What Would You Say?

What Would You Say?

By: Pamela Waterbird Davison

Copyright 2008

What would you say if I told you this smile I wear isn’t real, that it hides the hurt I feel every time I think of the damage done because someone thought my motives were less than sincere? People who’ve known me for quite some time did not see fit to give me the benefit of the doubt, merely allowed malicious lies to taint the way they saw me. They forgot who they were seeing and saw only what they chose to believe.

What would you say if you knew the angry front I present is to protect the “me” who, at seventeen, believed the world was filled with goodness no matter how dark and miserable people made it seem? I think of myself back then and remember the young woman who saw in people things they couldn’t see in themselves and I want to mourn for her because she refuses to give up faith in the essentialness of humanity.

What if I told you there was a time when I trusted in people to be whom they were with all their righteousness and believe in me as I believed in them? I thought everyone was equipped with the ability to do what is right. It’s sometimes hard for me to think I ever existed in that way since I no longer trust most people at all. The slightest kindness extended to me is met with suspect and I rarely trust kindness in its simplest form.

What if you knew how much I hated feeling this way, that for all the lies, gossip, and backstabbing, I still want to believe? I keep telling myself there will come a day when everyone will see the truth for what it is, but I’m losing hope, and feel helpless to make things different.

What if you knew what it felt like to be in such conflict? I wonder if you can imagine. Then I wonder if any of us ever let ourselves really believe in anything? If we genuinely look at ourselves and each other in the way we’re supposed to, I can imagine greatness. Greatness as we were intended to be. There would be respect of tremendous magnitude and our Creator, in whatever way we chose to imagine the Omnipotent One, would surely be pleased. The universe we live in would be one of harmony and we would know heaven on earth, even if the streets aren’t paved with gold.

Why must we be determined to destroy each other? Why must we seek to find the most indignant ways of humiliating ourselves and our family? Why must we demean our relationships in order to make them mean something to us?

What if we all acknowledged that none of us has an answer? What if we all understood we’re all in this together? What if we knew none of what has come to pass is an accident? What if we all said we don’t have a clue? What if each of us realized the other was doing the best they could with what they had, even if we couldn’t relate? It wouldn’t excuse any of us, but it sure would make day to day life a little easier to swallow.

I desperately want to believe in the things I see breathing through our existence together. It can’t all be a mistake! It can’t be all one way or the other! It just can’t. Maybe the one thing Jesus, Buddha, Geronimo, Chief Seattle, Mother Theresa, and Pope John Paul, III ever wanted us to know was this: there are some things worth being mad about…passion is a vital part of life, but so is compassion for the things we can’t or won’t understand until we’ve walked in the path of others. We may think we know a lot of things yet we’ll never truly know what it’s like to be someone else, to live with the demons others face without facing them ourselves.

I can’t say with any certainty that I’ve lived a life without regret. Certainly, I have regrets. But it is human to be regretful and to seek forgiveness where it can be found. Now, if only I can be forgiving, then maybe I will find heaven on earth buried deep within the ruins we’ve all created! I think above all the teachings of every religion or spiritual path, forgiveness is probably the most difficult to achieve and the highest calling any of us can make.

What if I told you I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it? Would you believe me? Would you believe IN me? Would I believe in you?

What if you knew what was really in my heart, could feel it in my words and see it in my eyes? Would you believe in what you could feel and see? It’s not a lie. It’s a life. What would you say?

What the Stars Are Like

Cherokee legend...

One night a hunting party camping in the mountains noticed two lights like large stars moving along the top of a distant ridge. They wondered and watched until the lights disappeared on the other side. The next night, they saw the lights moving along the ridge, and after discussing the matter decided to go and see what was going on. In the morning, they went to the ridge and after searching some time, they found two strange creatures very large (making a circle with outstretched arms), with round bodies covered with fine fur or downy feathers, from which small heads stuck out like the heads of terrapins. As the breeze played upon these feathers, showers of sparks flew out.

The hunters carried the strange creatures back to the camp. They kept them several days, and noticed that every night they would grow bright and shine like great stars, although by day they were only balls of grey fur. The creatures kept very quiet, and no one thought of their trying to escape when, on the seventh night, they suddenly rose from the ground like balls of fire and were soon above the tops of the trees. Higher and higher the creatures went, while the wondering hunters watched, until at last they were only two bright points of light in the dark sky, and then the hunters knew that they were stars.

