I found the following conversation at the trafo-website; its owners used to organize the summer camps with Benjamin Cloud:
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User: nanabuc
Administrator
age: 37
Date: March 21, 2008, 10:48
Title: A holy man
"I would like to tell the story of a friend here.
I met him seven years ago in the Eifel Mountain region at a summer camp. He was there as a guest and told us about his life.
He is from North America, Montana. He asked me to tell his story so that we in Europe may understand somewhat better that back home at the reservation, in "Indian live" [sic], much is different from what we know here or from what we imagine.
At home with his people, the Crow, he is a holy man.
He is a spiritual leader of his people.
He participates in many very intense ceremonies, some of which he also leads.
He is a healer and works with the powers of his spirits and the medicine/the medicines which were given to him by his ancestors in direct line.
He is politically active within his tribe and works for his people on all levels.
When we first met, he was in Europe for the first time.
During this week, he also met a woman he married.
The two of them spent half of the year in Montana with his people, and part of the year in her home country.
When the two had a son, they became a real little family.
Four years ago, this friend came to us to Austria for the first time and accompanied a summer camp we did here in the mountains.
Four years in a row he was here as a friend and a guest with us.
He lead talking circles, talked about his life, brought along photos, lead the one or the other sweatlodge, spent time with the people forming a community for one week. At the last but one evening of every summer camp, this friend made us the gift of a healing night - same way as he does at home with his people. With the agreement of his family to do this ceremony in Europe.
There was also a biography of our friend on our site.
As is "normal" for us here in Europe, we advertised our summer camp at our website and of course we announced the fees due for the week. In the same way we announced we would pass on half of the profits to our friend.
For the time he spent in Europe with his family, he had expenditures in the same way as every other person here in Europe to finance their upkeep.
Our friend and his wife also published a website and announced events done in their region.
In autumn 2006 [sic], some people from a German internet forum noticed the "activities" [sic] of our friend. Some of the participants of this forum are European women married to Natives and living with them in America. These women did not like at all what our friend did in Europe - for them, it was an evident case of "selling out Indian spirituality".
In this, these women refered to everything they could find in the internet. None of these women or other people in the forum were prepared to talk in person of per telephone, even after I published my telephone number in the forum and offered to pay the cost for the telephone conversation.
An internet witchhunt started against our friend which lasted for more than two years. Texts got copied and were translated into English language complete with side-swipes - in American forums, in which there are also Natives reading and writing who live there.
And then this "information" was carried through the reservations and passed from mouth to ear like in the children's game....
A month ago, I received a mail from our friend.
He told me that back at home his tribe had heard rumours that people were saying he had done the ultimate sin a Native in his position as a holy man could do. He had sold Indian spirituality. Thirty years of his life he had worked for this path, 30 years of life deep from his heart, wit the aim of being there for his people.
He had tried to do the balancing act between Europe and North America, his people. He wanted to learn who we are and to teach us who he is and how he thinks. He tried to build a new circle of persons together with us - no matter which colour, nation, social background.... a community circle.
The rumours got more and more, and soon nobody would come to his ceremonies.
His status and all his former life were at stake within a minute - just because some sites had been written on him on the internet. So unexpected, and from a direction which would almost be reason to laugh at it, wouldn't it be so serious and sad.
Custer's long arm still works today - and their ways are mysterious... European women more Indian than many Indians themselves, who chose themselves to save Indian peoples from doom with their hairsplitting, causing the situation that a holy man, a carrier of strong medicine and with a heart which would be able to carry the entire world, faces the ruin of his entire life. But they didn't do anything but pass on "information", when you ask them.
Some days ago, I received another mail from our friend.
A meeting was called - a council of Elders, at which he was held responsible. He met with his uncles, then with the Eldest of the women, and finally with the rest of his relatives.
Every time, he had to justify himself in front of them.
The decision has been taken now.
He is not going to come to Europe for the time being, he refrains from our world here and by this will keep his status in his home country. His family will support him in this and soon he will do his first ceremony again.
For us here this is a prime exmaple.
Much will go different from what we expected or thought.
I saw plainly which consequences the internet may have.
It made me sad and it was shocking to see how vicious and underhand some people can be.
And this challenges me to live and explore my roots even more intense.
I thank our friend for having shared some time with us, we will presumably meet again when I fly over to Montana.
We both know he will come back to Europe some day - as our friend which he always was and always will be.
