My name is Paul Moore “Bear Paw???...
I have been told recently that I am on your site and after reading your site I have to wonder what makes a good person or a bad person in your eyes.
Many of you have questioned my being First Nation...and this you have right to do! I know only what my Mother and Grandmother has told me and that is my heritage on my maternal side.
“Superdog??? says that I am being vague...well he is right! Would it be better that I write and tell the stories of my Grandmother being kept inside to keep her lighter and that one of her four sisters refused and was raped for being what whites call a redskin...that is another topic should I tell everyone where the name redskin came from and how the whites skinned women and children’ no I think not; I would rather bring in the positive side of my culture. I explain to them about women and how they are the creator, and how they create throw their Moon time...would you have me tell ever one that the European whites also realised this and this is why they waited till all the men left the village and then when in to kill all of the women...
I was raised by a beautifully Grandmother who was born in the mid 1800s and told the truth, the good bad and ugly, I know the tradition that I was taught, and I live it every day.
I teach people to see their spirit, to walk with their spirit and to heal by their spirit. I teach them to live in the moment and not to have a thought that can deter their moment in vision. I show them through my peacefulness that they can also have peace.
I bring them to their death that they may live in peace, so that they can see what problems they may encounter, so that they can adjust their behaviours. Yes I do fluff it up and yes I do shorten it up...there is no way that a person can learn full in a day, three days or a week what is a way of life, but they can learn to be at peace within themselves and with others.
This is to Zoi Lightfoot: I have read your print and I dispute this Zoi...no person has ever said anything to me like that...you may have the wrong person Zoi. Remember that lying in the world of a first Nation person is the worst crime of all in all bands and Nations. Look at my picture again on the website Zoi because there is a new one, maybe you have the wrong ugly face in mind.
To give references that I have peace with Zoi if you are truly from the European continent are Hawks Shadow, Cherokee who is in New Mexico presently, Peter Searching Owl, Mohawk who lives on the Mohawk trail in Massachusetts, Chief Little Feather western Cherokee and living in California and Russell Two Feathers Shaman, living in Oklahoma last I heard.
I have to question why your forum is questioning my right to be “Bear Paw???, I was given this name and I was given my truth of life by my Mother and Grandmother. I was given the good bad and ugly of all of my life, both Irish and First Nation. You see, both Grandmothers lost at least 4 to 6 million of their people...but yet they each taught me to be positive. I could run a website www.paul-moore.org that is hatred towards all white or Europeans, but that would defeat what my Grandmothers have shown to me; I respect the old way too much to do that.
Hello Paul,
I don't think you're a bad person. In fact, I think you're more confused and misled than anything...you found a schtick that people will pay for in an area where they won't question where the info comes from and it works for you and you're resisting anything that might change that for you. None of that means you're bad...it means you're human just like me.
But let me explain my position as it pertains to what you are doing. I think it's WRONG on many levels that you would take the stance of speaking for ALL Native Americans in order to sell your personal spirituality/clairvoyance materials. Your CD should be taken off the market immediately. The information in there isn't remotely correct when you frame it as "Native Americans do this, they think this and they act this way." It sells CD's and seminars I'm sure, but at the expense of all the people you claim to represent. What are these poor souls supposed to do when they feel empowered and think they are very familiar with Native American cultures (as Martina does) and then decide they want to explore that with real Natives.....they end up with a cruel awakening that the things you say don't fit into reality. Native people are not as you describe them....the reason is, your personal knowledge of Natives is very superficial combined with the information taught by your Mother and Grandmother and you get a very mixed up cocktail of information confusing your clients with what they want to be told rather than the truth.
Sell the clairvoyance workshops, but take the references to Native Americans out of it. You don't speak for us all and you actually make life harder here in your efforts. So the end product of your vague teachings is that you hurt an entire race of people for the benefit of a few lost souls who want a quick fix to their lives and think they just have to spend money to do it.
The story about your Grandmother and her sister is a sad one indeed and if it was intended to draw sympathy then it works, I feel very sympathetic towards them, but that story doesn't at all justify what you're doing and it's very bad taste to use their pain in order to divert the wrongs you're doing. What you may not realize is that you're talking to Native people here who were raised in their culture and sadly we all have similar types of stories, but to bring them up in this discussion is beside the point and isn't remotely on topic and I would never publicly speak of my relatives tragedies in order to make myself look important. You might owe your Grandmother and her sister an apology.
When it comes to your name, you admit on your own website that your name is not "Bear Paw", but is "Healing Hand of the Bear", but you've forgotten how to say your name in Abenaki. I don't dispute that you were given that name....but if you're gonna use "Bear Paw" to reference "Healing Hand of the Bear", but you don't know how to say either in your language THAT should let you know how far you are in your spiritual journey. In fact, it's a huge clue.
If that name was as truly important to you, there's no way you would've forgotten it. That name was given to you to be a part of you forever and you chose along the path of your life to go away from it. When it was convenient you turned back to it. The identity you chose in life is Paul Moore, when you forgot your name you also left behind your Abenaki roots. If you want to step back into Abenaki life your journey would start by discovering what your name really is and that would involve learning your language. It isn't gonna happen overnight, just like we don't become life coaches overnight and life coaches don't become mediums overnight as you've outlined in your bio page.
The truth of the matter is you can only claim to speak about what your mother and grandmother taught you and when you speak of Native ways you should be truthful about that. Vague descriptions like "For natives, our mother and grandmothers teach us only to think one thought" only confuse people. It doesn't enlighten them, in fact the confusion in the end makes it darker for them. That statement should read "For me, my mother and grandmother taught me only to think one thought"
There's a few other glaring truths you seem to not consider....you were taught your ways only by women. Abenakis are patrilineal. The men play an extremely important role. You don't have that information so you are only teaching women's ways. Men trying to live like women will find nothing but confusion in their lives and you're taking their hand and leading them there.....straight to confusion.
Also any information on Abenaki spirituality are not at all complete without including Gluskap. If you don't know who that is you really, really, REALLY need to stop what you're doing and go and find out. Not to find something else to sell, but to hear the true message of those stories. They'll teach you that what you're specifically doing is wrong (yes they cover the areas of pride and overconfidence) and what the outcomes will be.
So yes, sell the clairvoyance workshops, teach self-help, but don't reference anything Native in doing so.....those things don't mix and your own words prove how little experience you have there. Being Native is not a selling point to sell CD's, books or workshops. Your grandmother's and her sister's tragedy should not be either and should definitely NEVER be referenced in order to divert discussion away from what you're apparently ignorant about. It's certainly sad indeed that you did that.
You have a way to go Paul...teaching things as you've done has done nothing more than arrest your spiritual growth and if you continue as you've been doing you'll be stuck in that limbo forever and miss what your mother and grandmother intended for you to find.
Superdog
