Today's guest blogger is Plunker - one of the earlies who has been gathering since 1972. While I don't agree with everything he says, he deserves our respect and I hope you take the time to read his words.
Now, in Montana, 1976, up near Choteau, Montana... and, Montana Chuck and i traveled over to see the Governor, a couple more folks with us... both Montana born, bred, true (as folks say)... it seemed like a good Meeting... then we go to Radio Station... talk about it... radio station were told we got run out of the Capitol by security...
then, gets back home to the Gathering and folks had a Circle, and somehow come to a consensus, in those times, that if I wanted to go to the Border for Hands across the Border for Peace... the Feds, etc... didn't want us to go as Rainbow and, the circle of the Day... agreed... also, agreed to signing a permit -- unofficially OF course... just folks all stood up and agreed People could go, but not wearing Rainbow Colors... across Blackfeet Reservation.... when Chuck and i got Home... I asked for another circle, and, in that circle... said NO to the PERMIT (permit got signed anyway -- more folks in consensus, circle one, than in circle two... dang)...
anyways, Morning of the 4th about 150 folks... including Feather, who spoke about this at the City council... Blackfeet Tribal Council,. (still) Chief Earl Old Person.... sent Thomas Medicine Crow, B.I.A. officer, who said to me, others... "If I had been ordered to, I would have stopped you at the edge of the Reservation, but I have been ordered to escort you across the Reservation." with State Police, sheriffs, Forest Service L.E.O.s (of the time...)
Early on, before the Gathering... Montana Chuck and i traveled to Browning, Montana, knocked on Chief Earl Old Person's door.... at Tribal H.Qs.... We spoke of the Rainbow Gathering, told him all we could in the short time there.... and ASKED... said.... EVEN THOUGH STATE HIGHWAY... to Chief Mountain International Station, from Choteau, Montana... IN RESPECT, we asked as a neighboring crew of people, a small tribe of folks seeking Peace...
wanting to pass through their lands. chuck and i brought Tobacco, sage, cedar, small bundle... gave it to Chief Earl Old Person, for the Blackfeet People, etc.... (unnoticed by chuck and me, the Chief had turned on the speaker system to all the offices and places... so many, many folks heard.
blessings of the Spirit, there was opposition in "official" Browning, until July 1st.. when the Tribal Council changed.... AND, Curley Bear, friends, a young traditional with strong vibes, tad wild like in the days of long ago.. fierce, later with laughter... came, sorta on his own, with with friends and came into the Gathering... his words to the Blackfeet People were, to me, what opened the Way for an escort rather than a blockade... Traveled to the Hands across the Border for Peace, escorted through Browning, through the Blackfeet Lands (only one way... thomas and the cops all left -- no biggie) iffn they hadn't escorted the Rainbow Caravan.. it mite not have been noticed...
There was SWAT team surrounded us at the Border, as Feather said.... Garrick was on that Ride... some great folks... David....
I have always advocated, and acted on the Concept that there are many Tribes and People... it is Respect to communicate with folks before you drop in on their Homes and/or Spiritual Places.... I did that with the Hopi and Dine (Navajo) best i could when i reckoned 1st Gathering would be within a 100 miles. Wyoming 1973, Gathering was not held across the Wind River Tribal lands (reservation) some folks who advocate and acted on their beliefs, got jailed.. Rainbow was in Popo Ashie (sp), Red Canyon area...
There are hundreds of RAINBOW laundromats, in America... the color Rainbow is in the hands of the Great Spirit... there are folks who Gather in one Way, some in another... some folks even fly the Rainbow Gathering "colors" .. amazing.... a number of years ago Zeus took his "No Masturbation" msg, 1992, rolled in Black Hills area, many tribes of Sioux Lands, with a few folks.. flew Rainbow "colors" all the way in and out... still being talked about --
Iffn I was to be wanting to roll into South Dakota, with an assembly of folks i.e. a gathering.... AND, I wasn't riding choppers, heading to Sturgis.... AND, i was reckoning to be bringing in the "kind village" of Rainbow People.... to live and pray for days... to be with the (many tribes) of Sioux, and South Dakotans... etc... why,
(1) i be sure "kind village" Rainbows intended to be there
(2) are you sure a Rainbow Gathering, as is, these days, is a "kind village of folks", for these times, in those lands
(3) act with minimum respect, go there, not with thousands, but a few folks, beforehand, talk to all the different folks, in Tribal offices, in Sweat Lodges.. iffn you get close enuf... people in the streets...
at least, be strong enuf to step up to this level of minimum respect... All kinds of people travel as tourists thru these lands... this is different... iffn this is not understood... wasting my breathe...oh, yeah, take along some Tobacco, sage, cedar... etc...
(4) Gathering in Peace , clean up, please DON'T leave thousands and thousands of hospital bills for the Tribes to have to pay off.. or the small South Dakota towns... (as in Dillon, Montana 2013)... even iffn it ain't the responsibility of Rainbow, per se... understand, in Sioux Country the people is barely surviving
(5) as far as flying Rainbow Colors... anyone can fly whatever they want... lots of folks calling themselves Rainbow Family had done dumb, messed up shit hence the name Rainbow Bozos, LameBows... etc.-- the poll in Missoulian paper, is running 4 in ten against Rainbow, right now... i am amazed it ain't 6 in 10.... it mite be.
I won't be traveling to the Black Hills... or South Dakota... or East, for that matter... for me, there are a very few opportunities for some weakening, older Rainbows i been riding with, for many years, to get together.. to Gather again... most of these are on the West Coast, Northwest, Southwest...
I thought there mite have been a chance in Montana 2013.. oh well -- needed is a LOW elevation, west coast Site, either southern oregon, northern calif, accessible for the handicapped, older bunch..... last couple Gathering automatically cut all these folks OUT --
younger Gatherers.... whether they are Rainbow, or ride as as friends, neighbors, on the common ground.. can roll bout anywhere....
there are some folks who have their visions, dreams, plans and want to fly Rainbow and roll into South Dakota... AND....
there are, blessings, more than one gathering, many circles... you know the song... MAY THE CIRCLES BE UNBROKEN... by and by... so be it...
iffn i am going to put my energy into something, i am wanting to understand to where is the best place... and i don't go where i don't see to go... and where i see to go i go so i will keep on going and be in the west somewhere this year... either in such a (regional) as i describe or, if there is no event... in Montana.
Felipe, ole guy like me, and i talked about rounding up Montana Chuck traveling over to South Dakota, in Sioux lands, meet the folks like i been relating... i know folks there, he knows folks, chuck... iffn i was to go, i'd ask some of younger, now "kitchens" i.e. tribals... to make the journey..
Or, folks want to be heading that way... mite be good iffn you read this long rap, mite mean something....
i know some of the folks who are planning on South Dakota... i can't visualize them folks paying any attention to what i am writing, nor, or care one way or the other about the Sioux people or the people of South Dakota, etc.. ain't any of there concerns (far as i can tell) .... to them, they reckon they got something going and they will.... also, so be it..... each to their own path along this Trail..,
Other folks i know very sincere... mite even want to reach out, etc.. but unlikely to be in the early scouting...
i have gathered in Sioux lands, with Sioux people, and like Felipe, have long time friendships... so i hope, pray .... whoever rides and Gathers in South Dakotas or Sioux country, do so with Respect...
peace with justice,and justice comes with respect... Barry, plunkr, Montana, Rainbow Family Tribe (imagi-creed)
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Thanksgiving Council Notes
Disclaimer: I was not at Thanksgiving Council. However, these notes were shared with my by a friend. If other people have a different set of notes, please share them.
~ ~ Begin Notes ~ ~
Thanksgiving Council 2014
very partial notes,
Scribed by a combination of three people in attendence.
Spring Council should be as late as possible, give time to scout all regions."
