She noticed that his blood was puddled on the floor. I watched her put her right hand down on the hard wooden floor, wet with his blood, and then deliberately rub her hand around on the little, red puddle. She paused and then rubbed both hands together. She went to the drum and rubbed the blood off her hands and onto the drum skin.
She noticed that his blood was puddled on the floor. I watched her put her right hand down on the hard wooden floor, wet with his blood, and then deliberately rub her hand around on the little, red puddle. She paused and then rubbed both hands together. She went to the drum and rubbed the blood off her hands and onto the drum skin.
.
I went to see the Grandmother Drum for Peace event, with my wife, and a friend.
The location was a public school gymnasium in Weymouth on April 4, 2008, 7:00 – 10:00 PM, at Chapman Middle School 1051 Commercial St., East Weymouth, Massachusetts . I found information about the drum at http://www.drummingforpeace.org/
Drum? An amazing drum it was. We are talking about a hypnotic sound ritual from a 7 foot diameter wooden drum that weighs hundreds of pounds, a true giant in the world of drums.
The audience paid just inside the door. The cashiers at the door wrapped a yellow tyvek band around the wrist of each person that paid.
Once inside the attendees walked to the far side of the gymnasium, in the corner near the wall with the Jaguar symbol.. The event took place in a corner of the gym, using only one set of seats, and about one quarter of the floor space. The tone was calm. Many people in the audience brought a drum or two with them. Some people bought drums from a table near the entrance. It was a very relaxed scene, lots of children and grandmothers, and some men, in a mostly feminine audience of about 150 people. Definitely a family-and-friends type of audience. People were passing around rattles, brightly colored plastic eggs containing garden seeds and dried corn. Children were shaking them, experimenting with the sounds.
There had been advertising on a local radio station, WATD-FM. Some internet publicity preceded the event also. On a web page at youtube.com, I discovered this information: “White Eagle Medicine Woman (Suraj Holzwarth) is the director and Drum Keeper of the International GrandMother Drum Peace Project. She is an international renowned shaman, seer and performance artist of Seneca and Celtic descent. Her CDs include Journey of the Heart and songlines of the Soul. She is the director and co-producer of the newly released documentary film Grandmother Drum: Awakening the Global Heart. She is also the founder and director of The Whirling Rainbow Foundation and the Rainbow Fire Dream Institute in Palmer, Alaska.” She performed in a beautiful white costume, and, in one part of the prayerperformance, posed in a beautiful, white eagle mask. She was accompanied by a young woman who sang, and also danced. The name of the dancer/singer was announced, but I didn’t write it down, so I’m unable to report that. I do have some pictures in my cell phone, which are low quality shot from the top bleacher seat. There were at least two photographers at the event with good cameras.
Everything was spiritual and calm, people singing, kids shaking plastic rattles, the picture of peace and harmony – until the end of the intermission.
I was standing about 8 feet from the Grandmother Peace Drum on the opposite side from White Eagle Medicine Woman. I was in the “rattle” section, holding 2 maracas that my friend brought. Between my position and Suraj Holzwarth stood the massive drum, with corn meal sprinkled on it, and also scattered on the floor.
When she started talking again, she was interrupted by a group of 6 young people, who had marched quickly into the middle of the floor next to the drum, confronted her, and started shouting. Events happened fast so I’m not sure of the precision of my memory; there were 3 men and 3 women. I guessed their ages as between 20 and 40, certainly younger than most of the adults in the room. They claimed to be Wampanoag, and their leader, the foremost of them, demanded to know who gave this lady (self-admittedly only a part-blood Seneca) permission to be here? And they were angry, shouting because they were offended by this “mockery of their sacred rituals.” They specifically didn’t like the sale of tickets to a Sacred Ritual.
He shouted, “What if someone was making a mockery of a Christian ceremony?” Bam!
The leader of the Wampanoag protesters had marched in carrying a substantial, thick, walking stick; to emphasize each of his points, he began slamming the stick down onto the gymnasium floor. Bam! Bam! Bam! White Eagle Medicine Woman had a bigger ceremonial stick, with a black rubber cap at the bottom, but she was not using it. However, he used his with enthusiasm.
“Who ARE you?” Bam!
“Who gave you permission to be here and do this?” Bam!
“Mockery!” Bam!
Men in the audience started moving inward, towards the action; women and kids began backing up, moving away, their faces showing that they were uncomfortable. Most of the really young children were oblivious, not understanding the confrontation. A few children, however, were grasping it and responding fearfully.
Meanwhile, White Eagle Medicine Woman was not escalating, acting reasonably, plainly wanting them to sit down and talk. Her walk-in opponents, however, didn’t want any of that reasonable stuff. A bunch of people standing around became frightened and frustrated, so they start banging furiously on drums and shaking the rattles that they brought, originally intending to drum for peace. That hope was abandoned; they were drumming to drown out the shouting and the angry words. The volume level went through the roof.
The only cop on duty was a middle-aged woman, about 64 inches tall by my estimate. At the explosion of shouting and drumming, she came running out of the back room where she’d been hanging out with someone. If she had been at the front entrance, perhaps this story would be different. She ran directly to the young men and got in their faces, which provoked an immediate, further escalation of shouting and waving of arms. I could see that the leader of the Wampanoag protesters had veins standing out on his temples. He was visibly enraged. The guy behind him wore a tee-shirt, with the arms torn off, and the words “Homeland Security” silk-screened in large letters on the chest. That was a wry comment on current American politics, viewed through the eyes of a Native American. The male protesters were not in ceremonial clothing. They were in street clothes.
The cop and the chief protester were suddenly engaged physically, when he decided to try to destroy the 7 foot wide buffalo skin drum head. Whack, whack, whack! He gave 3 hard strikes with the stick he carried. Suddenly, the policewoman and he were wrestling, shoving, grappling. They came around the drum towards me, with him putting a head lock on her. Then their positions were reversed, she was attacking him. Nearby men were reaching in, to impede her opponent. I saw that she had a device in her right hand, not a gun. They were struggling right in front of me, literally three or four feet away. I could see them clearly.
I heard myself shouting reflexively at him, at the top of my voice, “What are you doing????”
He turned and saw the pepper spray device aimed at him and he put out his left arm to stop it. Her hand with the pepper spray in it wobbled around in a circle, spraying people standing close by. Suddenly, I was tasting pepper, my lips were burning and I exhaled hard, instinctively, to keep that stuff out of my lungs. I backed up, putting my hands up in front of me. At that point the protester was down but kicking. Men were grabbing him. I saw her right hand come around and spray directly at his face from above. He twisted his head avoiding it, but most of the liquid hit him on the cheek and neck. I saw it glistening, dripping on his skin. I stepped further back, moving away from the biting smell, looking around for my wife. I began thinking about how we could leave the building safely after this nasty turn of events.
Having stepped back, looking for the exit, I saw that some policemen had run into the gymnasium. They had Mr. Homeland Security face down on the floor between the drum and the left-most exit door. The young Wampanoag women were shouting at those policemen. The women protesters were not striking out, only shouting. The police had physical control of the protesters at this point.
White Eagle Medicine Woman came over to the spot on the gym floor near me where the policewoman had subdued her opponent. White Eagle Medicine Woman knelt down in front of him and tried to talk to him. There was a lot of noise, so I guess that very little communication, if any, happened. The police picked him up and started force walking him towards the exit doors.
She noticed that his blood was on the floor. I watched her put her right hand down on the hard wooden floor, wet with his blood, and then deliberately rub her right hand around on the little red puddle. Then she paused and rubbed both hands together. She went to the drum and rubbed the blood off her hands and onto the drum skin. Her actions were eerily calm, slow and deliberate, in great contrast to the commotion and noise around us. She was not speaking.
The police woman got everyone’s attention by shouting loudly, no microphone needed. She said that if there was anyone here in the gym that was unwelcome, they should leave now. Her emphasis plainly said that greater police response would have been forthcoming against anyone silly enough to take violent actions.
My wife and I walked over to the far left corner where my friend was standing with the PA sound man, Ken. We talked a little bit about leaving. Before we could get it together to do that, everyone in the audience was making a big circle on the floor, holding hands. The drum was then surrounded, in the center of a fifty foot wide circle of about one hundred silent people, both adults and children.
White Eagle Medicine Woman started talking, using the melee as a teaching opportunity. I found myself disagreeing with some of what she said, but everyone in the gym was listening intently. She said that we were witnessing the pain of the Wampanoag, and that it’s not about us. They – Indians – don’t hate us. But the turn of events showed how deep is the suffering of the Native Americans, especially those that are looking backwards “seven generations.” She said that the night’s events were about them expressing pain and frustration that had its roots in the horrible history that American Indians endured. She said that she had been challenged before, more than once, by medicine men and chiefs who don’t view her drum, and her rituals as authentic. She talked about being confronted by an aborigine fighter in Australia (I’m not making this up). She said that she had been “incested from age two to age five.” Because of that experience, she had been an angry person herself for a long time. She used to be a “flaming lesbian feminist” – her words. She said that we – all of us – must stop looking back at all the damage done historically.
She said it is now time for all of us to recognize that we are all one people, and we need concentrate on Peace. She said the 1000 year period of peace that had been prophesied is starting now. She said we need to honor and support women and also make sure that no child is ever hurt. She says we’ve been breaking those 2 basic rules, causing much needless human suffering.
Then, White Eagle Medicine Woman asked one of her “sisters” to talk, so Ken’s mike ended up in the hands of one of the other Indian ladies that had been there all night. She talked a lot, making a sort of weak apology for the behavior of the protesters (now long gone, having all been removed by the police team). She asked us to view the protestor’s behavior in the context of their life experience. I found myself listening without sympathy. My lips were stinging; the skin above my lips was stinging. I left and went into the men’s room and attempted to wash my face with soap and water. Unfortunately, that did not work. The stinging sensation spread around my mouth. What I didn’t realize was that the pepper spray was on the skin of my right hand and I’d been smearing it around on my face. Yuck.
When we got home, all my clothes had to go in the washing machine. They smelled like pepper spray. I showered and washed up thoroughly. Then my wife noticed that she had a bruise in the corner of her left eye, and it was puffy. It did not progress, but we were somewhat worried. We speculated that she may have been struck by a small chunk of wood flying away from the clubbing of the drum.
The three of us had a lively discussion on the way home. That’s a separate story for another day.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
Thanks for reading
Jay Fulton
Written April 4th and 5th, 2008
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| Great Sandy Bottom Pond Visit this group |
Tags: American Indian, Cultural Conflict, Grandmother Drum, Magic, Massachusetts, Native American, news, Pepper Spray, Prayer, Prayer Performance, protest, Protesters, Religion, Wampanoag, Weymouth Police
perspectives 
April 7, 2008 at 12:02 pm |
I am Native American. Please, Think how you would feel if someone made a mockery of your culture and religion for money.
What she is doing is not only against our spirituality; we do not sell our religion which is what she is portraying, (and you paid for!) it is against the Treaties signed by the government, which will not enforce and actively breaks, check this out for yourself.
If you contact the Unitarian Universalist Church in Chatanooga Tennessee (where she was last month) they will tell you she is not of Seneca descent, she told them she was Jewish and Irish.
Check with Gary Harrison, the Chief of the Chickaloons in Alaska where she supposedly had the drum blessed and he will tell you she is a “Fanatical Flim Flam Artist out to fleece the public”.
Check with the Seneca’s in New York and Canada and they will tell you they have no record of her or her purported ancestry on their rolls.
All this information is available on the web.
Again I repeat, Think how you would feel if someone made a mockery of your culture and religion for money.
Then you will understand the ire these young people felt, forcing them to stand and be arrested to protect their heritage.
Thank you for the opportunity to shed some light on what is happening to a people who traditionally have welcomed others with open arms, this is the traditional way of the native american; but do not make us into a Bufalo Bill Cody Wild West show and continue to exploit our culture heritage and spirituality/religion.
Sincerely, Helen Kancelrez
April 7, 2008 at 3:31 pm |
Dear Helen,
Thank you for writing. I am listening. Thank you especially for offering new information that can be checked and verified. You are the most valuable of correspondents, namely someone who will speak her mind.
Please do not misread me! I am neither in her favor, nor against her. would you be kind enough to elaborate some more? I’ll open up the blog for comments without having to be checked first, ok? I am a thoughtful person who reads widely. I have no strong religious belief of any kind, nor any agenda to attack or promote any religion, or culture.
My questions for you is this: Does the existence of a mockery authorize violence during a protest?
I think a protest is appropriate, whenever someone feels strongly about a cultural point. Someone I love was hurt at this event; so that makes me wonder where are the boundaries of his protest. I am curious to hear you out. Perhaps others will join this discussion.
I went to the Weymouth Police station today to see what public information I could read. They told me that this case will be prosecuted, so it was not appropriate for me to get more information. So that avenue was closed to me.
Do you know the protesters?
Thank again,
Jay
April 7, 2008 at 4:38 pm |
No, I do not know the protesters, nor do I personally agree with violence at a protest, violence is generally counter productive during a protest. I know for a fact I can do more damage with my mouth than with my body. A well spoken protest can be a very moving engagement, and cause strong sympathies from others.
I understood fully by your presentation of the facts as you perceived them to be non biased; I felt that some perspective needed to be heard from the point of view of the young people.
We are all for peace and healing of the earth, as a matter of fact I am participating in the Longest Walk which is happening as we speak, you may be interested in looking it up also. http://www.longestwalk.org
My brother in law is a certified healer (spiritual leader/medicine man/shaman/leader in the Native American Church). I have many friends who heal using traditional medicines including one of my biological brothers. These people are healers using true traditional culture and medicines that are not for sale.
I fel this is the point the young man was actually trying to make. You even said ” They specifically didn’t like the sale of tickets to a Sacred Ritual.” He may have let his emotions get the better of him and that is always a dangerous thing. Our culture feels if you didn’t pay for it you should not charge for it. Like most religions when you experience ours, you may make a donation to the “shaman” if you are so inclined, although this is NOT mandatory and is done on a voluntary basis. You were charged a set amount with no chance to recind your “donation” to her 501-c-3 organization. Again look on the web, she claims Whirling Rainbow is non-profit. You will find on the web, she charged the organization that brought her to Weymouth $2500.00 or 60% of the door whichever was greater, additionally all profits from the sale of the drums and rattles went to her. We do NOT sell our sacred drums, nor pipes or feathers, etc. The sale of any sacred item is DEFINITELY never done by a shaman. They would fear the wrath of the ancestors. This is the mockery of which the young man spoke. She claims she is a “shaman” and yet openly sells our traditions and sacred items.
Also the Wampanog have been jailed, beaten, killed , etc. since before the Mayflower, simply because the North East coast is their traditional home. Yes this would cause a certain amount of animosity especially when they see the culture being misrepresented.
I look forward to further discussion with you.
P.S. You know she has several websites available. If you would like some of the contact names and site I mentioned just ask.
April 7, 2008 at 4:56 pm |
Jay:
Sorry, I just saw the mistake in my email address, it is now corrected.
April 8, 2008 at 12:57 am |
Jay, I must thank you for this really honest report, and all the time you have taken to make this as full a report as possible. You have helped immensely.
First, let me say this. If this woman (Rachel Holzwarth, AKA Suraj Holzwarth, AKA White Eagle medicine Woman) was aware, as she reported to you, that these demonstrations and blatant objections to her prayerformances would continue, as they had in the past (and obviously, since she told you this ,there was no reason to believe otherwise), then, she was responsible for any damages or injuries which occurred.
(This statement has nothing to do with Indians or non-indians,..any promoter of any venue, who is aware that his promoted event may cause rowdiness, damaging or aggressive behavior – such as a wild music concert- the promoter is expected to have retained adequate security personnel to control situations. ) Her admission that this is apparently a common occurrence tells me that she was remiss in 1. Not informing her audience of the inherent danger, and 2. She was negligent in retaining adequate personnel as guards to protect her audience.
Next, as I stated, her real name is Rachel Holzwarth. She charges exorbitant fees for something we are NOT ALLOWED to charge for. When we hear Creator speak, we are not charged for his messages. Therefore, we cannot charge, anymore than a catholic priest would charge to hear confessions or to pray for someone’s welfare or to read the Bible to people. It’s just not done. In fact, it’s a really big no-no.
Native life is built on sharing and giving. We have gifts to give, and we receive gifts, but we don’t pay and don’t charge each other for traditional things and needs. These are “gifted”. If I want to see a medicine man/healer and go to a sweat, I will bring him tobacco, or a chicken, or a blanket, or a bicycle,..but I wouldn’t offer him money,..as that would be an insult.
I am not saying that we never deal with money,..we have bills like everyone else, and the gas company doesn’t take chickens in lieu of dollars, but we NEVER EVER use cash for ceremony. NEVER!
And if you want to come to ceremony, you are welcome, as long as you understand that we are very serious about our ceremonies, and that you’d better not try to use money! We don’t take money, and more often, trade nothing but a little snub of tobacco as an offering. I’ll bet you have more of value to us in your yard than in your bank account. Bring a basket of dried cedar, or a bunch of tied and hung sage, and we would jump for joy!
The problem we are having with this woman is, she is using our ceremonies to fill her pockets. She is dressing in our traditional regalia, misusing feathers, misusing the sacred medicines, misguiding people who really want to know about native beliefs, and taking huge amounts of money for it!
She has made up her own set of “Indian ” beliefs and turned it into her own religion, but pretends to have heard it through her Seneca ancestors.
What she is babbling about is not Native American. She believes she spoke to an entity named Metatron for 13 weeks in her sleep, who told her to do this. That’s all New-age stuff, but since she tried for several years at her Alaskan Wilderness Women’s Foundation to make money from the New-Agers and failed, she decided to turn into an indian since it apparently sells better.
On top of that, it would appear that she is defrauding the taxman, as she has a non-profit status as a religion, but asks that checks be sent in the name of the Alaskan Wilderness Women Foundation, rather than the Whirling Rainbow for which she holds this non-profit status.
In addition, I myself, used to live in Palmer, Alaska, and have many native friends there. She was basically ignored by them, as she kept trying to get them to “bless” her , and kept pushing herself on them, in her attempts to “brand” herself as this “White Eagle Medicine Woman”. They wanted no part of her shenanigans.
Now, here’s why we’re so angry.
We do not like the idea of native or non-native people paying ANYTHING for a ticket to view or be a part of a spiritual/healing activity. This is just not how we do it, nor will we ever do this. We will charge no more than the Creator or Spirit charged us for the inspiration. we could not put an actual dollar amount on it, because you cannot charge for something that is priceless. You can only show thanks.
And if that person, who is charging a fee, is making it up, or playing mix and match with a bunch of new-age stuff, and then wearing our traditional regalia to further mislead the inexperienced to be deluded into thinking this is the “real McCoy” native american medicine/religion, and because this is a lie, also misusing our sacred medicine plants (Sage/cedar/tobacco/sweetgrass) to compund the ruse, and misusing sacred feathers in the same fashion, then, it is not so much a mockery as it is an actual act of FRAUD, and should be deemed so, with the criminal charges one would expect if a person was caught impersonating a priest, or a psychiatrist.
When I was reading the part where she turned the events into a lesson, I was really upset. Again, she is making things up to suit her fraud. But, when you wrote that she had said she was “Incested” I realized that she apparently needs professional help. Unless, of course, that was just more malarkey to make you feel for her lonely mission.
She has 5 to 7 people in her entourage (or so she claims in her price list) so, I would wonder where all of these people were at the time of this occurence. Have they abandoned her in the face of continual objections?
Jay, Please, please, please, bring your family and friends to a pow-wow. I know a lot of non-natives think they aren’t welcome, which is miles from true. Get some frybread, or a buffalo burger, or corn soup, and listen to the opening prayers, and watch what we really do to have fun. Hear how we talk to the Creator. When they announce an “All-nations” dance, get up and dance! If you don’t know how, just ask someone, it will take one second! We LOVE to get non-natives up dancing with us! And if you hang around long enough, we’ll feed you. If you dance, we’ll give you something at the “giveaway”. We might give you something , anyway! We do that a lot. We love to see happy faces.
And if you want to find out about our ceremonies, or go to a sweat, or know why we smudge, …just ask somebody!
You don’t have to have one drop of native blood to attend or to dance at a powwow.
But, to tell people you’re native, dress up as a traditional native, and try to sell people our beliefs or something made up and sold as our beliefs is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Then, to use our outrage to pretend to know what is in our hearts, is ridiculous. Did she suffer any of these things? No! The issue is about being a fraud and selling some cockamamie fake made-up religious exercise saying it’s from her traditional Seneca roots!
If you want to find out what more people think of this woman, just google Whirling Rainbow or White Eagle Medicine Woman along with the word fraud or scam.
As I said, I believe she, herself, is both responsible for, and feeds on/utilizes to her advantage, the objections and loud reactions she gets at her “prayerformances” from Native Americans. And, I believe that she should be charged in this instance with inciting the behavior that you witnessed, knowing it would happen, and taking no measures to ensure that her auduence was both aware of the chance of this happening, and protected to some degree from the actual interruption of the event.
I am sorry that you were pepper-sprayed, and I am very sorry that your wife was hurt, especially so close to her eye, yet, had this not happened to you,(in particular, because many/most people would not have put this into a blog) we would not have had a first-hand report of the events as they happened, and I do truly (and, I mean this) appreciate the time you took to write this out.
I am absolutely positive that the Native objectors had no intention of causing you or any member of the audience, or Mz. Holzwarth herself, any physical harm. We simply want this farce to be stopped, somehow, and if you understand that natives revere the big drum as a “Grandfather ” (not a grandmother), and that the big drums were only for the men to use (Women are too powerful beings to touch the big drum, unless it is in private-ish circumstances or, if the men are all gone-as in on a hunting party), then you might get why he brought his war-stick down on the skin. As a male, he can hit the skin. As a female, she should NOT be, and if she had ‘native roots’ she would know this. Now, I know from a non-native perspective, that sounds like a sexist belief, but that is the tradition, and we native women understand why.
Jay, if you are interested in Native American people or ceremony and traditional stuff, please email me, with your mailing address, and I’ll send you some booklets we have here about powwows and traditional beliefs.
We generally don’t keep our beliefs and ceremonies a secret, but we do always keep them SACRED.
April 8, 2008 at 4:22 am |
Judy, Thank you. It seems significant to me that the first responses were so….. articulate and detailed. I appreciated hearing your insights about the emotional context and the background that creates that context.
As a side note, I did hear back from Chattanooga UUA, and my contact there said that she had announced her ancestry as Jewish, Irish and others. He also said that provided the sound on a Saturday and the event in Chattanooga was uneventful and trouble-free. His information confirms Helen’s suspicion that the story line of Suraj/Rachel changes somewhat over time, or that it’s sufficiently complex that observers have a hard time remembering exactly what she said.
I am amazed at the quality of responses here. They are so much better than the sniping and sarcasm I saw on youtube.
April 8, 2008 at 11:24 am |
Jay and Judy:
Judy Thank You, you did an excellent job of explaining our traditions, sentiments and culture. Jay, Thank You for checking the references. It shows your desire to understand the truth and search for the reason and logic. Maybe someone should give this information to the prosecutor in your area so they will understand the raping of the native traditions that caused the young people to be so irate. Judy is right, you should come to a Traditional Pow Wow and learn first hand about our culture. I would recommend you go to a Traditional Pow Wow to experience the true spirituality at its fullest. Contest and other Pow Wows do fully exemplify who and what our culture and traditions really are. If you want to know where some are in your area just email me.
Thank you!
Helen
April 8, 2008 at 7:17 pm |
wow jay i got pepper sprayed too
and cuffed and arrested
im sorry my actions may have caused you harm, it was not my intention to do harm to any human being that night, it was my intention to take or break that drum. for us when a drum is treated wrong it is to be taken away from those who have allowed it to be mistreated, especially if the caretaker of that drum is the one doing wrong by the drum. ive heard of a drum taken away from its group for singing a special cerimonial song casually outside of the cerimony it was intended for. helen and judy have done well to present the substance of my concerns so i wont go on and on.
this should tell you something as well about the validity of my concerns, when a strangers can relay a common understanding from a common world veiw.
April 8, 2008 at 7:38 pm |
oh and hellen
we wanted a chance to speak there was seven of us i was bairly finished with what i had to say when the officer was in my face pushing me and calling for the patty wagon, i knew i was going to jail, the six others had no opportunity to speak there piece.
the time lapsed between walking in and being walked out was 5 min tops
thing certainly could have gone better
some things we should have done different
maybe a more experienced officer would have done things different and tried to diffuse the situation instead of escalating it
i hope to see you in dc june 11th
with alot less fireworks
April 8, 2008 at 7:39 pm |
Thank you, Hartman, for expressing that. What happened to me was nothing, compared to what you and others experienced. This story has been an eye-opener for me, that’s for sure. You are forward, not shy and not holding back. I am concerned for the future however, because the conflict was not resolved, just moved on down the road. What do you take away/learn from the night’s events?
April 8, 2008 at 7:51 pm |
to learn
better planning
afterwards the idea of joining elbows and surrounding the drum came up …… hindsight is 20/20 i guess
i dont know what else will happen with grandmother drum, but i hope she will never return to wampanoag country, if so ive done my part
April 9, 2008 at 8:17 am |
Hello to all,
I was sent this blog and I am saddened as well as elated at the events that happened here. I am the president and co-founder of the indian center here in the Great Lakes area and have recently had the chance to have the Grandmother Drum medicine show shut down in all of Ohio. She currently has dates scheduled in the Detroit area where THEY are planning a protest as well. Our goal was to let these people no they are not welcome here and that a “peaceful” protest would be set in motion had the events went on as planned. Fortunatly for all, they were cancelled.
