Aniin anishinabeg,I am a 100% disabled veteran "Warrior" Leech Lake Pillager Shinob.
I see our country is in turmoil and some people cannot see it going on. Weather storms caused from the timber industry clearcutting, crime, polluted air, greed, no respect, racism, dishonesty, cheating on our own people, etc. We are seven years in debt or longer here in the U.S.A. And our Leech Lake rez is in the same shoes as our country.
The traditional way of our people, "our Native Americans" was to be governed by our elders; some people would say wise men and wise women.
They used spirituality in their gathering ceremonies, all different kinds of ceremonies and tribal meetings. They used the peace pipe at all these meeting places on their reservations and at their tribal meeting place. To purify themselves with good intentions for their people at these council meetings. And each tribal councilman asked for guidance from the Creator as each passed the pipe to one another in the circle of the tribal meeting The four elements were used by the spiritual man, medicine man at these gatherings.
They used to call these tribal meetings sau-ga-sway-e-ding. Pipe and tobacco offerings to the Creator before meetings. As the pipe was passed around in the circle in a spiritual way as offerings to the Creator. And that pipe meant a lot to them in making them role models for their people. And they sang and danced in harmony after their tribal meetings. They served their people well.
We live on the Rez and let this be our way of life. Today we don't see this kind of spirituality at meetings. Everything is held in secret, which is wrong for our people.
Let us go back to our traditional ways by using and saying sau-ge-sway-e-ding. The pipe and tobacco ceremonies at the tribal gatherings. Asking the creator to guide us as the elders did long ago at our tribal meetings. I say 'our' because they looked ahead for their future grandchildren. Let us make it this way for our children's children. Let us build for them in our forgotten spiritual traditional way of life. This is the kind of life we need in our tribal government; the L.L. Rez Leadership --- role models with Spiritual honesty. Caring and sharing is what we need. For instance, the potlatch of the northwest coastal chiefs. It is a giveaway celebration from the head chief. Giving away his wealth, everything he has, to his people. As our ancestors have said, long ago: What you give away you will always receive back in a good way. Sau-ge-sway-e-ding traditional versus R.T.C. Meeting the non-traditional way.
I see boo-coun-nah-shay-nob-bey, wan-nah-bees, and red apples running for office and in leadership positions.
Sobriety was our traditional way of life before the white man came here. Whiskey, alcohol was used to buy off native land, furs, etc. from the time the white man walked unto our shores until even today. There are recent alcohol, martini lunches, and parties on our reservations at meetings of the tribal council. This is why there was going to be a bar/lounge within our sacred grounds of the Veterans Memorial Grounds. There is now mention of a golf course on our rez. Do our elders play golf? Or do our young children play golf? We do not get anything per capita from the Casinos. So, we would not get anything from the hotel or golf course. We don't benefit. And the enrolled members would lose out again. This is because the boo-coun-nah-shay-nob-bey, wan-nah-bees, red apples do not look into the future of our grandchildren, and great grandchildren the way our ancestors did. We need to go backward to where we started to advance forward too fast, back to where we left our traditional way behind and take it back up again.
I wanted to get the First Nations for Sobriety started here on the rez, some people in the C.D. program said it was too spiritual. Read the 12 steps -- how many times is god used in the Serenity Prayer?
They said it was hurting the white man's image and offending them (the white people) by using "First Nations for Sobriety." So they changed the name of "First Nations for Sobriety" to "Sober Eagles." I never heard of a drunken eagle or ever saw one. Never! First Nations were sober nations until the white man came. I say we do not need boo-coun-nah-shay-nob-bey, wan-nah-bees, red apples for leadership or as role models. This is why our rez is like it is today. Greed has traveled from the time of the the white man landing and it is here now. We need a new Rez Constitution, new role models. Our rez is deep in debt like the U.S.A. It's going to take time to straighten our rez money problems out. Some are already making promises for higher wages, $7.00, etc. The rez had to get money somewhere else to pay some employees. So why should some people make promises when there's no money.