Nana-Sabrina
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User: otter
age: 40
place:: near hanau
Date: March 17, 2008, 11:22
i simply cannot understand what makes these (sorry) bitches tick and what doesn't, it's a pussle to me [translator's note: I try to represent the original faulty spelling etc].
somehow this gets across to me as fascist,although it can't be about preserving the race of Natives when so many european ladies are involved and add their stuff.
did they ever stop to think where the ancient european nature religions and healing knowledge came from?didnt europe experience a similar cultural oppression?
ohboyohboy, and it is about the same interests,shouldnt grown-up, somewhat educated persons be able to agree in order to keep resp. discover the ancient treasures?
it is to hope that the initiators of this know about the shadow they cast over themselves and wont act in the same unreflected way in future.
otter
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User: Road Man
age: 34
date: March 17, 2008, 17:14
Hi all!
Did see some of what e.g. got written in this one forum. Apu has had doings with such dimwits, too. In both cases, ironically, the non-Indians were pretending more Indian than the Indians themselves. I can understand well that e.g. the Lakota are miffed when some white-arses come along, e.g. steal the pipe ceremony and simply "imitate" it. Looks diffren again when e.g. such a ceremony gets taken over in a way that it gets changed for the European context. Another example: Sabrina does this in a very beautiful way with the sweatlodge. It is basically Indian, true, but got adapted so that we don't call the buffalo spirit etc, but we call "our" spirits. I saw the lodge and would recommend it any time - it has become something special which will continue to develop. There's a difference between "playing Indian" and getting inspired by them. And although I don't know Ben - would like to meet him -, I'm sorry all this did go a silly way. Cause what he does feels super-good.
greetz,
Road Man
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User: nanabuc
Administrator
date: March 19, 2008, 07:56
Thank you all so very, very much,
I will tell our friend what you think about his story.
@Otter - the decision of the Elders has clearly been taken in their own interest. But it was these European women who triggered it off with their passing on of information.
@Genesis - yes, you're right, the Indians had almost everything stolen, but it's the same with the Tibetans (something happening again), the Africans, the natives in Europe, the Aboriginales.... [sic]
I believe it is enough of stealing, of devouring etc.
I also think, however, it is time to open oneself for each other, to support each other mutually and to help each other along mutually.
I can understand if Natives get mad when they see the umpteenth Chief Standing Eagle at a village party in Lower Upshitscreek, wearing warpaint and smoking sage [sic] from his peace pipe and who, over a pint of beer, goes ranting about his latest sweat "Like, man, far out, man, been helluva hot in dere, knowwotahmean, thought me ears were gonna melt, mitakuye oyasin..."
But in this case it all got brushed off by "We passed on all the information we need from the internet" without consultation, no word to us or to our friend himself, without checking what's really going on - and as I said above - this just prevents that a wonderful person may continue to share his knowledge and his medicine in Europe.
Well, the world will go on, it is now just a mere 3 months and then I'll fly over to the sundances - which BTW are officially admitted[sic] for white persons (at least the sundance I'll go to...)
I will keep you informed about our friend and how it will go on....
greetz and have a nice day,
Nana-Sabrina
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[the following user, going by the name of Apu Kuntur, happens to be the short-time NAFPS contributor Stefan Klemenc going by "Neil Greenwood"]
User: Apu Kuntur
age: 38
place: Augsburg
date: March 20, 2008, 12:00
I watched closely what went on there - unfortunately, there's people on the net who are full of envy and hate against everything they don't like.
Right, I've got to admit, since last September, I take a more neutral to displeased stand towards him (and I expect that this situation will be solved in Yankee country, I still remember vividly the wrath of the condor spirit - something I won't like to experience again) and only little could make me change my mind - as the only one who could make me change my mind is exactly this holy man.
Everything that went on because of/through these bitches (much as I'd like, I cannot find another term for them) who positioned themselves against him in a way holier than the pope, which lacks respect, is cunning, indecent and it shows the shortcomings of these "ladies" who are responsible for this.
As Roadie pointed out I had doings with similar scum. It is my advantage that I'm not as easy to be got by mouth-to-mouth propaganda - but unfortunately it became evident that traditionalists can be deadly afraid of genuine spirituality - those who are most afraid are, embarassingly, the whites who aren't part of such a tradition themselves.
What I saw there (and also regarding Ben of course) made me decide to stop all activities regarding Indian spirituality and the exploitation of it[sic!!] with immediate effect. Apart from taking down the translation of the Declaration of War, there will be a statement by me which will explain this action (in English language).
Shamanic greetings,
Apu Kuntur
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