Jay, I am with the rest here in saying that I am sure that it was not intended to go down the way it did, and I can assure you that the way native people are portrayed as “savages” is an inaccurate portrayal of what we believe, practice and live everyday. I was raised a traditional ojibway woman and walk the red road. I pray everyday for peace among all nations as well as our people. I will be forwarding this blog to others in my area here to show that we are making some progress into what this woman and her organization is doing. When I spoke with her personally last week, she tried to tell me that the money she is charging is for the expenses of their travels. When I asked her if ANY of the money she is receiving is going back into native communites (she told me she had permission from Pine Ridge elders to do what she is doing) the answer was no, a resounding no for that matter! None of the monies is going anywhere to any worthy orgs or communities. It is lining her pockets and the new agers that she brings in. There is a “spirituality center” in the Detroit area that is charging for sweat lodges as well as pipe ceremonies and asking for “love offerings” in a feeble attempt to bring peace and healing to the Great Lakes.
I wanted to post this message here so that you and others would know, this is not an isolated event, she is not welcome by native communities and I would hope that getting this message out BEFORE people go and spend their money will be enlightening.
Chi Megwetch.
April 9, 2008 at 8:39 am |
BTW Hartman,
I spoke to some of the others here….we are all in agreement that if you need bail money, we’re her for ya brother….LOL
April 9, 2008 at 9:54 am |
Hartman:
I am looking forward to meeting you in DC on July 11, just look for the Michigan contingent, or else somewhere with Dennis (he is going to be the MC on our Pow Wow Cruise!!!!).
Jay:
Perhaps you see now how much we love our sacred items and why the events proceeded the way they did. Maybe the next group to protest her misuse of a drum; supposedly representing our ways, will take Hartman’s suggestion and surround the drum. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) 95-341 August 11, 1978 when we were finally given the freedom to practice our religion. It is a little known fact that before August 11, 1978 it was illegal for Native American’s to openly practice their own religon. When Iwas younger, this was done behind closed doors for fear of imprisionment. AIRFA is supposed to allow us the right to determine the usage of our sacred items, but this law has no teeth, there is no way to stop the charlatans from abusing our religion. As you saw when our people try to enforce this law we are jailed. As Judy said what would be done if “a person was caught impersonating a priest, or a psychiatrist.” In the Native Culture as Jay mentioned and several of my elders have said, the drum and her regalia should be taken from her, this is the way it is handled in our culture and what Jay and the entourage knew was the right thing to do, but were not allowed.
Thank you for this chance to speak and hopefully educate people about the truth of our culture.
April 9, 2008 at 7:06 pm |
Thank you Chi, for contributing. Helen, I linked the AIRFA article from Wikipedia. I got started. That’ll take some time to read and understand, but I’m sure it will help to put some context around the idea that AIRFA “is supposed to allow us the right to determine the usage of our sacred items.”
I have enjoyed reading the responses here. The events that inspired me to write a description of that night have led to this sophisticated discussion in the responses. This is the closest I’ve been to the topic, ever, in my life. A friend did bring me onto the land of the Tulalip, and showed me the great hall. It was an amazing experience to be there.
One thing I’ve noticed here is that there have been no responses from advocates for Rachel/Suraj. I imagined there’d be some pro Vs. con postings. Why have none of her supporters responded? Is it because the audiences who see her are not generally interested in these issues, and have no clue to the cultural background involved?
Also, there was a reference to Metatron. I avoided linking any information for that it just seemed inappropriate. Is there any written evidence of the claim of visitation to Rachel/Suraj by Metatron?
Thanks again to all contributors.-Jay
April 10, 2008 at 6:30 am |
Jay,
Just so you know, Chi Megwetch is the Ojibway phrase for “Big Thanks” my name is Kim….and, the reason no Suraj supporters have posted is because they know what we say here is true.
April 10, 2008 at 7:56 am |
Jay: AIRFA is very involved, the most relevant section is Part Three, but it is extremely difficult to find information regarding Part Three. Parts One and Two are the most widely publicized, but are very generic and do not specify what is protected or who is to protect it. Bird of prey feathers are protected by Fish and Wildlife and Department of Natural Resources, there is a question as to whether she is in posession of these; which is illegal for non natives and only legal to status natives for religous and ceremonial purposes.
As for Metatron, since he is an Arch Angel and one of Vengance, why would he inspire her to use Native Traditions with a drum?
April 10, 2008 at 7:58 am |
Sorry, I meant to add perhaps Suraj does not have any true supporters when they discover the truth.
April 10, 2008 at 9:13 am |
Jay:
Suraj told Rezgirl she had permission from Pine Ridge to perform her “Prayerformance”
We just spoke with the lead of the healers of all 13 nations on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He has no knowledge of Suraj and is thoroughly upset that she is out there selling anything having to do with our religion. He has never spoken to her and without going through the council none of the healers would dare to give permission even to their own family for someone to even perform a ceremony.
As you can see we have veryt rigid and structured religion as do most religions where you must be certified before being allowed to instruct anyone in the spirituality of our culture. We will talk about our spirituality, but then ALWAYS refer them to a true healer.
April 10, 2008 at 10:27 am |
ouch. Please accept my apologies and lack of knowledge, Kim. Learning and move ahead. You must have laughed when you saw that!! Thanks for not giving up on me…. Jay
April 10, 2008 at 11:45 am |
Hartman deetz could you please contact our office at NativeAmericanUnity_Office@yahoo.com
We would appreciate it greatly…with thanks,
NAU
April 10, 2008 at 12:18 pm |
This woman is 100% white. She DREAMED she was Seneca, yet sells the Hopi and Navajo ceremonies. This is THEFT pure and simple. She is not even native…..and has NO RIGHT to steal from us and sell to non-natives. Anyone who charges for this kind of thing is a 100% bonafide FAKE! A true medicine person would never ask for money.
OUR CEREMONIES ARE NOT FOR SALE! AND THEY NEVER WILL BE!
April 10, 2008 at 12:51 pm |
Hi Jay,
I didn’t want to leave the links out here, but if you go to her site and look in the instructional courses online, she has a whole unit dedicated to Metatron.
Also, if you google the name of the foundation, or her name, with Metatron, you will get many references.
My point was that she is mixing her new-age stuff with native american spiritual and ceremonial, and presenting it as native american, insulting, and abusing our spiritual beliefs in the process.
I can only compare this to maybe someone taking large sums of money while LOUDLY practising wicca and performing Christian-ish Wiccan ceremonies wearing the Pope’s mitre(headpiece) and cassock, and carrying the cross, saying she has the blessings of the church. Throw in ” Moses told me to do this in my dreams”, and “I learned this from my Catholic upbringing”and you got a Suraj Holzwarth!
It’s just wouldn’t fly without somebody being outraged.
The difference is, there are not millions of Native Americans to voice their ire, as their are with the vast numbers of Christians in the world. In addition, a bunch of angry non-native (yes, I mean white) Christians voicing their objections, wouldn’t be as likely to be pepper-sprayed, nor arrested and charged for protesting what amounts to sacrilege. (Nor would they expect to be, while native people are quite used to expecting to see the wrong end of the billy-club, or the ‘other side’ of justice).
I’m not surprised that she would choose Pine Ridge as her “source” of blessings”. This is the most financially destitute place in America, I believe. They have more to worry about than somebody claiming to have been in contact with her. If you read her sales pitches (sorry- promotional info) over the years, she first claimed to have blessings of the Hopi, Navajo, and Shoshone. Now, it has changed to Lakota. Has she forgotten the Hopi, Navajo, and Shoshone? Or did they tell her to stop? (She also claimed blessings from the Chickaloons of Alaska, which never happened.)
Had she any idea about the plight of the Pine Ridge people, she could not possibly carry on her farce without contributing to the needs of the people there.
Why wouldn’t she claim blessings from her own Seneca people?
It appears that she chooses her verification like throwing darts at a map of native nations, and hopes nobody catches up with her.
I’d also hazard a guess why she hasn’t chosen a nation positioned on the “Canadian” side of Turtle Island,..and that would be our APTN, (Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network), which would have done a report on her claims in the news and then, you can be sure, some feathers would fly. (This is a 24/7 coast-to-coast cable station , available in even the most basic packages, that does an excellent job of reporting from Indian Country)
Hope this helped.
To Hartman Deetz – Chi Mi’igwech to you and all those who have physically protested this. You have made your ancestors proud for standing up for your elders’ and the lessons they taught you. You have acted in spite of the possible consequences. You are true warriors! Chi Mi’igwich!
To Rezgirl – Chi Mi’igwich for the post. It’s good to show our solidarity, and wonderful for this old one to know that the culture is not only surviving, but thriving and definitely LIVELY!
To Jay- Chi Mi’igwech is anishnabe/Ojibwe/Chippewa for “Thank You”, and I say to you, CHI MI’IGWECH for giving this space to assign some clarity to the incident and issues. It is greatly appreciated.
April 10, 2008 at 1:24 pm |
She claims the metatron “visitation” herself on the whirling rainbow website under the 64- languages of love course description. I believe its also on her biography there;
http://www.whirlingrainbow.com/online%20language.htm
this has been a really good blog and responses, I am grateful there are so many ready to help educate others about this. i was the colorado coordinator for the longest walk 2 northern route (they just entered kansas after 4 weeks in CO), and will see you who are all going in DC.
ahee’hee,
mano
April 10, 2008 at 2:37 pm |
I was one of the native people that night that was there and didn’t get cuffed and taken to jail . I think things got a little out of hand that wasn’t why we were there .Hartman is a very good man and he was angry just as I was and he let his anger get the best of him.I have been in wampanoag country almost 30 years and have worked with them for about 17 years .I am eastern band cherokee and I wanted to talk to grandmother drum beacause she is saying she is doing cherokee programs .I wanted to know who taught her and did they know she was going to sell our culture. I hope that everyone will see her for what she is a fake. I say to all my brothers and sisters do everything you can to stop her peacefuly!!!!
April 10, 2008 at 5:53 pm |
My lawyer advised me not to contribute to the online discussion but I can’t help it.
All i want to say is THANK YOU to everyone who has written in support of us and explained about this issue so well. Also thank you to Jay who was open minded and open hearted enough to hear the truth about this. Unfortunately this woman is not the only one “playing medicine person” for a profit, but we can take it one step at a time. Oh and if any of ya’ll want to testify on our behalf…lol. Be well to everyone.
April 10, 2008 at 8:24 pm |
O’siyo(hello) Jay
Dekanogi ulogilv daquado Tsalgi
(I am Singing Cloud,Cherokee)
I wish to offer most humbly a story told often by my grandmother to help us remember exactly what the “Drum” holds as place in our lives and hearts. There was little left to our ancestors,their “spiritual” ways were and are to this day,Sacred. The Drum,it is the Center of our lives,the very beat of Mother Earths heart. To allow a Drum,to be dishonored is beyond our own hearts to do. This is life,laughter,pain,tears,and joy,the Drum,when it calls we answer,humbly,and with loving care. Those young ones who came,came in defence of their very spirits. Of a part of their heritage that can not,and should not be seprate,they did right,(if maybe in a way others did not understand),the sadest part to me,is that others DO NOT know already how IMPORTANT is our Sacred Items. There are good and bad in all Peoples,and from the beginning our ancestors tried to explain,but as you must know at that time,it was considered “witchcraft” or “satan worship”,to those from Europe who did not understand a way different from what they considered worship. Once our Peoples were killed for doing what this “woman” is being paid to teach,our children taken from their families,punished if they spoke their own language,or dared to pray as their Elders had taught.
http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/
http://members.aol.com/tawodi/carlisle/intro.html
http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnestynow/soulwound.html
But,my grandmother did NOT want for us to hate all yonega(whites)for what was done,as there were those who helped as well,without them,not nearly as many of our Peoples would have survived the bad time. It is time for healing among all who live in Turtle Island,what you call America,it is time we learn of each other in a peaceful helping,healing way. Those like this “White Eagle” in truth “white woman” are continuing a form of genocide,the stealing,and destroying of a whole Culture. If we help you to understand why,the Drum was an “Issue” that demanded attention,perhaps you in turn will help others do the same? The more we know of each others ways,without the taking of eithers Ceremony or Sacred things,we can begin the healing?
In peace and respect
adadoligi(blessings)
granny
The Drum was Waiting!
She stood there in silence with chaos all around her,two years,maybe three little face streaked with tears,blood splattered head to toe not one drop was her own.
Mother would not rise and run,huddled there sound asleep,tiny hands kept shaking her,please etsi we must go,grandmother waits for us in the forest.
Slapped to the ground by calloused hands,pushed away from mothers side,held by her hair and forced to watch as they cut out her mothers heart.
Ears and hair were taken,from the bodies of her family,suddenly strong arms surround her,force her face into his collar,held tight against shaking shoulders.
Into his eyes she dared to look,silent tears were running from those sky eyes before her,do not look little one,strange the yonega spoke her language.
From the enemy she found kindness,in a world filled with madness,his gun turned on friends who dared try to take her from him.
So,said his friends will you share when you are done,though she is kind of small there is enough for us all,suddenly that grinning face exploded.
The little one was so confused,she had never seen the whites strike each other,this one I claim as my bounty,were his words to the others.
You have the rest of the village,take your booty and claim your blood money,the government will be well pleased,one small child will not be missed.
He placed her on his horse before him,away they rode from her family,three long days they traveled,to a cabin in the mountains near the river.
Worn and weary beyond caring,the little one slumped in the saddle,half asleep she was lifted into the arms of the woman waiting there to greet him.
Their own child had been taken,in the outbreak of spotted sickness,the woman’s mind was nearly broken,her grief could not be comforted.
Cradled in her arms like something precious,tears washed her face from the other,inside a warm bath was given,night gown found and she was sleeping.
No,life would never be the same,and she would not forget the horror,but the little one would survive,the man and woman assured her life.
Raised as white,like their own child,loved without reserve,many sneered at their weakness,for taking in that dirty savage,warned one day she would turn on them.
Susie was the name they gave her,their little gift from Creator,and she in turn truly loved them,and worked so hard to make them proud of her.
Not the only one it is true,but my friends there were so few,made to fit into a life so foreign to them,taught to hide their true beginnings.
English was their only language,baptized as Christian to be accepted,dressed in strange clothing,from the outside they were yonega,but the drum inside was waiting!
as told by my grandmother
granny
April 10, 2008 at 8:47 pm |
Jay,
No need to apologize. As you can see, we will teach you what ever it is that you want to know. Also, I spoke with the Unitarian Church near Cleveland that was supposed to have her come. I told them what happened there in Weymouth and we had a very nice conversation about why it was a good decision to cancel her contract to come there. She was not aware of the plight of the NDN and why our religion is basically our culture. Its our everyday living, not just on Sunday or Holidays. They are not separate. We live it daily. She said she was very enlighted and would like to attend our summer solstice ceremony that we have here in Toledo every year. She asked if she was allowed and I told her absolutly. We invite the public, we have a spiritual elder come from Walpole Island every year, HE does the ceremony and if HE wants us to smoke the pipe, we smoke it with him. People (the general public) come free of charge to participate in the coming of summer. Not to participate in the ceremony. They learn and observe what he is doing and what we do when praying. We have a drum that plays and we honor the 4 directions, and we honor Mother Earth. That drum is the heartbeat of Mother Earth, the smoke from our pipes carries our prayers to the creator. We don’t make it a performance. We don’t charge an admission. We gather and celebrate we share a meal and we talk and answer questions. This is what it is all about.
BTW, Not only was she cancelled in the Cleveland area, she was cancelled down at the Newark Earthworks (the Mounds) and in Bowling Green as well.
April 10, 2008 at 9:47 pm |
This is very interesting as I have heard about this person selling our ceremonies, or copies and using our sacred items in some kind of new-age rituals while charging alot of money. ALL of these kind of people must be shut down! They say they have a right to do it, I say what right? We are not a side show to be exploited by these cons. Our sacred objects are not a joke! We are not dead, we are very much alive and using our sacred things the way our Creator intended. This is our land, we demand respect!! These people show no respect for us or our things. They show no respect for our land, destroying more and more each day for greed. They kill our buffalo that roam on their original migratory patterns. They wipe out our prairie dogs for more shopping centers. They steal our images, poison our water, ruin our air. No, these people must be stopped, their drums silenced, their pipes broken. I am a warrior of the Lakota and I have spoken my thoughts. Aho!
Martin KnifeChief
April 10, 2008 at 10:18 pm |
Siyo Jay,in respect I say,as mother and grandmother such as this is most hurtful to us all. We try to live our lives quietly and respectfully,but our Sacred things,are not for sale. The young people who protested,were very upset at seeing the Drum,being disrespected. And it is sad such a beautiful Drum must be destroyed,but they are right it must.Perhaps this lesson will help you,to help others understand why it so upset our Peoples. Why it is important that our Ceremony,and Sacred Items deserve to be shown respect. I pray it help in a way to bring healing to us all,learning together that those “selling” anothers Culture is a form of genocide.
Working together we can stop these people from stealing from all peoples,ours,and yours. There are so many good words here of sharing,it could be this way if more were like you and would hear and not “react”,listen,then decide if it seems good to them or not to hear our words.I send prayers we learn.
Siyo Hartman and Melanie prayers are being said that your side be heard with caring ears!
many blessings granny
April 11, 2008 at 2:11 am |
I agree with Martin and Granny wholeheartedly…this kind of thing has been going on long enough.
It is high time these things were stopped.
Since I am a traditionalist…I wont beat abut the bush when I say Non Natives have NO BUSINESS taking our ceremony and making it their own….holay smokes…most of our own ceremonies and those of my people…Non Natives are not even permitted to WATCH from a distance…nevermind participate in! These people have NO SHAME! BUt, yes…some of our ceremonies Non Native are permitted to participate in…but does that mean they should take them for their own to make a profit?? Heck no!!
No money should EVER be charged for ceremony….this takes away the true meaning! This belittles the ceremony and leaves it laced with greed! Our people have NEVER been paid in money for ceremony…only ever in a gift…my fiance works his butt off hunting and fishing to provide our elders and holy men with these ‘gifts’…money is not the way!…and that is as it should be!
This just highly annoys me…even to view the pictures of this woman…you know…we deal with people like this daily…and after the tenth Non Native selling ceremony in a day…well heck it gets a little much…these people have no respect for our people or our ways….they pretend they do…..while they are exploiting us for a profit…but its only ever been about money! Well I intend to hurt this woman in her pocket book….we will gather many…and are in the process of doing…to protest EVERY ‘ceremony’ she conducts for as long as it takes!
As long as our people lay down and allow this to happen….it WILL continue……its TIME TO STAND UP!!
Tsissy (NAU)
April 11, 2008 at 4:16 am |
to Dekanogi Ulogilv: Thank you for a powerful story. I am crying now. Commuting to work in a train doing 70 mph with 1600 others, all of whom are unaware. That moved me to tears.
April 11, 2008 at 5:36 pm |
Jay:
Much has been said in this blog site, probably much more than you ever imagined you would hear. I hope you understand the anger expressed by some of our people is caused by people like Suraj/Rachel. We have dealt with being exploited and jailed for hundreds of years. Like all cultures many of us try to deal peacefully but are wiling to stand our ground and will do what is necessary to get the job done, others are filled with anger and hatred for what has been done, others are just tired and say it doesn’t matter. There are some statistics available, I cannot keep track of the numbers any more. Suffice it to say if you check you will find we have people in jail for crimes (admitted in court by the FBI) they didn’t do and have no proof of who did it, but they are there none the less because “someone has to be held responsible”. There are more natives per capita in US jails than any other culture in the world. Many of our reservations have no running water or electricity. The average income for a family of five is less than $3,000.00 per year, they live in third world conditions in the backyard of the richest country in the world. We were the last people to be allowed to vote, let alone practice our religion, in this country. For us this is life and something we accept as the way it is, so when we also must deal with sacriledge, it seems to just go to far. I agree with grandmother, we need people like you to help others understand. As Judy said early on, go to a Pow Wow, talk to people, they will listen, they will answer.
Also please understand and forgive those who speak with anger, they are simply expressing what is in their hearts, it is not the way they were taught, but the way they have been forced to see life. Ours is a life of respect for all especially of our heritage and life and ancestors. I would ask those with anger to speak to the elders of their nation, we need to keep our heads here, or we will lose this fight also.
Chi Megwetch for trying to work with us Jay.
Helen
April 11, 2008 at 7:23 pm |
Thanks Helen, You are right about that, much more than I ever imagined I would hear. But overall, I’m glad. All of these contributors have “made it real” for me. I’m glad I went that night, glad I wrote out a description of the event and glad I met all of these real people here on these pages. Many people are reading this discussion, and the ideas are in play.
I’ve been reading everyone’s writings, avoiding hard judgments, and just trying to comprehend what people are saying. That’s not difficult with this crowd of contributors, most of whom have been articulate and passionate. There ARE some things about which most of us can find common ground. I am looking effective ways to get stuff done right, avoiding violence like the plague that it is. One of our contributors said that he’s going to hit her (Suraj) where it hurts – in the pocket book. That was so wise! He seeks effective action. That’s what makes us human, this ability to think and to plan ahead, to envision possible outcomes and select among them wisely. We can even figure out how to change our behaviors to create new possibilities that will not be available until after we have changed. Can we imagine an outcome of the Suraj/Rachel problem that changes and improves the situation for everyone – even changing her behavior? There might be such a path even at this late hour.
I still don’t know much about Native American religious & cultural beliefs, but I’m learning about them now. This continues to be a good experience.
April 11, 2008 at 8:06 pm |
I found this on a website , you may care to look into it. This is contained in the blog and is what we are so upset about. People honestly believe what she is doing is from our culture. This needs to be brought into court on June 6th for Hartman and crew.
“The “medicine doll” became a symbol for healing loss, she said, for American Indians who were victims of settler genocide — or lost to abortion or death.
After the somber introduction, the doll was passed along to those seated in the pews.
Mary Szybist of Media, Pa., cradled the doll as her sons Finn, 4, and Liam, 2, smiled and Finn touched its face gently.
“This is about exposing them to Native American culture and custom,” said their father, Bob, a teacher.”
I lost the site but I will find it again and send it. This is a direct copy and paste quote from a news article.
I agree there is a common ground for us, and we need to find it. We need to respect each other, there is room for all. But ALL must respect the other, for if one violates that respect it demeans all including the one who caused the violation and the one who was violated.
I am incensed by her saying she healed the waters and her healing of the “Trail of Tears”. My Great Grandfather died on the trail of tears so my Great Grandmother had to carry my grandfather on the trail alone. What can she do to heal my grandfather’s wounds?
April 11, 2008 at 8:16 pm |
Here it is there are several blogs on the NAFPS site about her spanning a few years of information.
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1513.0;all
Jay:
I would also like to invite you to come to Washington, DC. July 11 to see the Longest Walk 2. We are walking for Peace, Human Rights and to help clean Mother Earth. The walk started Feb. 11 at Alcatraz with the walkers picking up garbage along 2 routes to get to DC.
April 11, 2008 at 9:31 pm |
Siyo JayFulton,from my heart yours oginalii(friend),if we hear with our hearts both sides the story,it helps my friend in the healing. My grandmothers,grandmother walk the Trail where the children died,she was four,her brother two,they and their grandmother the only survivors of their family.Her stories of both before and after were told her children,grandchildren,and now pass to mine. This too is our way,these tell us remember,so it never happen again,help others too hear the truth and know what was hidden from most. May we all help in the healing,may we all restore the balance,only by stopping such as “Suraj/White Eagle” can we make these things happen
adadoligi granny
April 12, 2008 at 7:58 am |
Washington, DC. July 11? Thank you, I will come.
After re-reading the posts, I realized that I missed a detail. There was a doll of a baby wrapped in a blanket.
When Suraj/Rachel came out in costume, at one point, she danced with feathered wings and the eagle mask. At the climax of the dance, she presented the doll to a woman in the first row, center position. Later, I did observe that same woman clutching the doll, still cradling it carefully.
Her assistant used a white cigarette lighter to set something ablaze in a small tray suspended by some twine, or rope or chains, about 24 inches in length.
Next, Suray/Rachel and her helper went slowly to the four points of the compass, pausing at each point to scatter corn meal on the ground, and wave the tray of smoking stuff. When the helper’s arm was lifted, the tray swung gently several times at the level of the navel. I did not recognize the scent. At each stop, Suraj raised her arms and her eyes and uttered/sang a sound, that I did not recognize, although I have very good hearing. I am a trained musician and study languages. The sound, or words, were new to me.
While this was happening, I remember having a personal flashback to a scene from my youth; at a funeral, a catholic priest had waved a tray of burning incense at the four sides of a casket. The scent was not the same but the motion of waving a tray of smoking matter was similar, thereby provoking the memory. (Such memories are not pleasant for me.)
I recognized the ritualistic aspects; she was demarcating the space in which the events were about to occur.
Can you tell from my description which ceremony she is executing? Or is it a made-up combination ?
Helen if this post is inappropriate, let me know and I’ll yank it, ok?
Also, at the new age fraud site, I am described as a supporter, but that does not describe me well. I was attending, and had paid – that’s true. But I actually knew nothing of Suraj before going. “Attendee” would be a better description. Oh well. water under the bridge at this point.
thanks
Jay Fulton
April 12, 2008 at 12:15 pm |
Jay, I have never heard of anyone using a baby or a doll or anything like that. That sounds as creepy as the blood on the drum thing.
As far as the ceremony with the swinging smudge-pot….
I have never seen a smudge pot swung like the myrrh at a Catholic church, but, I don’t know what everyone else does. Certainly , from native nation to native nation there are subtle differences, and in some cases, MAJOR differences.
A lot of those differences have to do with the time of first contact with Europeans, and forced removal of people from lifestyle, culture, language, lands, and beliefs. When you have to keep something a secret over a few generations, things get added or subtracted just because someone forgot how something works EXACTLY. But, the vast majority, the BASE of native belief is still there because it is buried in our psyche. We can’t escape it. We can’t be Europeans or white Americans. It makes most of us physically ill to attempt it. Yes, many of us are Christians, Jews, Mormons, etc., but that traditional indian still lives inside, and the drum can call him/her out.
I, personally, was separated from “all things indian’ for a good part of my life because they had a human eugenics program in Canada, until the 1970’s, where it was considered a GOOD thing, to sterilize natives, and my grandmother was sure I would be separated from my ovaries on a dentists visit.
