Sorry, my english is not so good, so I only send you an email from Manitonquat. I think, this makes everything clear.
„I don't know where this stuff comes from. It seems to
be an insidious mixture of unfounded rumors and false
conjectures and guilt by association with others they
condemn. Like all hate mail, the attacks are
anonymous, no evidenced is presented, no accusers
identified. No one confronts me; the people don't
know me or anyone I know. It feels like the old
McCarthy era where reputations were destroyed by
unknown whisperers. I would like to know how you
became aware of it. Our people would like to trace it
and refute it, as I believe there are well-meaning
people who put this out believing what they heard must
be true - without confirmation.
The truth can easily be found if anyone took the time
to investigate. The correct source, of course, would
be my own tribe. Here's some history: when an
organization here in the northeast connected to AIM
did confront me 25 years ago, I demanded they bring
their charges to a council of our leaders. It was one
of the largest meetings ever held at the Mashpee
tribal council. They presented their case, I showed
documents from the source they named which completely
refuted their charges. I was strongly supported by
all our chiefs and medicine people, and the Supreme
Sachem (head chief) angrily denounced that
organization's leaders and told them he knew my work
and it was good.
Though they lost, some of those in that organization
said they would keep after me. Only one of them, the
vice president, Big Toe, a Narragansett elder, took up
my challenge and investigated. He came for a weekend
and learned all we do and then resigned from that
organization saying they had lied to him. He was even
thinking of joining us and is still a good friend.
But over the years since then I would hear things
sometimes, people who don't know me attacking behind
my back. No one ever faced me, no one ever
investigated. I was hurt. I kept telling my dear
friend Slow Turtle, the Supreme Medicine Man of our
people, with whom I worked closely, and he always said
I should forget it, not give them any attention or
energy. He was probably right, but it hurt and made
me angry.
I believe the remaining leaders of that organization,
members of AIM, kept the attacks alive and I was put
on an AIM black list (together with some other good
people like Black Elk and Sun Bear, and probably some
true phonies as well, but I wouldn't waste my time
with that). And still I was never confronted
directly, although a couple of sponsors cancelled
appearances because they didn't want controversy. Too
bad, but I never blamed any of them. The sister of
the leader of that organization kept his hatred alive
after he died and it affected a young man of my own
band who visited their band. Without confronting me
he told other young men in Mashpee who now think badly
of me without knowing me at all or what I do.
Some even began to insinuate that I might not be
Wampanoag, even though, unknown to them, a genealogy
had been done in my band that proved my heritage (I
did not ask for or want a genealogy done, nor would I
ask for anyone else's proof of their heritage, I would
only take their word), even though my family appears
clearly in the Indian census (Earle Reports) of the
mid-nineteenth century, even though I was the official
medicine man of the Assonet Band, working closely with
Slow Turtle and the Mashpee medicine man
gkisedtanamoogk, rebuilding our traditional tribal
ways.
The older people who were there 30 years ago when I
was helping to re-establish our spiritual ways in
Mashpee and then rebuild our Assonet Band, those still
alive, know me and remember. Too many are gone now,
and most of the new youth do not know me and a few, I
fear, are swayed by things they have heard.
A man in the prison circle this morning said, "I don't
judge a man by what he says, but by what he does. You
have been coming to us every week in every weather for
years and have helped me change my life. Where are
those who talk about you? We never see them. Your
actions show us what is true and we know your heart."
One statement was that I use the prison circles to get
funds. That is truly funny. I wish I knew how to get
funding, but the fact is we have none except my own
support paid out of the legitimate work I do. Where
is all this money I am supposed to be bilking the
people out of? I wish they would visit me in my
little 3-room house I built myself in the woods with
no running water, a 15 year old car and a wardrobe
out of the Salvation Army. I live simply with few
needs, but I have put myself so much in debt trying to
support the prison program and the Nature School, that
it keeps me awake worrying. All my savings for my old
age are gone. But now I hear from people everywhere
who love and believe in me and offer help, and I am
hoping we will survive this crisis and go on.
It would be easy for anyone to contact the Director of
the Commission on Indian Affairs in Boston, who is
Slow Turtle's son. He could tell them the truth about
me and about our Wampanoag people. But no one does
that. It bothers me that this website offers two
negative reviews of my books and none of the many
positive ones. These critical reviews were not made
by anyone who knows the ways of our people in the
northeast, or anything about the Wampanoag. I have
glowing statements about my books from Supreme Sachem
Drifting Goose, Wampanoag scholar Dr. Helen Attaquin,
and my chief, Windsong Blake.
After the first attack 25 years ago, Chief Windsong
gave me a supportive letter to show anyone who
questioned me. No one ever did to my face, and
eventually after years of carrying it around with me I
lost the letter. I don't want to bother my people
with this stuff. They've had to put up with it for
all these years and it makes me feel bad, even though
I am not to blame.
There are a lot of really important things that we
need to have unity on and work on together. The earth
is in jeopardy, thousands of species of our relatives
are becoming extinct, we are destroying our forests,
losing our topsoil, polluting our water and air. We
are fighting each other blindly, abusing and
neglecting our children and our elders, destroying
community, making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
What is needed is not more hatred, more separation,
but more understanding, more listening to each other,
finding our common causes and supporting them and each
other.
Maybe you can contact him: medicinestory@yahoo.com, or the „Director of the Commission on Indian Affairs in Boston“.
