Ya'a'tee

For new readers of View From The Hogan I offer a glossary of words used whose meaning may not be discernable from a dictionary. Altar, The land where these words are written and about which these words are written. The land "formerly known as HPL" Babble-On "Out there", the dominant culture. The people here on the land belong to an oral culture, and one aspect of an oral culture is that the power of words is honored. Not much is said, but when it is it is important that it be the truth. In Babble-On there is a lot of "noise", as if validation for oneself comes from making as much noise as possible. Clowns Politicians. LaLaLand Los Angeles. Spiritual Capital of Babble-On. Also where all the damn pesky aeroplanes fly to and from over our heads. (What on earth can all those people be going to L.A. for?) Men in black The various "law-enforcement agencies" active here on the Altar. The Hopi Ranger uniform is actually a very, very dark green. The Hopi Rangers are the para-military trained, uniformed wing of law enforcement who travel in vehicles with insignia. The "Field Monitors" are plain-clothes, officially unarmed and travel in unmarked vehicles (though with U.S. Govt. plates). The monitors are in essence spies, they are the ones that sneak around and count peoples sheep, see who has been building, who has visitors etc etc. Their findings are reported back to the Rangers. Maybe its because they don't get pretty uniforms and have to hide their guns in their vehicles, but it is the monitors who are usually surly and disrespectful and full of swagger. BIA cops and, when deemed necesary, County Sherrifs make up the rest of the team. Visitors, Americans.

It was only just yesterday (150 years ago) that the visitors were "knocking on the door" (in New Mexico). And now they are trying to say that they "own" this land. Warmaker, Some might call it the U.S. Government. Some might call it the Whiteman. Or the Patriarchy. I see it as the cultural trait that urges us to use conflict and aggression as a Modus Operandi. (my editor says I need to use more latin) Waynes World, Hopi Tribal Council Offices. Also a state of mind. For Wayne Taylor, the current chairman. A friend recently wrote me that when she talks to people about the situation here at Big Mountain she sometimes gets the reponse "Well, the land is just desert, why are they so intent on keeping it?". Brings to mind the Clown in "Broken Rainbow" who basically says "Hey! These Indians should get real, Americans relocate every day". I'd like to try and partially answer this query. I won't try and explain how it is to have a sacred obligation to a land, and I won't try and explain how it is to live on land that your family has lived on for hundreds of years, which is, in a very real sense composed of your ancestors bones. I'll try and explain what the land means in a "practical" sense, and I'll try to do it by introducing you to just one of the other species that lives here on the land with us. The humble Juniper tree. Biologists say we live here in the "Pinyon-Juniper Belt". What that means is that the Pinyon and the Juniper are the two dominant tree species round here. Right where I am is mainly juniper with a few pinyons. In the slightly higher places the pinyon dominates. The Juniper is a "gnarly" tree. Nothing straight, turning and twisting back on itself, kind of like frozen turbulence. The hogan where I live, and where these words are written is made from Juniper logs. And mud. The corrall where the flock is sleeping is made from Juniper limbs. As is the Sweatlodge. The fire that is keeping me warm is fed by Juniper. As is the fire for the sweat, the cookstove, and the outdoor fire pit. Juniper boughs are used to constuct summer shelters, and are used in a variety of ways ceremonially. The green tips of the branches, when burned to ash, is added to all recipes using blue corneal. A wide variety of parts of the tree are used medicinally, and also for dye. If there is a couple of feet of snow on the ground, then the juniper is all the flock can get at to eat. The fruit is edible, for the flock as well as the 2 legged. I believe that Gin is made from the fruit. The seeds of the fruit I collect and string as necklaces,,,, this is my source of tobacco money. The bark when scrunched makes excellent tinder, and is also still used as a diaper in the cradleborad. It is said that long ago the bark fibres was used for a skirt. The bark fibre makes a good brush for wetting the mud plaster, and when tied with baling wire is used as a chimney brush. For a simple sheepherder the juniper affords protection, from a searing sun, or a bitter wind. For a simple sheepherder the juniper is a source of beauty, wonder, and lessons. The Juniper is a good ally. And that's just one of the many species that inhabit this "worthless desert" The simple fact is, that the land is life. There are those that think that we can "own" land, but in truth it is we who belong to the land, for, as Roberta says "everything we use comes from the Mother Earth". This is a simple truth, even "out there" in Babble-On Referring back to the concept of Juniper-pinyon Belt, both Pinyon and Juniper are trees, yet they each occupy a slightly different niche in the eco-system. they each have their own way of "being-in-the-world", and I have yet to hear a pinyon demand that the junipers leave because it is not their land.