And so, people from different nations and differing distances from the east coast (I’m not talking about Kansas or Oklahoma, I mean where our people were when the illegal aliens in the Mayflower landed – 😉 ).
I am sure that what she was trying to do was to bless her space, but she should have also blessed the drum, the doors, the people in the room, YOU, and anyone touching the drum. The smoking stuff in the bowl SHOULD have been sage and/or cedar/tobacco/sweetgrass. She SHOULD have been using a feather to bless you all.
The smoke is carrying your prayers to Creator. The smell of the sage and cedar smudge is also a very strong ‘trigger’ in our people, in that, we almost immediately become passive and happy/relaxed, because, I don’t know the psychological term for this but, since we have used this since childhood when we speak with Creator, for lack of a better way to describe it, to us, it smells like ‘home’. It says, “The Creator is right here”.
If she was actually saying something at the four directions, it should have been to ask her ancestors to come and bless/watch ,..but since she has no native ancestors, I guess no one was coming. (Okay,, she has ancestors, since she is alive on this planet, but I don’t know how well they would take this life of lies and thievery she is living, and,..if I was her, I’d be darned terrified to be doing such a thing,..unless she really doesn’t believe what she’s doing at all)
I have been thinking/praying about this. I am certain that she has a deep-seated mental problem over this “incest” thing, and seems to feel that in order to justify her existence, then she must become someone outrageous, such as, someone who gets special ‘one-off’ messages from the Creator and will lead the world into the next age (for a price). She has the “Messiah complex”, I believe it’s called. So insecure about being a person that she is trying to make herself into a deity, or a martyr.
This is sad. It’s the blood-thing that made me wonder whatever went through her head at that moment in time.
Now, I will show you something else.
There is another woman, who has been pulling this same stunt for years. She has many aliases, changes her name/tribe/ancestry like the wind. She has fake tribal I.D. And she charges an arm and a leg for her “camps”.
http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/articles/1999articles/INT99-0304-29-5SolicitorCriminalPast.htm
Sometimes she’s cherokee, then lakota, now, she says she’s Crow. John Pretty-on-Top, who is the co-ordinator for the Crow Nation, has said repeatedly that she is NOT a member of the Crow Nation, yet her farce continues.
Here is her fake Crow card. (Not that all of us have prisoner-of-war cards, or even want one, just changing your enrolment repeatedly is not likely)
http://www.medicineeagle.com/tribal_certificate.htm
N.B. This woman is “Medicine Eagle” too, she was a “Medicine Eagle” before Holzwarth.
Now, I’ll let you dig around on this yourself if you want, I just don’t want to post a billion urls, so, look at this one about , Holzwarth, and scroll down to see who is her partner in this:
(board members, Butterfly gardeners Association) (I left the search tags on so it would be easier for you to catch,- there are 3 board members)
(Hope it’s not too long)
(yep it was too long, see the subsequent post – jkf)
This might show you who she learned this trick from.
And yes, I believe these people’s assets should be seized and sent to Pine Ridge, or Rosebud, or whoever they claim as their nation or teachers.
If selling our ceremony was something we do, I’m sure Pine Ridge could have made a fortune with “roadside sweats”, and “shaman classes”. Heck, they could put up a drive-thru “Spiritual Awakening” stand!
To explain something to you just a bit further, one huge problem here is that you don’t understand or know about native people because the governments have never wanted you to know. The initial plan, with the “Manifest Destiny” , was to isolate natives, select those who would become “enfranchised white people” and then, exterminate the rest. They tried, ..oh, they tried. But we’re still here. So, the best they can do is to isolate us, make us live either on reserve, or maintain such outrageous stereotypes and lies about us that urban living is a serious challenge.
Natives in the city are assumed to be drunks, junkies, or prostitutes. Not artists, construction labourers, librarians and lawyers.
Historical incidents, and even present-day reports are altered by the gov’ts (US and Canada) to keep the non-native populace from being aware of the truth.
We don’t own anything. (Traditional indians don’t, anyway) The Creator owns everything and the Creator gave us our bodies, which is all we own. But, Creator let us live on this beautiful Turtle island, and put food, and water and beautiful things here for us, and the other animals (we are animals, too), and the birds, and the plants to survive by and enjoy.
It is our job to take care of all these gifts Creator has given. And to make sure that they are not abused.
A drum, in our beliefs, has a persona. It is not a thing, it is an entity, and it speaks to us. No one OWNS the drum, because it is a conduit for the Creator, much like the sage, and cedar in the smudge. And it was made from materials that Creator put here for us. It must be revered and taken care of properly, and if it is abused, it must be removed (like the pipe) from hands that choose to disrespect it.
Jay, I read that thing on the nuage fraud site, but I read it as you being a supporter of the natives, NOT the fraud. At any rate, you have nothing to fear, you are our brother, now.
April 12, 2008 at 12:17 pm |
Sorry that url ran right off the page into the next monitor! here’s the “uncached” version:
http://www.butterflyspirit.org/about/board/mfawp_indigenous.html
April 12, 2008 at 3:17 pm |
Siyo JayFulton,there is one thing more I bring humbly before you,the young one with the Homeland Defender shirt,he was NOT mocking homeland defense,he was in fact honoring the FIRST homeland defenders,his ancestors.It is a hurt blood and bone deep,where in our own country we have been treated as less than human,with no acknowledging our right to defend our homes and families,from those WE saw as invaders.Rather we are painted into the history books of this country as savage and inhuman murderers,who killed poor settlers who only wished freedom and homes,a better life for their children. They came here to find freedom of religion,freedom from “kings” and an upper “class they had NO defense against,and yet,took from our Peoples those very things. It is not hatred,it is simply defending our right to survive,to raise our children in their OWN traditional ways. A hope to live in peace and keep our Cultural ways.
Creators Children!
Whispers passed along the line,chained together for so long,stumbling blindly following the footsteps before you,weary beyond your minds believing and yet we still are moving.
Singing sound slices the air,the whip lands with stunning pain,the strength of the warriors is fading fast,cut to the bone the blood comes pouring,but it is the laughter that is the true blow.
Faces stiffen no sound is dared,back talk is the soldiers prayer,most of those who joined the march,are those who believe their way is right,to them these are cattle that they drive.
Stupid savages they call us,murdering heathens in their minds,blood thirsty devils who should not survive,not truly human just put here for their uses,far more trouble than our worth.
Old ones sick and hurt,crying children covered with dirt,pushed through snow,mud,and water,never once given a chance to ask why,not allowed to speak at all,shut your mouth and move along.
Tell me please what do you fear,why are my people standing here,what did we do that was so wrong,how can one human so mistreat another,where is the justice of Creator?
Mothers watch as their young ones die,exposed too long with no food or clothing,fathers see their children tortured and can not lift their hands to help them,what is wrong with this picture?
A whole Nation on the move,forced away from their homes,beaten,burnt, drowned,and frozen,not seen as homeland defenders,driven into the ground by thieves and swindlers.
Tsalagi I hear you still,your prayers rise from every hill,your bleeding hearts sang loud and clear,more civilized than those who stole your lives from you.
So proud and brave you made your stands,you fought in every way for your lands,the white mans laws you never broke,you changed your ways and still they took.
The blood and bones of your ancestors,are a part of the very earth you stood on,mountains,valleys,caves,and waters,your spirits soar with brother Eagle,Shakonigi still calls to you.
From those days to now,your hearts have fought for what is right,your grandchildren hear your mourning,we will not rest until your lives are honored.
Those who died along that trail to save their children,those who ran and never gave up,those who are split into three Nations,will one day re gather and become a People you can be proud of.
Sing ancients to your grandchildren,let them hear your voices in our drum beats,help grandmother sun to shine again on Aniyunwiya Creators children!
as told by my grandmother
granny
April 12, 2008 at 4:53 pm |
Che Mi’igwech, Granny.
I really appreciate that you posted that.
Is it permissable if I print that out (like for myself) so my grandchildren may know it?
April 12, 2008 at 7:32 pm |
Jay: You are quite welcome to ask us anything as long as you ask for the purpose of learning who we are and of our ways, but not to make money. I think Judy tried to help you understand what we think Suraj was trying to emulate when she was walking around with the lit bowl smoking, (smudge). Usually when we “smudge” an area we do smudge the four directions, but we do that from a single standing position. We will also smudge the entire circle, most of our ceremonies are done in a circle, a drum is circular as is our medicine wheel, dance arena, etc. We will also smudge anyone who is there and wants to be smudged, all they have to do is stand in front of the person holding the smudge bowl or smudge stick. It is not something done for only the healer, but for all who want to pray. This is something we do to cleanse ourselves and use to help lift our prayer to the creator. She seems to have taken what is a sacred thing and reconfigured it to suit her purposes trying to join it to the Catholic ceremony of which you speak, to ours in her New Age Fraud.
Also there is something that you should know about our healers, they would NEVER call themself a “Shaman”, that is a name conferred on them by the people whom they help.
This thing with the doll frightens me. It almost sounds like Voodoo. There is nothing Native about this doll.
I will try to help straighten out misconceptions on NAFPS, you are definitely not a Suraj supporter, but more of a reporter on the incidents of that day.
I am looking forward to meeting you. When you get to DC and meet up with the walk ask where the people from Michigan are, then jsut ask for Helen most all of them already know me.
THANK YOU for the chance to help us explain who we really are, not the savages portrayed in TV Westerns.
Many of us live quietly within the urban cultures and if you don’t know us would not recognize us as Native because we keep our spirituality to ourself having learned from our childhood that is something to be kept behind closed doors and only within my children’s lives have we been able to open up and allowed to practice these rites in public only to have them taken from us and see them abused. This is frightening to our elders, who have seen their family arrested for doing what this new age woman is charging people to see.
April 12, 2008 at 7:42 pm |
Everyone here really has alot to say…..I am very glad that I had the chance to read all of this and it reaffirms that I/we here in Ohio did the right thing getting her shut down. I look forward to meeting you all someday.
April 12, 2008 at 9:29 pm |
Thanks, Jay, for getting that url outta there. Only problem with being a ‘commenter” on blogs is the inability to ‘preview”.!
I hope you noticed that both Holzwarth, and Brooke Schiavi/Craig/Edwards, both use the same “Native name” – Medicine Eagle, and they are both board members on this “association”.
I am still checking out the third one. We may actually have a fraud conspiracy here!
April 13, 2008 at 12:13 am |
Yup! It’s a hat-trick. Katharine Cheshire makes a lot of claims with fake Hopi ties, and is one of the biggest ceremony sellers out there. All three together in the Butterfly Garden, spreading their message of peace and collecting big bucks from other non-natives, who are only seeking some spiritual direction. How sick! And how maddening that they would use native beliefs to con these people en masse.
Sounds more and more like felony pious fraud to me. All three have foundations under 501c (3) designation – as religious organizations.
Handy trick. Brooke has already spent 2 years in prison for fraud. Guess she liked it there.
April 13, 2008 at 12:25 am |
Siyo Judy,my grandmother would be honored to know her words,her grandmother words live yet in the hearts of the future. You have my permission yes,the stories that she kept,were meant to be retold,so it was not one side only that was heard. She would say at the fire,you must not forget these things,there are those of our People who do not know,there are those of the whites who will never know.
blessings granny
April 13, 2008 at 9:06 am |
Mr Fulton…I would like to thank you for your honesty and for posting the true events of what transpired on this terrible day…without your words, we would not know much needed truths regards White Eagle.
With respect,
Tsissy
April 13, 2008 at 2:16 pm |
Tsissy, you are welcome. For me the last week of reading and understanding has been a valuable experience. Oddly enough, the night I sat down to start writing, I began because the events of that night were remarkable. I had no preset agenda other than to try to record what I had seen, heard and felt.
Thanks
Jay
April 13, 2008 at 4:16 pm |
Jay:
Here is the article (sorry it took me so long to relocate this) that started my quest to learn of this woman. I have a very dear friend who is from Australia and was one of the children who walked the rabbit proof fence, Rachel did not help her when she toured Australia; regardless of her claims.
Anyhow this is Rachel’s own words regarding the Ashes of Amrahla North that she carries in the drum and now Hartman’s blood what does that say?
http://www.echo.net.au/archives/18_08/pdf/p06.pdf [jkf added protocol http://, please scroll down]
[jkf broke this into 3 parts to fit onto webpage. To use, please join the parts and paste as url]
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:N1Ps4xVSAv4J:
http://www.echo.net.au/archives/18_08/pdf/p06.pdf
+Amrahla+North&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1
This is something we would NEVER do to a drum it has its own spirit to start with and now she adds another spirit to live inside it. OUCH! Somhow I don’t think that is a good thing and may well be what caused the bloodshed.
April 14, 2008 at 9:30 am |
jay have tsissy at nau connect us so i can invite you to some of our events without inviting the whole world
around here we experienced a long dark period of religious persicution
and we keep many of our events invite only
manny folks who read this are impressed with your openes
April 15, 2008 at 5:36 am |
I have been looking for this information for since I first responded to you. If you search her site long enough you will find that WHITE eagle medicine WOMAN funnels all money (make checks payable to) this organization. (I found this on the http://www.alaskawomensnetwork.org/groups.html.
Alaska Women of the Wilderness Foundation offers year round wilderness education and spiritual empowerment programs for girls and women to explore and deepen their relationship with themselves, with others and with the earth in a supportive and nurturing atmosphere. Alaska Women of the Wilderness Foundation moves into the next decade and the new millennia with the mission to awaken, honor and celebrate the divine feminine voice of leadership for the healing of the Earth and all beings.
Contact: Alaska Women of the Wilderness Foundation, P.O. Box 773556, Eagle River, AK 99577; Ma Anand Suraj (Rachel Holzwarth) at (907) 688-2226; 1-800-770-2226 (in AK); fax (907) 688-2285; e-mail akwow@alaska.net.
Since she is funneling the money through this privately run organization which uses a different address in Alaska and using her 601 c 3 to get the money, condiering a 501 c 3 is given matching funds by the goverrnment this tells you “Our tax dollars at work” to fleece the public. Half her costs are financed by the public she is scaming. If you read the newspaper articles Jay mentions on his home page it is called a “Native Ceremony”. I have not been able to find any nation that will acknowledge her “prayerformance” as representative of a ceremony in their culture. How is this a “Native Ceremony”? if it does not represent any native culture? It then becomes a “Bill Cody Wild West Show” which we all know was created strictly to exploit Native Americans for profit, I belive this was outlawed, but I am not sure. Does anyone know if I am right on this or not?
Thanks for the chance to vent!
Helen
April 15, 2008 at 9:29 am |
I think the more we look into her, the more we see the layers of this scam revealed. Underneath the crusty outer layers we’re finding a chewy center. In all the references to her Alaskan Women Wilderness foundation she uses her real name Rachel Holzwarth. Occasionally she’ll use Suraj (Hindi word, literal translation=”sun”), but any donations or contact information goes to “Rachel” Holzwarth. For Whirling Rainbow there is absolutely no mention of “Rachel”. She’s simply Suraj Holzwarth or White Eagle Medicine Woman.
So what we have goin’ on here is a clear case of two separate identities. The Wilderness foundation is her home base, the Whirling Rainbow foundation and the Grandmother Drum project is her moneymaker. My best guess is they’re both fronts. Both are non-profits, meaning tax-free, eligible for federal money grants. Her books are probably kind of clean. She’s selling her wares and classes under Whirling Rainbow, but the money is sent to the Alaskan Women’s Wilderness foundation. If someone looks at either foundation alone, the accounting probably works. If you look at them in conjunction that’s where the fraud occurs. The Women’s foundation is not a religious non-profit, so that means she has to account for any grants that are given to her and she has to show there is no profit. The money she’s making from selling religion is probably showin’ up in the Wilderness Foundation accounting as private donations. If they come after her for illegally selling Native American religion she could probably show that Whirling Rainbow comes up clean and doesn’t make money….more than likely it looks like Whirling Rainbow loses money so she can qualify for grant money to keep it up and running while at the same time the Alaska Women’s Wilderness foundation looks like it’s being completely funded by good-hearted people believing in her and giving her constant “private” donations. In return she runs her encampments and what-not out of there and probably claims exhorbitant expenses to make it appear that the Wilderness foundation isn’t making money either. Meanwhile, she’s living there and her home is getting the remake of its life so that she can do her “charity” work better.
It’s speculation on my part…based on the facts as they’re unfolding to me. All of this is leaving a sick feeling in my stomach. Who should be contacted in order to pursue this further?? (The IRS??…I know Fisheries and Wildlife is getting overrun with requests to investigate her for illegal possession of Golden Eagle and Hawk feathers and they’ve stated they are taking action…what about the books….what can be done to have a look there?)
April 15, 2008 at 10:17 am |
Question, perhaps relevant: Does she make political donations that can be found on any candidate’s report of contributions? Would that be relevant to oversight by state or federal agencies? – Jay
April 15, 2008 at 1:04 pm |
Here is a link to her alluding to the Chickaloons having blessed the drum, however Gary Harison Tribal Chief says that never happened and that they have torn down the house she had there because she is not welcome in their land
April 15, 2008 at 2:28 pm |
HOLY COW HOw many organizations can one woman belong too? I guess it doesn’t matter if they are all scams. Check this one out.
http://www.butterflyspirit.org/about/board/mfawp_indigenous.html
April 15, 2008 at 3:13 pm |
Well….it seems Rachel Holzwarth is guilty as ever of fraud. If this information is correct, according to the Alaskan Dept. of Commerce’s website the “Alaskan Women of the Wilderness Foundation” founded by president Rachel Holzwarth (aka Suraj aka White Eagle Medicine Woman) was INVOLUNTARILY DISSOLVED March 3, 1999!!! It doesn’t exist legally as a non-profit corporation anymore.
https://myalaska.state.ak.us/business/soskb/Corp.asp?255869
Not hard to set up a bank account as Rachel Holzwarth dba (doing business as) Alaskan Women of the Wilderness Foundation.
Whirling Rainbow does exist legally so far, but went into effect in November of ’04. This time registered to Suraj Holzwarth. The main office is listed as being in Anchorage.
https://myalaska.state.ak.us/business/soskb/Corp.asp?296160#
If anyone’s goin’ to see her I wonder how she would respond to asking potential bookings to send payments to a non-profit org that’s been legally dissolved for over 9 years.
There’s PDF copies of the paperwork filed for each non-profit available. Only one Biennial report ever filed for the Women of the Wilderness foundation and none for Whirling Rainbow.
In the case of the Women of the Wilderness foundation the PO box listed for payment on Whirling Rainbow remains the same. Holzwarth lists the PO Box as her address and the address of the foundation is the home address of one of the directors Karen Stulting (and most like Holzwarth’s home address as well)
April 16, 2008 at 4:11 am |
She could not be this Jaque Zaleski because when the IRON OAK CHURCH stuff was going on in Florida she was already in Alaska. Although with everything else she has done, she might lay claim to that for the notoriety anyhow. 😉
April 17, 2008 at 9:09 am |
Ms. Hozwarth, since she is not using given name, maybe this is a better way to address her, has changed her website and is removing any complaints regarding her actions from myspace and youtube. I have always found that by paying attention to what people tell me I need to change has made me a better person, by ignoring and denying it, I do not learn anything. I believe I am here to learn and improve myself and pass on what I learn to others, all done with great respect for myself and all that is around me. If I cannot do this then I am small indeed.
April 17, 2008 at 8:24 pm |
I am so glad I found this site and had the opportunity to read all of your information that everyone has posted. I heard that she was coming to Michigan may 2, and I was very upset and trying to figure out the best way to voice my concerns about the event.
April 18, 2008 at 6:02 pm |
Regarding White Eagle Medicine Woman’s claim to be Seneca, the burden of proof falls on her. All she needs to do is provide the name of the Seneca community in New York State (Tonawanda, Allegany or Cattaraugus) that she is ostensibly from.
We Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) will do the rest. I’m a Status Mohawk of the Six Nations of the Grand River (Canada) and I live in New York State. It’s a very simple matter to determine if she’s from ANY of our Seneca communities.
Alternatively, she may provide the name of the community in NYS – Native or non-Native – that she grew up in.
Until she has done so, she has failed to provide convincing evidence that she’s ANY part Seneca and thus, is an outright fraud. ‘Honourary’ or ‘adopted’ status, in my book anyway, doesn’t count for anything in her case.
April 19, 2008 at 7:58 am |
Thank you, Kanowakeron, for contributing informaition. I wonder if she would ever post comments here, someday?
April 19, 2008 at 12:49 pm |
Don’t hold your breath, Jay,…she’d have to be able to justify far too much.
April 20, 2008 at 5:19 am |
Jay here is a video which you might be able to relate to now that you have some understanding of Native American’s as a spiritual people.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=26280822&a=0#addcomment
April 20, 2008 at 7:29 am |
Thank you, that is a powerful short video. All who happen here to read these thoughts, please go watch that.
Yesterday I was trying to find a place with the entire text of the AIRFA in one place. Still hunting for that, in order to add it to the links.
April 20, 2008 at 2:01 pm |
Unfortunately, the AIRFA has no teeth, and basically only gives Native Americans the right to practice their “religion”, using/carrying eagle feathers, etc., but does literally nothing to prevent or curb the misuse of those same rights to ceremony and the physical inclusions.
On the other hand, there ARE laws to prevent non-natives (including uncarded or those from non-recognized tribes or bands) from selling wares or other native items (this includes ceremonies) while claiming to be Native American or First Nations. Those persons who are of native heritage, but uncarded, may say that they are of native heritage, but cannot claim to be “Native American”, nor may they sell items which say or are presented as being “Made by Native Americans”.
So, having said that, we are dealing with someone who may or may not be of Native American HERITAGE, but neither carded, nor belonging to a recognized tribe. There are loads of people in this boat, many who had grandparents who felt it was in their best interests to avoid being carded, and likewise many who are still fighting for recognition with the Feds. This doesn’t mean they aren’t Native American. It means the gov’t doesn’t recognize them as such.
BUT, regardless of Ms. Holzwarth’s heritage (or lack thereof) it is highly unlikely that she has had any true knowledge of the native spirituality or she would know enough NOT TO SELL IT. If she had worn the true moccassins, and been subjected to stereotyping, (as she herself committed in claiming to smell alcohol and marijuana on Mr. Deetz breath- After she”d had her head over the smudge-bowl) she would not disrespect her people- OR THE CREATOR- in this way.
Having said all that, this is clearly a case of pious fraud, in that, her subjects are looking for some type of Native American spiritual experience/guidance, and she is pretending to be able to give them such a thing, while giving them a completely fraudulent item- a fake experience, if you will, and not what they paid for. She cannot claim to be NOT attempting to fleece people using Native beliefs as her lure, or she would dress like a gypsy, or a wear a kilt as her heritage suggests. It would not matter if she was dressing up like Mother Teresa and charging for blessings. It’s the same thing.
She quite simply needs to be charged as such. She should not be allowed to wear the buckskins to perform her “prayerformance” on the legal basis that it is purposely misleading the public. She should not be allowed to use anything commonly associated with Native Americans, nor should she be allowed to make any comment about her “native heritage or ancestry”, as this is also being used as part of her scheme to fleece the unaware.
In addition, her “shill”, T’imoreye ( I forgot her real name) and any other native people who choose to help her propagate this scam, should be charged as co-conspirators to fraud.
If you look at her other two companions in the Butterfly Gardener’s Association, you will note 1. Brooke Medicine Eagle , who is already well-known to the authorities under a multitude of alias’, and has spent some time in prison for this same type of fraud- yet, continues, and Katherine Cheshire, an also well-documented fake Hopi, who also continues to sell ceremony and pretend to be a Hopi rep, yet has been denounced repeatedly by the tribe.
http://www.butterflyspirit.org/about/board/mfawp_indigenous.html
Under the heading (!?) Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace
Indigenous Board Members (although not one of them is actually a Native American).
Considering my Nez Perce friends in Polson, Mt., have never heard of Brooke Medicine Eagle, and that she claims to be in Polson, Montana, when she’s really in another part of the state, says something. Yet, Brooke Medicine Eagle (funny, the same name?) is an old hand at the fake indian stuff compared to Holzwarth’s attempts, so, maybe Brooke Medicine Eagle is behind the whole thing. I suppose we’ll know when they all gather in Yellowstone. (BTW, Brooke first said she was Lakota, then Navajo,..now, she claims to be Crow, but the Crow nation has no clue how she got a card for their tribe,…perhaps even a forgery charge is possible?)
So, you see, Holzwarth is learning from the best. The best fraudster, I mean.
AIRFA won’t help anything here. What needs to happen, is 1. she needs to be charged for the endangered species feathers, 2. she needs to be assessed by the IRS and audited for her 501(c)3 irregularities and instructing persons to pay money for one organization into a bank account made for a different entity, 3. she must be charged with fraud, and have all assets seized. When she is convicted, those assets should be turned over to the tribes she has falsely named as having “given their blessings”, as they have had their names sullied/connected with the perpetration of this fraud.
Basically, I believe, that in order to put an actual permanent stop to this woman’s shenanigans, she must be charged. Forget picketing and demonstrating, she is only using that, coupled with the built-in stereotyping , to expand her message. It’s free advertising for her. Her youtube videos hold enough documented evidence of her fraud. Her website proves she is charging exhorbitant prices to be defrauded (if you so choose).
AND, if you wish to go on the road with her, she can also give you a price to pay for having helped her commit this fraud! How nice! You can pay to be her shill!
Option 1- buy a ticket, and document what you see/hear, then sue her for fraud.
Option 2- call the TV and newspapers in Michigan (they need some relief from the Kwame story, anyway) and get them to do the hidden camera thing. Expose her on TV. Then, post it on Youtube, right next to her promo trailers. Then, sue her for fraud.
Option 3- Go through all of her promo. Every time she mentions being blessed by a particular tribe, send it to the tribe, along with every other tribe she has mentioned. Ask them, if they did NOT give any blessings, to consider getting together for a class-action suit.