"Let's share ideas and get together between now and Spring Council. Nothing concrete, because who lives in concrete?"
"Let's not eliminate states. We can't even come together yet. The snow melt will hold us back till spring scouting."
"Document potential sites now, go look there in the spring"
"I don't feel like VT is on the table. I know the area. The rest of New England is up for grabs"
"How many of you are at your first Thanksgiving Council?" (more than half)
"How many of you have scouted?" (about ten)
"How many know sanitation practices?" (most)
"Please try to sit in this circle with a sober heart. We should have a healthy circle."
"We don't have to be perfect to be good. The feather can always bring us back to focus."
"Let's talk Spring Council dates. Heartsong is like the dessert."
"I love holding the feather. Lots of people are softspoken. With a feather, everyone listens to what they have to say and thinks about it."
"This huge consensus region is impressive! We now need to focus on what it is we are looking for."
"I would hope we would scout South Dakota when it's time for us to go that way. My friends all want to go out east. In Michigan there is a lot of Pine, that's my concern. The Vermont gathering site is now gone as a usable site."
"We still have a conference call to convene with. We're bigger than this. We were given this big northern region."
"How about mid April in Southern region for Scout Rendezvous?"
"June 20th is the latest possible date to decide site, due to snow, etc.."
"How about Southern Indiana for Scout Rendezvous around 4/20 weekend?"
"There will be a regional gathering during that time anyway, hosted by the South Bend Kitchen in southern Indiana."
"There is going to be an April 28 Wisconsin rendezvous for folks in that region..."
"Scouting folks need to know what region to aim for with Scouting Rendezvous"
"Clarification of who is scouting and what has been scouted in the Great Lakes region? Also should we address bank council?"
"Some folks want to talk serious scouting stuff with maps in front of them. Interested folks can get together this evening?"
"5 weeks in May, 2 weeks in June after the Wisconsin rendezvous."
"Some of us have been scouting already. We want to show what we have at the scout rendezvous. When is Spring Council. 2nd weekend of June?"
"17th of June is a Wednesday, would give us time after rendezvous dates. Farthest in the south, later dates."
"The Wisconsin family is scouting for Annuals and/or a WI regional. If they get WI for the Annual, they will not have a regional, consensed on land at last regional."
"Here in the Lower Peninsula there is no viable site. The U.P. will make it a little harder. It will be cold. Water's always been an issue. Hard to get springs tapped. Turtle Soup is keeping their eyes open."
"Firewood is important to look for in cold spots."
"We want to do another MI kitchen (Veggie). We were evicted from our Detroit bike co-op. We've been opening up squats and renovating abandoned homes. Calling artists and travellers to join."
"Spring Council. June 16-17ish?"
"April 18-20 maybe for S. R.? Wisconsin is having this 4/28 council. MI is having a Mayday meeting. This is right before both those events."
"Who wants to be on the bank?"
"Last year the Great Lakes raised money to buy a new filtration system. We need to focus water."
"We used to have hand pumps. 1999 first discussion about gravity filters.
3:40 Consensed: Adjourn the council until after the public conference call. 8:48 Reconvened
"One brother suggested Spring Council weekend of June 13-15, and a 4/20 scout rendezvous...the conference call participants agreed."
April 18-20th proposed for scouting rendezvous. Consensus of 10 seconds silence proposed. CONSENSUS #1: "Scout rendezvous will be April 18-20th" Proposed: June 17 for Spring Council, consensus by ten seconds of silence. CONSENSUS #2: Spring Council begins June 17, location TBA "I'm interested in being a non-scouting scout"
"Sometimes we wait to say what we have to say, then leave. Remember to listen."
"Bank? Unresolved item."
"Respect, understanding, peace & love, be thankful. Be mindful of our children and neighbors when smoking or drinking. We are not our clans or divisions; we are one big thing that is greater than all that."
"We put ourselves in boxes a lot. Thinking of yourself as "a scout" or "a whatever" is only fooling yourself." <
"Sharing sticks and feathers...I went to look or Turquoise in the New Mexico gathering on a hill & saw an eagle land in a tree. I have a feather from that golden eagle. I'll bring it tomorrow."
"Copwatch focus is important. It would be great if some people brought Gopros, so police scorts can videotape the encounter constantly."
"I want to manifest a conch shell to call the family home."
Shanti sena was discussed for a pass of the feather. People told stories of their shanti sena crazy experiences and gave advice on good peacekeeping tactics. Council was adjourned for the night.
There are fewer notes from this day. Banking council was discussed. It was requested that there be folks on banking council from different regions in the consensus. A bank was nominated, consisting of 7 people with representatives from at least four different regions and kitchens. Each member was brought up for consensus, and the group approved each one with consensus of silence.
There was a little discussion on the Indiana 4/20 South Bend/Turtle Soup regional, with details to be announced more specifically later.
There was a discussion about Welcome Home and a call for help focalizing a good positive entrance point to the gathering. Council adjourned and banking council convened separately to discuss their job. They agreed in that circle not to post the names of those on Banking Council on facebook, to preserve privacy and promote security culture.
Please copy and distribute this information freely
Friday, 11/28/15
Intros - one round of the feather, followed by an OM with 28 people present, at 12:30 PM. The following statements are brief notes on the dialogue and subject of each speaker holding the feather: "What do we want to achieve here? Sometimes a bank is set up. Sometimes people set up an internet account to collect money. How do we reconcile the vast consensus regions this year? Would rather not eliminate regions because of people scouting them who aren't here.Spring Council should be as late as possible, give time to scout all regions."
"Let's share ideas and get together between now and Spring Council. Nothing concrete, because who lives in concrete?"
"Let's not eliminate states. We can't even come together yet. The snow melt will hold us back till spring scouting."
"Document potential sites now, go look there in the spring"
"I don't feel like VT is on the table. I know the area. The rest of New England is up for grabs"
"How many of you are at your first Thanksgiving Council?" (more than half)
"How many of you have scouted?" (about ten)
"How many know sanitation practices?" (most)
"Please try to sit in this circle with a sober heart. We should have a healthy circle."
"We don't have to be perfect to be good. The feather can always bring us back to focus."
"Let's talk Spring Council dates. Heartsong is like the dessert."
"I love holding the feather. Lots of people are softspoken. With a feather, everyone listens to what they have to say and thinks about it."
"This huge consensus region is impressive! We now need to focus on what it is we are looking for."
"I would hope we would scout South Dakota when it's time for us to go that way. My friends all want to go out east. In Michigan there is a lot of Pine, that's my concern. The Vermont gathering site is now gone as a usable site."
"We still have a conference call to convene with. We're bigger than this. We were given this big northern region."
"How about mid April in Southern region for Scout Rendezvous?"
"June 20th is the latest possible date to decide site, due to snow, etc.."
"How about Southern Indiana for Scout Rendezvous around 4/20 weekend?"
"There will be a regional gathering during that time anyway, hosted by the South Bend Kitchen in southern Indiana."
"There is going to be an April 28 Wisconsin rendezvous for folks in that region..."
"Scouting folks need to know what region to aim for with Scouting Rendezvous"
"Clarification of who is scouting and what has been scouted in the Great Lakes region? Also should we address bank council?"
"Some folks want to talk serious scouting stuff with maps in front of them. Interested folks can get together this evening?"
"5 weeks in May, 2 weeks in June after the Wisconsin rendezvous."
"Some of us have been scouting already. We want to show what we have at the scout rendezvous. When is Spring Council. 2nd weekend of June?"
"17th of June is a Wednesday, would give us time after rendezvous dates. Farthest in the south, later dates."
"The Wisconsin family is scouting for Annuals and/or a WI regional. If they get WI for the Annual, they will not have a regional, consensed on land at last regional."
"Here in the Lower Peninsula there is no viable site. The U.P. will make it a little harder. It will be cold. Water's always been an issue. Hard to get springs tapped. Turtle Soup is keeping their eyes open."