So, we are fast approaching Thanksgiving,... or as it is known around here, "Kishmish Biyazhi", Little Christmas. And we look forward with anticipation to the arrival of the two big annual supply/support runs, the Traditional Support Caravan, and the Clan Dyken Caravan. To all of you who have donated support to these caravans, we thank you and want you to know that your support will go to where it is needed and most useful,..... you ARE making a difference. To all of you who come on these caravans and help organize them, we also send our thanks once again, and a special thanks for making sure that support reaches every single family on the Altar. As I hope you all know, I consider you my relatives, and you are welcome in the Hogan at any time. . Things have been pretty quiet round here. No-one I know has had any animals snatched, though everyone I meet knows someone who has been threatened by impoundments. Same old same old, stressing people out with their continous siege tactics. There continues to be a lot of harassment to get more of the people here to sign on with the stupid Accommodation Agreement. As I understand it, a few years ago when the AA was being debated in the Congress, they decided that if 85% of the people here did not sign the AA, then it was back to litigation. A year and a half ago when the deadline for the people to sign the AA passed, amazingly the Feds and the HTC and the Relocation people claimed they just got 85% to sign on. I think the simple truth is that they achieved this magical number by coercion. bribery, and forgery, and, ss cynical as it may sound, I have a sneaking suspicion that they lied, and that they have been spending the last year and half getting more signatures to finally make the magic number. Of course, its possible that I would lie too, if there were a fifty million dollar "sweetener" in it for me. The whole thing seems to be based on "New Math" anyway, something I am unfamiliar with,.... how else can approximately 100 signatures equal 2-3000 people? Back in the real world, the weather has been glorious. And kind. Warm, cloudless, still, days. The silence and the sky broken only by the flying machines rushing to and from LaLALand. The flock are a bit uncomfortable, they have winter coats already. But for now we take advantage of the warmth. Soon enough the wind will turn to the north and we can enjoy winter. A neighbour has had a couple of babies born to her flock, so its getting to be that time of the years again. Some good folks down in Prescott, Arizona have come up with a nice support project. They've gone into the local schools (K-8) and explained about the situation here, and how important the sheep dogs are to the families, and they've organized a "Support the Sheep Dogs" campaign. Already one truck load of dog food has been delivered to the land. This is the kind of support that the people here need and support. If anyone is interested in supporting this project, or in starting up one of their own, please contact Candy on CDrotering@mwaz.com.

Some younger Dineh have started a project to create a monument to relocation. Initially based on the experience of the Dineh, the idea grew to encompass all people everywhere who have suffered from relocation. The monument is planned for Window Rock, AZ, and for now they are looking from input and suggestions from any young people in the four-corners region. Please contact Klee Benally on (520) 527 3791 or benally@infomagic.com

Another enterprise starting up is a co-operative to market the wool of the local people here. Last year the price paid for their wool didn't even cover the cost of the gas money to sell it. There are weavers "out there" who pay a decent price for wool, either as fleeces, cleaned, carded, spun or dyed, so if any of you are weavers, or have friends who are weavers, and might be interested in helping this economic enterprise, please contact me on this email address.

I recently bumped into Kee Watchamn. Like Roberta, Kee has made many visits to the U.N. and to Europe as a representative of the people here. I asked him what message he wanted me to pass on to y'all. His remarks are addressed to international supporters. "We are not asking for money. We want the U.S. Embassies and the U.S. politicians to keep getting petitions and letters. We also want international lawyers to come here and take testimony from the people."

I am led to believe that many of you are heading out to the Land this winter. I offer a small piece of advice. You want to bring a good hat, good gloves, good boots, and good socks. You are going to be spending a lot of time outside, and it may very well be very cold. Good gear can make the difference bewtween enjoying yourself, and being miserable. A small thermos flask is also very useful. After a couple of hours in the wind and snow, a cup of hot coffee will let you understand the phrase "nectar of the Gods".