This person has no character, or spirituality, or any relationship with Creator, or this would not be continuing. She would be hiding with her drum, somewhere, giving her eagle feathers to someone who deserves them, and apologizing to the people she has insulted. She isn’t doing that.
So, this has nothing to do with being a Native American, or having heritage, or with being one with Creator, or with any chats with anyone Natives recognize as being ‘of the Creator’, other than she is using public interest in Native ceremony as her monetary vehicle.. This is All About MONEY.
Which is why we have to go for her wallet, if we expect to make her ‘get it”.
Because, even if she doesn’t end up incarcerated, she WILL be disallowed from promoting herself as Native, and somehow, I don’t think her prayerformance will have as much impact when she’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt, no feathers, no smudge, and no more White Medicine Eagle but just Rachel Holzwarth and her Really Big Drum.
In fact, she’ll be about as able to draw a crowd as this –
because, the Shriners beat her to it: She’s false advertising as well:(LOL)
http://sabbardrumbugle.homestead.com/drum.html
This person (Patrick Pinson) is a drum-maker who also sells fake (airbrushed) eagle feathers and held a drumming circle for Holzwarth in 2002.
http://www.cedarmtndrums.com/Accessories/feather.html
You will be interested in her latest newsletter, too: It’s all about the Weymouth affair-
http://whirlingrainbow.com/newsletter.htm
Sorry about the length, -( again)
Mi’igwech
http://sabbardrumbugle.homestead.com/drum.html
July 4, 2009 at 4:31 pm |
Judy, fI just came across your comment and for you information, I have never held a drum circle for Holzwarth nor have I been involved in any way with the “Grandmother Drum” project. I don’t know where you got this information. Thanks, Patrick
April 21, 2008 at 10:49 am |
Jay:
I just found these pictures you might be interested in. They are from the event in Weymouth. I wonder if you got included or informed you were being photographed. (These were found on her website, so she must have had someone taking them.)
http://drummingforpeace.org/gmd_08/april4/
April 21, 2008 at 3:53 pm |
Just checked out the pictures. The older gentleman with the breechcloth is the one she’s called “Chief One Bear of the Chippewa Nation”….
I’ve lived in this area for over 10 years now. I’m very involved with tribal celebrations, politics, doings, family gatherings of all sorts with all the tribes that live in this area and I don’t recognize any of the token Indians she got to agree to support her by sitting on stage. Holzwarth’s take on One Bear is he is the Chief of the Chippewa Nation. Don’t know his side of that story so I’m not saying anything about him, but that claim that’s he’s chief of all Chippewas is one that cannot be true and isn’t true. I feel sorry that he’s decided to allow himself to be duped in this way and her obvious over-doting on him in the photos is a clear example of her mode of operation. I remember reading on her website about the instructions for hold one of her “prayerformances” was to try and contact people from the local indigenous communities and invite them to be there and say a few words and offer an opening prayer. Keep in mind, these are instructions aimed at people that are foolish enough to be willing to pay for her “Native Spiritual experience” and in the vast majority of cases they most likely gather well-meaning individuals who know nothing of Holzwarth’s background. When they arrive she’s all over them as their new best friend. The Gathering of Peace website has a whole set of Quicktime videos of one of her “prayerformances” in real time and includes another Native guy teaching all of the participants a song her called the “Travelling Bear song” and that song is now included on her latest CD. My guess is she probably took some notes of things One Bear may have said and will be processing that info and passing it on with her personal spin on it and claiming she has been given the “right” by the “leaders” of the Chippewa Nation to do so.
Her supporters are finally trying to become vocal on the youtube comments videos (the ones that still allow comments), but their support is really weak arguments that even if she is false or fake…she’s still doing good because her message is peace…
Well…to that argument there’s a whole lot of counterarguments….our government got us to go along with starting a war and invading a country offensively in order to create “peace”. We CAN’T allow ourselves as responsible individuals on this planet to bury our heads in the sand because someone may or may not have good intentions. Holzwarth’s been allowed to keep her scheme going along by hiding under the radar staying in areas/churches/groups that just didn’t know any better. Her BIGGEST mistake was the youtube vids and beginning to advertise nationally in areas where anyone could see her exploitations. That’s the downfall of a plastic shaman or any wannabe cult creator…..they often begin to actually BELIEVE their own lies, their egos blow up and they begin to think of themselves as 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
April 21, 2008 at 6:08 pm |
Judy, thanks for that contribution. (don’t worry about length, because you really write!)
Helen, thanks for the link to the photos. Yes they are real & and were shot by one of the 2 men standing on the top row of the pull-out bench seats. I saw them but never thought to ask for their name or card. The photos do a good job of showing what the gear and costumes are.
Chris, thanks again – yes the older gentlemen was announed as one bear. Somebody mentioned that he’s been running a summer camp for youngsters ( in the blue hills area- I may be misremembering that. )
One other thing that I noticed about the performance was that Suraj had memorized the words to the rituals, and some of those exact words and phrases can be heard on the youtube videos.
April 21, 2008 at 6:20 pm |
After reviewing the pictures, I can see that I made some errors of observation. I had reported that the protesters were in street clothes, but a careful look at the pictures shows one man (Hartman, I think) has a cloth wrap around his shoulder and torso. here
http://drummingforpeace.org/gmd_08/april4/pages/prayerformance_4-4-08_52.html
that shows how fallible is memory.
April 21, 2008 at 7:21 pm |
Jay:
We all miss things that are later caught in retrospect, you still have been open and honest with what you saw and reported.
I must tell you all here, my husband is Chippewa of the Thames, any self respecting native will mention the reserve they come from when they speak of their nation, so to say he they are Chief … of the Chippewa Nation I would wonder what reserve. My sister in law is Cayuga of Six Nations, I am Winnebago (Ho-Chunk our people prefer) my grandfather came from the reserve that is now in Nebraska, and Cherokee, (my great grandmother walked the Trail of Tears with my grandfather in her arms, my great grandfather died on the trial, and Suraj/Rachel (White Ego … Woman) did not heal our pain with her ceremony) with some Nde’ (Apache’) thrown in for good measure.
I have noticed that when Ms. Holzwarth speaks of the native people it is all they, not we, them, not us, their, not our. If she truly was of native descent she would not speak of us in the third person, but in the first.
With all this being said, I would continue to note that it has come to my attention she may have been adopted (as an adult) by Twyla Nitsche. Twyla is known within her Cattaraqus Nation to adopt for money, kind of like marrying someone for money so they can get their immigration legalized. Twyla is barely acknowledged by her own reserve as belonging, and then it is rumored that she is only acknowledged occasionally because the Iroquios Confederacy follow the traditional matrilineal heirarchy. (This was one of the problems with the European concept of having the “Chief” sign the treaties, in Matriarchal lines, the women were the trustees of the land, the men did not have any posession regarding the land and therefore no real title to sell, let alone that our people did not believe in ownership of the land, sea or air, these were foreign concepts). ANyhow I ramble, I just wanted to let you know she may have a claim to Native heritage but none the less she was not raised in the spirituality of our ways so if she paid for her heritage, that would explain why she thinks she should charge for the spirituality.
This does not excuse her, we have all heard ignorance of the law is no excuse. What is wrong is wrong. HOw can you buy heritage, how can you deny or sell off that which breathed life into your soul? I could never deny my ancestors their right to my heritage. I am the culmination of many generations, I would not be who I am without them and who they were. I was not hatched from an egg with no concept of the one who warmed me and gave me life, bonding to the first creature to pass my vision. Many of the children were taken from their homes and raised in boarding schools, but still remembered their home, yes some were lost, but that does not give someone the right to just claim our heritage as theirs for sale. Enough I need to stop and get off my little soap box. As I said, I just want to keep you informed so there is no misconception.
I am still looking forward to meeting you in Washington, DC. on July 11.
April 21, 2008 at 7:53 pm |
Jay, look again, because I looked at it twice as I believe it IS his T-shirt and he has somehow gotten his arm and head through the neckhole,..as in, maybe during the scuffle somebody grabbed his sleeve and he ended up with it this way?
April 22, 2008 at 2:44 pm |
Unbelievable! Some say that there is no such thing as a coincidence.
I took a day off from work to bring my mother to an appointment at her eye doctor’s office, which is in Mashpee, Massachusetts. My mother, who still is very observant, although somewhat frail, at 83 years of age, spotted a man by his hat and braided hair, and spoke to him. Well, it turned out to be that today I met Vern Lopez, the Chief of the Wampanoags, and his sister. It was an honor to have a short private, conversation with him. I choose not to give the details of the conversation, but I will say that he had a few balanced, fair and objective things to say about the situation. I asked him to give my respects to Hartman and company.
At 85, Mr. Lopez stands tall and straight, unbent by time. He is about 6 foot tall, and his eyes look directly at you when he listens. His speech is the essence of straightforward common sense. His bearing is that of a leader.
Here’s a recent article about him from one of the local Boston newspapers:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1087768
April 22, 2008 at 3:16 pm |
I am glad you got a chance to speak to Mr.Lopez, he sounds as if he is truly what we call an elder. What is not obvious to most people is age is not the requisite to becoming an elder, it is wisdom and leadership.
Thought you might be interested in this.
“I have this from a posting on a site I belong to:
From: kwetcipenes@ alaska.net
Date: 4/22/2008 10:34:57 AM
To: Native_American_ Issues_Causes@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: NA Issues & Causes what does anyone know about SurajHolzwarth (White Eagle Woman)
Oh my God, I know her personally from up here in Alaska. She is a phoney, Wica, thief. I’m so freaked that you brought her up as I heard about her again yesterday. The word is out that Her grandmother drum is being turned away from powwows down there. Please, let the word out down there not to have her perform. Up here, Elders have thrown her out of the villages. She has stolen $10,000.00 from the Elders in Anchorage. I thought that she faded into the sunset after all this time but I’m been hearing from people on the East Coast that she is back to her nasty behavior. I could go on and on about the bad things she’s done. Also, the Elders up here forbade us for speaking her made up name as it gives her more power. Her real name is Rachel. Please, Please, don’t let her into your villages. She only brings trouble.
Wanishi,
Judy
——-Original Message—– —
From: wildman1849@ webtv.net
Date: 04/22/08 10:21:42
To: Native_American_ Issues_Causes@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: NA Issues & Causes what does anyone know about SurajHolzwarth (White Eagle Woman)
Plenty !
There 2 groups now trying to shut her down – not counting Indians in
real life!
She uses a &foot drum that has crystal skulls inbedded in the center of
the drum skin and someone’s ashes inside the drum!
Claims native but has been proven not otherwise and calls her group
rainbow something which shhe stole from NAI – charges fees yet is on a
501 non profit set up and is as twinky as sunbear!
She needs to be stopped good!
If I run across more info – I will try sending more info to sites that
are trying to shut her down!
She is bad medicne!!!!!”
April 22, 2008 at 4:56 pm |
Here is a site you may want to read.
http://powwowtime.com/ForumsPro/viewtopic/t=113.html
April 22, 2008 at 7:44 pm |
Well, Jay, it appears that Creator is determined to have you learn much about the people. I would guess, from this ‘coincidental’ meeting (nothing like this is a coincidence, in my book) there is something in your future where you need to know these things, witness the events and know all these people.
Thank your mother from me for getting you to your appointment with Chief Lopez in time!!
April 22, 2008 at 8:49 pm |
Thank you very much for all of this.
April 23, 2008 at 1:35 am |
Just a word of advice re pepper spray. Capsacin, which is what makes pepper spray sting, is fat soluable but not water soluable. If you have to wash it off again my advice is any old cooking oil or a full cream milk or even grease. That will stop it stinging pretty quick, and then just washing with regular stuff will work fine.
Hope you don’t need this info.
April 24, 2008 at 6:39 pm |
I’m a johnny come lately to this discussion, having only just recently found out about the efforts to get this woman to stop her dishonest activities. I’m glad something is being done. I’ve known of her for a while, and she really creeps me out. I will not watch the videos of her or read too much of her material. It feels “wrong” to me, like I would need to take a shower or do some sort of cleansing afterward. I just don’t think it’s healthy to be exposed to it.
Jay I am glad you documented what you saw. especially about what she did with the blood. Echhhh! There is just so much wrong with that one does not know where to start. Having a neutral observer document is a very good thing.
I’m a woman in her fifties, born in Oklahoma to a family mixed for generations, Cherokee and Scotch Irish by heritage, White American in essence. I have Choctaw relatives by marriage, and I tell you, I made a very concious decision in my 20’s that I would NEVER disrespect my Indian ancestors by “playing Indian”. I was raised White. What the heck do I know about being Indian in this country? It would be wrong of me to take on that identity.
I have found when talking to White folks about Indians, there is a disconnect, It’s almost like we are talking about two distinct different things, using the same words. Either they don’t know anything, or they have this Rainbow Crystal Mystical concept of Indians. It’s a fantasy, and it really boggles me to see it in people I know to be intellegent and that I respect. Of course this is a generalization. Guess when you grow up playing with your “Indian cousins” and lose an Aunt who was a boarding school survivor to alcoholism and lose a dear cousin to suicide, you can’t have the same view as those who are immersed in the fantasy. White folk who know real Indians at all know better. And thank goodness for that.
Of course if we keep that fantasy we really don’t have to deal with the reality of what was done and continues today.
My own little piece of this, besides supporting efforts to stop exploiters, (shameless plug for my website coming up) is a strong desire to see that rotten Andrew Jackson off the 20 dollar bill. I really feel it is an insult to our American Indian citizens to have to look at him every time they handle a 20. Plus I feel that we need to start acknowledging our history and not glorifly folks who participated in the genocide. We need to heal in this country, and it needs to be in a real way with real action, not with fantasy feel good stuff that makes the White folk feel good but does nothing in reality to heal, in fact makes it worse because it just continues the use and abuse and thievery.
This may seem like a small thing to some, and it’s one that I’ve felt an urge to act on even in a small way. Alright, off the soap box now. http://www.getjacksonoffthe20.net
April 25, 2008 at 4:03 am |
Thank you pixienona, for the contribution! Here we have yet another interesting new branch growing off of this conversation!
April 25, 2008 at 7:03 pm |
[…] incident was also recorded by Jay Fulton in his Blog. He was an eye witness. He describes how this woman placed her right hand into the pool of blood, […]
April 25, 2008 at 8:53 pm |
Why is it so difficult to stop these exploiters?
April 26, 2008 at 2:31 pm |
Wade, Some of them, due to their upbringing, don’t see that they are doing something wrong, and don’t understand how someone else could be insulted.
You must remember, the Vatican is extremely rich, America is rife with “religious personnel” who are also loaded from needy people (needy spiritually) who fork over vast sums to build empires for these people,…and all in the name of God. I’m sure you’ve seen some of the luxury resorts,..er…houses of worship the tele-evangelists have built, in the face of multitudes of poverty stricken people.
And while they mostly claim to be Christian, their financial activity bears little resemblance to the “WWJD?” concept.
So many have been raised with a double-standard of the idea of religion. If it’s okay for those people of God to make a huge amount of money from the fears and hopes of others,..why not? And then again, you can become ordained over the internet for $100.
It’s pretty hard to get caught doing this stuff unless you start doing dumb things like advertising on the internet and actually believing your nutty BS. Posting all over youtube is dumb, if you’re a fake.
Rachel has made buckets of money from this sham already and got it tax-free, not counting donations of cars, campers, gas, food, airfare, shipping, and on and on. So far, the recent cancellations have put a $12,500 (at least) hole in her bank account. Keep getting her cancelled and she’ll eventually realize that it’s a losing venture. Get her charged and imprisoned and it might even stick in her head!
(There’s a part of me that says this dame is even dumber – or crazier -than she looks, and actually believes herself)
I suppose the answer would be to have a liaison website where non-natives can ask questions about such things BEFORE they spend money on a charlatan. (ie., if I need to ask the Tlingit’s if they know Joe BlowHard, who claims to be Tlingit and is selling sweats in Arkansas,..I could send an email to the Tlingit rep on the site.)
The inability to perform any due diligence makes native spirituality a prime target. If I see a priest on TV, I can usually google him, or call the head office for that denomination, and find out if the guy is really one of theirs. When you have some guy who claims to be Cherokee-Choctaw, selling sweats in the Rockies, we know what it’s about, but to non-natives who don’t know that a cherokee-choctaw is not on his home turf in the Rockies, nothing seems amiss.
Doing time for fraud and tax evasion would probably be the best way to get these people to figure out that it’s, not only against (and insulting to) our beliefs, but against their own laws.
April 26, 2008 at 4:36 pm |
Wade, speaking as a person who had bought a ticket, I say that most ticket buyers would have little or no idea of the things we’ve discussed here. One perfect solution would be for Rachel to have a change of heart, and just stop offering the “prayerpeformances.”
Some contributors here have wondered if she believes in what she’s doing, or if she’s another Elmer Gantry? Having watched her, I’d guess that she’s convinced of her own beliefs, and the money is just an aid to her belief. But who knows?
Have you ever seen the movie “Marjoe?” It’s informative. Many Americans were trained as children that belief, even without supporting evidence, especially without supporting evidence, is a virtue. For them, it’s a valued characteristic to believe things even when their experience contradicts what they believe. (Hard to grasp, I know) Recently, one faith has paid about 1/2 billion dollars to victims of an army of pedophile clergy. To this day, many of the victim’s families have not come to grips with the evil done under the cover of their religion. No grief, no suicides of children, no financial penalties – nothing – can disturb the power of their personal beliefs!
Can you think of a way to convince Rachel/Suraj, and the others who will come after her, that her behavior harms many people? Would shame work? I don’t think violence will work. If someone destroys the drum, another drum can be built. If Rachel Holzwarth had a heart attack tomorrow and dropped in her tracks, another person might emerge to bang the drum and collect the potential dollars. Maybe her assistant, “Timoreye”, would step up and take her place. She already knows the routine.
In the old story by Charles Dickens, visitations by 3 ghosts convince old Ebenezer to change his ways. Maybe, if potential ticket buyers could see the ghosts of horrors past, present and future, they would refrain from buying the tickets, choosing rather to send the money to worthy causes of Native Americans instead. That’s what I’m going to do. I’ve been changed by the voices, stories and images found here.
April 27, 2008 at 6:55 am |
Jay:
We are curently trying to get Bernard Red Cherries (Spiritual Leader for the Cheyenne Nation) one of the most respected Spiritual Leaders in Indian Country to Michigan for next weekend, so he can speak with her personally. The airline ticket costs $700.00 so we have put a call out over the moccasin telegraph for help. Arrangements for his lodging and meals have already been made. I hope some of the people who read your blog will help with whatever they can contribute. The money can be sent via Western Union to Portland, Oregon C/O Cassandra Mehlow (his other half) Contact # 503-890-7508.
I am attaching the link to the Newsletter the Whirling Rainbow people came out with.
http://whirlingrainbow.com/newsletter.htm
We have questions regarding her sincerity. I have copied this from another site. As it seems to address most of the concerns in a precis (nutshell) format.
“What about the people who come from other places and cannot afford to attend (Helen Kanclerz: like Bernard Red Cherries) due to gas prices and airfair, how are they to be addressed?
Strange they have arranged it to be the same time as the protest is supposed to start. Sounds like they are trying to get the protesters inside so the paying audience doesn’t see them, or have a chance to speak (Helen Kanclerz: This is to be a peaceful protest for information and enlightenment to all concerned) to the protesters about the REAL concerns regarding what she is doing in there.
I also notice they did not mention anything about who has status; even though that is a specific topic they brought up and then did the politician sales thing (Helen Kanclerz: editted think to thing, I think this is what they meant it reads better) and double talked/skirted/changed the subject.
If she is bringing the protesters inside, is she going to offer free admission to them so they can actually witness her “Prayerformance”?
If she offers it for free to the protesters, then what about all the paying audience. She must be fair to EVERYONE!!!!
Or is just that she has gotten hit in the pocketbook and is watching her golden goose turn into a gander with no eggs to lay?
I think she is still scamming and has seen all the remarks on the web, knows there is a protest and is trying to keep it out of the public eye.”
April 27, 2008 at 12:26 pm |
I saw that latest newsletter piece and it made my blood boil.
Once again, she has tried to turn the issue, not on herself, but on the “deep feelings” that are causing her detractors to complain. She’s not nuts,..it’s everybody else!
As far as this “peaceful meeting”, …I’ve had it up to my schnozzle with her non-responses. She will not answer anything, she’ll just talk “crystal-light”, nod her head, maybe wipe somebody’s blood on her drum, and claim we all have deep-pain from our ancestors that she has sacrificed her time to come and heal.
Enough. She is an energy-sucking vampire and I really see zero point in having a meeting with the criminal who has ripped off so many people, and insulted so many others with her pretense. Since when do criminals get to control those who stand to witness against them?
Rachel has some deep-seated psychological problems. If she believes her crap (how can she when she changes it to suit her needs?) then she is a sociopath and needs professional help. If she doesn’t believe her crap (more likely because she herself knows she has been changing her history from town to town), then, she’s a straight-up con who thought she could pass herself off as a high priestess, thus feeding her feelings of worthlessness she has apparently held since she was “incested’ (if that’s true) and needs prison AND professional help.
She has to understand, -if she changes all this information- from Seneca’s to Athabascans- to Lakota’s to Hopi’s, to Jews and Scots..obviously it’s a big fat lie, and I don’t believe the Creator would make a big fat liar into an emissary of light. Creator’s got a lot of other non-lying people to choose from to make into an emissary.
Then, there’s the part about redirecting your income so the IRS can’t see how much your 501(c)3 is taking in. Now, that would be cheating, and you think the Creator applauds that?
Also, I might point out that a large number of the ‘photographs” on her site are simply shots at Alaskarama and probably the Palmer Powwow, not her spectators. Look at them again,..other than the one’s with her and her drum in them,…you would take these same shots at any powwow in North America. These are just other people at some event she (or maybe not even her- anybody can shoot a camera) attended. I would bet most of them don’t even know she posted their pics on the internet.
It’s just more hype, but not even true hype. More pretense,…so you can look at all her fans! Woohoo!
So, she had a meeting with her Board and her advisory group,..gimme a break! That’s her and the other bloodsuckers who have so far seen their income take a dive! Hmm,..”Will we (her board and ‘advisory group’) ALL be charged for this charade?” MAYBE, since it looks more and more like conspiracy to defraud the federal gov’t with the redirection of funds. (Yes, I DID notice that 2 of her former board members are missing from the web-site) Could be a mutiny?
Sorry, Rachel. You do not get to suck anymore energy from your victims or your ‘detractors”. You do not get to tell any more lies or fabricate any more ‘histories’. You do not get to turn the focus off yourself just because it’s getting too hot. You made a big mistake in allowing Hartman Deetz and company take the rap for your crime. You made a mistake in allowing the Weymouth newspapers and police believe you were performing a “Native American ceremony”, when you should have fessed up to being all Deetz claimed.
You actually believe Creator would want someone who lies, cheats, and lets others be blamed for their crime, to be the “Speaker”?
Time”s up, Rachel. You can either answer the questions, explain your behaviour (with the truth), claim insanity and go get help, tell the IRS you screwed up accidentally (I don’t think they play like that, tho’), apologize to everyone you have insulted (an open letter on your website might do for that part), and knock it off, or, just go to jail without doing those things.
I believe those are your only choices at this point.
Rachel Holzwarth , I will not allow you to suck any more of my energy. I have found my problem. I have a deep pain from seeing con-artists steal from good, God-seeking people, and doing it in the name of Native Americans.
I don’t “do’ meetings with bad spirits.
Now, go to jail.
Do not collect anymore money.
Do not defile Native culture any further with your inventions.
Do not seek to defraud anymore good folks.
Do not tell your waning “board members” that “everything will be fine,..I’ll have one of my ‘Peace and Light” prayerformances over these people and get them under control”,.cuz it ain’t happening.
And, quit lying.
and , …if I was one of her “road-crew”. who has obviously heard these stories change over time, and heard the rationalization that Rachel isn’t lying, because ‘we are all the same tribe of “One”‘, I would abandon ship about now, because anyone who is knowingly supporting her lies (Not the “Oneness” part, The “I belong to the Seneca” or “I have been given blessings by the xxxx tribe”,etc.- anything that gave spectators the impression she was performing genuine Native ceremonies and that she was a genuine Native), and has said nothing, is a co-conspirator.
The message of “One” can and should most certainly be passed along for free, and without using anyone’s culture to make a circus out of it. (Unfortunately for Rachel, there’s not much money in ‘free information’)
And, I’m pretty positive that should the New Age people get wind of Holzwarth confirmed BS, they won’t be too pleased with being associated with a chronic liar, and snake-oil salesman. It’s not in their book, either, to make big cash from those seeking enlightenment, simce enlightenment is free.
So, yes, I do intend to make sure that every new age group I can find on this computer gets a read of what Rachal Holzwarth really is – a scam. I’m sure she’ll have many more of her “engagements” cancelled.
Maybe then she’ll figure out who it is has the “deep problem”.
Sorry that was so long, but, I hope Holzwarth (and company) reads it and “gets” the point.
April 27, 2008 at 12:30 pm |
Thanks for some explanation. I guess our only recourse is to stand up to them, face to face. Wade Crowe, enrolled with the Hunkpati Dakota tribe of Crow Creek, SD.
November 1, 2016 at 5:49 pm |
Or you could try doing something useful with your life, instead of expecting whitey to support you.
“Stand up” to anyone? You’ll lose, just like you’ve been doing since 1492.
April 27, 2008 at 2:25 pm |
I believe she knows exactly what she is doing. She really just does not care how hurtful and offensive it is. The arrogance and lack of respect all couched in sweet candy coated language just shows me she is a slick con. I wish I could be there in Michigan when she is confronted with the truth (yet again). Wade, I also can’t get a handle on how people get sucked in, and I know people who have been, by others like her. Convincing them otherwise ain’t easy. It means they have to give up a belief that they hold dear. Like Jay said, people will hold on to belief through all kinds of things. I can have conversations with people who just don’t know anything about this and see the awareness grow in them, that happens to just about anyone I bring it up to. They end up telling me they had no idea. But to those already sucked in, they don’t hear the truth near as well. Separating the value they percieve that they get from it from the scammer is the key I think.