"Firewood is important to look for in cold spots."
"We want to do another MI kitchen (Veggie). We were evicted from our Detroit bike co-op. We've been opening up squats and renovating abandoned homes. Calling artists and travellers to join."
"Spring Council. June 16-17ish?"
"April 18-20 maybe for S. R.? Wisconsin is having this 4/28 council. MI is having a Mayday meeting. This is right before both those events."
"Who wants to be on the bank?"
"Last year the Great Lakes raised money to buy a new filtration system. We need to focus water."
"We used to have hand pumps. 1999 first discussion about gravity filters.
3:40 Consensed: Adjourn the council until after the public conference call. 8:48 Reconvened
"One brother suggested Spring Council weekend of June 13-15, and a 4/20 scout rendezvous...the conference call participants agreed."
April 18-20th proposed for scouting rendezvous. Consensus of 10 seconds silence proposed. CONSENSUS #1: "Scout rendezvous will be April 18-20th" Proposed: June 17 for Spring Council, consensus by ten seconds of silence. CONSENSUS #2: Spring Council begins June 17, location TBA "I'm interested in being a non-scouting scout"
"Sometimes we wait to say what we have to say, then leave. Remember to listen."
"Bank? Unresolved item."
"Respect, understanding, peace & love, be thankful. Be mindful of our children and neighbors when smoking or drinking. We are not our clans or divisions; we are one big thing that is greater than all that."
"We put ourselves in boxes a lot. Thinking of yourself as "a scout" or "a whatever" is only fooling yourself." <
"Sharing sticks and feathers...I went to look or Turquoise in the New Mexico gathering on a hill & saw an eagle land in a tree. I have a feather from that golden eagle. I'll bring it tomorrow."
"Copwatch focus is important. It would be great if some people brought Gopros, so police scorts can videotape the encounter constantly."
"I want to manifest a conch shell to call the family home."
Shanti sena was discussed for a pass of the feather. People told stories of their shanti sena crazy experiences and gave advice on good peacekeeping tactics. Council was adjourned for the night.
Saturday, 11/29/14
There are fewer notes from this day. Banking council was discussed. It was requested that there be folks on banking council from different regions in the consensus. A bank was nominated, consisting of 7 people with representatives from at least four different regions and kitchens. Each member was brought up for consensus, and the group approved each one with consensus of silence.
There was a little discussion on the Indiana 4/20 South Bend/Turtle Soup regional, with details to be announced more specifically later.
There was a discussion about Welcome Home and a call for help focalizing a good positive entrance point to the gathering. Council adjourned and banking council convened separately to discuss their job. They agreed in that circle not to post the names of those on Banking Council on facebook, to preserve privacy and promote security culture.
Please copy and distribute this information freely
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Gathering Basics
Just an FYI, no one speaks for the gathering and there are as many different opinions as there are gatherers. For a hipstorical perspective, click here.
For a more recent perspective, here's a great video for those new to the gathering that was done by some folks in Oregon in 2012.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Declaration of Interdependence
Some passages from the Family’s 1977 Declaration of Interdependence
We the people of this nation, each with our own freedom and responsibility, recognizing the absolute
power of Love in our lives, do hereby declare our interdependence, and do set forth this plan and these many visions to bring forth alternative system of spirit, supply, law, organization and trade, and so become the new humans of the Lord of Love’s Plan for Earth.
This New nation is being established in our hearts and minds and end forever the disharmonies and
injustice among nations, peoples, and governments.
That we recognize the essential unity of all beings, the oneness and connectedness that is so much a
part of fabric of life. We affirm that by recognizing this direction of Love-Harmony, Energy will lead
every one to their own personal identification with the Creator and Humankind. And that this
identification leads to a power of manifestation unknown to Earth in its recorded history.
That these precepts when held in the heart and mind, in conjunction with proper visualization and use
of our talents will create an approach to life such that anything we propose to do shall unfailingly come to pass …
Throughout this time we hold these truths to be self-evident:
We rely on cooperation, respect, goodwill, and equal rights to exist create and recreate . . .
The concepts of the National Homestead Act be restored to the laws of the United States for the
purpose of restoration . . .
That as conscious sons and daughters of God we claim this Earth as inheritance and will do all
in our power to attune ourselves to God’s plan for us and the Earth.
We affirm the common desire for wholeness in relationships, that we hold the right to do with our own children what is right and good for them, the we will educate ourselves in wisdom, knowledge and charity, and will allow all people to do as they please, given that their actions are not harmful to other living beings. So we do take all responsibility for the total transformation of the old.
We propose to establish a network comprised of land based communities and individuals to
communicate the current information and to mobilize the concerned citizenry given a time of crisis. We also propose to establish barter-trade-exchange transportation system called the World Family Healing Caravan and to volunteer one member from our community and sometimes one vehicle to travel on this mobile service system.
We also propose to establish P.E.A.C.E. villages on unowned pieces of land . . . to meet regionally in
each season on the equinoxes and solstices until all tribes are united and gathered and we receive the
City of the New Jerusalem from on high.
Giving full support to these ideas and plans we recognize the power of the spoken and written word to bring forth results and more importantly the power of an idea whose time has come. We also propose to put forth these ideas before the American people until such time as we are recognized as the alternative to commercialism and capitalism and as the fulfillment of the Lord’s plan for this nation and the world.
this was signed by 46 people on July 4, 1977 at the high noon silence ceremony.
We the people of this nation, each with our own freedom and responsibility, recognizing the absolute
power of Love in our lives, do hereby declare our interdependence, and do set forth this plan and these many visions to bring forth alternative system of spirit, supply, law, organization and trade, and so become the new humans of the Lord of Love’s Plan for Earth.
This New nation is being established in our hearts and minds and end forever the disharmonies and
injustice among nations, peoples, and governments.
That we recognize the essential unity of all beings, the oneness and connectedness that is so much a
part of fabric of life. We affirm that by recognizing this direction of Love-Harmony, Energy will lead
every one to their own personal identification with the Creator and Humankind. And that this
identification leads to a power of manifestation unknown to Earth in its recorded history.
That these precepts when held in the heart and mind, in conjunction with proper visualization and use
of our talents will create an approach to life such that anything we propose to do shall unfailingly come to pass …
Throughout this time we hold these truths to be self-evident:
We rely on cooperation, respect, goodwill, and equal rights to exist create and recreate . . .
The concepts of the National Homestead Act be restored to the laws of the United States for the
purpose of restoration . . .
That as conscious sons and daughters of God we claim this Earth as inheritance and will do all
in our power to attune ourselves to God’s plan for us and the Earth.
We affirm the common desire for wholeness in relationships, that we hold the right to do with our own children what is right and good for them, the we will educate ourselves in wisdom, knowledge and charity, and will allow all people to do as they please, given that their actions are not harmful to other living beings. So we do take all responsibility for the total transformation of the old.
We propose to establish a network comprised of land based communities and individuals to
communicate the current information and to mobilize the concerned citizenry given a time of crisis. We also propose to establish barter-trade-exchange transportation system called the World Family Healing Caravan and to volunteer one member from our community and sometimes one vehicle to travel on this mobile service system.
We also propose to establish P.E.A.C.E. villages on unowned pieces of land . . . to meet regionally in
each season on the equinoxes and solstices until all tribes are united and gathered and we receive the
City of the New Jerusalem from on high.
Giving full support to these ideas and plans we recognize the power of the spoken and written word to bring forth results and more importantly the power of an idea whose time has come. We also propose to put forth these ideas before the American people until such time as we are recognized as the alternative to commercialism and capitalism and as the fulfillment of the Lord’s plan for this nation and the world.
this was signed by 46 people on July 4, 1977 at the high noon silence ceremony.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Thanksgiving Council Location/Information
Updated 11/25/14 7:00 PM PST
Thanksgiving Council will be outside the town of Saline, Michigan (about 15 miles south of Ann Arbor, Michigan). Directions should be available here sometime on Tuesday, November 25. However, please note that family is asking that no one arrive on site before the afternoon of Wednesday, November 25.
