Update from the land July 6

This update comes from a friend of mine who was involved in the entire process. Reposted from her Facebook posts with what I am sure is her implicit permission.

Update from the land July 6, 2015:

Amazing, amazing gathering. So many seeds of alliance planted with the Lakota. We had everyone from members of the treaty council and regular tribal councils (Pine Ridge and Rosebud) to Grassroots AIM, traditional grandmothers, and many others coming through and blessing our gathering. Many of these even brought their children and camped with us. Traditional Lakota prayer (in Lakota) happened before a number of the dinner circles ( from both a traditional grandmother and a young granddaughter), workshops on Lakota opposition to the Keystone Pipeline, creating a strong alliance between Rainbow and the Lakota nation, and what we can do to help free Leonard Peltier happened regularly. One of the grandmothers also told creation stories a couple of different nights after dinner circle—all reports said it was amazing.

After the gathering a number of us are going out to an elder’s place to help out with his garden and school. After that two whole busloads of folks (Luv’n Ovens and Shining Light) are going out to help another Necha with getting his grounds ready for a Sundance (building the arbor, a mud oven, etc.). We might also help a third elder at Wounded Knee after that. We’re also trying to coordinate a time when various practitioners from CALM can offer their services on Pine Ridge as well (the logistics for this are still in the works).

There are a number of other long-term plans in the works, all involving strengthening the alliance we’ve now just created and seeing how we can move forward and do amazing things together.

The gathering was small, but far more reverential and respectful than any national I’ve ever seen. In fact, it was far more like a World Gathering than a typical U.S. national. When push comes to shove, even the Projects and Hobo Alley will pull together with the rest of us (and some of them even picked up trash with us on Pine Ridge before the gathering). The 4th was amazing—everyone was SO respectful and the silence was broken at just the perfect moment.

This gathering wouldn’t have happened without the key focalizing of the scouts, XXX, XXXX, our young Tocala brothers (Lakota), XXX (Lakota/Northern Cheyenne), and the help of many others. XXX from XXXX is making a documentary about how this gathering came about, complete with interviews, audio of Spring Council, and videos of key elders, members of AIM, the Treaty Council blessing us, etc. (all filmed/recorded with permission). Those of you who are Rainbow and chose not to believe in this Gathering—well, you missed out on an amazing thing. Those of you who told others to boycott and/or spewed negative energy all over the net—not only were you completely wrong, you merely served to make this a smaller, more intimate gathering devoid of folks who do that very same thing. Those of you who believed with all your hearts this was disrespectful to the Lakota people—perhaps you should talk to REAL Lakota people out here, instead of believing the internet claims of XXXX or XXXX and their very organized and concerted campaign to make this gathering not happen. (And for those of you who know those of us who were here during spring council, if you can’t trust news from solid Rainbows here on the land, who can you trust?) And for those of you believing XXX (XXX) XXX’s claims that this was going to be another “Wounded Knee,” you were grievously manipulated. Not only did he have no following, but the opposite happened—welcome was given from many, many different sections of Lakota society, alliances were built, and both the Rainbow and the Lakota have much to look forward to.

On top of all that, it was an AMAZING Gathering, full of love, respect, joy, celebration, and new connections all around. The site was extraordinarily beautiful, the weather quite mild (except for crazy hail during seed camp), and beauty abounds