Tribes may land island, lighthouse on former burial site

By: Winston Ross

CHARLESTON — It’s going to take an act of Congress for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians to take over the neglected Cape Arago lighthouse. Given the bipartisan support for a bill introduced this week, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Both Oregon senators and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., put forth a bill that would put the abandoned lighthouse in the tribe’s hands, for preservation.

The lighthouse, built in 1934 on tiny Chief’s Island, occupies an ancestral village and burial site, a fact that has afforded the tribe access for years. But attempts to own Arago have thus far been blocked by the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, which limits transfers to lighthouse preservation groups. That’s why the legislation is necessary, said Tom Towslee, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden.

Relocated Navajos question feds

By: Felicia Fonseca

SANDERS, Ariz. — Unlike most of the vast, impoverished Navajo Nation, in this town all the roads are paved, schools and clinics are a short drive away, and everyone has electricity and running water in their homes.

Those modern conveniences are what lured hundreds of Navajo families to the "new lands" — ranch land the federal government bought in the early 1980s as part of a massive project to relocate thousands of Navajos from Hopi land and hundreds of Hopis from Navajo land.

Now, a quarter century and $400 million later, the federal Office of Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation is winding down what has become one of the largest relocation efforts in U.S. history. The office expects to move the last of the group — some 40 families — by next year.

The community of relocated Navajos near Sanders calls itself Nahata' Dziil, or "planning with strength," and to some, the so-called New Lands is a success story. The relocated families, they say, mostly are doing well and the community has a bright future.

Keep reading here: http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_9740017

LU hosts American Indian students

By: Kate McGinty

APPLETON — More than 70 American Indians are in Appleton this week to train to become what one tribal member called leaders of their nation.

Lawrence University is playing host to College Horizons, a college prep course for high school students with American Indian roots.

During the five-day workshop, which wraps up Wednesday, students work with admissions counselors to search for potential college matches. They visit with representatives from more than 30 colleges, including Harvard, Princeton and Yale universities.

Then they create resumes, fill out college applications and compose essays. They also score tips on applying for financial aid and taking the ACT or SAT exams.

The program, which is hosted annually at two sponsor colleges, pushes American Indian students to find the confidence and training to attend post-secondary school, said Adrienne Keene, a 2000 graduate who went on to Stanford University.

Keene, a Cherokee Indian, now works in Stanford's admissions department recruiting native students and returned this year to College Horizons as a representative of the school.

"After seeing how successful this program is and realizing the absolute disparities in education — especially for native students — I feel like I can't not give back," she said. "By staying involved in College Horizons and staying involved with native recruitment, I'm really building up the future of the leaders of Indian country and the future of our tribes and our people."

Get the rest of the story here: http://www.wisinfo.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807010479

Derek Miller Takes Home Second Juno for ‘Dirty Looks’

By: Frank Larue

“It feels great to represent the indigenous people of this country and to honour the people who made this award possible…..indigenous music has informed the mainstream since pop music was invented.. indigenous culture has informed everything… it represents victory for surviving a holocaust…and it represents the continuous journey forward to help preserve language and culture. We are currently in the process of building a studio facility on six nations that will be world class. It will have audio and video capabilities that we hope will facilitate some great music along with the language and culture preservation dvd series.’’ Derek Miller on winning the 2008 Juno Award for his CD, Dirty Looks.

The most exciting aboriginal singer songwriter working today, Derek Miller who’s career was kick started in 2002 with the release of ‘Music Is The Medicine.’ took his career to another level in 2008 with the release of ’Dirty Looks.’ Which garnished him his second Juno Award in March and will be followed by a live DVD, his next recording will feature a duet with Willie Nelson along with stellar musicians Double Trouble who were the rhythm section for the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn.

The new CD. ‘Dirty Looks’ is a collection of songs that reflect the changes he went through purging the bad habits he had cultivated on the road. Derek spent some time in the one place you won’t find Amy Winehouse, a rehab centre. The mood of his new materiel may be somber but his guitar playing is all fire and brimstone. From the scorching blues licks in The Devil Came Down on Sunday to the subtle melodic touches he adds on Stormy Eyes. Derek Miller consolidates his standing has one of the finest musicians of his generation.

Read more here: http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/index.html

Today in history...

June 25, 1876: Battle of Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand). Plains tribes led by Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are victorious in a battle with the U.S. Seventh Calvary. To this day, 132 years after the fact, the Battle of Little Bighorn is the most famous of the Indian Wars. The victory against Custer was overwhelming and remains a proud moment for North American Indian people.