BHN:hug:

this is the most wonderful post.

:kick:

instead of "kick", write "thank you" in your favorite foreign language

like that.

Why is it that people think they can
cure a shark bite with a bandage?
There IS a source to the disease that has afflicted this
country.
The treaties must be honored.
the land must be returned.
Karma says so.
BHN

This thread is sinking like a stone among those
who profess to want a change.
CHANGE begins by addressing the ROOT
of the problem.
Think what happened to the indigenous people of America
is not connected to what is happening now?
Think again.
Everything is connected in the web of life.
Oh, by the way, did I mention
that Leonard Peltier has been a political prisoner
for thirty years in the corrupt system that your tax
dollars pay for?

BHN

it's not a thing of the past.

Just one example, the so-called "indian trust case Cobell v. Norton"

http://www.indiantrust.com/

will bookmark to get the info later. :hi:

I've never heard of Native Harvest. Looks like some good stuff there. I'll have to make an order!

Sorry to not add any salient commentary, but here's a kick and a recommendation. I'll keep an eye out for this thread tomorrow, too.

sw

As always, so good to hear from you.
Garden keeper and good steward of the earth that you are.
I know you know what this thread is about-
BHNO8) Scarlet Woman

:loveya:

and flirting with some horses..BAD mustang boy "Cocoa" was
up to his usual tricks- nipping pockets for treats that
he already ate.
Will do- check my PM box that is, not nip your pockets.
BHN

Buffalo sausage!!!! yum

my fur faced friends are calling me ...
BHN

:kick:

Send donations to Vet for Peace. You can all rest assured that your dollars will be well spent.

It's all volunteer.

Peace,
Sherry

Annie, thank you,

I was worried about you, after the Camp Casey posts and all.
I got the impression that you were under a GREAT deal of stress.
Called Will P to ask after you because I was worried
about you, but never heard back from him.
Not to worry about VFP here in LA-
I have checked in with our local contact person.
He is a good and true person.
So rare these days, eh?
I hope that you are being good to yourself-
I am off to walk the fur babies-
I will check back on this thread with you later.
BHN
:hug:

I hope it is still operating and being put to good use. It was about 15 years ago. If anyone living there knows about the solar energy system I installed, please get in touch with me! The people were very kind to me when I was there.

question - how is the retail shop in MN connected to the Lakota / Pine Ridge reservation?

thanks and peace

what the status of collaboration is. Last time LaDuke was in Chicago, she was talking about putting up wind turbines on Pine Ridge; recent press release below.

I still don't think it's clear what I was suggesting w re donations to Pine Ridge: my suggestion was that, if you want to send foodstuffs, rather than send canned goods from a "normal" grocery store, order highly nutritional foodstuffs from NativeHarvest and have them sent directly to pine ridge--that way, you support two important native projects--and all you have to do is place a call or place an online order.

I repeat, though, this should not preclude also sending money, clothing, blankets, towels directly to the other addies listed here. Was just saying, sending food thru NativeHarvest is an easy, "no mess, no fuss" way to do it.

Here's the press release on collaboration between White Earth, Pine Ridge and other reservations.

http://www.honorearth.org/whatsnew/pineridge.htm

Wind and sun to power community center on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Minneapolis, MN -- Honor the Earth, in coordination with Owe Aku, Lakota Action Network, Oglala Lakota College, and Sustainable Nations Development Project, will provide a free training workshop and installation of a 2-kilowatt solar/wind hybrid renewable energy system at the Owe Aku Community Center on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota on August 11-12, 2005.


In an area known to some as the “ Saudi Arabia of wind power,” Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has 4,500 times more wind power potential than it can use. And yet, Pine Ridge occupies two of the poorest and two of the least electrified counties in South Dakota . Self-sufficient wind and solar power systems can help reverse this trend. As a model of decentralized power production, the solar/wind hybrid system at the Owe Aku Community Center represents a move toward sustainable energy production and energy justice. “Honor the Earth hopes to support grassroots and tribal wind and solar development in the Oglala Lakota Nation,” said Winona LaDuke, Executive Director of Honor the Earth. “We know that the Oglala Lakota have provided leadership on many issues in Indian country, and with such promising grassroots and tribal government leadership, we are looking forward to the work ahead.”