We have use of the land for camping, both open meadow and some woods. We will have to dig a shitter or rent a port a potty as there is no bathroom in the space we are using. The indoor space can also accommodate some sleeping bags, but probably not everybody.
There are some neighbors in sight distance, so tarps to make a shitter blind will be needed. We have use of a large space in an even larger barn.The space is about 35' by 90'. It is heated and has a cement floor. At one end there is a 3 compartment sink for dish.
You will be able to arrive Wednesday afternoon.
Needs: Tarp for a shitter, propane tanks for Fat Kids kitchen. To prevent the spread of tree killing pests, please do not bring firewood from out of state. Click here for more info on firewood restrictions. However, if you are in Michigan, PLEASE bring firewood sourced from Michigan - so no out of state FIREWOOD! The usual stuff like first aid supplies, shovels, etc. Bring your own camping chairs, if you can. If, for whatever reason, Fat Kids doesn't make it, there is back up for kitchen gear, as needed.
Dog Rules: Please leave your pets at home if at all possible. There is a resident dog, who is protective of his place. If you *must, you may bring your pet but please be prepared to mind your baby, leashes and scoop, etc. I imagine the 30x90 space will begin to shrink quite a bit, the more dogs we add to the mix.
Cooking space: At one end there is a 3 compartment sink for dish. There is a fridge we can use and a large industrial/commercial stove too! I have been told the stove top works but the oven does not. We also have the ability to use the house kitchen on Thursday only, which has a stove and oven (plan to minimize traffic into house, however). The space has electricity, so crock pots could be plugged in. There are 2 long counters on the side of the room for serving. A sister is bringing 1-2 possibly pre-cooked turkeys and serving pans. Fat Kids are arriving Weds with a full kitchen bus including oven.
DIRECTIONS:
TGC will begin Wednesday afternoon and conclude Sunday.
Mulberry Hill Cooperative Farm
13187 Macon Rd.
Saline, MI 48176
Take I-94 to the greater Ann Arbor area
Exit at US12/Michigan Avenue and head west towards Saline
take 12/Michigan Ave through Saline and turn left on Monroe street to head South towards Boysville. Stay on Monroe Street and it becomes Macon Road and becomes a gravel road. Continue south west on Macon Road , you will cross Braun road,Willow Road and Arkona road and then you get to Mullberry Hill Farm. It is a big yellow farm house in front of a bigger red barn on the east side of Macon Road. Park on the strip of grass between the road and the fence. Welcome home will be there to direct traffic.
For more information on the purpose of Thanksgiving Council, click here.
Thanksgiving Council will be outside the town of Saline, Michigan (about 15 miles south of Ann Arbor, Michigan). Directions should be available here sometime on Tuesday, November 25. However, please note that family is asking that no one arrive on site before the afternoon of Wednesday, November 25.
Here's the 411
The farm is about 10 acres. There should be ample room for parking.We have use of the land for camping, both open meadow and some woods. We will have to dig a shitter or rent a port a potty as there is no bathroom in the space we are using. The indoor space can also accommodate some sleeping bags, but probably not everybody.
There are some neighbors in sight distance, so tarps to make a shitter blind will be needed. We have use of a large space in an even larger barn.The space is about 35' by 90'. It is heated and has a cement floor. At one end there is a 3 compartment sink for dish.
You will be able to arrive Wednesday afternoon.
Needs: Tarp for a shitter, propane tanks for Fat Kids kitchen. To prevent the spread of tree killing pests, please do not bring firewood from out of state. Click here for more info on firewood restrictions. However, if you are in Michigan, PLEASE bring firewood sourced from Michigan - so no out of state FIREWOOD! The usual stuff like first aid supplies, shovels, etc. Bring your own camping chairs, if you can. If, for whatever reason, Fat Kids doesn't make it, there is back up for kitchen gear, as needed.
Dog Rules: Please leave your pets at home if at all possible. There is a resident dog, who is protective of his place. If you *must, you may bring your pet but please be prepared to mind your baby, leashes and scoop, etc. I imagine the 30x90 space will begin to shrink quite a bit, the more dogs we add to the mix.
Cooking space: At one end there is a 3 compartment sink for dish. There is a fridge we can use and a large industrial/commercial stove too! I have been told the stove top works but the oven does not. We also have the ability to use the house kitchen on Thursday only, which has a stove and oven (plan to minimize traffic into house, however). The space has electricity, so crock pots could be plugged in. There are 2 long counters on the side of the room for serving. A sister is bringing 1-2 possibly pre-cooked turkeys and serving pans. Fat Kids are arriving Weds with a full kitchen bus including oven.
 |
| T-Council Site Image 1 |
 |
| T-Council Site Image 2 |
DIRECTIONS:
TGC will begin Wednesday afternoon and conclude Sunday.
Mulberry Hill Cooperative Farm
13187 Macon Rd.
Saline, MI 48176
Take I-94 to the greater Ann Arbor area
Exit at US12/Michigan Avenue and head west towards Saline
take 12/Michigan Ave through Saline and turn left on Monroe street to head South towards Boysville. Stay on Monroe Street and it becomes Macon Road and becomes a gravel road. Continue south west on Macon Road , you will cross Braun road,Willow Road and Arkona road and then you get to Mullberry Hill Farm. It is a big yellow farm house in front of a bigger red barn on the east side of Macon Road. Park on the strip of grass between the road and the fence. Welcome home will be there to direct traffic.
For more information on the purpose of Thanksgiving Council, click here.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
The Lost Tablet of The Hippie
Written by Garrick beck
In the winter of 1971 I was cutting firewood up at a farm outside of Eugene, Oregon. It was part of the Back to the Land movement as they called it a generation ago, when thousands of people -- young people mostly -- fled the cities for greener pastures at the edge of the backcountry, -- planting gardens, cutting firewood, building buildings with recycled materials, domes, yurts and living or at least trying to live, in some kind of communal harmony.
At the same time we already had become an information outpost of the Gathering -- letters being written, invitations being distributed, ideas being brought together in preparation for the first Rainbow Gathering now only a year and a half away.
People came looking for a community of people to be part of, looking for a group of people who wanted to touch the earth with their labor. And also looking for a place to freak freely, to abandon ship from the upheavals -- the marching in the streets or the marching away to war -- of the sixties. For draft dodgers heading to Canada we were a stop on the Underground Railroad. For runaways we were a secure unharmful spot offering food, and good advice. For the young local citizens and loggers we were a place to go party. For scientists or architects or botanists we were a place providing in-the-field examples of geometric architecture, organic farming, small scale logging, and solar technologies. We were experimenting, sometimes experimenting wildly, with herbal medicines, and very carefully with midwifery, meditation, yoga, acupressure chanting, and so on. It was a wonderful, bold time. And we knew that all over the country -- 5n the h533s 6f r4ra3 A0er5ca -- there were others like us, in both smaller and larger groups working on the very same problems and the same dreams.
Into this farm rolled a large deep-purple square-backed truck containing a small clan on their way north. They had been on the road trading. They said they didn't want to use any money so they had adopted the trading lifestyle. They had a truckful of good stuff Tools blankets books, toys, candles, rope, clothes, stuff we could use. It was fun to go to their big purple truck and trade.
As they left they gave us a pouch of Hopi corn seed. They said it was a gift really for the nice welcome they'd been given. And with the seed they gave us planting instructions for the traditional way to plant the corn.
