Diane Fisher AKA Dhyani Ywahoo AKA Dhyani Dorje AKA Dhyani Thorner

[educatedindian]

An account of the cult gathering.

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http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/comment/2155105
...I even spent a summer at the Peace Village of Dyhani Ywahoo and came away wanting when I discovered their homophobia towards so-called two spirits. I also found it curious that for an avowed Cherokee Chief she has only amassed a small loyal tribe of white people mostly in Boston, Northern California & Germany. Having said all that, what I really wanted was to learn the ways of our Turtle Island ancestors and how they achieved harmony with the Earth Mother by seeking a spiritual path towards that union....

[Piff]

Diane Fisher's parents are William Cornell Fisher and Joyce Browne.

Parent's names are on her marriage certificate https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFPK-66Z

Also in her own bio http://www.sunray.org/venerable-dhyani-ywahoo.html

I believe Joyce Browne is Joyce Challenor Browne. More research needs to be done to confirm this.

Joyce Challenor Browne was born in NY. Both of her parents (Diane's maternal grandparents) are from Barbados.

Joyce Browne 1930 census with her parents https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4V9-F3M

William Cornell Fisher was born in South Carolina. He and his family eventually moved to NY.

1940 census William and family https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQLP-JBH

Diane says her paternal grandparents were Eona Fisher and Nellie Valentine. They were actually Luther Fisher and Nellie Valentine.

Diane's claims of Cherokee all concern her father's side of the family. She says she and her ancestors were never enrolled.

Diane's paternal heritage can be summarized as black families from South Carolina.

[Piff]

Diane Fisher says that her paternal grandmother Nellie Valentine was Cherokee and Catawba. And that Nellie was one of the family members who passed on "Cherokee teachings" to her.

http://www.sunray.org/venerable-dhyani-ywahoo.html

Here is Nellie Valentine and her parents in the 1910 census

 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M562-HQ7

[Defend the Sacred]

An account of the cult gathering.

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http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/comment/2155105
I discovered their homophobia towards so-called two spirits. I also found it curious that for an avowed Cherokee Chief she has only amassed a small loyal tribe of white people mostly in Boston, Northern California & Germany.

Interesting. She's made A LOT of money off white lesbians of the neopagan/nuage/pretendian sort, and more recently white gay men and trans people who are spiritual seekers, including some urban NDNs who self-identify as two-spirit.

Through the "Black Indian Inn" in Dorchester, MA, she's now making a lot of money off African-Americans, as well. Recently a gay theatre group held a workshop there. It was pretty shocking, as in the past they've been way more aware politically. But lots of LGBT groups (and not just the white ones) can be completely ignorant when it comes to Indigenous issues. In New England, if someone says they're NDN, the non-Natives are usually scared to question them, and they are usually so misinformed that they mistakenly assume everyone with even a bit of NDN blood has the right to lead, teach, and sell ceremony. It's a big mess.

[Piff]

Interesting past posts from a long time cult member, Jennifer Vyhnak:

Another favorite teaching is that we can determine whether teachings are good for us if they 'grow corn' in our lives.  By this it is meant, do you find that the teachings benefit you as an individual, benefit your family, your community, your nation, and your world?  If this is the case then you know the teachings are good.
 
This is an effective way to tell the difference between good teachings and teachings of a harmful 'cult'.  In a cult, the teachings are often secretive, with no benefit for one's family, community, nation, or world.  This is a most important distinction.
 
The Peacekeeper Mission teachings grew much corn in my life and continue to do so.  They were the greatest gift I ever gave myself. 

People with a limited understanding might say that I and others are simply trying to 'play' Indian, or that we are trying to steal once again from our Native American brothers and sisters. Let me say this is absolutely not the case.  Wise Native American Elders gave permission for these specific teachings to be shared with people of all colors and nationalities, with the intention of helping people come back into right relationship with the Earth and all life upon her.   For those of us who recognize how far we as a people have veered off the path of sustainable, life affirming ways of living, these teachings have been a God send, offering us a way that people of all nations can work together for the greater good. 

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs024/1102402691826/archive/1102486584933.html

Jennifer Vyhnak as of 5/2016 is the registered agent for the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust (domestic nonprofit corporation). Also the Sunray Meditation Society (domestic nonprofit corporation).