Debra White Plume, Director of Owe Aku, says, “Getting off the grid is part of doing social change work here on Pine Ridge, the first or second poorest county in the United States . Working to change the way people think about energy and resource development to become self-sufficient is essential.” Native communities have long been the places where the world has sourced raw materials for energy production – from coal and uranium to natural gas and oil. White Plume continues, “We need to stay true to clean energy and stay away from the idea of mining our resources. Leave all that in the ground; we can receive the power of the wind to energize our needs and do it without digging up the earth or contaminating the water, air, earth and people.”


Over the course of the two day workshop, participants will learn about small-scale wind and solar systems and how they can help individuals and communities get “off the grid.” Participants will also observe and help with the installation of the photovoltaic panels and wind turbine. Jim Taulman an instructor from Oglala Lakota College will be working in coordination with Doran Dalton of NativeSUN and Johnny Weiss of Solar Energy International. Native youth organizer Nick Tilsen, Executive Director of Lakota Action Network, says, "We have our own energy here in the wind and in the sun, by moving to these renewable energies we are increasing our sovereignty as a nation and building a better future for the children because there will be less pollution. The project at Owe Aku is a beginning. Let it lead to many other good projects for our families, communities and nation.”

The installation of the hybrid system at the Owe Aku Community Center marks the second training and installation of a renewable energy system coordinated by Honor the Earth this year. In April, they oversaw the installation of a solar photovoltaic system in the heart of Western Shoshone territory near Elko , Nevada . By developing models of locally-produced renewable energy systems, Honor the Earth hopes to democratize power production and to empower Native communities to produce their own electricity using renewable sources such as the wind and sun.

:hi:

Do we understand one another?
:smoke:
Thought so.
BHN

Indiana tomatoes for kicking this thread.
Can I get a witness Pobeka?
BHN

tomatoes?

Pobeka and I both lived in Southern Indiana
when we were kids-
One of the things we both remember is
the taste of Indiana grown tomatoes.
Trust us when we tell you, there are no better
tomatoes in the world...
BHN

looks like Merh would be happy to lob me with one, but that's OK...I'm at my desk, btw if you wanna give me a ringidingi....

Come, we three will eat a tomato together
and start over.
Calling you in a few minutes-
Gotta herd some cats first.
BHN

to ask to reserve this space for the Rez...especially since

A) there is a permanent Katrina Relief thread pinned at the top of all threads
B) as someone in here noted, they are not even ACCEPTING donations of clothing (that's where the debate started, merh came in requesting that winter coats also be sent to MS).

No problem with that suggestion, just that this is not, imnsho, the place.

So, nuff said. That's my story and i'm sticking to it.

I'll check out native harvest and also I'll find out about a very nice handcrafted items made by the school children, that I bought for christmas gifts. For donations directly, my friend was at Pine Ridge as a nurse and I go through her contacts, since she still has friends there.

:kick:

Thank you BHN and Iktomiwicasa for this info. I agree with this imbalance and am pleased to find a direct line to be able to help.
:kick: :kick: :kick:

Just checked the main page. This thread, with 18 recommendations, is still on the "most recent" side, not on the 'most popular' side.

Anyone know how the "popularity contest" ;) works? Perhaps people who haven't yet recommended the thread should do so, if they haven't already?

Then, of course, keep kicking it.

the mascots out of DU

and if its OK will put on my email list....

I know lots of people who want to help. Most help out the rez close to home here in AZ (Diné & Hopi) but I am glad to have some addresses & links here and will fwd them around to friends.I wil also send to some Indian friends who have some good connections as well. I have found many who are willing to help, even though they have little themselves.

There are a few here on DU who sincerely care....maybe its time to wake a few more up (OK, way past time).

Thanks so much for this thread BHN.....:hug:

kadéeshte
DR

to help keep this kicked-gotta get used to using that option more!
:kick:

:kick:

Thanks HRF, for keeping this
thread in the heart and minds of DU.
BHN

the page! ;)

O8) :hug: :loveya:
BHN

dome homes on the res!!!! I think it's a viable economic source for the peoples on certain reservations and there energy efficient and "ROUND". Instead of the rectangular government housing. They'd d be perfect on the reservation, energy efficient, and who better than the native peoples to provide a source for these architecturally safe structures. Great for hurricane weather and earthquakes, and think with promotion a viable economic push for the people to pursue. It's logical with the earth changes that are occurring. Any input?

but what's the weather like there? I can probably get a box of clothes together, I just don't want to get clothes that aren't appropriate.