A few months later spring sprang, the ground dried out, and we turned the soil I the lower field. First we planted the frost hardy greens, then the transplants from the cold frame greenhouses we'd built, followed a few weeks later by plantings of corn and beans.
We brought everyone together by blowing the conch shell. We talked about the way of planting where the man with a stick goes ahead, poking the holes and the woman follows behind planting the seeds, dropping them into the holes the man has made. But in the discussion seeking balance, people wanted to do it both ways with both men and women each taking turns with the sticks and the seeds.
It was beautiful. All done in silence. The corn pouch was passed with reverence for the life inside it. As we planted, the afternoon began to cloud over and a light rain started to fall. In the end we held hands in our OM circle as the clouds burst over us and wetted down the valley. The sun dipped under the clouds filling the forested hills with golden misty light and a rainbow rose up from the river and arced down -- I thought it was going to land on where we'd just planted the corn. But no, it touched instead on the godseye standing on the center of the garden. The whole scene was dazzling. The sun, the mist, the rainbow, the new planted deep brown earth, us apart of it all.
Then someone's small voice said, "Why don't we go up the hill to the meditation platform to take this all in"
Single file we went up the trail, a flute casting slow notes across the valley. As we get to the prayer platform overlooking the valley, someone notices a rock nestled in the decay of a giant cedar stump.
But it's only after we've sat that we look it over, passing the carved stone among us. We leave it setting in the stump as it was.
Over a joyful, noisy dinner, amid many other topics, the rock is mentioned. "Hey did anybody see that carved rock out by the prayer platform?"
Nobody had but those of us who'd just been there.
For most of the next year the stone sat where it was
The rock itself was carved on one side with images that were themselves made up of smaller images, figures and faces, and within those smaller signs, figures, designs, until smaller than that it was hard to tell where the carving left off and the natural pattern of the rock began.
More than 7 months later I left Oregon for the East Coast and holiday visiting. But along the route we made stops passing out invitations to the Gathering next July. The invitations were printed and posted, but wherever possible it was given by word of mouth, in coffee houses, yoga centers, community newspapers, laundromats, street corners, on campuses, at rock ' roll shows, places of worship … wherever, whenever. And my travelmates and myself were not the only ones out doing this. There were other carfulls traveling criss-cross the countryside meeting people and spreading the invitation
One set of travelers went through the American Southwest and then eastward and up the coast to where we met up. We planed a trip to Washington, D.C. to distribute invitations and we traded tales of where we'd been
One of their stops had been in the Hopi Lands where they'd heard the yearly ceremonial telling of the Hopi histories and prophecies
They spoke of the part of the story about the times yet to be, where people called the Warriors of the Rainbow would come and somehow set things right in the troubled world -- and they would come bearing a rock, a carved rock that would signal to the Hopi that these were the people of their prophecies.
A rock? A carved, inscribed-type rock? I recounted the tale of our corn planting and we made plans to go back to Oregon and bring the stone down to the Hopi for their examination. First I got on the phone to Kaushal and asked him to go get the rock and hold onto it, protect it.
Returning west, we found the tablet safe and dry, now wrapped up in a small white woven cloth and tied with a coiled cord.
We loaded up two cars and a van with fourteen of us and headed toward the southwest. Close to our destination we stopped at Jacques' place on a remote mesa. He'd been living there for years, acquainted with the Hopi and Navaho peoples.
"You gotta purify yourselves, make yourselves ready," he told us. And we followed his advice taking time to fast, bathe ourselves, meditate and wrap up our hair as a sign of respect.
Then we went early I the morning, to the Hopi village where Feather Knew there was a Kiva, a prayer space, that was open and where we could sit and meditate before going on. An older woman met us and explained that this Kiva used to be open but that too many people had come and abused the space so the Kiva wasn't open to the public anymore. On we went, guided by Feather and Jayson to Thomas Banyaca's house. He wasn't home.
Our next stop was David Monongye's house. Already the sun was starting to bake us. People were home there, and I and Rome and Barry went inside. The radio was blaring loud tinny music. A woman was feeding young children. An old woman sat still on a bench at the side of the room. There were buckets of fried chicken on the table. An old man sat eating. "Come in, c'mon in boys," said the man, gesturing toward us at the door. This was David.
And in we went. "What do you want. What brings you here?" He asked over the din of the radio and the children.
"We … we brought you a stone tablet which we found." I began, getting right to the point.
"You brought a what?" He said, trying to hear over the lunchtime noise.
For a moment the possible foolishness of this entire journey flashed thru my brain. "We brought you a stone tablet." I went on slowly and clearly this time, "which we found."
The younger woman's hand switched off the radio.
"Do you have it with you?" Asked David.
"Yes, it's outside in one of the vans."
"Well go and get it and bring it in."
Like a curtain rising on a whole different scene the place transformed. The food was swept off the table. The children ushered out another door to play. The old woman had lit a candle and was sitting by it at an altar in the corner when we returned inside with the wrapped up stone tablet.
"Open it up." David encouraged
We did, and he ran his fingers over it, almost more to be touching it, feeling it, than looking at it. "Well, how did you get this?" He wanted to know. And I recounted, in brief, the story I have told you here. Barry spoke about the planned Gathering that we were all working on, and Rome, as a Native American, spoke to David about the respect we young people had for the Native American ways.
David asked a few specific questions about where and when we got the rock. Then without further to-do, he wrapped it back up and getting up, said, "We'll just have to see who's here to take a look at it."
He went out and spoke with his neighbor, then told us they were going to round up some of the others, that he thought there were "enough of us here to have a good look together," and that we should go to the house he gave us directions to.
We followed the directions he'd given us, which took us back to the very same place, next to the Kiva, where we had been that morning.
It was Mina's house. She s head of the Hopi Bluebird Clan and she met us at the door, once again, and invited us inside. The entryway opened to a larger room and there were assembled a group of older Hopi. Seventeen I counted. I was nervous as could be. It was a humbling experience just standing there and feeling the combined weight of thousands of years of the tribal culture.
David motioned for us to come up closer and tell our tale. As we spoke, he translated into Hopi, and there was another man there who translated. Sometimes the translation process was simple, other times the Hopi would all speak among themselves in this wonder song-like language. David was encouraging us not to leave out details. Things that were small to us might be important to them.
We spoke also about the vision of this Gathering, and how this was the spiritual quest that had brought us together as a clan. They talked again for a bit among themselves, and then asked a series of questions: What were the colors of the godseye in the garden? How much corn did w plant? What direction was the tablet facing when we found it? How many people had handled it, carried it since? And so on.
In all this telling we were clear, very clear, that we made no claims whatever about what this tablet was or was not, only that all things considered it seemed that the right thing to do was to bring this stone to them.
At last,their glances turned to Mina. And she came forward and asked us -- her eyes as piercing as a great night bird's eyes in the dark of the desert -- she asked us to show them the rock. Without any further fuss I unwrapped it held it toward her.
She looked and spoke with clarity and to the point. "It is not the same color, it is not the same type of rock, nor the right shape to match the piece missing from the tablet that I have."
She turned now and was addressing not just we rainbows, but all the people in the room. "However," she went on, "when my father gave me that tablet, and left me his instructions he told me that this world is full of illusions and we must not let our eyes be fooled. He told e then, that in a time like this I should take the rock and place it near to the tablet itself to see edge to edge if the pieces fit."
"Can you give it to me?" She asked, and without a word I held the stone out to her.
She took the rock and moved thru the bunches of people toward the rear of the room and out a door at the back.
Perhaps ten minutes later she was back. When she spoke her quiet voice had a strength like the Grand Canyon. "It is as I thought, your rock is the wrong shape, color and size." She was shaking her head, "It does not fit as the missing piece of our tablet."
David took it from her and handed it back to us. "This is you tablet." He said as he passed it back to us.