I continue to be honored by the email I'm receiving. In the past week I've heard from England, Norway, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Australia, Canada, Hawaii, and all over Turtle Island. An obvious sign that what is happening here on the Altar is of significance to people everywhere. This must be the Global Village that I've been hearing about for years.... not the Global Marketplace that is being pushed on us by McDonalds, Coca Cola, Hollywood, and Washington..It reflects, I hope, a growing awareness that as the biological and cultural diversity of our planet is being destroyed in far off places, and is being replaced with Monoculture, each of us is diminished, whether we ever visit those far off places or not. It also reflects (again I hope) the awareness that by the products we buy and the resources we consume we are in fact the cause of this destruction. It is WE who are responsible for what is happening, and therefore it is WE who are responsible for stopping it, and de facto we have the power to stop it. I also note with some interest that many of you writing to me describe yourselves with reference to your ancestory, you define yourselves as Choctaw/Scot, or Irish/Swedish/African-american, or Zapotec/Eyak, not American, or Mexican, or British. We are starting to reject the abstract divisions that are Nation States. Many of us can trace our bloodlines to a multitude of points around the globe. Kind of like a world-wide web huh?

Underlying the situation here on the Altar is the matter of abstract definitions being imposed. A U.S. President draws lines on a map and says "this defines such and such", a little later more lines are drawn, then more lines,...... fences,..... names, dividing,....separating. Even the definition of what is "Navajo" and what is "Hopi" is an abstraction imposed on reality, for in truth in the blood of most navajoes and most hopis is the blood of many different peoples and tribes. It is said that the language we use to describe reality also tends to define that reality. What is going on here on The Altar is a conflict between two realities. One seeking to destroy the other and replace it with its own. If we use the word HPL to define the land here, we are already buying into Warmakers reality. In truth the land here is an altar, and to use that word is to deal with the reality Many of us seek to change our reality, our world, to one that reflects our deeper beliefs rather than the beliefs we were taught by Warmaker...... The language we use to define ourselves and our world must surely be one place to start. There is great power in how we define ourselves, as there is also in how we allow others to define us. On the other hand, there are just 2 types of people in the world. Those that have spent time here on the Altar, and those that have not.

The readership of this humble newsletter fall in to both categories. To the first group, I would urge you (if you're not already doing it) to tell your stories. I'm not talking about the politics, or the suffering, but the beauty of these people, this life, this land. When you left here, you took a part of Big Mountain with you. Let that part speak. A request for poetry, not rhetoric. With that in mind I'd recommend you point your web browser at the following address: http://www.frucht.org/roberta.html (check out the Fry Bread song) But then, what the hell do I know,........ I'm just a sheepherder. ""

Your prayers, support, and correspondence are invited. I thank you for your time that you have given me by reading this.

For all my relations

Bo Peep

reachable via unclejake74@hotmail.com

P.S. To all those who have written to me, please be aware that owing to the pressing needs of the flock, the firewood, and the Grandmas, the office is sometimes left unattended for days at a time. It may take as long as a half moon between when you write, and when you hear back from me. Around here the information superhighway is a sandy jeep trail. Please be patient, you will hear from me. If you have received this update as a forward, but want to sure of getting them in the future, please let me know and I will add you to the list. Also if there are any "back issues" you don't have, again, let me know. Please feel free to distribute (unedited) this email.

The View From The Hogan

#9 Month of frying snow (Jamuary) 2000

Notes from Big Mountain

(being an eye witness account of the on-going hidden war against Native people)

Ya'a'tee

First off, I apologize for the length of time since I last wrote, I had a dose of pneumonia, things have been real busy, and quite frankly I choose not to spend too much time staring at a computer screeen. So Thanksgiving came and went, and a good time was had by all. All the families received food and supplies and hay. It was particularly enjoyable seeing convoys of pick-ups loaded with hay zipping around the land. The Thanksgiving caravans provide more than just material support. As Roberta frequently tells the people here, "its not just food that you are getting. These gifts come with prayers." A very festive time. Visits of old and new friends.

The Men in Black had to impose their reality though. Imagine if all the relatives and friends you invited to your home for a celebration were stopped outside your door and interrogated. I.D's checked. License plates ran through "the computer". It's my naive supposition about the law that police shouldn't be doing such things unless they have proof or suspicion that a crime is or will be committed. When visitors are harassed like that here, the only crime involved is helping and supporting the people on the land. The truth is that the people here have been living under constant surveillance, monitoring, and general lack of privacy for many, many years. They have been treated as criminals. This seems to me to be the essence of a Police State. And what is their crime? Simply that they and their ancestors happen to be living on land that is coveted by a handful of powerful and greedy men, white and red. I have heard Hopi people refer to their villages as a police state. Villages have curfews, and there is a palpable fear of "the Tribal Council", so it is not just the Dineh residents of this land that are suffering.