I wouldn't worry about appropriateness, I'm sure everything would be appreciated--as long as it's in good shape.

to establish contact with a troop, or a group who wants to be a troop, within the Indian community. We want to link our 11 and 12 year olds to the people who were here first--and share experiences. Of course, we will want to help, but I want them to KNOW other girls--to understand by doing things together, who they are and why it is vital to respect them and their history. Our group is small, only about 5 or 6, but we mean it. If you have knowledge of an elder who would like to make contact with us, please pm me. Many thanks. (this is not a request to learn how to make dream catchers...:sarcasm: )

difficult for someone there to know if we mean it or if we're just another group of fools. Maybe we are, but I mean to change that!;-)

win out in the end. But I also think it's necessary to understand the hesitancy, as you say.

When the "incident at Red Lake" happened, there was a lot of misunderstanding about that community and its needs....so sad, really, because their response to that tragedy really could have taught everyone in this country a lesson about respecting the boundaries as set by a certain community.

I do hope that you succeed in setting up some sort of mutually beneficial exchange.

double-check your pms!

There's actually a way to contact Chavez w/ re low-cost heating oil for indigenous communities:

"Native communities and entities wanting to learn more about Venezuela's offer of low-cost gasoline and heating oil can e-mail Robert Free Galvan at robtfree earthlink.net."

from an article in Indian Country Today

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411602

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

to take a job with a legal aid agency in Rapid City, SD, working with the Sioux to help them stop fractionation of their land and to provide free estate planning services. My project colleage (who's from the Cheyenne River reservation) and I travel to the Pine Ridge office twice a week, we're in Rapid the other three days.

I can definitely vouch for poverty's extreme grip on Pine Ridge. It's like another world to me, and I find it hard to believe that this kind of thing is tolerated in this country today. I've been going there twice a week for three months now, and every single time I still can't believe the poverty and living conditions. Most people don't even go anywhere because they don't have a car, or they have an old, unreliable junker clunker, or they just don't have even a few bucks for gas money.

My colleagues and I do what we can, however we can, but it's just never enough. And winter is coming, which means people will freeze because they can't afford any heat. Please, people, do whatever you can, no matter how small. There's a song we used to sing in high school that's appropriate here: It is better to light just one little candle than to stumble in the dark. Better far that you light just one little candle, all you need's a tiny spark. If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be!

There's actually a way to contact Chavez w/ re low-cost heating oil for indigenous communities:

"Native communities and entities wanting to learn more about Venezuela's offer of low-cost gasoline and heating oil can e-mail Robert Free Galvan at robtfree earthlink.net."

from an article in Indian Country Today

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411602

Maybe the moccasin telegraph's already been set in motion, but anything you can do to get the word out about this would help.

And yes, the poverty is just mind-boggling, isn't it?

And please, let's keep kicking this post...

in helping and returning land to the indigenous
people in his country.
I think we need a DU actiion in contacting your source with the request.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease and all.
Why don't you start a thread on it HRF?
I am about to post one on Leonard Peltier.
I have been talking with Toni Zeidan the last few
days and the LPDC office appreciates our help.
It's all connected.
It's all connected.
BHN

and I wonder if Skinner charges something that would be affordable on DU for them to advertise here? :shrug:

BHN

You can contact LPDC for more information.
http://www.leonardpeltier.org
Email "Toni" at:
info@leonardpeltier.org

Just put Attn: Toni /From DU member
in the subject line.
She knows I am passing information on to you all.
BHN

I was browsing the crafts, and got a few gifts picked out already. There is probably a time factor, I didn't look at the shipping/delivery time....

round holiday time. I've always gotten orders w/i two weeks, max.

Probably late October early November. I'll try to reach as many people as I can

from that angle, but it's really best to be doing this thing NOW b/c otherwise, twould get lost in the holiday rush, eh?

Good point.

The more I think about it.

BHA just do me a favor and send me this over a PM, will order some stuff

BHN

The NativeHarvest link is missing a "w" in the URL...
BHN

easy that way I can go to teh PM whenever I need the adress, believe it or not I use that way

I will PM it to you right now-
BHN

Thanks for the post. I'm always leery about internet solicitations but after reading through the posts this seems legit. It's really a disgrace that American Indians should be living in such poverty.

http://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/

The Children's Village is listed as one of the organizations.

On edit: If you click around, you will find requests for specific donations.

