" 500 YEARS OF GENOCIDE, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1492 - 1992." & The Trail of Tears ...
****PLEASE CLICK ON ARROW, BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR MUSIC AND LYRICS****
*******1 VIDEO AT TIME*******
****FROM FLOYD RED CROW WESTERNMAN, HOW AMERICA HAS COME AND IS DESTINED TO GO****
****FROM OREN R. LYONS, TALK'S ABOUT THE 7TH. GENERATION AND AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN RESPONSIBILITY****
*(PART 1,2,3,4,5,6.) INDIGENOUS NATIVE AMERICAN PPROPHECY (ELDER'S SPEAK)
" 500 YEARS OF GENOCIDE, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1492 - 1992." & The Trail of Tears ...
Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness
News Stories from the Journey
Thomas Indian School
Gowanda, NY, June 19, 2009
The 22ND event on the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness took place on the Seneca Nation in Gowanda, NY on June 19, 2009. The Seneca Nation issued a Proclamation marking the day. The Proclamation states, "Whereas White Bison, Inc. and the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness Movement recognize the devastating affect unresolved grief from historical events has had on the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health of our people... THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that I, Barry E. Snyder. Sr., President of the Seneca Nation of Indians, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2009 as Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness Day On Seneca Nation Territories."
THESE ARE TRUE FACTS, 250 MILLION INDIANS WERE KILLED WHEN THE EUROPEANS ARRIVED ON U.S. SOIL?
BY THE YEAR OF 1920 - 99% OF THE INDIANS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN WERE KILLED? THE U.S. GOVERNMENT KNEW ALL ABOUT THIS AND LET IT HAPPEN, THIS MASS KILLING IS MORE THAN THE HOLOCAUST, INNOCENT WOMEN, CHILDREN, GENOCIDE TOOK A FIRM GRIP ON INNOCENT LIVES...
RIGHT NOW THE SACRED HOOP OF 100 FEATHERS IS ON IT'S WAY TO WASHINGTON D.C. HOPEFULLY SO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES CAN RECOGNIZE THAT ALL OF THE HURT, SENSELESS HURT THAT WAS AFFECTED THEN AND NOW BY THE U.S. RUN BOARDING SCHOOLS THAT EFFECTED MANY OF THE PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD, " THE LAND OF THE FREE? " "WHERE IS THAT LAND? WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
THE SACRED HOOP IS ALL ABOUT BRINGING FORTH THIS EVIDENCE AND TAPE RECORDED EVIDENCE OF PEOPLE WHO TOOK A STAND FOR THEIR REMEMBERED TIMES IN ALL THE U.S. RUN BOARDING SCHOOLS...
JUST THINK, WOULD YOU WANT 1 OF YOUR CHILDREN TO BE LOCKED UP IN A DUNGEON, DARK, RATS, SCARED OUT OF THEIR MINDS, THAT THEY WERE BEING LOCKED UP AT 11 YEARS OLD? THAT'S ANOTHER FACT...
FROM WHITEBISON.ORG
Story of the Wellbriety Movement
White Bison has been an energetic and proud member and supporter of the Native sobriety movement since its own founding in 1988. Some of the learning products found on the product page of this website date back to the decade of the 1990s and the sobriety movement. But by the mid to late 1990's White Bison began to realize that most people wanted to find sobriety and recovery from alcohol and drugs, and then go on to live lives of wellness and wholeness rooted both in their own tribal cultures and in the mainstream world. It was then that the sobriety movement began to transition over into the Wellbriety Movement, which White Bison developed and champions today.
Wellbriety means to be both sober and well. It means to have come through recovery from chemical dependency and to be a recovered person who is going beyond survival to thriving in his or her life and in the life of the community. The Well part of Wellbriety means to live the healthy parts of the principles, laws and values of traditional culture. It means to heal from dysfunctional behaviors other than chemical dependency, as well as chemical dependency itself. This includes co dependency, ACOA behavior, domestic or family violence, gambling, and other shortcomings of character.
The Wellbriety movement was born with Hoop Journey I in 1999 and is carried through each succeeding Hoop Journey. During Hoop Journey I, the many Wellbriety Days presentations that took place at the Tribal colleges on the Hoop Journey showed what Wellbriety could be. Each local community shared what it meant to them. The birth of the Wellbriety Movement on Hoop Journey I was also the birth of the grassroots Firestarters program.
Story of the Sacred Hoop
The Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers
In Black Elk's vision, the Hoop of the World referred to the communities of Native people. In his vision he saw the Native people going through a long time of suffering during which the hoop was broken. An then he saw that the people would begin to heal. The Elders have told us that we have now entered the time of healing and the "coming together time." The Sacred Hoop is the symbol of that time of healing.
The Sacred Hoop of the Wellbriety Movement was born from a vision in 1994, not long after Miracle, the first white buffalo calf, was born on August 20 in Janesville, WI.