As I'm sure you are aware by now, there is an awful lot that I don't understand. Yet I am by nature a curious person, so in the large amounts of time I have to quietly reflect upon things, my head is filled with many "whys?". I try to understand the motives and make-up of the people who organize and carry out this harassment. Do they feel as Eichmann did when at his Nurenburg trial he said "Who was I to judge? Who was I to have my own thoughts in this matter?". Do they seperate themselves from their actions? Or do they actually enjoy their work? Are they driven by hate? Jon Norstog, a white man employed by the Hopi Tribal Council had this to say "During my work for the Hopi Tribe, I observed that some Hopis in positions of power hate Navajos, believe they should be removed from the Hopi Reservation, and are willing to act on their feelings."

And why do these few individuals hate Navajos? To get into that would mean turning View From The Hogan into the National Enquirer, so lets just say that it usually turns out to be for personal reasons, having nothing to do with a supposed land dispute. As I ponder these things I read the headlines of the Hopi newspaper. A State of Emergency has been declared on the Hopi Reservation. And the cause? Domestic abuse and alcohol abuse. It seems that in 1998 there were 3,540 reported cases of both types of abuse, and for 99 they are expecting a 10 percent increase. In a population of 8-10,000, that seems like an epidemic to me. The Hopi people and culture has been sustained for over a millenium, and yet in just over 40 years of Tribal Council rule it has been turned into a "little america". No wonder the Dineh residents here fear being under HTC jurisdiction.

The HTC's destruction of the traditional Hopi society and economy is well documented, as an example, I qoute from "Sun Chief. The autobiography of a Hopi Indian". The author, a traditional from Oraibi, had this to say about the hopis of New Oraibi (later renamed Kykotsmovi, and the base of HTC government. ) "...we did not get along well with the people there. They were forsaking the Hopi religion and living like Whites, interested only in earning money."

The HTC has recently put out a new wave of propaganda. They have been silent since last summers debacle over the Sun Dance, and the main author of that laughable proaganda is now silent. Kind of a shame really, as her writings were so bad no-one could even begin to believe them.

The new wave of lies stresses 3 points. That everybody is happy with the Accomodation Agreement and that the dispute is over. That just a handful of people are holding out, and that outside agitators are stirring things up. A very poorly written op-ed piece in the Arizona Republic was little more than a mouthpiece for a "Hopi woman" who expressed her fears about the possible trouble brewing for the February deadline. Nowhere in the piece did it mention that the hopi woman was in fact none other than the First Lady of Hopi, the chairmans wife, affectionately known as "Imelda". One suspects that her fears are based on the worry that if there is trouble she may be forced to cancel her beauty parlor appointments. The HTC Chief of Staff seems to be the main author of the new propaganda. In one of his pieces he wrote that "outside agitators are streaming on to the Hopi Reservation preaching violence."

It may well be that the author has a medical condition that necessitates him taking large numbers of legally prescribed medications, that, in combination cause serious hallucinations and delusions. I can think of no other explanation for such a statement. The people here have successful resisted NON-VIOLENTLY for the past 26 years and continue to do so. Even a pro-HTC anthropologist grudgingly admits "Altogether, as of 1993, far less physical conflict had resulted from the situation in twenty years than an average American city of 20,000 sees in a week." So what is the purpose of these lies? We are being set up, I think. As they have learnt from their mentors in Washington, by creating an illusion of potential violence (Haiti, Grenada, Panama etc), the Men in Black can then come in and perpetrate official violence. Let me emphasise, the resistance here is non-violent, and will continue to be so. The absurd statement about "preaching violence" convinces me that the suggestion I put forward some months ago, that there is a competition going on with the HTC to come up with the most absurd statement is probably true, and while the latest from them is certainly in the running for a prize, I think I have stumbled upon the statement they are all trying to top.

It comes from 1985, and I found it in the back of Anita Parlows book "Cry Sacred Ground", which remains, in my opinion, the best book on the so-called land dispute. In it she interviews Wayne Sekakquaptewa who was at the time Chairman of the Hopi Tribal Council. In the interview he states that yes, while every other single member of his family is a Mormon, he himself was not, but anyway, "THE HOPI RELIGION AND THE MORMON RELIGION ARE THE SAME," Whoooaaa!!!! For a second an image flashed through my mind..... a group of white-skinned, pot-bellied men, stripped to the waist, dressed in skirts, with painted faces, snakes held between their teeth, dancing in a Kiva under Salt lake City..... but then I quickly realized that he must have been misquoted, and what he meant to say was that the Hopi Tribal Council religion and the Mormon religion are the same. That would be hard to argue with.