I've sent the link to several friends who I think will actually take action.

worked with them, but no one directly on the Rez who's worked with them.

So maybe Iktomiwicasa can weigh in here, but from what I've heard second-hand, Friends of Pine Ridge is doing a good job.

There is seriously so MUCH need on Pine Ridge, I don't think it hurts to have more than one address--and believe it, people, the need is legit, totally....

here is another URL, verified (rec'd last year through a Native Writers' Org I am a member of--Wordcraft Circle)

http://www.airc.org/

The story of Sara Swifthawk, the elder who froze to death in her home on Rosebud, is a few years old now, but the need remains. And of course this fucked up administration is making it worse, and worse, and worse....long-term, the goal must be self-sufficiency, which is where operations like Native Harvest come in--and where we come in because we know damn well this god-forsaken regime is not going to do anything to help Indians survive, much less THRIVE...

Here is the Sara Swift Hawk story...


A true emergency is confronting the Indian People on the Sioux
Reservations of the Northern Plains in South Dakota. Sarah Swift Hawk, a
Grandmother living in the village of Spring Creek on the Rosebud
Reservation, froze to death in her own home (meaning a shack) because
she couldn't afford to pay for fuel. The cost of propane fuel, which
is used by most of the people on the reservations who have any capacity
for heat at all in their homes has become so inflated that record
numbers of families are in grave danger again this year. The federal low
income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP) in South Dakota recently
lost $300 million in energy assistance funds. The Pine Ridge Reservation
by the way is the most poverty-stricken community in the United States.
To meet this critical need the American Indian Relief Council has
established a Winter Fuel Emergency Fund to subsidize Propane purchases
for those most at risk on the Sioux Reservations -- THE ELDERS. Since
you will not see this emergency crisis dramatized on TV or in the
newspapers it is all the more important that contributions of any amount
be sent to:

Winter Fuel Emergency Fund American Indian Relief Council
PO Box 6200
Rapid City, SD 57709-6200

That one will go out also. What I'm putting in my emails says basically "in light of all the recent tragedies, lets not forget the first people" I'll also sent out "don't forget" type emails. I don't usually do this kind of thing so the folks I'm reaching will listen. I have strong feelings about this. I do want to walk my talk, (something that's personally important to me anyway) and not send soothing replies on a message board. I'm waiting for one of my friends who's not a DUer but involved in Native issues to get back to me as well, 'cause she knows her stuff. Maybe she and I can get something going up here.

Thank you back. This is very cool to see and to hear...

So, here's what I'm doing.... Check for 50 bucks is in the mail, with this note.

(apologies to Iktomiwicasa, if need be: sorry cuz, you started this, now you're taking the rap! ;)

Dear Melvina and Louis Winters,

Hi, I’m a mixed-blood Ojibwe from Chicago who grew up in foster care in Wisconsin. It was rough going for the longest time, but things have shaped up nicely and the Spirits have been extraordinarily kind in recent years.

The people of Pine Ridge and Rosebud, and the rest of the people in Indian Country who continue to suffer in poverty and privation are always on my mind, and I try to give back what I can. I learned about your foster home from someone on the Internet. He goes by the name of Iktomiwicasa, but from the looks of it, his name is Orrie Bearshield—I suppose you know him; even if you don’t, please accept this gift in his name, and in appreciation of the Circle of Life. I know it’s not much, but I hope it will help. May the blessings multiply, and all the best to you and yours. Thank you for looking out for the children.

Many miigwitch,

Niijii

*******

But WAIT, there's more! ;)

Tomorrow I will be placing an order with NativeHarvest--baskets to be sent to two people who have done me great favors in recent months--and of course stocking up on my own store of Winona's "instant" soup (can't get enough of that stuff).

Sometime in November, I'll go to TJ Maxx or Burlington Coat Factory or Filene's Basement and will purchase some nice new winter coats in women's and children's sizes and will send them to another address on Pine Ridge, one I have from last year (that person doesn't want email posted publically cause too much shit comes in).

The purpose of this post is not to "brag", but to encourage people to practice "reckless generosity" which is actually a very, very Indian thing to do. More Indian than dream catchers, more Indian than posting Hopi Prayers, proverbs and prophecies...it is about giving THANKS. It's about an attitude of gratitude....So if we all do even half that, and if we get others to do half that (or *double*, if they can!) ... we can make a dent. A small dent, but nevertheless ... a dent.

