Wow.
I've visited this forum before when searching for information on people. I'm not here to say who I am or what my practice is...
I am the one who decides my topic, it's my post. I was speaking here about how ALL people, including the so called "white people" are indigenous to one culture or another. They are just now separate from their roots. Remind me to save a copy of what i post here so when it is altered into something I didn't write I can come back and replace it with what I did. I find the edits misrepresentative of what I wrote.
I had the honor to be present with the 13 grandmothers not too long ago. They don't "pay to pray" at all. The center for sacred studies is the group that helps these 13 women coordinate their movements. The center does the fund raising as it costs about 80k to move them and their travel companions around from place to place. I found the cost of my time with them to be low considering. I had three veggie meals a day, a dorm room and a shared bathroom. I got access to the teaching and wisdom of women from all over the world. I learned about their medicine, their traditions, and more than anything I was greatly blessed by being able to sit and listen to these HUMBLE plain women talk and teach. There is no cult of ego, no grandiose bull. I would never have sat through that.
Each day began with breakfast then prayer at the fire. They have a firekeeper who travels with them and he keeps the fire sacred and open for prayers. He kept the fire going 24/7 the entire time I was there. Each grandmother took a turn leading the prayer. IN HER tradition, which in turn all the other grannies honored. Each woman and her traditions are honored! After prayers we would go into meetings where the grannies would split up and talk about different issues. Healing the earth, plant medicine, woman's issues/healing. Children. Then lunch, the prayer at the fire with another granny, then more meetings, then dinner then evening prayers. The openness with which the grannies shared their faith/beliefs did ONE thing..showed all of us how much we have in common spiritually. There are two grannies (sisters) raised on the rez (Pine Ridge) who had to go to Catholic boarding school. They do not in any way shape or form have any "Catholic" aspects to their ceremony. What I saw was over 200 people listening to these women talk of love, peace, unity and the uprising of women around the world, with GREAT reverence and respect. What I saw was the people paying attention and honoring the prayers and tradition of each of the grannies who have, by now, come to love each other. Aama Bombo (aka grandma chatty) is considered a holy woman and if she looks at you, you better be ready. Granny Agnes was open and kind and basically the cruise director.
The center for sacred studies is only the fundraiser and helps keep things moving and in line. As far as I can tell most of those ladies are native, belong to the NAC, and are very respectful of ALL of the traditions the grannies come from.
As for how the 13 were chosen? Jyoti (whom I did not meet as her grandchild is awaiting a heart transplant at 8 months old) had a vision that she was to gather the grandmothers. The number 13 was given to her. The letters were mailed to more than 13 with the trust that those who were able to join (body, mind, and spirit as this is a very demanding schedule for elderly women unused to travel) and exactly 13 answered. Jyoti did know about or had heard about the women she sent letters to. The 13 that responded were all active in one way or another working for peace.
Grandmother Bernadette whom you seem to delight in picking at is the keeper of her land in Africa, and her land is the ONLY land that has never known bloodshed. She is active in her country working for peace and healing (For a clue on how women in Africa are coming together, please google "Pray the Devil Back to Hell".) She was unable to attend because she and her son were on their way to his wedding when they had a horrible car accident. Her son pulled through but she was badly injured including two broken legs.
[Series of attacks] I might not be the brightest person in the world, but I know love when I see it, and those ladies are pure love. Only one of them is hooked into something other elders might consider a bit "new age" (the crystal skulls) but then she says that their tradition of these skulls is powerful. Who is going to argue? She isn't selling anything or getting rich. And she hasn't done anything unkind or unloving so let her have her skulls.
Grandmother Bernadette is highly respected as a healer. Their ethnogenic medicine is Iboga, traditionally used in Africa for thousands of years in much the same way Peyote, Ayahuasca, or the sacred mushroom has been used. (Iboga is illegal in two countries, the U.S. and Belgium...$$$ iboga ends alcohol and drug addictions in one spirit journey and although there are clinics in other areas of the world, in the U.S. it is underground. It works, and beautifully so, but sadly there is no money in it for the drug companies or the government. No need for expensive rehabs that don't work, Methadone which is legal heroin, and no need to support the underground drug economy, anyone wonder now why it's illegal?)
I had the privilege to sit with these women and listen to them talk about THEIR medicine and the importance of that in their practice. I have worked with all of the medicines myself at one time or another. I know what my medicine is
So they taught respect for the medicine, eschewed misuse..Granny Rita came to tears talking about how they have to buy the peyote from 3 federally recognized peyoteras..instead of growing and harvesting it with their prayers. She told of going to one to ask to harvest the medicine with prayers, and how she cried when she saw the disrespect, the beer cans laying around in the growing areas, and how the people are getting rich selling the medicine to the people.
Grandmother Maria Kampos literally lives in the jungle in Amazonia. So it's not like she can point to a town on the map. She is medicine woman to the people. I got to hear her talk about Ayahuasca and what the medicine teachers her and her people. I saw some of her other medicine practices. I listened to her daughter (who travels with her) sing the healing songs for the water. Pure love. Grandmother Julietta, same thing. A medicine woman of great integrity. I heard her speak of using the mushrooms to heal. I got to ask questions, and again felt the awe and reverence these women have for their teachings.
I was pleased and blessed to see Beatrice and Rita (sisters from Pine Ridge) speak plainly about the issues at the Rez. There isn't any white washing. It is what it is. They also spoke about the tremendous healing power of their medicine (Peyote). Other grandmothers have no tradition of medicine but taught chants and prayers, the Tibetan grannies are so brave. They escaped Tibet which if you are at all familiar with, you realize that walking out of there with your children is perilous at best.