In December I payed a quick visit to Waynes World, and stopped in at the pre-trial hearings for the Exclusion Orders against Kee Shay, Arlene Hamilton (the organizer of last summers Education Camp), and some other person whose name escapes me. The Exclusion Law is an insidious piece of legislation that would allow the HTC to remove anyone from the Hopi Reservation if they considered them "a threat to the Hopi Tribe". It's my understanding that this "law" has been in existence for quite some time but has yet to be applied to anyone. It's obvious that the HTC intends to use this law to remove support from the Dineh living on the land, preferring to have the people freeze and starve, and also they certainly don't want any witnesses to their official harassment. Of course, if the law was applied properly, then the Tribal Council would be "Excluded", as they are the biggest threat to the Hopi Tribe that there is. Its hard to tell how the actual trials will go. Admittedly, I am not a lawyer, but it sure seemed as if the HTC didn't have a case.... especially as the HTC's lawyer seemed to have gotten his Law degree from the back of a cereal box,,but it will all depend on the judge. Some years ago an organization of resistors blocked the renewal of the mines lease on the grounds of all kinds of environmental issues,.... in that case the Judge was sympathetic to the people, BUT the mine was open the next day.... the judge was forced to take early retirement and his decision was overruled. When you own the law, you can do what you want with it. The exclusion trials were set for this month, but I have heard that they have been postponed till March. I'll keep you informed.

The January/February issue of Mother Jones has a good article on the situation here. Well researched, up to date, and compared to many things I've read on Big Mountain recently, accurate.

A Pipe Ceremony is to be held at Camp Anne Mae (Sun Dance Grounds) nr. Big Mountain on saturday January 22nd. All those in spritual solidarity with the people on the land are invited to participate. Help with food and food preparation for the day would be greatly appreciated. From January 27th to Feb 2nd the "Save Black Mesa Prayer Walk" will take place, from Flagstaff to Big Mountain. This is a continuation of a walk begun by Japanese supporters in Japan. The aims of this walk will be "to pray and walk in solidarity with the Dineh and Hopi, Japanese Supporters, other International and American Supporters so that, Peace and Truth can prevail in order to "Save Black Mesa" from environmental and cultural devastation, and To bring about a greater awareness about how the threats against the Human and Aboriginal Rights of the Big Mountain dineh can be an example of the final annhihilation of all Indigenous peoples in America. Anyone interested in taking part in the walk, or in supporting those who do can contact Bahe on iindon49@hotmail.com, or in the evenings phone Diane on (520) 779 1496.

For those of you who are planning on visiting the land for the first time, I reccomend the following website: http://www.onejourney.com/activism/index.html. There is a page of advice for visitors that is very good.

Back in the real world, life goes on. This may not sound like exciting news, but in fact its the best news there could be. Life goes on , IN A GOOD WAY. The sheep need to go out, whether its December 25th, Jan 1st, or even Feb 1st. The wood needs chopping. Rugs are woven, and ceremonies held. What exactly do I mean by "in a good way"? I'm not sure I can give a complete answer to that, but a hint maybe gotten by describing daily life. I wake some hours before sunrise. I make a fire and put on a pot of coffee. The hogan is such an effecient building that I don't need to keep a fire going all night. 18 inches of wood and mud, and no windows, means that the inside stays warm all night. (Conversely, in the summer entering the hogan is like entering a cool cave). I then take a flashlight and head to the corrall and check on the little ones. Then to Grandmas house where I empty the ashes, start a fire and put on another pot of coffee. Then its back to the hogan where I drink coffee, read, and write till the eastern horizon starts to lighten. Then its over to the house and I fix breakfast for us both. After breakfast I feed the dogs and cats, empty the greywater bucket (in the spring and summer it goes on the garden), fill up the kindling box and firewood box in Grandmas house, fill up the water buckets (if I can break through the ice in the barrels.) If we've had a fresh snowfall I clear a path to the outhouse, known as "the office", (incidentally, toilet paper is known as "treaty paper" for obvious reasons). After that I chop some firewood. I use the "double-heat" method for firewood,... first I get warmed by chopping it, then later I get warmed again by burning it. Then it's time to pack a bag and suit up to take the flock out. First chore is to catch the little babies and pen them up in their own kindergarten corrall. There are days that I get low, or grumpy. At those times, all I have to do is watch a week-old lamb running, and jumping, gamboling about, to be reminded of the simple exuberance of life. An exuberance that is infectious. This time of the year herding is harder... I probably walk 4 or 5 times as far as the sheep as I am constantly having to keep them close together.... I need to be able to keep my eye on all of them as they are having babies. Mid afternoon I get back with the flock, give them some hay and water and then have lunch myself. If Grandma is busy weaving then I'll make it for us, otherwise it will be waiting for me. The rest of the daylight is used in hauling water, hauling or chopping wood, fixing things. Before sunset I put the flock in the corral for the night, then make sure Grandmas firewood box is stocked and water buckets filled. After supper I spend the evening by kerosene light, reading, writing, beading, and carding wool. Before hitting the sack I go over to Grandmas house and share a cup of tea while we giggle about the events of the day, or make plans for the next, one last check of the corral, then sleep, looking forward to the next day. The days aren't spent attempting to amass personal wealth,... or to possess lots of "stuff", or in any way to control other people. The people here are not good consumers (a heretical position in the dominant society), they are not wage-slaves. I think this is the crux of the drive for the continued destruction of these people, and all the remaining traditional people.