Long ago when someone did something wrong in an Indian village, like taking someone's wife. They were outcaste for good. That is how strict it was and governed by our elders, ancestors. We had strong traditional ways. And we should have them now at this time of crisis.
Our veterans are not respected or honored. There are homeless veterans on this rez. Direct Home Loans from the Veteran's Administration have been at a standstill between the tribe, Rez and the V.A. for over a year. The M.O.U. (Memorandum of Understanding) between the tribe and the V.A has been sitting at the Housing Office for over a year gathering dust and cobwebs, waiting for presentation to the V.A. Maybe they are still trying to figure out on how they are going to beat the veterans out of monies. They have been working on this for about 3 1/2 years.
As I said before, there's talk of a golf course. A luxury item for the able bodied well-off. Not for our elders, our veterans, and young children. And I bet, there will be a bar or lounge there also. Our leaders do not realize there is a high rate of F.A.S. and F.A.E. (fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effect) on our reservation.
Our future depends on these young ones as our positive role models. The health of our elders and children should come first instead of our leaders' luxuries. Like the luxuries they have already bought in the past.
I've heard a lot about Indian Time in the past. That tradition is lost. People make fun of it today. I've heard there will be more pow wows if some certain people get into tribal offices. Pow wows (gathering of the people to celebrate) were traditional in our cultural way before the chi-moo-ki-ma-nug came here. Spirituality was our way of life way before the white man set their foot on our Turtle Island. Sobriety was our traditional life before the white man came here. We have sobriety at pow wows; unity with each other and healing with togetherness. It is a reminder of who we are and not to forget who we are. Some of us have forgotten this and forgotten who we really are. We never knew what greed was. We never cheated our own people. We only cared and shared for one another.
I was baptized in the Catholic religion. That was all right until into my elder years. I thought a lot about the religions. My god, my Creator hasn't changed. I believe strongly in my spirituality. I thought back how Christianity tried to change my life when I was young. Our hair was cut, we were punished when we spoke our language. They said we worshiped the devil when we talked in our Ojibwe language. In our tradition, our culture, our spirituality; the braid meant "the three strands of life" -- mind, body, and spirit. That was our spiritual reminder when we wore those braids and now today we have begun to remember the old ways when wearing braids. To this day, Christianity is being taught in the Chiapas region of Mexico in the same way they taught us native people long ago. I know the meaning of the Indian Prayer songs and they are good words. But the Indian way is a good way. The white man has never broken our spirit in the past 500 years. We had good leadership before the white man came.
We need to stress the education for our children, so that we could have our own self government. We don't need white people in our offices running things.
Greed. It's here. We are having problems over it, to this day. Greed doesn't work here, it was brought here when the first Europeans first stepped on our shores. And some of the education is used the boo-coun-nah-shay-nob-bey bureaucratic way.
As I said before, our people were outcaste if anyone done wrong to their people in the villages or their band. Veterans with bad discharges, ex-convicts, alcohol and drug users should not hold office . They are bad role models for our people, youngsters, elders, etc. This should be put in our tribal constitution. Greed does not fit in. It is foreign to the traditional way of our people.
"Where as, hereas, etc. proclamations" came from the white man when they started making rules and started to take our land away! That bureaucratic way is being used today on our rez.
Let us return our way, as our ancestors governed, to our own ways. Let us be she-nob-bey again. It was a good life long ago.
Me gwetch,
Bernard J. Rock, Sr.
RR 2 Box 268E
Cass Lake, Minnesota 56633
Leech Lake Pillager Band
email: eaglerok@northernnet.com
feather eaglerock, leech lake rez
[english is a foreign language. reclaim the language of your people and send it to the future as your gift to your grandchildren's grandchildren. di-ka-ne'-tsv a'-qua-tse'-li ha-htv-gi, wa-do' do-da-da-go'-hv]
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