So thank you everyone IN ADVANCE for the generosity...let's try to make this a WARM winter on Pine Ridge and Rosebud....

keep this kicked and make ourselves worth our bandwidth! lol.

I've already talked to my husband, and he and I are going plan out what we can do. I probably talk about this too much, but my husband has MS. One of the things that would make him feel a little better, give him a little hope, was one of the (pan-native)prayer circles we used to attend. The drumming and singing was invigorating and powerful to him (and me) and just being part of it was healing. I remember we had a Native american flutist--I'm sorry I don't remember the type, but it was one of the most haunting songs I've ever heard.
I like that--reckless generosity

called Writing on Stones (not far from Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump!). We stopped at a little restaurant and the strangest thing...this woman with MS just came up to me and started a conversation about how they'd said she'd never walk again, but just by sheer force of willpower, there she was, standing there talking to me. It was the wierdest thing because this guy in Germany, who also has MS, had just given me some really good help on a project I was working on.... it was wierd and it was good b/c MS was something I'd never thought about or worried about or thought was in any way "my problem." So now it's something that's in my consciousness ...

It's a small world, and we are all related. If we pay attention, we get reminders of that all the time.

I give up on the word coincidence. It doesn't work for me anymore, after I learned to see just a little bit. Imagine if my eyes opened all the way! My husband watches the shape of clouds and is always excited when he sees an eagle--(because of some of our Native friends. We have this friend, who would use Lakota words I can't pronouce for Grandfather, eagle, and so on. The most important one for him to try to teach us was the one for "Thank you") My husband sees with eyes that may not hold up for the rest of his life, so he "sees" differently than I do. I learn a lot from him.

and once you start seeing them, it seems like they are more, but they aren't: they've always been there, it's like going hunting for mushrooms: the more you eat, the more you see! lol.

it's like the more this filthy rogue regime TAKES, the more it DESTROYS, the more it robs all of us blind, the more reckless I get in my generosity.

It's become an act of *defiance*! ;)

Thank you for the links, I do have some contacts with Native American community here in Seattle. I have bookmarked this site and sent out some emails. I'm going to to discuss what we can do with my husband. Both of us have had the honor to be attend prayer circles, talking circles, sweats and the like. I will not forget! I'll try to help keep this kicked up.

Just to help keep this up there. My son is half Cowichen (a Canadian band)Too long and private of a story to go into much detail, but he didn't meet his father until he was 16 years old. He went up there a few years back to meet his dad, and get registered--It didn't work out very well relationship wise for my son, but I've never regretted it. Last year that man died of alcoholism. He was 47 years old. He was one of the lost ones, raised in the city, and disconnected from his culture. One of the "out of balance" ones. By the time he got back to his roots the damage ran so deep I don't know what would have helped. His mother was one of those Natives you hear about who was forced to "acclimatize" or whatever they call it. Forbidden to speak her language or practice her culture as a child. She too, bears the scars of that. It's indescribable. She's elderly now, and my son and I are planning a trip to go see her because we don't know how much longer she'll be with us.

:kick:

I got an error message saying it's over 24 hours old and can't be nominated. I guess the greatest page has a term limit.

You could link to this thread in your sig line to get it more exposure.

i needed information and sense of reconnection
and your great post has provided just that

grateful and never giving up,
ana

HardKickFalling.
BHN with a LOL

And would be proud of your PASSION-
Me?
I get kicked in the ass all the time for my passion.
What beautiful buises they are.
I will die knowing "I did what I could, "
as the masters and teachers say.
Who the fuck ARE those guy anyway?
ROLF!
BHN

Yeah, he's not complainin.

Damn good thing I'm (mostly) self-employed, that's all I gotta say.

Yeah, and you gotta do what you gotta do, eh?

I for 1 am here now

Dylan would be proud of you HRF.
"Slipper-Ripper"
And all within a "kickya"
Too funny.
Love ya,
BHN

for a living! actuallly....

love ya back...but seriously, haven't gotten a DAMN bit a work done here tonight.

tomorrow's another day.

outta here...

BHN

Try PMing me with your Ph#.
I want to talk to you,
BHN

BHN

(see #190). FUME .

I'll be better in the ayem.


...looking forward...and, yeah, I must have missed something (re: my last PM)...Been staring at this screen too long.

night.

Again, sweet and powerful dreams to you.
Don't worry so, the truth always rises to the top,
so not to worry.