Warmaker teaches us that Homo Economicus is the high point of human evolution. We are taught that "getting ahead" is our natural aim, no matter that it is at the expense of others and the planet. We are taught that competition, greed, and fear, are our natural condition, and that possessions can give us the feelings of satisfaction, peace, happiness and love that we crave. We are taught that "that is the way life is".

So as long as people and cultures exist who get along fine without these ways of being, there is the possibility of doubting the "truth" of the dominant societies hegemonic ideology. I think many people feel that the "American way of life" (that thing that countless number of humans must die to protect) is not the right or natural way to live, but lack the example of alternatives. This is the value of cultural diversity. While people such as these at Big Mountain continue to exist "in a good way", then Warmaker feels threatened. I don't dispute the part played by the billions of dollars worth of coal under this land, I just think the fanatical drive to make the world over into the image of Warmaker is a deeper cultural trait than even greed, and that the simple fact of the resistors existence is reason enough to spend millions of bucks to eradicate them.

A few years ago I was hitch-hiking across the rez and got a ride with a Navajo gentleman who owned the franchises on the rez for a certain national fast-food chain. He lamented that "Navajos have no business sense". When they go to college, they study medicine, law, or teaching,... as ways to help others, and that when they set up a business, and are successful, all their relatives turn up for a slice of the pie. That helping people and sharing are things to be discouraged is a sad indictment of the state of Babble-on,... unfortunately, through the schools and television, it is becoming a more common attitude on the rez.

Visitors have commented that our life on the land is "hard",... maybe it is, but it is fairly simple. Out there in Babble-On, with a plethora of comforts and conveniences, life may be "easy", but it sure is complex. And today, January 1st 2000, I wake to a beautiful sight,... a couple of inches of snow blankets the land, and for most of the day it snowed more. It has been over 100 days since we had any appreciable precipitation, and the land was parched. The immediate benefit of the snow is that I don't need to haul water for the flock for a while now. Longer term benefit is that as the snow melts into the ground, it becomes what the grass uses to grow later in the spring. If we get more snow, then that snowmelt is what the corn uses to grow later on when we plant. The clay soil holds the moisture a foot or so below the surface. The land blanketed with snow makes it even more beautiful than normal.

I'll end with a quote from Samuel K. Wilson, a non-signer from Mosquito Springs: "Mother Earth has her own sacred names and prayers. She has her own traditional songs. She has her own actions, that's how medicine people heal. They can talk to Mother Earth for a better way of life. That's how we are balanced with Mother Earth. There is no concept of an Accommodation Agreement." But then, what the hell do I know, I'm just a sheepherder

Thank you for giving me your time by reading this Your prayers, support, & correspondence are invited "If you act like there is no possibility of change for the better, you guarantee that there will be no change for the better. The choice is ours. "

BoPeep

(reachable via unclejake74@hotmail.com) P.S.

To all those who have written to me, please be aware that my highest priorities are the flock, the firewood, and the Grandmas, email is not, therefore it may take as long as a half moon between when you write, and when you hear back from me. Around here the information superhighway is sometimes no faster than the Pony Express. Please be patient, you will hear from me. If you have received this update as a forward, but want to sure of getting them in the future, please let me know and I will add you to the list. Also if there are any "back issues" you don't have, again, let me know. Please feel free to distribute (unedited) this email.