Mission of the Sacred Hoop: Healing Individuals, Families, Communities and Nations
The Hoop was built in a sweat lodge over a weekend in may of 1995. On the first day of summer that year, a multicultural Elders gathering was held in Janesville, WI to provide prayers for the Hoop and align its purpose to the coming healing time. The Elders placed the four gifts of Healing, Hope Unity and the Power to Forgive the Unforgivable into the Hoop. The first Sacred Hoop Journey began in the Spring of 1999.
Since the Sacred Hoop was blessed, it has traveled over 53,000 miles to Native American communities across the United States. Since 1999, there have been a number of Sacred Hoop Journeys. When the Sacred Hoop comes to a community, the people gather for ceremonies and talks about living a sober and healthy life that is balanced emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. many communities have decided to begin a process of learning and planning that includes the building of a vision of wellness. This is accomplished through the community development process offered by White Bison.
Chippewa artist and longtime Wellbriety supporter, Sam English created the official logo for the Sacred Hoop and the Wellbriety Movement.
I HAD THE HONOR TO GIVE THANKS AND PRAY AND TOUCH THE HOOP AFTER I WITNESSED DON COYHIS'S PRESENTATION, MY HEART WAS HEAVY, IT HURT, MY EYE'S WET WITH TEARS FOR ALL THE HURT, LISTENING TO ALL THE PEOPLE GET UP AND RECANT THEIR REMEMBRANCE OF THE THOMAS BOARDING SCHOOL IN GOWANDA, NEW YORK...
I TRULY WISH YOU WERE THERE, DON AND HIS CREW PUT TOGETHER ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING EVENTS IN MY LIFE, I ALSO HAD THE HONOR, TOO HELP SING WITH MY BROTHER AND SISTERS THE SONG.
"WALKING ON THE READ ROAD OF WELLBRIETY" IN BLACK ELKS LANGUAGE SIOUX LAKOTA...
I ASK FOR THOSE WHO READ THIS GO TO WHITEBISON.ORG AND SEE WHAT IT IS ABOUT, I AM JUST 1 PERSON OF THOUSANDS WHO CARE TO TRY AND HELP THIS CAUSE GET THE ATTENTION AND RESPECT IT DESERVES...
"I think the difference between this Journey and the other Hoop Journeys over the years is that this one is beyond just drug and alcohol recovery. We are going to touch thousands of people. I think it is rare in a lifetime that you ever get to participate in an idea whose time has come. Now we know that forgiveness is our hope––both short term, medium term and long term. It is the beginning of healing and wellbeing for Indian people. We now have a chance to break the cycle of missed opportunity and hopelessness our people have known. We know for sure that equal to love is forgiveness. Our freedom lies in that. I think it is time. I think the people are willing for it to happen. It's already happening. The whole system has a chance to heal now."
Don Coyhis, Mohican Nation
Founder and President of White Bison, Inc.
At the start of the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness, 2009
AMERICA, LET THIS BE OUR WAKE UP CALL, THAT THIS CAN NEVER, EVER HAPPEN AGAIN...
Fort Totten served American Indian policy from 1867 to 1959. Constructed as a military post, it became an Indian boarding school, Indian health care facility, and a reservation school.
On January 5th, 1891 the former post became the property of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The post served as an Indian boarding school until 1959. Academic and vocational training prepared Indian youth for life off the reservation. Enrollment was forced onto the indians by the U.S. Goverment.
The Trail of Tears
The common phrase Trail of Tears refers to the forced relocation of the Cherokee Native American tribe to the Western United States in 1838-39, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4,000 Cherokee Indians. In the Cherokee language, the event is called Nunna daul Isunyi - "the Trail Where We Cried."
The Trail of Tears resulted from the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota, an agreement signed under the provisions of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which exchanged Native American land in the East for lands west of the Mississippi River.
The Treaty of New Echota was signed by a small faction of prominent Cherokees, but was never accepted by the elected tribal leadership or the majority of the Cherokee people. Nevertheless, the treaty was enforced by President Martin Van Buren, who sent federal troops to round up about 17,000 Cherokees in camps before being sent to the west. Most of the deaths occurred from disease in these camps. After the initial round up, the U.S. military played a limited role in the journey itself, with the Cherokee Nation taking over supervision of most of the emigration.
The Cherokees were not the only Native Americans forced to emigrate during this era, and so the phrase "Trail of Tears" is sometimes used to refer to similar events endured by other Indian peoples, especially among the "Five Civilized Tribes." In fact, the phrase "Trail of Tears" may have originated as a description of the removal of the Choctaw nation.
These tensions between Georgia and the Cherokee Nation were brought to a crisis by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia in 1829, resulting in the first gold rush in U.S. history. Hopeful gold speculators began trespassing on Cherokee lands, and pressure began to mount on the Georgia government to fulfill the promises of the Compact of 1802.
When Georgia moved to extend state laws over Cherokee tribal lands in 1830, the matter went to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia (1831), the Marshall court ruled that the Cherokees were not a sovereign and independent nation, and therefore refused to hear the case. However, in Worcester vs. State of Georgia (1832), the Court ruled that Georgia could not impose laws in Cherokee territory, since only the national government - not state governments - had authority in Indian affairs.