April 28, 2008 at 10:16 am |
I received a response from this lady:
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:28:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: “wade crowe” View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
Subject: Re: please stop the exploitation and cultural genocide
To: “The Whirling Rainbow Foundation White Eagle”
At this point, the drum can be taken away. It is tradition that we are bound to. At this point, the regalia can be taken away. It is tradition that we are bound to. There is no further need to talk.
Wade Crowe, Hunkpati Dakota
The Whirling Rainbow Foundation White Eagle wrote:
THE WHIRLING RAINBOW FOUNDATION
April 25, 2008
GrandMother Drum Activates Michigan
Dear Community,
Since our Prayerformance in Weymouth, Massachusetts April 4, 2008, we
have received numerous emails from some traditional Native Americans
regarding our international healing work. Our hosts around the world
have also received phone calls and emails. 

The common questions that
have been raised are in reference to the heritage of members of the
Whirling Rainbow Foundation, concerns about the funding of ceremonies
and events, use of ceremonial items, as well as questions regarding
the origins of the teachings, ceremonies, and songs of The Whirling
Rainbow Foundation and GrandMother Drum International Peace Project.
We acknowledge that many of these comments contain anger and pain. If
we all choose to look deeper within, we can discover the roots of our
feelings, allowing them to assist us all to move into healing and
creative solutions.
After reading and listening to all comments, the Board of Directors
and Advisory Council of the Whirling Rainbow Foundation and the
GrandMother Drum International Peace Project takes this opportunity to
respond, clarify and create deeper understanding.
To give respect to the questions and concerns of the Native American
Community, we have opened Friday, May 2, 2008 at 6:00pm at the Troy
Community Hall 3179 Livernois MI for a Community Peace Circle to
address these interests heart to heart. We are honored to welcome all
those that have voiced their feelings through emails or phone calls to
come in a peaceful way to resolve these concerns. We also welcome all
those who feel called and would benefit from this kind of circle.
We look forward to meeting with all of you.
The Board of the Whirling Rainbow Foundation
The Whirling Rainbow Foundation
P.O. Box 2822, Palmer, Alaska USA 99645
907-745-5636
http://www.whirlingrainbow.com
thewhirlingrainbowfoundation@gmail.com
On 4/24/08, wade crowe wrote:
> please stop the exploitation and cultural genocide
>
> we will not stop until you stop
>
> wade crowe, enrolled with the hunkpati dakota nation
>
> ________________________________
> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it
> now.
>
>
—
White Eagle Medicine Woman
Director, International Healer and DrumKeeper
The GrandMother Drum Intl. Peace Project
The Whirling Rainbow Foundation
Po Box 2822
Palmer, Alaska 99645
011-1-907-745-5636
http://www.whirlingrainbow.com
April 28, 2008 at 2:26 pm |
Well, this may be of interest to some;
http://www.consciousmindjournal.com/EventCalendar.cfm
If you scroll down to Friday, May 9th, and/or click on
Native American”, you’ll see Rachel has moved her baloney to May 9th (supposedly cancelled) at the Center of Light in Oxford, Michigan.
And still claiming it as “Native American”
Rachel, You may have never heard this before but, the truth will set you free.
BTW, the item you state on your site as written by Mother Teresa was not. It was written by Dr. Kent Keith, when he was a sophomore in High School.
Sadly, it has been so overused by scammers since they found a copy hanging on Mother Teresa’s wall, it’s practically a neon sign for “scam”, now. It’s beneficial piece to post on a crook’s site to give the unaware public the impression that the site owner is a good, God-loving, honest and humble person.
Ah well, I bet she hates the internet, now.
Trust me, Rachel, if you hate it now,… it’s about to get abominable.
April 28, 2008 at 2:41 pm |
Whoops, just do it from this link here:
http://www.consciousmindjournal.com
You can find it from there.
April 28, 2008 at 2:47 pm |
Well, the event in Michigan is categorized on that web site as Native American on the left, and the flyer page uses the word sacred. It’s like she’s waving a red cloth to enrage her antagonists. Could there be a trap there?
April 28, 2008 at 3:47 pm |
Rachel responded with an email. I will copy and paste it once I get to a PC.
April 28, 2008 at 9:22 pm |
I received another response from David Miller:
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:11:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: “wade crowe” View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
Subject: Re: Conscious Mind Journal – Community News – exploitation
To: “David P. Miller”
There is no doubt that elders will be present and there is no doubt that this will end up being a lose-lose situation for the white folk who take our culture and abuse it. We will keep you in mind.
“David P. Miller” wrote: Hi,
Please contact the person to whom you are aiming at directly.
A two way communication is necessary to create win-win and I have not
received a reposnse to my questions.
Warmest regards,
David P Miller.
At 07:05 PM 4/28/2008, you wrote:
> From: wade crowe – (quicksilverexpress2005@yahoo.com)
>
> realize that the drum will be taken away
> from rachel holzwarth. realize that her regalia will be taken away
> from rachel holzwarth. we are bound by this tradition, no one will stop us.
Warmest regards,
David P. Miller SACC
davemiller@sacc.com PO Box 967
586-264-5632 Sterling Heights, MI 48311-0967
April 28, 2008 at 10:56 pm |
Maybe, Jay, but, she’s probably not aware of this,..and considering she has made the invitation after OPENLY reporting that she knows many native americans do not “appreciate’ her behavior, ….this would be quite well covered
MICHIGAN PENAL CODE
CHAPTER XLIX
INDIANS
750.348 Inciting Indians.
Sec. 348. Inciting Indians to violate treaty, etc.—Any person who shall incite, or attempt to incite any Indian nation, tribe, chief or individual to violate any treaty of peace with any other Indian nation or tribe, or with the United States, or to disturb the peace and tranquility existing between any Indian nation or tribe, and any other Indian nation or tribe, or the people of the United States, or who shall incite or attempt to incite any Indian nation, tribe, chief or individual to violate any law of the United States, or of this state, shall be guilty of a felony.
She can add that to her list of possible charges.
It’s found here:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/law/bclc/web/mich_ch_xlix.html
Some might think it’s a stupid law, but, it’s on the books.
And I would say, flaunting another culture’s sacred items, and making a mockery of that culture, knowing that this act has caused upset of Native Americans and other indigenous people in the past, and having received many many requests to NOT do this…to the point of bloodshed,…and doing it anyway,…would clearly constitute a felony in this case,….even before she sets foot in the state!
April 28, 2008 at 11:13 pm |
I think the Center of Light et al, whoever is insisting on having this shindig, again, in spite of the known issues, would probably also be considered a knowing accomplice, and be charged as well.
(I can hope)
April 29, 2008 at 12:54 pm |
Just so nobody gets excited, that law was repealed in 2002, in those words. I do believe another was instituted to take it’s place (with better wording), not an amendment but a re-write, as some people may have found the wording inappropriate or not ‘politically-correct” by 2002.
(Not too many instances of inciting us in Michigan lately, anyway. We haven’t had a Rachel Holzwarth come through in a while, though)
I’m still looking for the replacement to it, but, I don’t have good access to Michigan law.
Just wanted Rachel to realize that what she’s doing puts her on thin ice, legally, and if she continues this baloney, at some point in the complaints process, it becomes her fault as the instigator and protagonist.
You can only show blatant disrespect to someone for so long, then it becomes obvious that your purpose is to disrupt, rather than your claim to be “honoring”.
Wade, I’m sorry you received such a “non-answer”. I don’t even know why he bothered sending that to you.
April 29, 2008 at 8:55 pm |
I just got another email from David Miller:
Hi Wade,
Who is the one inciting?
I desire to create a win-win and you have indicated that you want lose-lose for the white people.
“There is no doubt that elders will be present and there is no doubt that this will end up being a lose-lose situation for the white folk who take our culture and abuse it. We will keep you in mind.”
Warmest regards,
David Miller
At 04:25 PM 4/29/2008, you wrote:
David Miller,
You are in violation of what we hold as being traditional:
MICHIGAN PENAL CODE
CHAPTER XLIX
INDIANS
750.348 Inciting Indians.
Sec. 348. Inciting Indians to violate treaty, etc.—Any person who shall incite, or attempt to incite any Indian nation, tribe, chief or individual to violate any treaty of peace with any other Indian nation or tribe, or with the United States, or to disturb the peace and tranquility existing between any Indian nation or tribe, and any other Indian nation or tribe, or the people of the United States, or who shall incite or attempt to incite any Indian nation, tribe, chief or individual to violate any law of the United States, or of this state, shall be guilty of a felony.
“David P. Miller” wrote:
Hi,
Please contact the person to whom you are aiming at directly.
A two way communication is necessary to create win-win and I have not
received a reposnse to my questions.
Warmest regards,
David P Miller.
At 07:05 PM 4/28/2008, you wrote:
> From: wade crowe – (quicksilverexpress2005@yahoo.com)
>
> realize that the drum will be taken away
> from rachel holzwarth. realize that her regalia will be taken away
> from rachel holzwarth. we are bound by this tradition, no one will stop us.
Warmest regards,
David P. Miller SACC
davemiller@sacc.com PO Box 967
586-264-5632 Sterling Heights, MI 48311-0967
April 29, 2008 at 8:58 pm |
My reply to him:
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:57:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: “wade crowe” View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
Subject: Re: Michigan Penal Code 750.348
To: “David P. Miller”
David,
The inciters are all that I see who are all facilitating Rachel Holzwarth and her paid performances. You are enabling the profit into her hands. I see that you are blind but don’t worry for we have our eyes open.
Wade Crowe
April 30, 2008 at 11:25 am |
We are still working on getting Bernard Red Cherries to Michigan. We hope an elder/spiritual leader will help her understand the pain she is causing and make her stop, with diplomacy first. The fare is up (we couldn’t buy it in time to keep it down). Bernard is arranging a PayPal account to accept payment to help in this endeavor. We are also asking if anyone has Air Miles they could donate to help fund his flight. His meals and lodging are already taken care of.
Please if there is anyone who can help do so. He will do his best to keep the peace, without him we may have issues with hotheads.
April 30, 2008 at 11:26 am |
We are still working on getting Bernard Red Cherries to Michigan. We hope an elder/spiritual leader will help her understand the pain she is causing and make her stop, with diplomacy first. The fare is up (we couldn’t buy it in time to keep it down). Bernard is arranging a PayPal account to accept payment to help in this endeavor. We are also asking if anyone has Air Miles they could donate to help fund his flight. His meals and lodging are already taken care of.
Please if there is anyone who can help do so. He will do his best to keep the peace, without him we may have issues with hotheads.
Personally if she were a woman of her word I think she should help fund his arrival to bring the unity of the people together, but then we have already seen her intentions.
April 30, 2008 at 11:37 am |
BTW, Jay, one thing I could point out from that piece from the Penal Code,..when you read it, you can clearly see one of the things the gov’t doesn’t want non-natives to figure out.
“Any Indian NATION”, and the “United States of America” are mentioned as separate entities because they are.
Native nations are OTHER countries, and sovereign in that separateness. The gov’t has never wanted non-natives to understand that Natives, reserves, and tribes are separate sovereign entities, because, when the gov’t allows American citizens or big business to operate (as in mining or logging) on reserve lands, or traditional lands, non-natives do not understand that it’s not just a rez, not just traditional land, it’s stealing from another country.
Sort of as if, the guy down the street from you, comes over and starts digging for gold in your back yard, because the mayor told him he could.
It’s your yard, but someone who does nothing towards the upkeep of your yard, tells his friend that he can do whatever he wants in your yard, and he’ll keep whatever gold he finds,…you get nothing.
This law was made to control inciteful acts by US citizens against members of Native (foreign) nations, not against other US citizens, you’ll note.
Just wanted to shed some light there, in case this had you confused.
April 30, 2008 at 4:04 pm |
as one of the lost people I still know a fraud and wuill be there with my clan and we love road kill so let the elders talk to her but we will listen and watch and then feast on her spirit so that maybe she will be reborn into a human being with two ears two eyes and one mouth and not talk so much but listen with an open heart and realize that here in the three fire’s land that we take our culture very strongly to heart so sun girl listen and do not spread your sweet love song as the elders no bull chips when they see and hear it
April 30, 2008 at 4:07 pm |
also thank you to my family in ohio good job and hope we will meet on the trail , to helen you are a fountain of knowledge and still restrained are you an elder and where do you and the family come from
April 30, 2008 at 4:36 pm |
I am Ho Chunk. I do not think of myself as an elder, but am still learning. I walk the red road, slow and purposefully. I am a teacher by nature and so spend my time learning so I may have more to teach. I will be there Friday with Bernard and crew. If you come, most there will know me. I do not nor have I ever hidden myself, but always have stood for what I believe, I just believe in peace myself and rather than use violence to attain peace, I use words, for in words come TRUE strength.
April 30, 2008 at 6:00 pm |
The paypal account is about 2 hours old, and seems to work. Please act on it. Time is short. Use “bredcherries@yahoo.com”, his email address to successully use pay pal.
Go in peace; create the best outcome possible. I believe that you may be able to do that. Be smart,and avoid snares and traps that may have been set.
May 1, 2008 at 10:09 am |
This is a call to help Bernard come to help us with getting her to stop denegrating our culture. Please we need his support.
Hello all,
Bernard is still short on funds.. but his heart is in this and he will use what little he has personally to get there even if he has to get a one way ticket and figure it out from there…. guess we should all make a prayer..
Cat
May 1, 2008 at 11:32 am |
I would hope that this woman would have lost or will lose all support as she has told too many lies to be acknowledged as any type of spiritual leader. I don’t care what ethnicity, lying to make yourself into something you’re not, especially for personal gain, is repugnant and reprehensible, and certainly not a trait of the ‘enlightened’, let alone a leader.
I sincerely pray that no one of our people will have any troubles associated with this woman’s deceit.
She has used enough of our culture and our peoples’ energy, especially the one’s arrested and charged in Weymouth, and we must be sure to ask Creator for help and strength.
If this woman had any principles, she would have stopped this long ago, but, since it has been her money-tree for several years, I’m sure she and her “Board” are loathe to part with their lucrative “religious” write-off.
As Jay said, be wary. Love of money makes people do stupid things.
May 1, 2008 at 7:42 pm |
Bernard will not be able to make it this weeknd, but will defintiely be coming in on the 9th. Please help by sending donations to get him the rest of the money he needs to come and help us put a stop to this nonsense. So far he has $427.00 of the necessary $740.00 we have a week to get him the rest. Thanks to ALL those who have helped this far.
May 2, 2008 at 2:10 am |
CHI MEGWETCH! to all who helped. Bernard has enough to come, although he won’t make it for today, arrangements are being made to bring him early next week to speak with her and everyone else involved. Again deepest heartfelt thanks go to everyone who cared enough to help. We will keep you appraised of what happens. We also wish to send a special THANK YOU to Jay for opening his eyes, ears and heart to us through this forum. I will be delighted to meet you in JUly!
May 2, 2008 at 3:01 pm |
Greetings and best wishes to all who have submitted comment in this forum. I must admit to knowing nothing about Native traditions and religion; however I do know something about Rachel Holzwarth. After reading, with respect, your many posts on this site, it is time to say something positive on Rachel’s behalf.
I’ve known her as a dear and cherished friend for over 30 years. You have bashed her, crucified her, beaten her with a club and acted as judge and jury, yet you do not know her at all. The only person who actually attended the event in Weymouth, Jay Fulton, wrote his account of the evening, and it seemed to be fairly-spoken as his best recollection. The rest of you have pecked at blood in the hen yard and have beaten your chests like henchmen at a lynching.
I have known Rachel to be a kind, loving, respectful, many-talented and caring friend. Her sense of humor and light-heartedness has been welcome in any number of trying situations. I would trust my life in her hands, and have done so on more than one occasion. I watched her raise her children in a most loving and caring manner, in a one-room homestead cabin without running water. So lest you think she has lived a posh life of privilege, think again. I have known her to try to do good things in the world and she has always been a true steward of the land. She has given of herself and her talents to help people when no profit was to be had for the doing. I am proud to be her friend.
Before you and others like you across the worldwideweb blame any more of history’s ugly problems on her, perhaps making an honest attempt at dialogue and understanding would be a better way to settle differences, rather than rushing at her with clubs in hand and spouting angry accusations and agendas.
You might be surprised to find you share more common passions than differences in this world.
May 2, 2008 at 4:05 pm |
You have no right to interfere in our affairs. Stand beside us or get ready to be pushed aside.
November 1, 2016 at 5:52 pm |
Gotta love the none too veiled threats of violence.
How’d that work out for you last time, boy?
May 2, 2008 at 6:54 pm |
Rachel holzwarth has agreed to turn her feathers in. She has also agreed to not wear her regalia again.
May 3, 2008 at 2:44 am |
I guess you could say we were ready for her, or possibly she wasn’t ready for us. with a rough count estimated by vaious sources as between 70 and 100 (some on a conferece call line) native americans and their supporters and 10-15 in support of “The Whirling Rainbow Foundation”. I am sure either way that since she wound up YELLING at the people in Michigan, ( a stark contrast to her actions in Weymouth), and was repeatedly hushed by Samantha Elliot (who continually called herself “Samantha Timoreye”) with whispers in her ear and the occasional jab in the side. There were those at the meeting who would not hear what was being said even they spoke of ebing enlighted and seeking peace with all nations, but there was also some who came with open ears and clean hearts, willing to understand another point of view, just as Jay has listened and heard. I bring you a quote found from another website written of the events of the night.
“WOW! I couldn’t even get home and the moccasin telegraph was working already.
OK, let’s see where to start. Rachel , “don’t call me that! my name is Suraj” Holzwarth requested a private audience for 2:00PM today. Then when everyone was already underway to get there in time, she called and rescheduled it for 4:30. Her initial approach showed a definite hostility toward all the women who had come to speak to her in a good way. so we left her with one grandmother from the area and the one who initially set up this “private” meeting. Fish and Wildlife showed up during that meeting and Ms. Holzwarth from the apparent look on her face as she spoke with the officer in the hall, was stricken with fear.
The meeting actually got started around 7:00. Many good words were said by the community, it was all very peaceful and respectful. At times she paid close attention to the speaker, at others she seemed oblivious.
She started by admitting that some of the grandmothers in Australia would not let her play her drum in their area either. She felt this was because her drum was too strong and they and we in Michigan were not ready for it. She was corrected in that it was not the strength of her drum that was in question, but that “We are too strong for it!”
There was some expression of anger from some of her supporters saying that they “Paid to come and Pray” and others who felt we were not allowing them to express themselves in prayer and ceremony in the way they feel is right. Their concerns (with the exception of the one who claimed anger that she had “paid to pray”) were addressed by some of our people. There werre 2 gentlemen who expressed deep and heartfelt gratitude at our openess and felt they had learned something and understood how strong our belief in our culture is.
After all had their chance to speak, her response skirted many of the issues and questions raised. What was actually said was that she agreed to not wear her “Outfit” nor play her drum in Michigan. (So what are all the people who paid all this money for her going to see?).
She also noted that the man from Fish and Wildlfe, who was blocking the door was going to escort her to her hotel and take her feathers from her, “even though they are from Australia” she pleaded. As if eagles from Australia are less sacred than eagles from here.
The meeting ended and we went to dinner. Over dinner many expressed their concern that she is not a woman of honor and may not honor her words, so we will be there tomorrow to guarantee that she keeps her promise to our grandmothers.
I want to Thank you all for your prayers and the strength you sent to us. We must contiue our fight and put a stop to this from all who will try again.”
We will continue this discussion and relay the events of the weekend later. Again Jay thank you for your openess and I see someone has decided to respond who supports her.
I would make note that this woman so amny have blindly followed has been breaking the law. I do not know if she was arrested for her crime, but she has non the less broken the law and violated the beauty of great and wonderous spirit with the wings she wore. She denied that her actions were designed to defraud people and claimed they did not mimick an ancient culture but were of her own design, she did not try to defend the fact raised by one of the people that the newspapers reported her “Native Drum” Native Ceremony”, “Native Garb” etc. This question and many others directly addressed to her went unanswered, as rather than answer the questions as they arose, she waited until the close and would only then respond by pointing at a gentleman stnading at the door with his arms folded across his chest and cry that he was taking her eagle feathers even though they came from Australia.
The Fish and Wildlife Service follows a law signed by the US, Canada and Japan (possibly by other countries as well) clearly stipulating that the posession of eagle feathers by anyone entering or leaving these countries is restricted and the person importing or exporting thes feathers must have a permit to do so. In the US the law is the person must hold Native American Status AND have a federal permit. Neither of which she could produce.
On a further note, she nor Samantha did not try to protray themself as Native in any degree, even though the Natives and non natives in attendance all stated their own heritages openly and easily, in contrast to those who came on her behalf and either did not specify their lineage or preferred to call themself “mixed” or “rainbow:” as Ms. Holwarth claimed.
Whatever happens I will be in DC with the longest walk and hope to see many of you there supporting the cleanup of Mother Earht and the wlak for peace.
May 3, 2008 at 6:15 am |
Thank you for contributing Hannahulaku. I’m reading what you say. You are saying she has been a true friend to you. She raised her family under difficult conditions. You are saying she is personally trustworthy. You are saying that she has helped people when there was no personal profit in her actions, and, like others here, she is good to the earth. None of these attributes are likely to create conflict.
Yet conflict exists.
As her friend, you are dismayed by the powerful negative reactions stated on these pages to her current “prayerperformances.” You feel that people may be blaming her unjustly for the horrible things that happened in the past. You want honest dialog, hoping that it may help to settle differences.
As her friend, can you say which points in the discussion here are valid criticisms of her, and which are not? Do her critics make any false claims about her?
Can you add any information to the discussion here? Keep in mind that when cultural conflict occurs you may find some good listeners among the various groups.
Some participants here have been abrupt and emotional, but others have spent generous portions of their valuable time to bare their thoughts and feelings openly, as you just did.
Personally, I’m interested in exploring the religious angle, for my own analytical reasons. Can you tell readers how the concept of “Prayerperformace” came about over the last 30 years?
May 3, 2008 at 8:33 am |
Hello, and thank you, Jay for your polite response and inquiries. I’m sorry conflict exists, and unfortunately there are many conflicts and pains in our world today, some resolvable and others not, some of our own making and others not.
As I said before, I do not know about Native traditions and religion, and therefore I do not know if what has been leveled by so many against my friend are just or unjust. Obviously the people who spoke here feel strongly about these issues, and I therefore must value their beliefs. I know that my friend too has deep feelings and convictions, and that she also believes strongly in what she does in the world. She has always demonstrated passion in doing good things in the world and I have always believed her heart was in the right place to help others.
My friends are gold, as is Rachel, Suraj, White Eagle Medicine Woman. It is not for me to decide another person’s path, nor is it for me to call another by anything other than what that person wishes to be called. I have not always understood what she does, but I have always believed she tries to do things well, with conviction, and with others’ best interests at heart.
All I can tell you about “Prayerformance” is what I have known to be true in my friend’s heart over many years of knowing her. Since I live distant from her, I have never experienced the Grandmother Drum, and now I wonder if I will indeed experience this with my friend.
In order to lighten this all a bit, I will tell a short story. Many years ago when my friend, Rachel, was visiting my home with her children, she expressed with her usual enthusiasm and glee, her interest in drumming. The conversation came and went and they returned home to Alaska. A month or so later I found an electronic drum pad while I was prowling around a favorite music store. I bought it and sent it to Alaska, thinking that playing drums in a one-room cabin with children sleeping would be disruptive, and this device had an option to listen to the sound through an earphone. I knew that learning rhythms is something that requires practice and coordination, so it seemed like a perfect gift for my friend. Little did I know what she meant by “drumming.” Obviously I didn’t get it.
This brings me to an appreciation for talents. My friend, whatever these people say she is or is not, has many talents and I admire her and love her for them. Among many other talents, which are not germane to this discussion, she has a strong, clear voice, innate rhythm for drumming and dancing, an ability to help others heal and see the good in themselves, as well as an ability to build and maintain strong friendship. She loves nature and is more than capable in the wilderness. Are these not valued attributes in both cultures?
These people have reduced my friend, a person they do not know at all, to a set of awful, vile descriptors, completely lacking in warmth and humanness. This is not the person I know her to be at all. So, I must speak up on her behalf in the face of this nasty adversity.
May 3, 2008 at 5:02 pm |
Hello hannahulaku,
Your loyalty to your good friend is admirable. I can believe within the context of your friendship, what you say is true.
AND she has been dishonest in the way she has carried her message to the world. Does the ends justify the means here? Is it justified to lie about one’s heritage, and make up things and label them Native American when they are not? Even if her motives are good, she taints them by disrespecting Native peoples.
Since you admit to knowing nothing about Native traditions, let me assure you, anyone who DOES know about them, even me, a non Native who has chosen to educate myself, can clearly tell that what she is doing is soo off base and disrespectful.
She may have had good intentions but she has done harm here. And she has been asked politely in the past to stop and has not. If one talks reasonably and is ignored and disrespected, sometimes the volume has to be raised to get the message across.
She has mislead many people like yourselves who know nothing about Native practices. That’s alot of misinformed people. In a time when the real truth needs to be known, spreading fantasy as truth is disrespectful and harmful.
I understand that there are things that tribal people of all kinds have that modern civilization surely needs to survive. But the way to reclaim that must be done in a humble respectful manner, taking very good care NOT to arrogantly overstep. If we value their wisdom then we should LISTEN when they tell us something is wrong.
White folks biggest problem is their arrogance and entitlement. I can say that because I am white. We need to shut up and listen.
I hope you can hear what is being said and I hope your friend can to.
Nona
May 3, 2008 at 6:51 pm |
Jay:
Here is a quote from another website on the events of today. I thought this sounded much like I found your report, honest and unbiased.
