And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 11:54:47 EDT
Subject: Leonard Peltier & the Sacred Rock
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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This is Harvey Arden, editor of Leonard Peltier's new book PRISON WRITINGS:
MY LIFE IS MY SUN DANCE. The book is now out--in stores, online and from the
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee at [EMAIL PROTECTED] (buying from LPDC means
all profits go directly to the struggle to free Leonard).
I'd also like to share with you a still-ongoing exchange of letters between
myself and a wonderful Ojibwe gal named Esther Nahgahnub. It's from my
website Wisdomkeepers.com. Please pass them on.
Many thanks!
/Harvey Arden
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
202-244-4693
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...................
Wisdomkeepers.com:
My name is Bobidway Wedamook Equay and I am from the Fond du Lac reservation
in Northern Minnesota. Today I read the inserts from Leonard's book and was
moved to write to you.
I am going to Ireland in June to dedicate a peace garden. The garden is in
the shape of a turtle and will consist of rocks taken from sacred sites all
over Ireland. The four legs will consist of rocks given to them from
indigenous peoples of the Americas. I plan to bring a rock from a sacred
river that flows along the border of our reservation. That river is almost
dead from pollution, but I pray that this will help.
I am wondering if you would like me to take a rock for Leonard. I can include
something in my dedication regarding that rock..but it is not so much a
political statement as it is a prayer. If this is something you would like,
please write as soon as possible since I leave on the 6th of June.
Migwetch....Esther Nahgahnub
Reply from Harvey Arden
Dear Esther,
Your letter reaches across to our hearts. I am passing it on to Leonard. He
will be extremely grateful and, of course, will be honored and extremely
pleased to have you place a sacred rock for him on Ireland's Turtle Island
peace garden.
On one of my visits to the Leavenworth biannual spiritual gathering, or
powwow, I received as a parting gift two small rocks from the fire pit of the
prison Inipi, or Sweat Lodge. As I left the prison that day, Leonard briefly
took the rocks in his hands, held them lovingly for a moment, and told me:
"These rocks are filled with our prayers. Handle them with love."
Both of those rocks have since been placed in other holy places. One was
given to Chief Billy Redwing Tayac and placed next to the grave of his father
Chief Turkey Tayac at the holy site of Moyoane, sacred to the Piscataway
people, overlooking the Potomac (Potowomack) River, directly across the river
from George Washington's Mount Vernon home. The other is used in the Inipi
held by Sam Walking Bear (Windy Boy) in nearby Maryland.
I have given a few little fragments from those sacred rocks to some dear
friends and I have one fragment left--about half the size of an egg. It's
made of fire-resistant gray lava, and it's very burnt-looking. After you
place a holy rock from your territory on the Turtle Island memorial on
Leonard's behalf, please email us at Wisdomkeepers.com and tell us how it
went. Include your snailmail address and I will send you that little sacred
rock fragment from Leonard's Sweat Lodge. I know he wants you to have it.
With respect and admiration,
Harvey Arden
On behalf of Leonard Peltier
Wisdomkeepers.com:
I am humbled by your letter. Migwetch.
I would like you to describe this rock to Leonard and how I received it. I
was at this river, sacred to us because it is one of the last places that the
sacred shell came out of the water. It is what we followed as we migrated
and is an intregal part of our religion. I was there doing a ceremony and
was about to leave when the river called me back. There is something here
you need to take, it told me. I looked around and then down...down past the
huge boulders into the rushing water. At first I didn't see
anything...then...down past the boulders and broken rocks embedded in the
sand and loose shale I noticed a white rock. It was standing on end. And it
called to me. I looked again at the deep rapids and breathed a deep breath.
OK, I thought. I walked down and I went into the water, dragging my skirt
along behind me until I came to the rock. It was imprisoned between levels
of shale and about two or three inches of sand. The shale held him securely.
He could not move. I began to wiggle each piece of shale individually,
wiggling first one side and then the other. Slowly they began to become
flexible in the sand that gripped them. First I got the little pieces out,
and then it became easier for me to wiggle the larger pieces. Finally the
largest piece that held the rock gave way and I was able to remove it. The
white rock slipped easily out of the sand. I looked at it. I sat down. I
pondered this flat rock that had been standing on its side for so long. Why
was I to have this? I looked around, unsure of myself. I went back up to
where I had laid my Pipe and turned to look back at the hole. It was already
filled. I took out my tobacco and talked to it. Yes the rock was to go with
me, it said. By this time the wind had come up and had dried the stone
somewhat. As I looked at him, smoothing his face, I saw the
upraised face of the North American continent, and then the St. Lawrence
seaway. As I watched the wind dry it other things appeared...a wolf, a bear,
a great lynx, a man from another planet, a turtle, all the clans and all the
people came together as this rock dried. He is truly a remarkable man, the
human spirit in this rock. There is so much to tell about him, oh yes. When
I was looking at him tonight, I saw a warrior's face..with the old time top
knot, the twist on the forehead. I think they called them warrior's knots.
I haven't taken him in the house, he will ride with me in the passenger seat
of my car until we board the plane. He will ride in the plane with me, just
as any respected Elder would do. And he will continue to be with me in just
that way until he is placed in the Peace Garden in Ireland.
So you see...Leonard is going to Ireland!
I am also bringing Fond du Lac's flag and that will fly over him too.
One other thing. As the wind dried him..he was not white anymore. He had
turned color. He is four layers, and his colors are a pale yellowish tan and
green...and in some places the green is almost black.
Again, migwetch for allowing me to do this for Leonard.
Peace,
Esther Nahgahnub
Dear Esther,
Your story goes very, very deep. Maybe by loosening the rock from its prison
in the shale you are lifting Leonard from his prison at Leavenworth. I feel
sure it is a Sign. I will send these letters to him and hope to have a reply
for you in the near future. Please tell us more when you return from Ireland.
On behalf of Leonard Peltier,
/Harvey Arden
Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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