I spoke, feeling honor at having been thoughtfully received at all by these real elders of a enduring tribe. "We are a very young tribe, like a grandchild tribe. Your are a very old tribe like a grandparent tribe. We need al the help and advice we can get from you … and if there is anything we could do for you, let us know and we will do what we can. At least we will try."
David again translated, and from the eager responses, it seemed there was a lot to be told to us. "It is clear," He began, "that you and we are working for the same Great Spirit. We all desire Peace in our lives, for our children and for everyone. Because this is what you are working for, we know that you are warriors of the rainbow, but whether your are the Warriors of the Rainbow that have been foretold well, that is another matter, but you are young and full of hope and there is much life stretching out in front of you."
Then the other Hopi man was translating, "If you want to know a task that we believe The Rainbow Warriors will accomplish, it is to rid the Black Mesa of the demon machines that the coal companies have put there. These are sacred lands for us and they are being destroyed for coal and the smoke in the sky that the coals brings."
Several Hopi were talking in the old tongue now all at once and the translator was trying to keep up with it. They were telling us about the strip mining. I felt I awe of their serious wisdom and their passion not for the money coal and uranium could bring, but for the safety and security of the children of our world.
Then the conversation changed tone, and now they were giving us instructions on Care of Sacred Tablets. A number of the old Hopi spoke, and they were telling us of their traditions, several of them speaking up in modern English.
"Don't take any photographs of it."
"Don't make any rubbings of it or draw a picture of the pictures on it."
"This way the only way to see what it looks like is to see it with your own eyes."
"Keep it wrapped up. Don't keep it open all the time on display. That way when you do open it up it is a special moment to pay attention to. Otherwise if it's open all the time o n your shelf, the people will forget and they will argue and do foolish things in front of it."
And with glad hands and many thanks we wrapped up our tablet and departed from Mina's house out under the now darkening sunset sky.
Things moved along quickly toward the first Rainbow Gathering. We went back up to Oregon and included in the booklet "The Rainbow Oracle," an account of the meeting with the Hopi, and an article about the coal company digs at Black Mesa. And rainbow people have been volunteers trying to keep destructive forces of profitgreed from damaging Native sacred lands ever since. We may not have made a lot of headway but we do keep trying.
In "The Rainbow Oracle" we also asked people to bring a stone from their own home and put these in a pile at the site of the July Fourth meditation, a kind of representation of the earth. And people did this and Skyblue carried our carved rock up Table Mountain and set it on the pile of stones that was heaped there. It sat there all day. But in the evening, with the cool Colorado wind beginning to blow she brought it back down the mountainside.
The rock began a long odyssey. It was carried and cared for by many different people. It went to the Native American in Minneapolis where a petroglyph expert pronounced it "at least a 100 years old." It was bought to a psychic reader who made tape recording about its connection to the great pyramids of mythic Lemuria. It was brought back to the Hopi lands and some there saw a bear claw sign on it and remarked that was like marker stones left behind during the bear clan migrations long ago. It was wrapped and rewrapped with each keeper adding perhaps another layer until five years later in 1977 it was brought to the New Mexico Rainbow Gathering along side the Gila River.
That year Grandfather David came to the Gathering. I remember him riding down the Gila Valley on a burro pack baskets loaded on behind him. One day, while the council was taking place, Jimmer took out the tablet and opened it on top of the blankets and cloths it had been wrapped in. Then Grandfather David came to speak in the council. He had someone draw out the symbols of the prophecy, rock the Hopi's prophecy rock, and slowly in the center of the tipi village under the midday sun, he retold the story of the Hopi people and the four worlds, full of detail and spoken slowly and carefully as from log memory. Then he was done and he returned to his lodge and the council continued. Later that same day, after dinner and dark, the drums started up, the fire threw sparks into the desert sky, and in one of those quiet places amid the drumming someone's voice said David would like to speak to the circle. So he came out from his lodge and lit by the evening Relight spoke to us again.
"It's not by accident that the words 'Hopi' and 'hippie' should alike. We are all people of peace, we are all working for the same Great Spirit. You cannot rely on the banks, or the corporations or the government. They will never respect you unless you hold territory. You must take back the Earth, peacefully, one piece at a time. Plant seeds, and water them, and make the Earth beautiful again."
From there the tablet was brought back to the farm in Oregon where it was first found. We kept it under wraps except for full moon celebrations or when someone came who expressed a desire to see it.
In 1978 we took it to the Gathering in Oregon, and there, on the sixth of July Harold and Jeannie suggested we bring it out and share its story. As each blanket and cloth was unfolded, revealing its own hidden shells or feathers or deadwork, people began to gather 'round, straight to get a view of this rock. At the outside of the crowd people were trying to tell people what was going on and to relay the parts of the story being told. It was almost too much, everyone wanting to a chance to se and a little pushing of the circle's outside meant people were stumbling on top of each other pressing in closer at the circle's center. Freedom said, y'all finish this story up fast before someone gets hurt." And finish it up we did, and the stone was re wrapped in all the stuff, and that was the last time I have seen it.
It went from the Oregon Gathering up and down the coast, and to Mexico where it was taken at the full moon to the top of the Jaguar pyramid it passed as we pass things among ourselves with love and delight and it went with Birdie to a bluegrass festival outside, I believe, of Lincoln, Nebraska, where the car and people she had a ride with left unannounced without knowing anything the wrapped bundle in their cars trunk.
That was 19 years ago. But this was no rock in a bag. This was an elaborate bundle, tied and containing something carved and beautiful and mysterious I do not believe that it has been "thrown away." I believe that it is something waiting to be refound.
Is there a Tablet that is somehow Our Tablet? Or, are we just trying to mimic other tribes who have a tablet, or several tablets or a lost tablet? And does this tablet have some meaning more than its mysterious carvings?
I can tell you what we do have. We have a social program that cares for our young, our weak, our sick, our old, and as best as we can for ourselves and each other. We have an evolving culture that cares about the Earth and all its inhabitants. We have a growing community that respects the land, the water, the sky.
And I know that when we live in conscious awareness of doing good for each other and the earth, that the signs are everywhere along the way, that omens spring up at each turn; that there are natural wonders and mythical symbols that appears as makers, as if too guide us, every day of our lives … but usually our eyes are closed to such things and our minds occupied with just getting by.
And the Hopi, corn from the clan in the big purple truck? Corn from the seed of that seed is alive and still being grown today.
Is the Lost Tablet of the Hippies ever going to be found? Does whoever has it know what it is? Perhaps someone reading this or hearing this story will come upon it and recognize it for what it is. Could it be brought back to the Gathering? And … what would we do then?
Garrick Beck/ Aqua Fria, New Mexico
In the winter of 1971 I was cutting firewood up at a farm outside of Eugene, Oregon. It was part of the Back to the Land movement as they called it a generation ago, when thousands of people -- young people mostly -- fled the cities for greener pastures at the edge of the backcountry, -- planting gardens, cutting firewood, building buildings with recycled materials, domes, yurts and living or at least trying to live, in some kind of communal harmony.
At the same time we already had become an information outpost of the Gathering -- letters being written, invitations being distributed, ideas being brought together in preparation for the first Rainbow Gathering now only a year and a half away.
People came looking for a community of people to be part of, looking for a group of people who wanted to touch the earth with their labor. And also looking for a place to freak freely, to abandon ship from the upheavals -- the marching in the streets or the marching away to war -- of the sixties. For draft dodgers heading to Canada we were a stop on the Underground Railroad. For runaways we were a secure unharmful spot offering food, and good advice. For the young local citizens and loggers we were a place to go party. For scientists or architects or botanists we were a place providing in-the-field examples of geometric architecture, organic farming, small scale logging, and solar technologies. We were experimenting, sometimes experimenting wildly, with herbal medicines, and very carefully with midwifery, meditation, yoga, acupressure chanting, and so on. It was a wonderful, bold time. And we knew that all over the country -- 5n the h533s 6f r4ra3 A0er5ca -- there were others like us, in both smaller and larger groups working on the very same problems and the same dreams.