“Update for today. Ms. Holzwarth, since she gets a little over the edge if you call her by her given name, was a woman of her word, or maybe some of her supporters kept her to it. I do not know for sure.
It was a long day yesterday and a short night last night, so my typing may have missed a bit. In brief since 4:00AM yesterday morning (It is now 8:30PM today) I have managed 2 hours sleep, so forgive me if my typing is worse than last night please.
We gathered between 9:00 and 9:30 this morning. The hosts were all there. Pictures were taken of our license plates. One of the hosts came and was speaking with us, trying to get us to leave. We told him we were there peacefully and with respect to ensure she was an honorable woman, following the agreement she had with us. The Sheriff was called. He came and asked us what was going on. We explained the situation and that the Fish and Wildlife had taken her eagle feathers last night and we only wanted to ascertain that the agreement was being followed. He showed great respect for our purpose and asked us to move all our vehicles to one side of the road for safety purposes which we were in the process of doing when a police officer from a neighboring town drove up. They had a brief talk and the sheriff came back with him and again asked our purpose, we explained we were there peacefully and with no anger but simply assuring our agreement of the previous evening was being met. The Sheriff informed us that they were told (of all things to say about natives I was in shock over this) we were protesting against a veteran who had just come home from the war. I am positive they saw by our reaction that nothing could be further from the truth. As the police left they waved at us, realizing we were there in a good way.
The owner of the property came back and asked two of us to come and walk his land and speak with him. This we did. We walked and spoke honestly from the heart. I felt him to be an honest man who had made a simple mistake in not understanding our protocols. He asked us to bless the land, which we did, this blessing was for the earth and to ask the creator to remove any bad spirits from this place and cause it to be a place of understanding. He guaranteed us by his word that the drum would be kept in its trailer. We chose not to enter the event at that point not wanting to taint the good that was happening. Our drum came and sang a song to bring us all good feelings. One of our members proceeded to go to the event and see what needed to be seen. Ms. Holzwarth was dressed in the same outfit we had seen the night before, a white robe, covered by a long white coarse woven poncho. She had a small hand drum and was using it to sing. Our member returned and we sang some more. We had discussed leaving after a couple more songs and the Sheriff returned. He had been told more people had arrived wer causing a traffic hazard on a dirt road, and came to see. He informed us he felt we were doing this in a good way but needed to be sure there were no emotions going to flare. Our people were well aware of our position here and were all in a peaceful way. A tow truck with a motor home and a following car drove by and blew the horns giving our singers a thumbs up. A woman drove up and welcomed us, she told us if the parking was an issue we could park on her land just down the road. She is appalled by the pay to pray concept of this venue. So it was a good day.”
May 3, 2008 at 7:03 pm |
I would now like to address hannahulaku;
You appear to be a good friend. I have difficulty understanding some things which I know to be true and perhaps you can help to understand.
Why does she deny her own past? Last night, I was there, she vehemently denied having any caucasian blood. I was taken aback at her anger after having heard Jay and his description of her calm demeanor. Why if even you have called her Rachel, did she completely deny that was her name, even yelling at our respected grandmothers; whom we approach with great humility, that it was not her name, her name was Suraj?
Why did she not answer questions that were directly asked, but forestalled them saying she would answer them later and then not answer them at all?
We are generally an open honest people and only ask the same in return. If you are asked a question you do not want to answer simply tell the person, I am sorry I chose not to answer, is this something that she feels is wrong to say?
Please be direct and open with me, that is all I ask, simple answers.
Thank you for helping us to understand you perspective.
May 4, 2008 at 6:59 am |
Hello Nona, thank you for your comments. I cannot speak about the dishonesty you all have accused Rachel/Suraj of perpetrating. I simply do not know and would not speculate. I must admit to being surprised and confused by the events of the past several weeks and by the changes my friend has been through over the past number of years. Since I am in another part of the country, distant from her, I could only trust that the changes she was making in her life were changes made for the good of all, herself and others. Whenever I spoke with her by telephone about what she was doing in the world, she spoke excitedly and passionately about trying to do good things. When your friend tells you these things you listen and believe.
I spend each day trying to do good in the world. My profession is a helping profession and therefore a healing profession. I have worked hard to reach high with my education, skills and techniques, in order to advocate for my patients. I must look each person with whom I work in the eyes and assure myself, that I have done the very best I can to help them move along their path. I must be able to sleep at night. When they are on my treatment table, they are the most important person in the entire world to me, and after they walk out the door, then the next person becomes the most important person in the world. These are sacred trusts. Perhaps I am naïve, but I have believed that others think and do the same with their knowledge and skills on behalf of the people who place their well-being and trust in their hands. So, that said, I think I understand “…humble, respectful manner, taking very good care NOT to arrogantly overstep.”
I cannot abide by lying. It is the huge disparity between what you all are saying and what I have always known or thought I knew about my friend that prompted my responses here on this site. Someone is lying. Now however, because of all the events that have occurred in the past month, my chance to look my friend in the eye and see what goes on with her, will not happen. As you all have pointed out, her plans have changed and the visit with me she had planned to make, will not indeed happen.
The concept of entitlement, along with arrogance, are concepts with which I am familiar. I cannot say I understand them, especially when they rear their heads on nearly a daily basis in one form or another, both in daily personal or local events, as well as in national and international events. Entitlement and arrogance are on my radar.
From notes I wrote to myself inside the cover of Black Elk Speaks, May is the moon when the ponies shed… so, if I understand correctly, then perhaps we are due for a renewal in all this, and something good will spring from it all.
May 4, 2008 at 8:33 am |
Jay:
Again I wish to thank you for this open and honest forum you have created for us to discuss the issue you witnessed.
Hannahulaku:
I think you are an honest woman, I see no reason to think otherwise. I do not know of the changes in your friend. I have only known of her since Feb. of this year. In that short time I have seen many changes in her ways myself. I know your friend is in shock and disbelief right now and is very vulnerable. If she were my friend, I would be making every attempt possible to contact her and find out what is happening.
The woman I saw Friday was hurt and screaming for help. Her spirit looked broken. This was not our intent, we only wanted the abuse of our ways and culture to be stopped. We had no voice until about 30 years ago. I am needless to say considerably older than that. I grew up in the original age of don’t tell, but our don’t tell was of our spirituality or we would be put in jail. As Jay now knows it was against the law in a land of religious freedom to practice ours, just as for the wiccan to during the Salem witch trials.
Since we received the right to practice our own religion it has become something for others to make money from, just as the “Wild West Show” was a cash cow for Bill Cody on the backs of our ancestors.
Fish and Wildlife gave your friend a ticket on Friday and she is to appear in Federal Court for her abuse of a glorious species now under federal protection. I have not met any adult who does not know that posession of Eagle Feathers is against the law in most countries. She fully knew this when she wore those feathers on her “outfit”.
When she faced the reality that she might be imprisoned for her blatant violation of a law,she became obviously distraught and hence her vehement burst of anger.
Samantha Elliot was constantly whispering to her during her meeting with us. Maybe this is why she has changed. If in truth she is your friend all may not be lost if you can get her to speak with you, to listen and remember who she once was a woman proud of herself, not built off the backs of those she never met.
May 4, 2008 at 8:37 am |
Hello Helen, and thank you too for your response. I too am puzzled by your question/comment, “Why does she deny her own past? Last night, I was there, she vehemently denied having any caucasian blood.”
When she asked that she be called Ma Anand Suraj (spelling?), it was following a trip to the UK where she said she explored her Celtic roots. I gathered from the conversation we had that she had experienced a renewal and changed her name to reflect it. I had difficulty with the formality of the name, not only because it was long, but because I did not know what it meant. I also must admit to not understanding why people change their names, and have several friends who have done so, very drastically. In my mind’s eye she is, her visage is, “Rachel.” When, in her conversations and letters she shortened the name to simply “Suraj,” then I followed suit, and this was easier for me personally.
As to why she would deny having Caucasian blood, I do not know for certain.
With regard to her answers to you and the Grandmothers, I can imagine that under such scrutiny and insistence to change I would just plain “lose it.” No one is above losing it in the face of angry threats of physical and emotional harm, although I realize from your description of that particular evening’s meeting, it was not physically threatening. You all have pressed her hard. I cannot say why she did not answer, except that under such pressures, most of us might not do or say what we mean. I’m sure we all can replay over and over in our minds, a conversation or confrontation we had with someone, and ask ourselves why we didn’t think to say or do something in the heat of the moment, that seems so clear in hindsight.
I still maintain that my friend Rachel/Suraj thinks she is doing something good in the world. In the face of such pressure to change, she might be confused and frightened. I am doing what I said I would like to avoid – speculating – sorry. If I thought I was doing something good, and others came at me with such anger and insistence, telling me I am doing something bad, then I would perhaps be confused.
Rachel/Suraj has always leaned towards the poetic. It is one of the things I admire about her. When I see a rock, and she describes the rock, I realized mine was the analytic and her view was the poetic, streaming consciousness view. She has always caused me to view the world through a different filter. One I do not seem to see, except with difficulty.
Once, during a very trying situation with several extremely difficult people who were with us, Rachel/Suraj brought back the beauty of the moment by throwing back her head and spontaneously singing something loudly and joyously. Then we laughed as we continued bicycling up the road and, as we have always referred to it since, got many bugs in our teeth. When we met up with the difficult ones later, they didn’t seem so difficult anymore.
Anyway, my point in this is that perhaps she has taken poetic license with who she is, in an effort to promote the concept that we are one people. I have difficulty believing that the concept of one people on one planet is a bad one. That much is good, considering the at-odds posturing of so many in cultures of the world, who must try to live in peace with someone next door. Maybe her message and your message are difficult to express, maybe she has not presented it as well as she might, maybe you have not presented it as well as you might, and maybe everyone involved has been misunderstood on some level.
While dialogue is good, the conflict at hand is not good, and I wish it were not occurring. I do not presume to understand all that is at issue, and I will not take sides per se. So, as you described it, this is my perspective.
May 4, 2008 at 8:54 am |
Helen, thank you for the update. I will call her and speak with her.
May 4, 2008 at 9:10 am |
Hannahlaku:
I appreciate your open and frank way of speaking. I too am of a poetic nature, to wit I actually have several awards for my poetry, and am internationally published in three languages.
I truly am concerned for her emotional being, having seen her actions in such contrast to those described by Jay.
We were not attacking her emotionally, but if you will bear with this analogy you may see why we are upset.
If a person were to dress in a kosak (I belive that is the name for the robe a priest uses) and collar and built a booth and traveled around the world charging people $33.00 to come into a room to confess, they would be put in jail.
Yet when someone puts on Native Regalia ( I know that is the correct term) and builds a drum and travels around the world charging $33.00 (and more) to hear them sing in vocables people call the original practitioners of that religion “Radicals” (this term comes directly off a letter published on her website) and nothing happens to the person imitating the respected elder of our religion.
How can anyone of good conscience allow this continue and not try to stop it.
I agree this is one world, but I also treasure and value the individual and their right to choose, without infringing on the beliefs of others.
Our religion was passed to us through thousands of generations and is free to all who wish to learn, the one caveat is that you cannot charge for that which was given to you for free. How can you possibly pay for something that has no price.
May 4, 2008 at 9:23 am |
Hello hannahulaku,
I’m going to ask you to look at this conflict from a different persective. Someone once recently said to me, “find the humaness in the human mess.”
I am really good at inadvertantly making messes, and sometimes I make messes even when I am trying my best not to, so I understand how awful that can feel. AND many times, good and growth I could not have anticipated have come out of the mess, for me and others involved.
I believe your friend has made one heck of a human mess. I empathize. People used to tell me “you do all the wrong things for all the right reasons.”
Can you see how this mess could possibly be in service to the greater good?
Can you see how the messes we all make and then STAY to clean up can be a source of progress? If you believe in a higher intellegence, can you see the messes as a part of the whole? Can you see that they have their own purpose?
I would disagree with you that this conflict is bad. I think it is good. Messy, yes, painful, yes, and also with potential to create a better understanding for many people. What’s the opportunity for you here?
May 4, 2008 at 10:05 am |
Get Jacksonoffthe20
you made me think! Thank you for that!
Hannahulku:
I realized a statement I read from another site might contain the good in the very last sentence. I have copied several sentences from the blog so it may be put in perspective. But personally I like the last sentence the best.
“We were not there to abuse her, we were there to teach her and help her understand the error of her way. I personally have contacted her on several occasions to try and explain the issue, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. She would not respect lone voices, but when we came together as a group to speak, we were there to tell her she had to stop, did she listen, hear? I think not, because she appeared to think it was only Michigan speaking. She will continue to face our people as she travels this land. She faced it in Australia also for as you know she started by telling us there were nations in Australia where the grandmothers would not let her play her drum in their lands. She told one audience of an Australian “fighter” (I do not know their correct term for what we call a warrior so I humbly apologize and use the term she did) who objected to her coming to their land and there was a problem of which she did not speak further.
Considering it is not just our land and people who object, I would think there is a lesson for all. Respect the traditions of all nations, they are not yours to use as you choose.”
May 4, 2008 at 10:20 am |
When you do something of value and merit for someone else, for free, that is called “doing good”.
When you do something of value and merit for someone else, for money and/or fame, that is not called “doing good”, that’s called “doing a job”.
Rachel Holzwarth needed money, could apparently not make enough using her other talents, so “invented” a job, and the attendant necessary trappings (costume, history, personal contact with God, etc.) in order to get people to pay for it.
Intention to “do good” was lost the second a price tag was attached to the activity.
I believe that Rachel came up with a business concept (however, flawed), and put it into action, using “messages from Metatron”, and “messages from the Grandmothers” in order to amass donations from the “lost but looking’ bunch. Her biggest mistake was using a drummed-up (pardon the pun) heritage , using sacred items to cement the fantasy, and making herself a non-profit, rather than just biting the IRS bullet and not trying to portray herself as a religious personality.
For some reason, I keep thinking she had an “L. Ron Hubbard” moment, but unlike his using spacemen from Xenu (who are all dead and can’t organize protests) as the basis for his Scientology empire, she chose a living group of people, who are neither dead, nor likely to allow a crock of baloney about them, to be a ridiculously lucrative source of income for her.
Somewhere along the way, those dollar signs turned Ms. Do-good into someone capable of lying about a lot of things to a lot of different people and organizations in order to keep the money flowing.
May 4, 2008 at 1:02 pm |
hannahulaku, you can call her, she will just lie to you. When she finally quits this charade, she will find some other beings to exploit. This woman changes skins more that a snake does. What really disturbs me and what seems to have gotten lost in this womans action is where she took the blood from the Fallen and subdued Wampanog warrior and smeared it on her drum. In some of our cultures that is tantamount to stealing his spirit, at the very least it is a trophy on her part it is at least a blood coup. It is no different than taking a scalp. And to further this dishonor, it was taken BY HER even though it wasn’t even her kill and thus, NOT HER TROPHY TO TAKE!. This has made anything that she does, or she will do as the actions of a cowardly enemy for taking the blood of this warrior.
May 4, 2008 at 4:59 pm |
Thank you C-Rezzz for contributing another perspective. This entire story has brought out powerful emotions from all the participants.
I’m hoping to hear, or read, additional facts soon about the eagle feathers issue. Are there any contributors from Michigan who can bring information about the facts of the case there? I googled Livernois in the News category and got zero relevant returns. Maybe it’s just all too new or not newsworthy to the digital media there? Let’s all stick to the issues and the possible resolutions.
May 4, 2008 at 5:04 pm |
Thank you all for your words. I have read what you have had to say carefully, and I will have to take time to digest this before I respond.
And yes, I do believe some good can come of the conflict, however difficult and painful conflict might be. Perhaps I did not make my thoughts clear about that. I believe this all will be a huge learning process for me and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and willingness to dialogue about it.
C-Rezz, I need no time at all to respond to you. I disagree with your assessment of the situation. Hartman Deetz arrived in Weymouth with five other people. Six angry violent people ganged up on one unarmed woman. She had the courage to face Hartman Deetz and the others down, despite the fact that he wielded a club and was hitting things with it. I don’t know Hartman Deetz’s size, but Rachel/Suraj is maybe 5’4″ and weighs possibly 110 pounds. Hartman Deetz lost it, they ganged up on her, and four of them suffered the consequences of their actions. Six on one is not bravery. That is a mob, and mobs are not courageous. There is no honor in mob mentality.
What disturbs me is how easily the angry rhetoric comes from you and others in online forums elsewhere. Angry talk is cheap when you have the anonymity of the internet to protect you from the consequences of your venomous words. This anger is very much a part of this entire problem. It obviously is not a one-sided issue.
Others on this site have responded to each other with courtesy and thoughtfulness. We are trying to understand each other and differing perspectives. Your thoughtless anger and careless words do not help that process.
May 4, 2008 at 5:54 pm |
If I might intercede with C-Rezzz you should go and talk to your elders. The issue with Hartman’s blood is not a forgotten issue, nor will it be forgotten until what is truly right has happened. We are trying to come to a peaceful resolution. Time and the creator will be the true judges of right and wrong. One of my great concerns was that the spirit of this mighty bird be allowed to rest the way he was meant and not be used for a monetary purpose contrary to every law both legal and moral.
The drum is not the only remaining issue here to be dealt with. In my teachings regalia is also sacred as are all our ways. A woman must be not act in ways to do dishonor the regalia she wears. I have seen videos of her writhing on the floor in what I consider promiscuous and very unbecoming. My teachings also say if the regalia is dishonored the grandmothers must take it from her. This is still to be done.
When her Eagle feathers were taken that broke her, it was a visible change in a matter of hours. Enough damage was done to her spirit, it is not our way to destroy the spirit of a person, however it is right that justice be served. She needs time now to heal.
The creator will take steps in his time to see what is right for his children is what is done.
I will let you know what I find about the feathers if and when i can.
May 4, 2008 at 7:47 pm |
There is a video of the weekends events. The person who recorded this as is the case of every Native you see had only slept a few hours so there are many typos in the text, please bear this in mind when you watch.
My question is having watched the video and thinking on all this, a reality suddenly hit. Can someone tell me why, Rachel did not want the meeting recorded. Yet the AIM members knowing they were being taped did not hide their faces and were speaking openly, unafraid, even when the police were there. This just seems very odd the person who claims to the entire world she is in the right, hides her “open meeting” from the public eye and the people who are purportedly (according to her) the aggressors do so in the open eye of the public in front of the police, unafraid and unashamed of their actions.
May 4, 2008 at 11:30 pm |
Thank you Helen Kanclerz for your intercession. I asked one already and his answer was the same as the last time something like this happened. A man who took me as a brother lost his nephew when he was murdered. He got caught between two gangs from two other ethninities. While he was trying to get ouit of the way, he ran between some buildings where he was ambushed by one of the gangmembers that was assigned to cut any of the other gang mambers trying to escape.
Now this was an extrodinary young man, great dancer, singer, warrior. He was lean, tall and had long flowing hair which he kept in two braids as is our way. When he was down, they took his hair. This happened right next to his home. He died in the arms of pregneant girlfriend. With the help of ome friends that I had with media connections we were able to get the two killers off the street, at least for a while. His hair was never recovered, we even offered to buy it back, no questions asked but to no avail.
So, I guess my question to her defenders is if they have a problem with what she did with this man’s blood. Do you condone it? Could you see any instance in which that behavior or action is called for? Could you even try to justify this action?
And no, I wasn’t in Mass for that melee. But I understand the emotions that are drawn on when confronted by things that one is sensitive to and very protective of. Yes there is much healing needed but one of the things you defenders need to understand is that we see these things differently from you. The things that we see her as “stealing” are ours, given to us by the Creator for us to use. They are not interchangeable we can’t use Dine’ ceremonies, nor will they use ours. Our spiritual ways, except for the Peyote way, do not cross tribal lines, though each NAC Ytibal chapter does things a little differently each according to their tribe’s way. That’s all you need to know about that. So with that in mind, how can we be expected to accept or much less just turn our heads to to your friends activities while we aren’t even able or supposed to “give” our ceremonies to our brother tribes. These are what makes us, US. This along with our language, culture and ways give us our tribal identities. I have told folks that I am American by consquence, if I am Christian, it is by choice but I am Indian by the Grace of God. If you can understand that, you are well on your way to understanding the underlying frustrations that make us challenge your friends ligitimacy to cinduct such activities. We do these things because we are supposed to, she does them by choice.
As for the rest of you who are trying to educate her defenders, I wish you luck. It is my feeling and prayer that they have heard you. By no means do I want her friends to dismiss her as a friend. That is not my intent, my intent is show them that many people, with legitimate ties to these ceremonies have a major beef with her. I am not even going to ask her defenders to accept our views but I hope that they will at least try to understand that many, many people are upset with this woman. I would hope that before they try to justify her actions, they will step back and look at it from the other side. I want them to say to themselves that they will be there to help her when it’s over but remember that any conflict that arises either through discourse or those unfortunate incidents in Massachusetts, it will be because she has chosen to proceed with her “Native American” prayerformances. Respectfully, I have to remind you that she can no longer plead ignorance.
I must apologize to you Mr. Hannahulaku for singling you out earlier. I had to see what was lying beneath your elequent and well thought out responses to those questioning your friends actions. I believe that you are a sincere man and from what I can see, a very staunch and true friend. I have no pearls of wisdom for you but I wll give you this. See if you can find a Navajo that is well versed in “HOZO”, not the understanding you get from reading a book. Go out and actually find a Navajo or Dine’, as some prefer to be called. Ask them if they are willing to teach you. I am not Dine’, so it is not mine to give you. But if you can find that and someone to show you, I think it would help you see why conflicts like these arise and how to maybe help your friend with her problems. I have a feeling that you have spent time in New Mexico, Arizona or the Southwest, so you may have already had some exposure to it. I will ask you to convey to your friend rachel, that the opposition will not stop as long as she continues using any Native American aspect in her ceremonies. She has been told and I believe them when they that she will be left alone to do her thing as long as she doesn’t try to use or imply any Native American aspect to her ceremonies. At some point though she should address the blood taking incident, perhaps she should contact the one whose blood she took and try to make peace. I can’t give you any advice here because I don’t know how the Wamponoags handle situations like these. Sooner would probably be better than later. She also has to understand that this was a very grevious incident and might even be unforgiveable.
I have heard from some of the elders about what this woman did, We need to pity her, pray for her, she is lost and can’t find her center and she is trying to take the shortest path she thinks she can take to get there. I won’t share the rest of what was said because we have prolonged this enough, hopefully she will abide and we can all move on to other offenders.
May 5, 2008 at 8:23 am |
C-Rezzz:
I am glad you spoke with the elders, we all need to understand the differences in our culture. These differences must be explained in a respectful way for all to hear. The experience that Jay was witness to should have caused him to not listen, but he was open and honest and listened when he was spoken to respectfully. In this way he has come to hear us and understand. Our words are truly our best defense and so should be used to bring peace through a mutual understanding. Sometimes the process is slow, but it works, and this is what we must keep in mind. We will speak with Hartman and find the solution for his ways.
May 5, 2008 at 11:22 am |
There’s progress being made and that’s the important thing here. Hannahulaku you seem like a really good person. You’re open and your grounded and those are admirable qualities and you’re also a good friend. I hear where you’re coming from, but let me put into perspective on a personal level where I’m coming from. I’m not talking for everyone…I’m just talking for myself here.
I agree with you that Holzwarth’s heart is in the right place deep down, but just WANTING to do good is not enough. If you’re gonna talk the talk you have to walk the walk. Her activities do directly affect me and force difficulty on my way of life. I’m not living on the reservation anymore and when I first left the culture shock threw me for a loop. I was in college looking for ways to enter the technology boom and taking classes there,but I offset them by taking some NAS courses. What I found in those courses is a lot of interpretations of books and literature, but the professors were often times not specialists in this field. They had very little if any firsthand knowledge of the things they were trying to teach about and as a result…taught a garbled mess and occasionally taught information that was wrong or taught from sources that are known to not be credible. They just didnt’ know any better, but they were professors in positions of authority and impressionable students took them at their word. When questioning their sources or their information a professor can HATE to be wrong and they’ll oftentimes bolster their argument to support a claim.
This misinformation taught often creeped into all aspects of my life….other classes, social life, perceptions others had about me etc. I was constantly being put in the position of a “spokesman” for all Native peoples. It’s a lot of pressure and the first time around in school I let it get to me. Went through a lot because of that initial failure. The second time around I find myself in the same position. I’m a little older and take it less personally that someone has formed an opinion on me without knowing me based on WILD MISINFORMATION about Native Americans in general. I’ve come to accept it as part of my day. Sad but true….
The biggest difference between the last time around and this time around is the growth of the internet in that 10 year period. The bad misinformation has changed and grown along with it. Several times I’ve had to turn down people who wanted to come to my house to experience “tribal drumming” like they saw on youtube. I’ve had people tell me they can “channel” Native American priestesses….when a bunch of my bros and I get together to sing…we’ve had the cops called on us…on the raunchy side, I’ve had comments like “Indian men without long hair are like men without “d***s”….as a compliment to how my braids looked. I mean….what?!?!?!?! Who talks to strangers like that….
Now having to wander through that mess ….especially in the academic environment, but also at my job where I’m working in a public environment….it’s still a lot of work for me. I handle it by spending time at home a lot with my family to have a break from it all and just be myself. I relieve the stress and center myself by engaging in spiritual practices that were taught to me at home. Without them I’d probably be some ailing alcholic on the street who’s just quit the fight….
So while Holzwarth means good….she’s making the mistake of someone who’s arrogant. Her actions DIRECTLY contribute in a huge way to the misconceptions and misinformation. She puts herself in a position of power as a teacher and KNOWINGLY claims misconceptions as fact misleading her open minded students. All of which came with an understanding that they were hearing something of quality and as a result of her “stage persona” portraying several characteristics associated with Native American tribes and DIRECT claims to be teaching tribal specific informaton, a large percentage (except for the few that have personal knowledge of real Native traditions) of her attendees think they learned real traditions from a “real” Native American. She’s making money to tour the world and people like myself who just want to raise happy kids and make difference in a positive way to my community are left to clean up the mess she leaves behind when she leaves town.