[Piff]

I've uploaded here a basic sketch of research so far on her genealogy. I've used her own statements along with records on Family Search, Ancestry, Find a Grave.

Her mother's parents both came from Barbados. British subjects, African descent.

Her father and his family are all recorded as black, from South Carolina.

I know that because her family is recorded as black does not mean there may not be distant Cherokee heritage (though I see no signs). But her b.s. has nothing to do with actual Cherokee teachings. She lies and is running a destructive group.

[Piff]

Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo was born to William and Joyce Fisher in 1945.

Her father, William Fisher, grew up within a community referred to as the "lower Cherokee towns" in South Carolina composed of the remnant of Muscogee, Yucci, Catawba and survivors of other Southeastern tribes who hid in plain sight.  They were sometimes called "free people of color" or "Black Dutch".

Her father's parents, Eona Fisher (Creek mother and Cherokee father) and Nellie Valentine (Cherokee and Catawba) raised her and taught her a method for viewing the world and the relationship with all beings, based on Cherokee teachings.

 

http://www.sunray.org/venerable-dhyani-ywahoo.html


Her marriage certificate lists her parents as William Cornell Fisher and Joyce Browne. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97W-WJBZ?mode=g&i=1092&cc=2075288

I've uploaded here a photo of her father William Cornell Fisher, son of Luther Fisher and Nellie Valentine, husband of Joyce Challenor Browne. I see a strong resemblance.

William Cornell Fisher was listed black in census, military, and social security.

Name    William Cornell Fisher
Father    Luther Fisher
Mother    Nellie Valentine
Birth    6 Nov 1921 - Greenville G, South Carolina
Death    Apr 1990
Gender    Male
Race    Black

(source ancestry.com US Social Security Applications and Claims Index)

[Piff]

The photo of William Cornell Fisher is from a public family tree on ancestry.com.

As always, I could have gone astray somewhere in this research. And records don't always match reality. I encourage others to look over records. Please don't accept her family claims as truth automatically. She writes of her family history in a purposefully confusing, mangled fashion. Please don't buy what she is selling.

In her book Learning Cherokee Ways, The Ywahoo Path, she claims that her father never crawled. He hopped. She uses this as another supposed example of how special she is. My guess is that she herself has had knee problems, and she decided to claim that her entire family has special knees, the kind that cause babies to hop.

[Piff]

https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/cc/CorporationsCanada/fdrlCrpDtls.html?corpId=4454766&V_TOKEN=1482193739755&crpNm=sunray&crpNmbr=&bsNmbr=

She has a Canadian corporation in Ontario.

Corporation Number
445476-6
Business Number (BN)
829439215RC0001
Corporate Name
SUNRAY MEDITATION SOCIETY OF CANADA
Status
Active
Governing Legislation
Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act - 2014-10-02
Registered Office Address
146 RIDGE ROAD WEST
GRIMSBY ON L3M 4E7
Canada

Directors


    CATHERINE DYER
    169 PAPE AVE
    TORONTO ON M5M 2W1
    Canada

BEVERLY JOYCE HUNTER
    1418 IRISH LINE ROAD
    HALIBURTON ON K0M 1S0
    Canada

 DHYANI FISHER YWAHOO
188 PURINTON ROAD
LINCOLN VT 05443
United States

GAYLE YOUNG
146 RIDGE ROAD WEST
GRIMSBY ON L3M 4E7
Canada


Status of Annual Filings

    2016 - Filed
    2015 - Filed

[Piff]

Uploaded here a clip from 1982, Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA) student newspaper, about a Dhyani Fisher Ywahoo event. She is described as a "counselor for indigenous people of the world at the United Nations".

[Piff]

This clip is from her son's birth certificate. Interesting because on this one form she is Dhyani True, Dhyani Fisher, Dhyani Fisher-Ywahoo. Married surname True. Initially her maiden name listed Fisher, then crossed out and amended to Fisher - Ywahoo.

A note on her former husband, Golden True. He is an artist and still uses the name Golden True. His parents are Daniel P Thorton and Alice Warren. I assume he legally changed his name.

I don't know why Dhyani used the name "Dhyani Thorner" for awhile. Don't know if that was entirely another married surname, if she used a variation of her husband's birth surname Thorton, or what all.