Into this farm rolled a large deep-purple square-backed truck containing a small clan on their way north. They had been on the road trading. They said they didn't want to use any money so they had adopted the trading lifestyle. They had a truckful of good stuff Tools blankets books, toys, candles, rope, clothes, stuff we could use. It was fun to go to their big purple truck and trade.
As they left they gave us a pouch of Hopi corn seed. They said it was a gift really for the nice welcome they'd been given. And with the seed they gave us planting instructions for the traditional way to plant the corn.
A few months later spring sprang, the ground dried out, and we turned the soil I the lower field. First we planted the frost hardy greens, then the transplants from the cold frame greenhouses we'd built, followed a few weeks later by plantings of corn and beans.
We brought everyone together by blowing the conch shell. We talked about the way of planting where the man with a stick goes ahead, poking the holes and the woman follows behind planting the seeds, dropping them into the holes the man has made. But in the discussion seeking balance, people wanted to do it both ways with both men and women each taking turns with the sticks and the seeds.
It was beautiful. All done in silence. The corn pouch was passed with reverence for the life inside it. As we planted, the afternoon began to cloud over and a light rain started to fall. In the end we held hands in our OM circle as the clouds burst over us and wetted down the valley. The sun dipped under the clouds filling the forested hills with golden misty light and a rainbow rose up from the river and arced down -- I thought it was going to land on where we'd just planted the corn. But no, it touched instead on the godseye standing on the center of the garden. The whole scene was dazzling. The sun, the mist, the rainbow, the new planted deep brown earth, us apart of it all.
Then someone's small voice said, "Why don't we go up the hill to the meditation platform to take this all in"
Single file we went up the trail, a flute casting slow notes across the valley. As we get to the prayer platform overlooking the valley, someone notices a rock nestled in the decay of a giant cedar stump.
But it's only after we've sat that we look it over, passing the carved stone among us. We leave it setting in the stump as it was.
Over a joyful, noisy dinner, amid many other topics, the rock is mentioned. "Hey did anybody see that carved rock out by the prayer platform?"
Nobody had but those of us who'd just been there.
For most of the next year the stone sat where it was
The rock itself was carved on one side with images that were themselves made up of smaller images, figures and faces, and within those smaller signs, figures, designs, until smaller than that it was hard to tell where the carving left off and the natural pattern of the rock began.
More than 7 months later I left Oregon for the East Coast and holiday visiting. But along the route we made stops passing out invitations to the Gathering next July. The invitations were printed and posted, but wherever possible it was given by word of mouth, in coffee houses, yoga centers, community newspapers, laundromats, street corners, on campuses, at rock ' roll shows, places of worship … wherever, whenever. And my travelmates and myself were not the only ones out doing this. There were other carfulls traveling criss-cross the countryside meeting people and spreading the invitation
One set of travelers went through the American Southwest and then eastward and up the coast to where we met up. We planed a trip to Washington, D.C. to distribute invitations and we traded tales of where we'd been
One of their stops had been in the Hopi Lands where they'd heard the yearly ceremonial telling of the Hopi histories and prophecies
They spoke of the part of the story about the times yet to be, where people called the Warriors of the Rainbow would come and somehow set things right in the troubled world -- and they would come bearing a rock, a carved rock that would signal to the Hopi that these were the people of their prophecies.
A rock? A carved, inscribed-type rock? I recounted the tale of our corn planting and we made plans to go back to Oregon and bring the stone down to the Hopi for their examination. First I got on the phone to Kaushal and asked him to go get the rock and hold onto it, protect it.
Returning west, we found the tablet safe and dry, now wrapped up in a small white woven cloth and tied with a coiled cord.
We loaded up two cars and a van with fourteen of us and headed toward the southwest. Close to our destination we stopped at Jacques' place on a remote mesa. He'd been living there for years, acquainted with the Hopi and Navaho peoples.
"You gotta purify yourselves, make yourselves ready," he told us. And we followed his advice taking time to fast, bathe ourselves, meditate and wrap up our hair as a sign of respect.
Then we went early I the morning, to the Hopi village where Feather Knew there was a Kiva, a prayer space, that was open and where we could sit and meditate before going on. An older woman met us and explained that this Kiva used to be open but that too many people had come and abused the space so the Kiva wasn't open to the public anymore. On we went, guided by Feather and Jayson to Thomas Banyaca's house. He wasn't home.
Our next stop was David Monongye's house. Already the sun was starting to bake us. People were home there, and I and Rome and Barry went inside. The radio was blaring loud tinny music. A woman was feeding young children. An old woman sat still on a bench at the side of the room. There were buckets of fried chicken on the table. An old man sat eating. "Come in, c'mon in boys," said the man, gesturing toward us at the door. This was David.
And in we went. "What do you want. What brings you here?" He asked over the din of the radio and the children.
"We … we brought you a stone tablet which we found." I began, getting right to the point.
"You brought a what?" He said, trying to hear over the lunchtime noise.
For a moment the possible foolishness of this entire journey flashed thru my brain. "We brought you a stone tablet." I went on slowly and clearly this time, "which we found."
The younger woman's hand switched off the radio.
"Do you have it with you?" Asked David.
"Yes, it's outside in one of the vans."
"Well go and get it and bring it in."
Like a curtain rising on a whole different scene the place transformed. The food was swept off the table. The children ushered out another door to play. The old woman had lit a candle and was sitting by it at an altar in the corner when we returned inside with the wrapped up stone tablet.
"Open it up." David encouraged
We did, and he ran his fingers over it, almost more to be touching it, feeling it, than looking at it. "Well, how did you get this?" He wanted to know. And I recounted, in brief, the story I have told you here. Barry spoke about the planned Gathering that we were all working on, and Rome, as a Native American, spoke to David about the respect we young people had for the Native American ways.
David asked a few specific questions about where and when we got the rock. Then without further to-do, he wrapped it back up and getting up, said, "We'll just have to see who's here to take a look at it."
He went out and spoke with his neighbor, then told us they were going to round up some of the others, that he thought there were "enough of us here to have a good look together," and that we should go to the house he gave us directions to.
We followed the directions he'd given us, which took us back to the very same place, next to the Kiva, where we had been that morning.
It was Mina's house. She s head of the Hopi Bluebird Clan and she met us at the door, once again, and invited us inside. The entryway opened to a larger room and there were assembled a group of older Hopi. Seventeen I counted. I was nervous as could be. It was a humbling experience just standing there and feeling the combined weight of thousands of years of the tribal culture.
David motioned for us to come up closer and tell our tale. As we spoke, he translated into Hopi, and there was another man there who translated. Sometimes the translation process was simple, other times the Hopi would all speak among themselves in this wonder song-like language. David was encouraging us not to leave out details. Things that were small to us might be important to them.
We spoke also about the vision of this Gathering, and how this was the spiritual quest that had brought us together as a clan. They talked again for a bit among themselves, and then asked a series of questions: What were the colors of the godseye in the garden? How much corn did w plant? What direction was the tablet facing when we found it? How many people had handled it, carried it since? And so on.
In all this telling we were clear, very clear, that we made no claims whatever about what this tablet was or was not, only that all things considered it seemed that the right thing to do was to bring this stone to them.
At last,their glances turned to Mina. And she came forward and asked us -- her eyes as piercing as a great night bird's eyes in the dark of the desert -- she asked us to show them the rock. Without any further fuss I unwrapped it held it toward her.
She looked and spoke with clarity and to the point. "It is not the same color, it is not the same type of rock, nor the right shape to match the piece missing from the tablet that I have."