All along the way she’s had messages to stop the charade…all of which have come on deaf ears. As her friend….reason with her to be completely truthful about the things she teaches. They’re all her own personal interpretations of things she’s come across in life. She doesn’t represent those places…she can only represent herself. Her actions to keep up her image have led her down a disastrous path….there’s things she’s done wrong and if she truly wants to be an example…as a teacher….then she MUST admit her errors….befuddling the truth….claiming ties to Native Americans…taking jobs as a consultant to Native Americans…..these types of things just can’t go on. Plead with her to step back and look at herself….take the names away…take the persona away…..let her just be a human being for a while again rather than trying to save the world. She may find she’d do more good that way…..right now her message is tainted….all for her benefit and at the expense of others. Addiction comes in many forms….addiction to a ’cause can be just as harmful to those you come across as any drug….help her out before she destroys herself.
May 5, 2008 at 1:00 pm |
I have read, carefully, all you have said. I do see your complaints and I do see your pain at having items and ceremonies you revere as sacred, “stolen”. I hear the reasons why you are upset. I especially liked C-Rezz’s explanation of what we do by choice, what we are by circumstance, and who we are by the grace of God. Thank you, this is very instructive for me, and very eloquently described. I do not condone anything, and I am trying desperately to understand everything. This is a huge task. Thank you too for the advice regarding Navajo HOZO. I have heard you and will wait for the opportunity, should it arise.
Superdog, I also hear your description of what you experienced at university. I can say with certainty, I understand this more fully than other examples. Because of my grace-of-God self, I have experienced much of what you described although based on my own circumstances. The mantle of responsibilities that comes with representation, either by default or by choice, is a heavy one. And, because of conscious choice, I have experienced some of what you describe in my professional life. If I could but choose differently, life would be much easier, but because I choose by my ethics and standards, I cannot do as many of my colleagues do.
Superdog, your admonition regarding addiction to a cause sometimes becoming just as harmful as addiction to drug is a very powerful statement. What would seem to be a good corollary to this involves the pitfalls associated with becoming one’s position, as opposed to defending one’s position. I am trying to be mindful of this with you all. Thank you.
I cannot know now who is right and wrong in this, because the issues teeter between cultures. I see the distinctly opposing views. Because I am my friend’s friend and know her personally, I hear her point of view. Because I have listened to you, although I do not know you personally, I hear your perspectives and beliefs. I am thankful for your patience and understanding of my ignorance of your ways and religious beliefs. You are very convincing and eloquent. I perceive that I am caught “between” and there are many delicate concepts to consider.
I very strongly believe that just because two people disagree, they are not ipso facto, enemies. Ultimately, obviously, none of this depends on my deciding who is right and who is wrong. What is more important is my understanding, so that when and if we meet some day by chance, I will know more about how you feel and believe, and you will know more about how I feel and believe. This brings us closer to being able to live in peace with one another, despite possible differences.
May 5, 2008 at 1:02 pm |
She’s offering online courses for 200 dollars a pop on her website. Spiritual teaching over the phone is included. Disgusting. My heart goes out to all the people conned by this woman.
I just wanted to say how wonderful this forum has been. I’ve shed many tears here. I’m floored by all the compassionate hearts that are reaching out to this woman’s soul even when she continues to do heinous acts like smearing the blood on the drum. I’ve prayed for her soul often this week. I’ve prayed also that the drum be destroyed. It’s unlikely that she will stop this behavior with it in her possession. I feel that most of the negativity and bad feeling is around that drum. I’ve looked at pictures of her drumming from links in this forum. When I saw those people laying around at the foot of the drum, I felt physically ill.
May 5, 2008 at 2:16 pm |
Appalachian Woman:
As you probably know one of our biggest complaints is the idea that she is making people pay for that which we openly give for free. How can you possibly charge for something that is priceless. The healing of a spirit is something beyond the monetary life.
Hannahulaku, Our culture like most does not charge for spiritual healing, but rather make sure our healers are cared for because of their selfless ways. I am not trying to bad mouth your friend, to the contrary, I think she is being influenced by someone else. However none the less, there are HUGE sums of money being paid for her presence, these sums are far in excess of the cost of taking the drum to the locations specified. $30,000.00 plus costs for shipping the drum from Alaska, when it is here in the lower 48 already, for a one week event in Yellowstone for her and 5 others when there is a Native Reservation bringing over 200 people to the same event for $20,000.00. The Native reservation includes many elders who often due to medical situations should cost more than those in her troop who are physically fit. She charges $3,666.00 for someone to follow her from Feb. to Aug. and they must pay their own travel, lodging and meals. I am still at a loss as to what the $3,666.00 pays for when the travel expenses are paid by the hosting center who also pay $2,500.00 or 60% of the door take whichever is greater, plus 100% of all the sales of her merchandise.
The woman you described to us was not doing this for money, but to try to bring peace to the world. This is why I begged you to intercede for her and try to talk to her and reason with her and get her to see that she has lost herself and is actually causing more of a division among people than what she is healing.
I cannot continue discussing this as it causes me great stress to imagine all the damge being done in so many ways. Please call on her, speak with her, tell her she is harming more than healing.
May 5, 2008 at 5:48 pm |
i havent read this in awhile
but i must adress the acusation by hannahulaku that we ganged up 6 on 1 against rachel holzwarth
i will state the truth
7 of us stood up for our belifes against a crowd of 130
rachel being the ringleader we adressed her
we ganged up on no one
May 5, 2008 at 7:21 pm |
Thank you, Hartman for returning & Thanks also to Jim for a new look at the facts.
Point & counterpoint !
We are all of us readers here, and thinking about these issues now. I think that each of us sees that evening through the lens of prior experience and beliefs. Different eyes see different emphasis and details. When we dig into those details, at each new level we find complexity. questions and new perspectives.
Since the taking of the eagle feathers, no one can hold Rachel up as a paragon of virtue. Since the more skillful handling of issues at Michigan, the events in Massachusetts, by contrast, plainly could have been planned and executed more effectively. As it happened, Hartman did not get a chance to convince the wider audience that his views should heard. But then, had the passion not flared that evening, none of would be here learning about Native American history, culture and beliefs.
May 6, 2008 at 2:43 am |
Jay:
What hartman & friends did was to stand in the traditional way to face the person who was being questioned in front of everyone, to find why that person was doing what they were doing.
In truth this is what we did in Michigan, but rather than confronting her in front of an audience she chose to close the doors to the general public. We listened and agreed. We were not afraid to be there in front of people and face her just as Hartman and friends, it Rachel who hid this from those whom she thought would learn that what she does she has no right to do.
She has not spoken of what happened behind those doors, so all must believe what we say because she has refused to answer. I for one would welcome a dialogue to know what she has to say about the evening, but having seen her that night know that she is angry and her words would be filled with emotion, and attack without thought or reason.
May 6, 2008 at 4:19 am |
Thanks another question I have is about the Fish & Wildlife agents. Will there be additional legal action by them against Rachel Holzward/Suraj? Do they have a pattern of prosecuting, or do they confiscate & warn? Does anyone know?
A marketing question also occurred to me. Could Rachel/Suraj attract an audience without the references to Native American? Suppose, for example, that she changed her regalia and developed a drumming show based upon a belief in Archangel Metatron and Forest Fairies, using an 8 foot drum, with songs in ancient Sanskrit. , would people buy tickets? I’m not sure. Is the audience appeal derived from the fact that her drumming show references Native Americans? Are Americans fascinated by the myths and world experiences of Native Americans. Do they actually want know more about Native Americans, specifically? Keep in mind that the tribes do possess valuable knowledge and practices that have helped them survive for thousands of years. in spite of all the attacks upon them. What underlies the marketability of performers like Rachel/Suraj? Why do hundreds of people pay rock-star prices for a cobbled together drumming show all over the US?
May 6, 2008 at 6:03 am |
Ms. Holzwarth received a ticket with a fine, she has the choice to either fight it or go to court. There is still an ongoing investigation into Ms. Holzwarth, so they cannot disclose anything. Typically the fine is all that is done.
I tend to agree that her marketability would drop drastically if she were not using Native American stereotyping. It was specifically something she was asked not to do any longer and she refused to answer anything on that exact issue. As you have become aware, this is a very sensitive issue for us as a people all across this great land. I do not however see why she couldn’t attract a crowd using a different format, it probably would just not be as lucrative, as you pointed out there is a thirst in this country for all things of the original people of this land. As all Native Americans are aware, we hear on a daily basis statements like, “My great grandmother was a cherokee princess” (there must have been a lot of royalty in the cherokee nation), “In a past life I was a Native …”, “I am a little bit Native but I can’t prove it” (many of us wish we didn’t have to, Blacks, Orientals, Hispanics, etc. do not have to prove their heritage to be considered a belonging to a minority). If people truly want to know more about Native American’s all they need to do is ask.
May 6, 2008 at 10:17 am |
OOPS, just rereading what I wrote this morning, sorry I wasn’t fully awake and rushing to get ready for work. I meant Ms. Holzwarth can either fight it and go to court or pay it in full. If the investigation reveals she concealed anything from them she may be further charged to the fullest extent of the law. The law is $500.00 and/or up to 6 months in jail per illegal item.
There is a push on the goverrnment to assign a government agency to oversee and enforce AIRFA, as well as specify those items that were to be listed in Parts 3 & 4 (not section 3 which is an amendment and deals with other items that are also illegal to non-natives).
May 6, 2008 at 10:32 am |
OK, I am not sure exactly which law she was charged under, but here are the actual laws.
The Lacey Act, The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the “eagle feather law” in its most common usage refers to Title 50 Part 22 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 22)
Those caught with eagle feathers for religious use without permits can be arrested and face fines up to $25,000 and imprisonment
May 7, 2008 at 9:56 am |
Jay I was just thinking about your question of Americans being fascinated about myths and world experiences of Native Americans. My answer to it, in 2008, is a huge yes. It comes down to two main factors in my opinion. The first is the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that gave some tribes an open door to economic success, but even more effective on changing the general attitudes of America as a whole was the movie Dances with Wolves. One professor I’ve seen talk on this subject had a good take on it. He splits the American attitude towards Natives into two time periods. BC (Before Costner) and AD (After Dances with Wolves). In the BC period things were much different then they are today. While there were many movies made about Natives, Native lives, Native stories in the BC period none of them had much impact. In fact some of them were jumbled inaccurate Hollywood portrayals (like Man Called Horse) and some were quality works that portrayed Natives as real people (like Pow-wow Highway). The life of Native peoples was very much on the backburner of what the general American public cared about. We were strangers in our own country and treated as foreigners. New Age spirituality based on Native traditions existed but they were leftovers from the hippie era and worked in very small circles…you couldn’t really make any money off it then. The one difference that splits Dances With Wolves from the rest of the pack is that it was commercially successful at the box office. Hugely successful. The effect of this movie alone made Natives popular again. It seemed that overnight the new age schools that dipped into some native teachings took them on full force. The seed of claiming Native ancestry to bolster a claim of shamanic powers was given new energy. The fact that Dances showed a non-Indian becoming a part of a Sioux village and being adopted as one of their own…giving him a name…”turning Injun”…..really sprang forth an acceptance based on a misconception that anyone could “turn Injun” if they wanted to bad enough.
As people in this world we don’t do anything unless there’s a payoff. Even people who lived and suffered through their lives and ultimately died for their own causes did so because they saw a payoff that existed after life. There’s always a motivation. The motivation towards the idea of “being Indian” in 2008 sprung from the romantic vision spread in Dances and also from the commercial business success of the casinos. Fake tribes exist in HUGE abundance these days. Their audaciousness is legendary. One self-proclaimed chief in Nevada claims to be a Wampanoag chief (the same Wampanoags Hartman comes from in MA). He’s claimed the land he lives on as Wampanoag land…..refuses to pay taxes and charges people a fee to join his tribe and live with him. He was just arrested recently and the judge sent him down the river, but with this success…..10 more Wampanoag “chiefs” will spring up down the line and begin their own “nations” as a result of this man’s actions. They’re very good at using cult mentalities of “us against them” and these unfortunate lost souls get caught up in this mess and don’t see a way of getting out so they commit to it….enlarging the problem. There’s a United Cherokee Nation where the principle “chief” of it (who’s in CA btw) sells memberships to anyone who wants to join that claims Native (not even Cherokee) ancestry and tells his members ways he thinks thwarts the system and makes them legitimate. One of his “teachings” is the create a document where you claim your Native ancestry and get it notarized by any notary public who will do so and then save it for your own private records. He goes on to tell them that notarizing this document makes it a legal document and therefore they have the legal right to claim they are Native American. His newest thing is trying to start a chapter in each state. States that don’t currently have chapters of UCN can pay his fee, join his organization and then apply to be chief of their states “nation”.
As ludicrous as this sounds to most people it gains acceptance by those who wish to be Costner’s character. Let’s face it, some people are lost in life and trying to find ways to be loved and accepted by others. They want the “happily ever after” ideal portrayed there. The charlatans that create these fake tribes or sell Native spirituality prey on those individuals. With a little exploration you end up seeing that the memberships of these tribes or the followers of “pay to pray” Native spiritualists are in actuality a revolving door. People pay and come in….they’re attracted like bugs to a light to the promotional material these people put out. When they get in they find out it’s not what they paid for…most individuals get out and end up with a bad taste in their mouths. For everyone that gets out there’s a new sucker lined up to take their place. This keeps the money rolling in to the “chiefs” or “shamans” that lead these groups and they never have to change their story. Usually as people leave there’s some sort of disagreement and the “leader” officially banishes them or some other dramatic separation and does more of the “us against them” preaching to keep the people around that still wanna pay money for the services they render. Sometimes people butt heads with an “I’m more Indian than you” type of attitude….they leave only to start their own tribe and try to outdo their former tribesmen. And the cycle continues and grows.
I think Holzwarth is both a victim and a purveyor of this system. She’s not the first one to do what she’s doing. She’s one of the ends of a long line of individuals that taught her to be this way. She follows the mode of operation of the disciples of a very dangerous purveyor of these crimes named Twyla Nitch. Twyla’s is an enrolled Seneca woman who is completely detached from her community. Twyla is well-known to sell ceremonies and adopt people as Seneca and her disciples ultimately end up to be carbon copies of Holzwarth. The fact that Holzwarth has been claiming she’s Seneca leads me to believe strongly that this may be true. There are also others on the net that have known her for a long time that also say this is true. I’m not claiming her tie to Twyla as a fact….just leaning strongly that way myself based on the evidence I’ve seen. She also publicly claims one of her influences as Brooke Medicine Eagle. Brooke is another well-known fraud. She’s written books on Native spirituality and sells classes and lectures on it. In the past she claimed she was Crow until the Crow tribe began to publicly state that she wasn’t enrolled and in fact, no one knew her and she didn’t have the right to claim and sell knowledge of traditional practices. She actually did jail-time for fraud, but she’s back out again….I believe lately she’s claiming to be Cheyenne now and still writing books.
Holzwarth strikes me as someone who’s in this world trying to find her place. Hannahulaku states that she sees the poetry in things and I think she approaches Native people the same way. She sees the poetry and romanticism of Natives and she’s attracted to it but rather than just be herself, make friends, make ties to a community spend a lifetime as part of that community as the rest of us do she got caught by fake spiritualists who accepted her fully where the Native communities didn’t. (From the words of the local people around her….she tried too hard). If you look at any center of shamanic studies in the US they all teach classes on medicine wheels, pipe ceremonies..you name it. Holzwarth isn’t the first to follow this path she was taught to do this. It seems the biggest flaw to Holzwarth’s character is her inability to see around corners or predict consequences. As I’ve stated before DEEP down she’s only wanting to do some good, but the methods have disastrous consequences. She’s accepted that it’s ok to claim Native ancestry to give meaning to her message. But she’s not seeing that deception is deception no matter how small and it taints the message with deception. It says “no matter what happens, it’s ok to lie as long as your heart’s in the right place.” What would she say to the little girl ten years from now who ends up having her innocence stolen by a self-proclaimed shaman who tells her he had a vision in a ceremony with a huge drum that a little girl would come across his path and he must accept her into his “tribe of humanity” and open all the ways of love to her. Sadly that’s how some of these stories end for individuals looking to gain acceptance. That’s one of the biggest evils of the practice of plastic shamanism.
Holzwarth also charges money for her enlightenment practices and that sends the message that “salvation is here…if you can afford it.” The real message of salvation should be that it’s open to everyone…ESPECIALLY those that don’t have the money to afford it…..more often then not….those are the people that would benefit the most.
That’s the biggest problem I have with her. The charging of money and teaching her own interpretations of things but calling it something else regardless of the eventual consequences down the line. It shows no regard for the people she’s claiming or implying with imagery to represent.
She’s not the first to do this so ultimately the anger over the negative consequences on Native people or other victims of the practice doesn’t solely rest on her. It’s a matter of her timing…in this information age a lot of us are just coming to a realization of how big this problem has become and the motivation to do something about it has been a slow building wave that’s finally gaining some steam in 2008. The Youtube ads where’s she’s advertising her organization and the ceremonies were the most damaging to her. When I first saw them, my jaw was stuck open…..it was shocking to see someone so openly using imagery to portray Natives for her own benefit. It was clear to me nothing there was authentic…but it was also clear the premise of the video was to make something appear authentic. Then when I actually checked out whirling rainbow’s website and I saw a huge promotional website to sell classes based on Native spirituality….self-made “ceremonial” items for sale with the appearance of authenticity…books, CD’s, DVD’s, T-shirts, drums….it goes on, but EVERYTHING had a price tag on it. The newsletter proclaimed her tours as fulfilling prophecies (along with several ads to sell the items and classes on her website) yet if the Grandmother drum coming to your area is fullfilling a prophecy WHY DOES IT COST SO MUCH. If you look at the info for hosting her drum there’s a menu list of the ceremonies that she’ll perform…each with a high cost. She states that when making the contract, the host pays the transportation, housing and food costs of Holzwarth and her entourage AND pays an honorarium of $2500 per day or a cut from the sale of tickets at the door….whichever is more. Some of her “ceremonies” involved people buying her drum making kits and assembling them as part of the ceremony. These two day events cost the people $333 to participate and if they wish to make their own “baby” drum or “mother drum” that’ll cost them too (around $50-$150 for the baby drums and $1500 for the mother drum). She even states that some people inquired about following her on tour….sure you can. That’ll be $3666 AND you have to pay your own transportation, lodging and meals. All the risk goes on to the organizers of the events and the participants themselves….all the reward goes to Holzwarth.
Individuals with more money than brains easily fork over the dough…but that’s where the consequences get forgotten. In the American mentality, if it’s bought and paid for….it yours. The same approach to commercialism exists in commercial spirituality. The people pay….think they learned something real, but in reality is a personal interpretation and come away thinking “I paid that much money for it….it’s mine and I’ll do with it as I please.” She leaves town and the rest of us get caught off guard by individuals completely confident that because they paid a hefty amount for their education from her it’s worth than what’s given away for free….it’s gotta be right???….get what you pay for…all that jazz. There’s an actual sense of entitlement some of them come away with thinking they’re more Native than any drunk angry poor Native.
Anger erupts…fights happen….communities become further apart. All from Holzwarth’s vision of spreading peace.
So once again….the only way to combat it is with education. If Holzwarth continues to sell “Native style” spirituality after being confronted with the consequences of her actions….she’s really burying her head in the sand. Then…..in my mind she’s completely guilty and deserving of the names and negative attitudes directed towards her. My guess is she’s so completely committed to her cause (addicted) that she’s failing to acknowledge the existence of the negative consequences she’s creating. At the recent protest she began stating publicly that her drum is not a Native American drum….that’s something as Natives we all know is true, but she’s gotta stop dressing in her poetic/romantic imagery because non-Native people clearly tie her to Native Americans because of this. The teachings, the smudgings, the eagle feathers, the use of phrases used in Native prayers like “Mitakuye Oyasin”….it’s all gotta stop.
Her turnaround begins when she becomes Rachel again. A woman who’s travelled to a lot of places…seen a lot of things. A woman who sees the poetry in a rock, raised her children without running water and climbed Denali peak at 19. She could relay her observations honestly without claiming their her own to pass on for others to make their own. If Rachel’s message is clear enough and strong enough she wouldn’t have to charge to spread it….people would offer to help. They’d take care of her expenses without a charge list…..she wouldn’t need a stage act involving a 7 foot drum or books, CD’s and DVD’s to promote herself. The message would simply be enough…and if it connects with people honestly….they’ll listen. Hannahulaku as her friend…..help her to once again join humanity and just be a humble human being in this world.
May 7, 2008 at 3:49 pm |
Thank you both, Helen & Chris! I appreciate your writing.
May 8, 2008 at 8:15 am |
I have been told that I am attacking Ms. Holzwarth, (not by someone I consider an elder or grandmother) I however have tried to be open and honest even pleading for her friends to speak to her and try to explain the situation so she does not get into trouble with other communities. I do not honestly think this represents attacking. Can someone tell me if I am mistaken.
May 8, 2008 at 8:44 am |
Hey, I can be the fall guy. Just tell them, it was I.
May 8, 2008 at 10:54 am |
It has been sometime since I read this….and I’d like to comment on something that was stated regarding Rachel…”Her heart is in the right place”.
If a person wished for healing for many people, through the power of combined prayer, the power of ceremony, the power of song etc….for the greater good….from a good heart with good intentions….they would NOT limit this to being only available to ONLY THOSE WHO CAN PAY! Does the Pope charge? I think not.
I have respect for all people, no matter their background, culture, personal differences, skin tone….but when a person takes the culture of others and uses it to make money on which they live from…it is WRONG. It has ALWAYS been wrong…and it will continue to be wrong in the future.
Perhaps Rachel is upset….as she should be. But let us remember…..only Rachel made the decision to take something that did not belong to her…and charge a fee for it. This fact needs to be kept in mind.
Hartman…and the other protestors had EVERY right to stand up and speak out…afterall…they are native people, Rachel is a Non Native person…a person who has taken something which does not belong to her and has used it in a way it was never intended to be used….causing great dishonor and disrespect to those she mimics for a fee.
We as Native Americans have to daily fight to prove who we are as a people…in the form of Blood Quantum cards…Band Numbers…Heritage..family line etc…we are the only race of people on this earth who have to PROVE who we are on a daily basis…yet many non-natives find it….’acceptable’ to use our language and to adopt our ways……when we ourselves struggle for the right to do so…We were and still are branded ‘heathens’ and ‘savages’…we had our rights taken away by non native people and still today we fight to regain those rights…yet we seem to live with a generation of people who feel it necessary to ‘play’ native….and worse still….to charge a fee.
Being respectful of the earth…is something ALL people must be…that does not make a person Native American…being respectful of other people in this world…is something we ALL have a duty to be…that too does not make a person Native American….nor doe it give anyone the right to claim to be such….and let us remember Rachel has done this. She is NOT Native American, each nation she claimed to be affiliated with has confirmed that this is NOT the case. These words were fabrications….lies which Rachel ‘presumed’ authenticated her in her bid to add to her bank balance.
People should be blessed to be who THEY are…they should be proud of their OWN heritage, and not try to adopt the ways of others and play at being something they are not. I would not adopt the white mans ways…I am Native American! I am proud of my culture and heritage…it would be disrespectful for me to adopt the ways of other people. Please understand…I am a traditionalist..I work hard to preserve our peoples culture and heritage…and to put a stop to the miss-use and abuse of of language and ways by non-natives….as all native people should….I am not a racist person….I am merely stating facts.
It is not the poor misguided fool who steals from others and uses what is taken to make a profit….this is the mind of a deliberate cultural thief….this woman has shown no regard for our people…I personally found her quite rude at MI….just in her mannerisms and her ‘whispering’ while Elders spoke with her….this showed blatent lack of respect to our people….this showed that even though she has taken…abused…used…mistreated our culture….she STILL feels she is not in the wrong….indeed she claimed that MI was simply NOT ready for her and her drum….she sure as heck did not state “I have no rights to use these ceremonies….I have no rights to wear this regalia….I have no rights to claim to be Native American when I am not…I have no rights to charge a fee for ceremony and courses…therefore I will stop…and I apologize”….did she? No! Nor will she EVER! We deal with many people such as Rachel….when there is money to be made…all other things have little importance…regardless of the stories they give to their close friends. Only Rachel knows whats in her head and her heart….and she shows this by the actions she makes….actions which speak loud and clear.
This woman is no fool. She made her choices….no one forced this woman to do what she has done. And she will continue…she is still advertizing her venues, she is still intent on continuing…there is no remorse….there is no change. She may be sorry….Sorry she was caught by Fish and Wildlife….Sorry she has to answer to the IRS in due course….but NOT sorry for the money she has taken through sale of our ceremony…as if she were…she’d offer to return it.
As long as this woman continues…our people will be there.
NAU ~ Native American Unity
May 8, 2008 at 11:06 am |
And incidently Helen….You have not attacked Rachel in my humble opinion…this woman has done wrong…and has to be held accountable for her actions…she can not hide behind her friends or claims that she is a broken woman….look at the history of our people….were OUR people not broken? I personally come from the Keetoowah Band of Cherokee….my ancestors walked the Trail of Tears….I know the suffering of our people from stories passed down from my own family members….this is not the time for Native American people to lay down and be walked upon while non natives steal and take as they have done for centuries…now is the time to stand up and seek justice….now is the time non native people learn that to gain respect…you first have to earn it. Rachel will get my respect once she does the right thing. Incidently she is STILL making a profit selling her CD’s etc….she is STILL seeking new venues…she is STILL arranging new courses/workshops etc….this woman has no remorse….as for her doing the right thing…Im not holding my breath.