President Andrew Jackson has often been quoted as defying the Supreme Court with the words: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" Jackson probably never said this, but he was fully committed to the policy of Indian removal. Jackson had no desire to use the power of the national government to protect the Cherokees from Georgia, since he was already entangled with states' rights issues in what became known as the nullification crisis. With the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the U.S. Congress had given Jackson authority to negotiate removal treaties, exchanging Indian land in the East for land west of the Mississippi River. Jackson used the dispute with Georgia to put pressure on the Cherokees to sign a removal treaty.
With the landslide reelection of Andrew Jackson in 1832, some of the most strident Cherokee opponents of removal began to rethink their positions. Led by Major Ridge, his son John Ridge and nephews Elias Boudinot and Stand Watie, they became known as the "Ridge Party", or the "Treaty Party".
Major Ridge
The Ridge Party believed that it was in the best interest of the Cherokees to get favorable terms from the U.S. government, before squatters, state governments, and violence made matters worse. John Ridge began unauthorized talks with the Jackson administration in the late 1820s. Meanwhile, in anticipation of the Cherokee removal, the state of Georgia began holding lotteries in order to divide up the Cherokee tribal lands among white Georgians.
Chief John Ross
However, elected principal Chief John Ross and the majority of the Cherokee people remained adamantly opposed to removal. Political maneuvering began: Chief Ross cancelled the tribal elections in 1832, the Council impeached the Ridges, and a member of the Ridge Party was murdered. The Ridges responded by eventually forming their own council, representing only a fraction of the Cherokee people.
Both the Ross government and the Ridge Party sent independent delegations to Washington.In 1835, Jackson appointed the Reverend John F. Schermerhorn as a treaty commissioner. The U.S. government proposed to pay the Cherokee Nation 4.5 million dollars (among other considerations) to remove. These terms were rejected in October 1835 by the Cherokee Nation council. Chief Ross, attempting to bridge the gap between his administration and the Ridge Party, traveled to Washington with John Ridge to open new negotiations, but they were turned away and told to deal with Schermerhorn.
Meanwhile, Schermerhorn organized a meeting with the pro-removal council members at New Echota. Only five hundred Cherokees (out of thousands) responded to the summons, and on December 30, 1835, twenty-one proponents of Cherokee removal, among them Major Ridge and Elias Boudinot, signed or left "X" marks on the Treaty of New Echota. John Ridge and Stand Watie signed the treaty when it was brought to Washington. Chief Ross, as expected, refused.
The signatories were violating a Cherokee Nation law drafted by John Ridge (passed in 1829) which had made it a crime to sign away Cherokee lands, the punishment for which was death.Not a single official of the Cherokee Council signed the document. This treaty gave up all the Cherokee land east of the Mississippi. Despite the protests by the Cherokee National Council and principal Chief Ross that the document was a fraud, Congress ratified the treaty on May 23, 1836, by just one vote.
A number of Cherokees (including the Ridge party) left for the West at this time, joining those who had already emigrated. By the end of 1836, more than 6,000 Cherokees had moved to the West. More than 16,000 remained, however, and the terms of the treaty gave them two years to leave.
The protests against the Treaty of New Echota continued. In the spring of 1838, Chief Ross presented a petition with more than 15,000 Cherokee signatures, asking Congress to invalidate the treaty. Many white Americans were also outraged by the dubious legality of the treaty, and called on the government not to force the Cherokees to move. For example, on April 23, 1838, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a letter to Jackson's successor, President Martin Van Buren, urging him not to inflict "so vast an outrage upon the Cherokee Nation."
Nevertheless, as the May 23, 1838 deadline for voluntary removal approached, President Van Buren assigned General Winfield Scott to head the forcible removal operation. He arrived at New Echota on May 17, 1838, in command of about 7,000 soldiers.
Soldiers began rounding up Cherokees in Georgia on 26 May 1838; ten days later operations began in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama. About 17,000 Cherokees - along with approximately 2,000 black slaves owned by wealthy Cherokees - were removed at gunpoint from their homes over three weeks and gathered together in camps, often with only the clothes on their backs.
They were then transferred to departure points at Ross's Landing (Chattanooga, Tennessee) and Gunter's Landing (Guntersville, Alabama) on the Tennessee River, and at the Cherokee Agency on the Hiwassee River (Calhoun, Tennessee). From there, they were sent to the Indian Territory, mostly travelling on foot, or by some combination of horse, wagon, and boat, a distance of around 1,200 miles along one of three routes.
The camps were plagued by dysentery and other illnesses, which led to many deaths. After three groups had been sent on the trail, a group of Cherokees petitioned General Scott for a delay until cooler weather made the journey less hazardous. This was granted, and meanwhile Chief Ross, finally accepting defeat, managed to have the remainder of the removal turned over to the supervision of the Cherokee Council.
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