One of the grannies was taken aside when she was a child by her own granny who told her "one day you will sit on a council of 13, I have 13 prayer bundles here, when the time comes you give these to the women and keep one for yourself." This gathering is in the wisdom of the ages, many traditions say that when the women gather together to pray healing will come to all people.
I didn't see any rich people, Jyoti doesn't appear to be rich and her land is for sale. No one is getting rich. I was happy to pay for a clean place to sleep and good food during my stay. It's a bit of a drive and unless those things were provided I couldn't have gone. The price was more than reasonable, if it hadn't been I couldn't have gone. For the seminars? The place I was at is a beautiful earth conscious facility run by 99 percent VOLUNTEERS. The cooking, cleaning, and all the organizing? Volunteers. I was blessed to be there. So few places are earth conscious. So I considered this a cheap training mission, but also spiritual renewal, repurposing, and rest.
[More pompous off topic lecturing]
...I disagree with pay to pray, but then I don't know too many people who last at that too long. [Yet still more pompous condescending lecturing] If Native Americans are meant to light the way (as the prophecies foretell) then the where is the light?
My people never had a tradition of separating people out due to their skin color. We accepted all people who wished to come among us and follow our ways. We spoke of peace and unity and we openly shared our songs and our prayers. If anyone has failed here it is the Native American communities (now associated only with drinking and gambling for the most part, yet another fun stereotype.) They have failed to reach out, they have failed in their education, they have failed their children by allowing themselves to continue to follow the shame.
I was greatly blessed to hear Alyoicious Weasel Bear singing the songs I knew (I sang along), watching them in prayer and the absolute reverence and openness with which they shared their practices. What an amazing thing...people gathered from all over respecting each other, loving each other..I was blessed to hear his healing story, blessed to watch the tenderness with which they treated the grannies. The care in assisting his mother with her prayer, which was a blessing for all of us. They brought forth a very young Mohawk fellow who is in the Marines and set for Afghanistan and his mother. They brought him in to the prayer circle and he sat on the buffalo rug, they made a tobacco prayer tie for him to carry with him, all the grannies blessed it..then they encircled he and his mother and prayed for him there wasn't a dry eye around the fire as women/mothers/healers we all felt this mother's pain as our collective pain. Alyoicious named him after the Lakota tradition and called him Nephew. Other grannies often used their prayer time to do similar things. We were at the fire 3 times a day so there was a LOT of prayer happening.
They are not gods or goddesses, simple women full of great love wanting to participate in healing. [Still more pompus lectures and personal attacks] No one pays to pray but there are costs involved. Buying the medicine (it's not free OR cheap) and following the law means people have to pay a "membership fee" but don't blame us for that, that is the government's doing. We ask that those who can pay the minimal membership fee donate a bit extra for those who cannot afford, the same thing with medicine ceremony. NO ONE is ever turned away for want of money. I see many many people who cannot afford to pay, heck I cannot afford to pay much. It is an honor and a blessing to help people find their way to healing, and I've seen plenty of that and hope to see a lot more. Sometimes I get people who haven't a dime but need rehab. I then have to figure out how to get the money to nutritionally support their healing, and you know what, it always comes. Always. Now those who have been blessed with healing are joining in to help others. We get food donated, sometimes places for the seekers to stay. I can promise you that NO ONE is ever turned away. Ever. Oh, and we welcome all seekers, no matter their troubles, history, or skin color. The ways of respect are taught as one cannot know how to respect the fire unless one is taught, but we don't charge them, we teach them with love.
[Still more pompousness] [Yet even more sidetracks and pompousness] Anyone who was present at the last venue they were could go to the prayers. I am very careful about what I do and who I align myself with, I don't do cults of personality, I don't do gurus or pay to pray. But to see these wonderful old ladies who happen to also be (gasp) HUMAN and imperfect, [yet more] be lambasted by ignorance, I just had to speak.
There are frauds everywhere, I consider the largest to be sitting in the Vatican hiding from the grannies..that old Nazi in a dress is about as holy as Hitler. It is up to each individual seeker to make that discernment for themselves. I saw the stuff about sundance on here. I have one thing to say, tradition is great, but don't forget that Native Americans have been blending tradition for thousands of years why should they stop now? For instance many of the songs the Lakota sing are not "theirs" but rather, were purchased with horses from another tribe.
[Yet more][And returning to post yet more]I don't think there was a single person who was not blessed by the songs Alyoicious sang, the songs the Mohawk ladies sang (they were guests). There were many first and six nations people there. Isn't it time that we stop pointing fingers of exclusion and start working together?
[irrelevant sidetrack about enrollment, followed by yet more personal attacks]
I was googling Alyoicious (When I came across this forum) because they are currently in Japan and I haven't had time to talk to him about the fundraiser we want to do here...we're calling it "Pennies for Propane". The elders were freezing to death last year at Pine Ridge because they ran out of propane. The average income on the rez per week is about 17 dollars. Of course there is lots to be done at Pine Ridge to address the tribal corruption, the alcoholism [yet more personal attacks as well as lots of racism] but our primary concern is that the grannies and the grandpas don't freeze again this winter.
I personally did not witness any exploitation of anyone, and I have every reason to be on the lookout for it as I refuse to be part of anything that exploits people, the earth, or in particular, children (the only truly innocent members of our society). All I saw is respect, love, and teaching.
[yet more] [Followed by still more] I will say to you what I say to all seekers...Jesus isn't coming to save you, the aliens aren't coming to save you, YOU are the one you've been waiting for, WAKE UP. We ARE all one, and if we don't start acting like it, and soon, we will have destroyed the 5th creation as we have 4 times before....
[Two final long pompous lectures, followed by an unbelievably hypocritical greeting mixed with a racist epithet]
And, in the words of Abo Elder Uncle Bob Randal who greets every discord in one way, and one way only, I LOVE YOU~Aho~