She turned now and was addressing not just we rainbows, but all the people in the room. "However," she went on, "when my father gave me that tablet, and left me his instructions he told me that this world is full of illusions and we must not let our eyes be fooled. He told e then, that in a time like this I should take the rock and place it near to the tablet itself to see edge to edge if the pieces fit."
"Can you give it to me?" She asked, and without a word I held the stone out to her.
She took the rock and moved thru the bunches of people toward the rear of the room and out a door at the back.
Perhaps ten minutes later she was back. When she spoke her quiet voice had a strength like the Grand Canyon. "It is as I thought, your rock is the wrong shape, color and size." She was shaking her head, "It does not fit as the missing piece of our tablet."
David took it from her and handed it back to us. "This is you tablet." He said as he passed it back to us.
I spoke, feeling honor at having been thoughtfully received at all by these real elders of a enduring tribe. "We are a very young tribe, like a grandchild tribe. Your are a very old tribe like a grandparent tribe. We need al the help and advice we can get from you … and if there is anything we could do for you, let us know and we will do what we can. At least we will try."
David again translated, and from the eager responses, it seemed there was a lot to be told to us. "It is clear," He began, "that you and we are working for the same Great Spirit. We all desire Peace in our lives, for our children and for everyone. Because this is what you are working for, we know that you are warriors of the rainbow, but whether your are the Warriors of the Rainbow that have been foretold well, that is another matter, but you are young and full of hope and there is much life stretching out in front of you."
Then the other Hopi man was translating, "If you want to know a task that we believe The Rainbow Warriors will accomplish, it is to rid the Black Mesa of the demon machines that the coal companies have put there. These are sacred lands for us and they are being destroyed for coal and the smoke in the sky that the coals brings."
Several Hopi were talking in the old tongue now all at once and the translator was trying to keep up with it. They were telling us about the strip mining. I felt I awe of their serious wisdom and their passion not for the money coal and uranium could bring, but for the safety and security of the children of our world.
Then the conversation changed tone, and now they were giving us instructions on Care of Sacred Tablets. A number of the old Hopi spoke, and they were telling us of their traditions, several of them speaking up in modern English.
"Don't take any photographs of it."
"Don't make any rubbings of it or draw a picture of the pictures on it."
"This way the only way to see what it looks like is to see it with your own eyes."
"Keep it wrapped up. Don't keep it open all the time on display. That way when you do open it up it is a special moment to pay attention to. Otherwise if it's open all the time o n your shelf, the people will forget and they will argue and do foolish things in front of it."
And with glad hands and many thanks we wrapped up our tablet and departed from Mina's house out under the now darkening sunset sky.
Things moved along quickly toward the first Rainbow Gathering. We went back up to Oregon and included in the booklet "The Rainbow Oracle," an account of the meeting with the Hopi, and an article about the coal company digs at Black Mesa. And rainbow people have been volunteers trying to keep destructive forces of profitgreed from damaging Native sacred lands ever since. We may not have made a lot of headway but we do keep trying.
In "The Rainbow Oracle" we also asked people to bring a stone from their own home and put these in a pile at the site of the July Fourth meditation, a kind of representation of the earth. And people did this and Skyblue carried our carved rock up Table Mountain and set it on the pile of stones that was heaped there. It sat there all day. But in the evening, with the cool Colorado wind beginning to blow she brought it back down the mountainside.
The rock began a long odyssey. It was carried and cared for by many different people. It went to the Native American in Minneapolis where a petroglyph expert pronounced it "at least a 100 years old." It was bought to a psychic reader who made tape recording about its connection to the great pyramids of mythic Lemuria. It was brought back to the Hopi lands and some there saw a bear claw sign on it and remarked that was like marker stones left behind during the bear clan migrations long ago. It was wrapped and rewrapped with each keeper adding perhaps another layer until five years later in 1977 it was brought to the New Mexico Rainbow Gathering along side the Gila River.
That year Grandfather David came to the Gathering. I remember him riding down the Gila Valley on a burro pack baskets loaded on behind him. One day, while the council was taking place, Jimmer took out the tablet and opened it on top of the blankets and cloths it had been wrapped in. Then Grandfather David came to speak in the council. He had someone draw out the symbols of the prophecy, rock the Hopi's prophecy rock, and slowly in the center of the tipi village under the midday sun, he retold the story of the Hopi people and the four worlds, full of detail and spoken slowly and carefully as from log memory. Then he was done and he returned to his lodge and the council continued. Later that same day, after dinner and dark, the drums started up, the fire threw sparks into the desert sky, and in one of those quiet places amid the drumming someone's voice said David would like to speak to the circle. So he came out from his lodge and lit by the evening Relight spoke to us again.
"It's not by accident that the words 'Hopi' and 'hippie' should alike. We are all people of peace, we are all working for the same Great Spirit. You cannot rely on the banks, or the corporations or the government. They will never respect you unless you hold territory. You must take back the Earth, peacefully, one piece at a time. Plant seeds, and water them, and make the Earth beautiful again."
From there the tablet was brought back to the farm in Oregon where it was first found. We kept it under wraps except for full moon celebrations or when someone came who expressed a desire to see it.
In 1978 we took it to the Gathering in Oregon, and there, on the sixth of July Harold and Jeannie suggested we bring it out and share its story. As each blanket and cloth was unfolded, revealing its own hidden shells or feathers or deadwork, people began to gather 'round, straight to get a view of this rock. At the outside of the crowd people were trying to tell people what was going on and to relay the parts of the story being told. It was almost too much, everyone wanting to a chance to se and a little pushing of the circle's outside meant people were stumbling on top of each other pressing in closer at the circle's center. Freedom said, y'all finish this story up fast before someone gets hurt." And finish it up we did, and the stone was re wrapped in all the stuff, and that was the last time I have seen it.
It went from the Oregon Gathering up and down the coast, and to Mexico where it was taken at the full moon to the top of the Jaguar pyramid it passed as we pass things among ourselves with love and delight and it went with Birdie to a bluegrass festival outside, I believe, of Lincoln, Nebraska, where the car and people she had a ride with left unannounced without knowing anything the wrapped bundle in their cars trunk.
That was 19 years ago. But this was no rock in a bag. This was an elaborate bundle, tied and containing something carved and beautiful and mysterious I do not believe that it has been "thrown away." I believe that it is something waiting to be refound.
Is there a Tablet that is somehow Our Tablet? Or, are we just trying to mimic other tribes who have a tablet, or several tablets or a lost tablet? And does this tablet have some meaning more than its mysterious carvings?
I can tell you what we do have. We have a social program that cares for our young, our weak, our sick, our old, and as best as we can for ourselves and each other. We have an evolving culture that cares about the Earth and all its inhabitants. We have a growing community that respects the land, the water, the sky.
And I know that when we live in conscious awareness of doing good for each other and the earth, that the signs are everywhere along the way, that omens spring up at each turn; that there are natural wonders and mythical symbols that appears as makers, as if too guide us, every day of our lives … but usually our eyes are closed to such things and our minds occupied with just getting by.
And the Hopi, corn from the clan in the big purple truck? Corn from the seed of that seed is alive and still being grown today.
Is the Lost Tablet of the Hippies ever going to be found? Does whoever has it know what it is? Perhaps someone reading this or hearing this story will come upon it and recognize it for what it is. Could it be brought back to the Gathering? And … what would we do then?
Garrick Beck/ Aqua Fria, New Mexico
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Thankgiving Council Planning Conference Call on November 9
The next call takes place on Sunday, November 9th at 8pm eastern standard time (5 PM pacific standard time)..
Dial-in Number: (712) 775-7031
Meeting ID: 143-204-630
Purpose: TO SELECT A TGC SITE FROM THE OPTIONS PRESENTED
Dial-in Number: (712) 775-7031
Meeting ID: 143-204-630
Purpose: TO SELECT A TGC SITE FROM THE OPTIONS PRESENTED
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)