We'll talk tomorrow, eh?
BHN

After a long, hard weekend

Buttefly Maiden pollinates the souls of the earth: It is easier than you think, she says. She is shaking her feather fan and she's hopping, for she is spilling spirtual pollen all over the people who are there, Native Americans, little children, visiters, everyone. She is using her entire body as a blessing, her old, frail, big, short-legged, short-necked, spotted body. the is woman connected to her wild nature, the translator of the instinctual, the fertilizing force, the mender, the rememberer of old ideas. She is La Voz Mitologica. She is Wild women personified

The butterfly dancer must be old because she prepresents the soul that is old. She is wide of thigh and broad of rump because she carries much. Her grey hair certifies that she need no longer observe taboos about touching others. She is allowed to touch everyone: boys, babies, men, women, girl children, the old, the ill, and the dead. The Butterfly woman can touch everyone. It is her privilege to touch all, at last. This is her power. Hers is the body of La Mairposa, the butterfly
-Women Who Run with the Wolves--Joyous Body: The Wild Flesh
Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Many, many families lost all they have, including their winter clothing. Hurricane Katrina wiped out the MS Gulf Coast, devastated the ENTIRE coast, from Waveland to Pascagoula, there are families with nothing.

Clothes have been sent here, but they are not winter clothes. Right now folks are not thinking about the winter, that is another crisis in the making as many are living in tents and in the gutted remains of their homes.

When walking the walk, when worry about how to help, keep the folks on the Coast in mind. I spoke with an engineer who had been in New York on 9/11, he said the devastation he is inspecting on the MS Gulf Coast is greater, it is all over, not contained in the small area that was the World Trade Center.

THIS thread is for Native People and Native Causes, EXCLUSIVELY.

PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND IF YOU WANT TO START A CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT OTHER CAUSES, DO IT, BUT THIS IS ABOUT

AMERICAN INDIAN PEOPLE AND CAUSES (with particular attention to Pine Ridge)

SPECIFICALLY.

Gotta lotta goddamned gall comin in here like that!

Damn.

Go post your request on a Katrina thread!

(And incidentally, YES, I, for one, have already made a fairly substantial contribution to Katrina relief, as I'm sure most people in this thread have ALSO done).

Jeezus h. Christ can't it EVER be JUST about Indians?

Apparently NOT.



:mad: :mad: :mad:
:puke: :puke: :puke:

race, whatever religion, whatever sex. How can you expect people to care about YOUR cause when you don't give a flying care about other causes and other people in NEED?

You are the one that makes me PUKE :puke: your indifference and disdain drips from you - is all through this thread and gives justification for folks to ignore your cause and the plight of those you claim to strive for.


On edit: We have Native Americans here too - go read up on the history of Mississippi. :mad:

was SIX TIMES the check I just wrote for the Children's Village, and I have been supporting predominately African American communities in ways you cannot so much as begin to imagine for over twenty years. Hardcore. Reckless generosity.

You're barking up the wrong treee. And don't you dare come at me with the charge of indifference. You have no fucking clue who you're talking to.

Every year Natives DIE--freeze to death in their homes--on Pine Ridge. Every year. And it is unexcusable.

These are people who have not only lost their homes--they have lost their entire country, way of life, languages, etc. and are losing their lives DAILY in a country that is actually theirs by birth right. If that does not NAUSEATE you, I feel sorry for YOU.

Pine Ridge is DE FACTO the single most poverty stricken area in the country, and has been for many, many years. Google it. The stats are mind-boggling.

Do a google search on "suicide" + "native American youth" if you want a real sick dose of reality.

I am not saying other people are not in need, nor am I discouraging people from continuing to contribute to Katrina efforts.

I am saying that THIS particular thread is about supporting Indian causes and helping to alleviate abject poverty on a specific rez. Respect that.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

as I said....what I contributed to "your" cause is six times what i contributed to "mine"

blah blah blah....

I have work to do.

Peace out.

Grow up and get the chip off of your shoulder, it will make your life easier and your fund raising efforts more successful. Personally, you have turned me off and I would bet your attitude and demands have turned off others. That is why you have to keep kicking (and bitching about kicking) your own thread.

I pray you find peace and that you learn how to love - buying love (by empty giving) doesn't work.

money I sent down there makes it into your hands.

there is no form of giving that is empty, and I got all the love I need w/o worrying about whether you "like" me or "understand" me....I'm just a screenname, after all.