NAU ~ Native American Unity
May 8, 2008 at 2:01 pm |
We need to keep the following in mind….ffor someone who is so broken and without spirit….Rachel is still selling:
Medicine Pouches
Plain Sm. $7
Plain Med. $20
Plain Lg $35
Fringed Sm. $12
Fringed Med. $35
Fringed Lg. $50
Rattles
Small $15
Medium $30
Large $50
Kits $30
Staffs
Talking Moon Rainbow Staff $175
Talking Sun Rainbow Staff $175
Other Ceremonial Items
Medicine Bundles $30
Smudge Feathers $25
Alaskan Sage Bundles/Bag $8
Drum Sticks Plain $10
Drum Sticks Decorated $25
Incidently…. one of our members purchased the ‘Smudge Feather’….which happens to be an Eagle Feather…all info and feather has been turned over to Fish and Wildlife…these items are STILL for sale on Rachels site.
Also she’s going ahead with her teachings…the ceremony she is offering for a price…is Native American in nature.
Rainbow Fire Dream Lodge Workshop
Women’s Morning Dove Lodge
Yukon Island, Homer, Alaska August 14-19, 2008
Morning Dove Lodge: Shamanic Womens Healing Ceremony and the launching of the Rainbow Fire Dream Lodge. This healing week for women is to nuture the teachings of the Morning Dove, the spirit and essence of awakening the receptivity of the Divine Feminine. You will be nourished over these five days with the GrandMothers Heart of One teachings at a beautiful wilderness lodge on Yukon Island, http://yukonisland.com/ a ferry ride across from the pristine glacier carved bays of Homer, Alaska. Total cost including all food, lodging, ferry, and workshops and ceremonies. Cost $1111.00.
Recommend course teachings: Heart of One: Wisdom Teachings of the GrandMothers online course (see above)
As has been requested by the Grandmothers in the, Heart of One Course, this workshop is exclusive to women over 16. All other workshops are open to both men and woman.
Also lets keep in mind her upcoming performances in Alaska….
BACK HOME IN ALASKA!
August 9, 2008- Homer, Alaska
GrandMother Drum Prayerformance
August 10, 2008- Homer, Alaska
Illuminating the Sacred Heart Teachings
Yup…I ee how broken Rachel is…still brokenly selling our culture and ceremonies right under our noses…poor thing eh.
May 8, 2008 at 2:35 pm |
NAU Office: Thanks for the contribution. Sorry to be slow; your post got temporarily trapped by the built-in Akismet software. All set now.
May 8, 2008 at 5:09 pm |
NAU.. Wait…. hold on a second. I saw those ‘smudge feathers’ for sale and just shook my head, figuring they would be turkey feathers or something being shipped to people who didnt know any better.
She’s been *selling* actual eagle feathers…? Eagle. Feathers? Has Fish and Wildlife made a statement about this at all?
May 8, 2008 at 5:47 pm |
I know that this is going to be a long fight. Wishing them to be dead is not good enough. Wade
Crowe, Hunkpati Dakota
May 8, 2008 at 8:32 pm |
Who ever you find or don’t find is none of our business! We have elders and family for spiritual matters. Where is your family?
May 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm |
Well…it just came down the pipe that in the list of “ceremonial items” for sale on the whirling rainbow site, one of the products for sale are “Smudge feathers” for $25.
http://whirlingrainbow.com/ceremonial.htm
I had a hunch (but couldn’t believe someone would be that foolish) that she may be selling Eagle feathers over the net….well…..it turns out to be true. NAU might elaborate more (or maybe not seeing as it may be sensitive info to an ongoing investigation), but
SELLING EAGLE FEATHERS IS CLEARLY ILLEGAL. I’ve been really trying to keep her human in my head and through all this mess find something to hold onto that she may turn this around…..but I sit here now…completely unconvinced.
Hannahulaku…I apologize. There’s nothing even as her friend that you can do for her. Maybe some of the issues in Holzwarth’s case were in a gray area (the lying isn’t…but some of the other things are)….but this is CLEARLY is black and white.
Whatever she ends up getting out of this….I gotta say….she deserves. She’s clearly earned it.
She’s even been faced with a protest, been talked to about it…..she’s GOT to know it’s illegal and wrong on a whole number of levels…..yet there it is. Advertised and for sale…..what’s worse….even after the protest where she claimed to want to heal things….THEY’RE STILL FOR SALE!!!!
Hannahulaku….run for the hills. Don’t call her. You seem like too nice of a person to end up caught in the middle of this. Holzwarth’s position can’t be defended on this issue.
May 9, 2008 at 2:04 am |
Jim:
I keep hearing that she speaks of our pain. Yet the pain we have is the miconceptions of who we are. These miconceptions come from people like Ms. Hozwarth and her ilk. They serve to propagate the stereotypes. If you want to learn of us, do not go see someone who does not belong with us, come and ask us. Who we are is not written in a book or seen in dream or a vision. Who we are is written in our hearts, our very being. Do not mistake our humility and respect for lack of intelligence or cultural identity for it is not, it is our teachings and our way, it is the thing people do not understand and yet take for granted. Because of this way they think they can take what they want from us and and use it to their own ends because we have no pride in who we are. We will not sit still but will stand for all that we are. Our word is our bond and our word is honor. Without honor a person is lost. Honor means respect and pride, doing that which you say. We have said we will not let any more be taken from us. If you want to know about us, you must come to us and stop going to “false gods”, stop going to people who say they asomething they are not.
May 9, 2008 at 2:51 am |
Jim,
No she has not spread the word. NO SHE HAS NOT SPREAD THE WORD. She has spread lies. Why do you refuse to believe this? Yes the world is thirsty, her fountain is poison. It’s based on lies lies and more lies. And great disrespect for what she claims to honor. I’m sorry if this shatters an illusion for you, however, in my opinion, better to shatter the illusion and thus be freed to seek the real thing, than to mistake the poor immitation for the real thing.
You quote Rumi. Better you dive into those deep waters than chase after fanciful illusion. Seriously. You could study Rumi for a lifetime, be immersed in great joyful deep spirituality 24 hours a day, and still have only scratched the surface. And you wouldn’t have hurt or disrespected anyone or stolen anything.
The stealing and the misrepresentation and the greed taints it to the point that you’d be better off with no spiritual teachings than these twisted ones. They are damaging on a spiritual level, BECAUSE of the deception and disrespect. I for one can FEEL the wrongness in it.
Go read some more Rumi and then open your heart and really listen with your heart to what is being said here.
I wish you well,
Nona
May 9, 2008 at 6:27 am |
Delux Says:
May 8, 2008 at 5:09 pm
NAU.. Wait…. hold on a second. I saw those ’smudge feathers’ for sale and just shook my head, figuring they would be turkey feathers or something being shipped to people who didnt know any better.
She’s been *selling* actual eagle feathers…? Eagle. Feathers? Has Fish and Wildlife made a statement about this at all?
Yes…unfortunately so…Rachel has been selling Eagle Feathers for some time now…and this is ongoing. We had to actually purchase one to see for ourselves….but yes…they are Eagle Feathers. Now…if she was ‘sorry’….or ‘good hearted’…or ‘thought well of our people’….tell me…why would she be selling illegal feathers AND selling them as cereonial items of our people?
Jim Says:
May 8, 2008 at 6:59 pm
With respect Tsisqua, many people like myself will have paid White Eagle Medicine Womans price, and not so willingly, as they travel on their respected Spiritual Paths, and like me, will be shocked as they read and follow this story on several websites, but with a positive mind, I will learn from it. This may be no consolation, to you people but she spoke well of Native American people, and all of the people I met at the event I attended and some were Native American I believe had nothing but good in their heart. My experience sent me on a learning curve, and ofcourse reading the many posts on this site and others, I learn more, and watch this space. Namaste.
Jim…I mean no disrespect to you or anyone else…but please…OPEN YOUR EYES. Are you telling me that I could dress in a Catholic nuns habit…take on white mans ways….claim to be a spiritual leader…then decide to take crosses…holy water…icons etc…make huge numbers of them…and then sell these things to make a profit to fill my own bank balance…all while charging to pray with people…charging to sing with people….charge to promote healing? You see Jim…when the shoe is on the other foot…it doesnt look too good eh? What Rachel has done…is WRONG….you do not take the culture, customs, ceremonies of other people and claim them as your own to make a profit…this cannot be sugarcoated….or ignored.
superdog Says:
May 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm
NAU might elaborate more (or maybe not seeing as it may be sensitive info to an ongoing investigation),
All I can say right now is that Fish and Wildlife are dealing with this issue…so are many other government bodies as we speak. The use and possession of Eagle Feathers without a permit is one thing….but selling Illegal Eagle Feathers on the net and at her venues…is a whole different ball game. I will post more as soon as I have the info.
superdog Says:
May 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm
She’s even been faced with a protest, been talked to about it…..she’s GOT to know it’s illegal and wrong on a whole number of levels…..yet there it is. Advertised and for sale…..what’s worse….even after the protest where she claimed to want to heal things….THEY’RE STILL FOR SALE!!!!
My point exactly….if this woman believes she is in the wrong…these items would not be for sale still. But…they are. I rest my case. We are dealing with a woman who is calculated in her actions…she has people working for her who create these ‘ceremonial’ things…and then they sell them…as Native American Ceremonial Items…this is not an accident. Her wearing Native American regalia…is not an accident. Her claiming to be Seneca….is not an accident. Her being proven to be NON NATIVE…is not an accident. Her sale of our ceremony…is not an accident…nor are any of the many other things this woman does. These things are deliberate…they involved planning…and let us keep in mind…she does not even have the decency to pay TAXES! And has not paid a cent for 9 years….these things are NOT ACCIDENTS. These are the actions of a criminal.
Jim Says:
May 8, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Hi Wade, and thanks for the response, I guess you skipped the compassion classes.
” wade crowe Says:
May 8, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Who ever you find or don’t find is none of our business! We have elders and family for spiritual matters. Where is your family?”
” wade crowe Says:
May 8, 2008 at 8:44 am
Hey, I can be the fall guy. Just tell them, it was I.”
“wade crowe Says:
May 2, 2008 at 4:05 pm
You have no right to interfere in our affairs. Stand beside us or get ready to be pushed aside.”
Jim…again with respect…is there any need to call into question the personal opinion of a poster who has the right to speak up about this issue? Do our people HAVE to be compassionate towards the theft of our culture? Do we HAVE to make allowences regarding the frauds who take all they can for a profit? Do you want us to sit here and say “Ahhhh poor little misguided Rachel”?? I dont think so…its never going to happen. Perhaps you do not understand how it feels to STILL be treated with such disrespect as a people…to still be taken from…do we have to just shrug our shoulders? Show compassion? Allow non native people to sell our ceremonies…something we as a people know not to be right? You can form whatever opinion of me that you wish…I have no compassion for this woman. Her actions were deliberate and planned, and still she is making a profit. Did she have compassion for those who need healing or spiritual guidence and offer her services free of charge? lol you know she did not. She has NOT spread the word about anything Jim….there is no truth in her words….and we will not MOVE ON until this is put right….and that my friend…is as it should be. Even if I have to stand here alone…I will still continue.
Tsissy
May 9, 2008 at 7:15 am |
OK, I have to admit, I now KNOW I was not attacking her. It is as I said I was trying to plead with her to get help and stop using us.
Jim:
If you had read this entire blog site you would have seen that we ourselves will chastise our own when they step out of line. It is not for you to decide if our people have errored in OUR cultural ways, that is what our elders do. Our elders correct us.
Many people here have spoken harshly, while I sat and waited to see if someone would take this burden and try to educate people, in a way that might be better. You see what happened.
This is a very emotional situation for us. I believe Rachel and any others who perform these heiniouos acts of cultural theft need to be stopped.
I hope that what you actually take from this is to not do what has been to done our cultures since the arrival of the Europeans. People who think they understand, acting as authorities and selling what they say as being the truth to those who do not know any better.
Perhaps there is something which also needs to be mentioned here, something of which Rachel is quite aware, since she was blatantly told this last Friday in Michigan. The Native spirituality is not the same for all nations, it is different for every nation. What I was taught on the knee of my grandfather is not the way of the area where I now live. I do respect both as best I can. This concept would equate to someone who went to a couple of churches, charging to do a baptist healing using a lutheran baptism dressed a catholic priest while in Isreal. Even this is still not what she does, because she claims to heal people. She claims this is bringing peace and uniting all cultures, as you can see she is separating us from her and all who are like her. How if I may ask you is this bringing peace and uniting all cultures?
May 9, 2008 at 9:02 am |
My nature is one of confrontation and mayhem. What do you expect with ancestors named crooked and whirlwind in the house?
May 9, 2008 at 9:58 am |
OK, there is a new statement out that needs to be read by all. I would recommend someone let her know she has finally drawn a name of notoriety for herself. She has received recognition she may not want.
“The Detroit area is the host to many different Native Americans from all walks of life and several different Nations, all live here in peace and harmony. It is seldom told of the quiet ways in which these people live, but the blatant abuse of their culture needs to be stopped and the Detroit area appears to be an initial ground for this fight.
Rachel Holzwarth, aka MaAnand Suraj, aka Suraj Holzwarth, aka White Eagle Medicine Woman, was forced to relinquish her eagle feathers to Fish and Wildlife Friday, May 2, 2008, during a meeting in Troy, Mi. The standing room only meeting was held with ~100 Native Americans from several nations in live attendance and an untold number via teleconference from across the continent. These people were protesting this woman’s use of our religious ceremonies and sacred items.
The National Director of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Dennis Banks, wishes to make a statement to the people of all cultures and nations regarding this and similar issues.
Our ceremonies and spirituality are the last thing we have; the only things that haven’t been completely taken away. It is time for us to retake those final descriptions of cultural identity.
All references to our ceremonies and cultural practices are not be performed by any non-native people who are not fully accepted by our communities.
All AIM Support and AIM National Chapters are to be vigilant in their duty to forestall these actions by any person portraying themselves as “shamans” professing or portraying native American customs.
AIM is in full support of the actions being taken by the Michigan Chapter to stop this woman and make notice to any and all practitioners that AIM is now standing against this cultural theft.”
May 9, 2008 at 12:56 pm |
Jim:
If you have questions regarding Native ways, just ask us. We know and understand people do not understand us. We also know that of all the minorities, we combined are the smallest moinority, often clled the invisible minority. Our request is simple, just ask. There are many books out there on Native American’s written by so called “experts”. The only true experts are the people who are native american and since every one of our nations is different, how can anyone be an “expert” on Native American’s? A Lakota person might be an expert on Lakota, but would not be an expert on Chippewa; yet these are both Native American’s. Saying that someone is an expert on Native Americans is like saying someone is an expert on Orientals, yet the Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. are all very different, how can you be an expert on all of these Oriental Nations?
We are willing to teach people that they may understand, but they can never truly KNOW what it is like to be a Native American, until they have been raised on a reservation and lived in abject poverty, third world living conditions in the very backyard of the richest country in the world, and still be able to have pride in your heritage and ancestry.
May 9, 2008 at 4:57 pm |
NAU I have to say I am left absolutely speechless by this development. How *anyone* could support her if she engages in activities like this is beyond my comprehension. How she could *do* this I cannot fathom.
Thanks for keeping on top of this.
May 9, 2008 at 6:04 pm |
You know, it’s time y’all get on with life. You cry and cry about how Indians have been abused by the government of the white man, and how your ancesters were killed at Wounded Knee and the Trail of Tears, but what about all the people your ancestors killed? Should we remind you at every turn of events about how many white people were killed? One people have been taking what other people have and calling it their own, nearly as long as there have been people on this earth. To the victor go the spoils, unfortunately. These were all unfortunate events in history, but the past is past, and none of us – you or me – can do anything about it now. Move on. Get a job. Get religion, get something, but stop living in the past.
Stop living off the US white man government too, if you’re so upset. Retreat to your lands and stay there. Practice your religion and if others want to know about what you do, and you want to teach it, then allow them to come and learn from you. Around where I live though, everyone knows you don’t drive near or through the reservation because someone will beat the stuffing out of you and ruin your car. At least the woman you keep going on about is friendly, entertains people and makes them feel good. If not for you guys, her thing in Massachusetts would have been peaceful. So would her things in Michigan.
What I see and hear are a bunch of angry wannna-be-warriors who have nothing better to do with their time than to police some woman who is doing what she does. Don’t be so concerned about others and just do what you do. That guy Deetz was a jerk. He and his bully friends blew it big time trying to tell her what to do, and they got arrested for what they did.
Not all of you are caring and understanding, soft spoken, and all the rest of what you want others to think you are. You are mostly a big bunch of angry people who blame everyone else for your troubles. Just read some of the crap out there online. You say you’re peaceful, and you speak angry words.
Go back to your reservations, isolate yourselves from the government you seem to hate, do YOUR thing and stop worrying about what others do. Get both feet on the ground in your own sovereign nations and leave this one alone. And while your at it, I hate that my hard-earned tax money goes for your medical clinics on the reservations, when I don’t have any health insurance at all. Who knows what else we pay for so you can take it and then turn around and keep yelling at us all about who bangs on some big drum.
May 9, 2008 at 6:09 pm |
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Someone compared this to the Catholics – they have been charging people for ceremony for more than a 1000 years. Just because you say someone should not charge for something, doesn’t mean everyone needs to sit up and listen. Go do your ceremony for free – no one will mind at all. But quit telling everyone else what to do, based on what you want and think. You don’t get to be in charge just because you think you should be.
May 9, 2008 at 6:21 pm |
Leonard, a couple of questions:
Why don’t you have health insurance?
What percentage of your taxes go to fund clinics for Native Americans? Give me some numbers, please.
thank & let me know.
Jay
May 9, 2008 at 7:20 pm |
Yes, 19000 wasicus were killed during the Indian Wars and we lost 33000. Our percentage of killing was pretty good. I know a number of Leonard’s relatives were strangled with great care.
November 1, 2016 at 5:57 pm |
Any time you want to restart the wars, go for it.
One truckload of vodka is all we’ll need to defeat you again.
And with modern engineering, I bet we can beat the Mankato record. Got at least 38 friends and relatives to hang around with for a few hours?
May 9, 2008 at 7:26 pm |
Here, read for yourself: http://www.doi.gov/benefits.html
Taxes pay for these things. I pay taxes and so do you most likely. So, we pay for these services. Unfortunately, as you point out, we also pay for all the crap in Iraq and Afganistan too. I don’t like that any better. And, if it is really any of your business to know, I don’t have insurance because I work hard in my own business and earn just enough to be in the middle. Not enough to afford insurance from the common insurance carriers, and too much to qualify for any discounted state or county programs. But I earn enough for my tax money to pay for others to have insurance. That’s crap too, but it is the way it works.
Why don’t you ask these people to provide proof of what they say? Show proof this woman was selling eagle feathers, and proof she did not pay any taxes for 9 years. How do they know these things? They have no proof. It is all made-up to hurt her because they have their agenda to support. Because they are angry and vocal, they get away with saying whatever crazy things they want to say because most people don’t want to piss them off by calling them on it. Go ahead – ask them to prove all the things they say about this woman. They can’t.
May 9, 2008 at 7:36 pm |
Leonard,
The feathers have been confirmed to be eagle feathers. I think they have proved and proved and proved what they say. All you have to do is know the slightest about Native Americans to know she is bogus. And I believe they have the right to say if it’s damaging, not us.
And it might behoove you to research the history of those “benefits”. Or the reality of what is happening TODAY. It’s not in the past.
You seriously need to educate yourself.
Nona
May 9, 2008 at 8:33 pm |
Nona, confirmed to be eagle feathers by who? Just because someone says it online, doesn’t make it true. No one has proved anything. Who proved she didn’t pay taxes, and is that any of your business or my business? Stick to the topic. What does her paying taxes have to do with your big drum issues? Nothing. What does her paying taxes have to do with eagle feathers. Nothing. Whoever said that is just saying things to fit into the agenda and stir the works up – make Indians angry at the white lady. Yeah, that’s the ticket, let’s all say things about her and sooner or later it will be true, because it is all over the internet. So of course it must be true.
Why should I take my time to research the history of those benefits? The fact is, those benefits exist and they are paid for through US government programs extended to American Indians, period. Taxes pay for that. I pay taxes, therefore I pay for those services, at least in part. I am saying what millions of Americans are saying out here – if you are always complaining about all the things that have been done to your people and to you, and you have these sovereign nations, then go back to the sovereign nations you are always talking about and quit making trouble out here in the real world. You are US citizens when it is convenient and profitable, and you are tribal members when it is convenient and profitable. Maybe that is wrong because I say it, just like charging for ceremony is wrong just because you say it. Saying something does not make it right or true.
If the reality of what is happening “TODAY” is in the present, then why do your people always bring up all the past when talking about the present? That gets really old, really fast.
May 9, 2008 at 9:13 pm |
Well Leonard, I guess it speaks to credibility and integrity. My experience with the folks posting here leads me to believe they are credible. The White Ego woman has lied and lied and lied. Having read her own words where she changes thing to suit whatever is in front of her, I know who I believe.
The “benefits” you are so unwilling to research were from agreements made with the Federal Government in exchange for the land that was ripped away. They are a part of agreements our government made with the Nations. If I am wrong or misinformed here, I would ask that I be corrected. And I am sure there are folks reading here who can give you even more detail about this. But this is my understanding. Are you suggesting that we break even more of our promises because you don’t want your taxes going there? What kind of values do you think as a country we should be striving for? Why should anyone believe our word if we continue to go back on our promises? Of course that is nothing new to the Natives. We’ve broken every darn treaty we ever made with them. But you can’t be bothered to learn the truth about that can you? Easier to just spout all those old misconceptions and lies. AND sir, you have no authority to tell me or anyone else to “stick to the subject”. What an arrogant, uninformed man you are.
I have see the folks here make credible arguements, provide facts that can be proven. All you are doing is putting forth the same old uninformed racist stuff. And you aren’t even willing to think you could learn anything.
By the way if you are speaking to me about all that “your people” stuff, you again have not bothered to even orient yourself to the full exchange going on here. I am not native. I have been raised as a middle class white baby boomer. If you saw me you would think I am most likely Irish. I’m not a member of any tribe. So if I tell you that white woman is a lying deceptive con artist, it’s another white woman saying it, not some native. But of course that would not occur to you. You’ve made up your mind and don’t want anyone to confuse you with the truth.
Open your mind and heart and learn.
Nona the white lady
May 9, 2008 at 10:59 pm |
These misinformed comments really illustrates why it is so vitally important for Native people to have a voice, for them to have support in doing so, and for people to be able to listen to them.
May 9, 2008 at 11:29 pm |
We have a voice but they don’t have ears.
May 10, 2008 at 12:44 am |
Did she have compassion for those who need healing or spiritual guidence and offer her services free of charge? lol you know she did not. She has NOT spread the word about anything Jim….there is no truth in her words….and we will not MOVE ON until this is put right….and that my friend…is as it should be. Even if I have to stand here alone…I will still continue.
Tsissy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You will never have to stand alone, we all stand with you and beside you always!
IN UNITY ALWAYS!
Sky
May 10, 2008 at 5:04 am |
Leonard:
We are here trying to speak respectfully. You come to this forum and speak with a complete lack of respect. You know nothing of me, or of the man who brought this forum for us to teach others. Because of this I will not speak to you. I will tell you to go and speak to this who are your leader and if you have none, then I wil understand that is why you are so ill spoken and I will have pity for you must surely have been raised by animals not humans to have no knowledge of general humanity!
To all others here I will tell you of the events of last night.
We went to see what this woman whose eagle feathers were taken by Fish and wildlife, PROOF of her criminal ways; was doing. We had purchased tickets so we could go in. While waiting for some friends to arrive, before we went in the police we called. We were speaking with the local police when the state police arrived. The state police went and spoke to the sponsors of this woman who had given her word NOT to do anything Native when in this area. The sponsors told the State police we had no right to be on the road. This is not what was said last week. The police told them we had ticketsto go their “show”.
We went after everything got started, and stood quietly in the back of the dome, since there were no chairs available, as they were all stacked on the opposite side of the room. Rachel Hozwarth was speaking as we quietly entered trying to avoid disrupting this event since we were there only to obbserve. Before the six of us could get in and close the door Rachel turned the remainder of the night over to Samantha Elliot. I will not say we were not invited to sit, as at some point during Samantha’s monlogue one of the hosts came across to ask if we would like to have chairs, not wanting to disturb the rest of the audience we declined. Two other women entered considerably later.
Samantha spoke at length appearing to often forget what she wanted to say, filling the gaps with “Um” and “Ahh” I am sorry, but I notice these things since I posess a degree in Adult Education. I also noticed she appeared to have problems understanding the difference between the sciences, during her discussion of molecular excitement saying this was biology at one point and chemistry at another before finishing with physics, among other equally distinct errors in her monologue. This woman received a Bachelors degree in Alaska which makes we wonder if the term “College Illiterate” applies. The PROOF of this comes from the website of Rachel Holzwarth where Samantha Elliot has her autobiography described. So here I must wonder what is a lie and what is just do to nervousness.
Samantha spoke at length often appearing to forget what she was saying, possibly this is my perception due to the distraction caused by the continually repeated “UM” and “AHH”. She spoke of the Traditional Mayan Fire Ceremony she was performing that night (I thought Mayans were also North American Indians), explaining she learned it nine months ago and this would be her fourth Mayan Fire Ceremony and she would be reading the steps to speak to the spirits during the ceremony. I was shocked since I didn’t think the Mayans had such a short term apprenticeship for their sacred rites, nor did I realize they traditionally wrote down what they were teaching them, but maybe because they allow their apprentices to “teach” these dangerous ceremonies in such a short time frame this is how it is done. I in all honesty do not believe this is the way of the Mayans and will speak Monday with a Mayan gentleman where I work.
At the close of the discussion we were announced by Rachel and Samantha to the audience. Rachel specifically told the audience the local Native American people were here and there was tension and she would speak with us later. One of our members had picked up a song book noticing specific mention of several native ceremonies. Samantha said she saw us looking in the song book and we were welcome to take them, which is PROOF of the sale of our sacred ways. It should also be noted there were several drums, jewelery, CDs and crafts available for sale on the tables with the books.
The 43 women and 12 men in the audience including us (two women and four men) proceeded outside. Most people came and shook our hands and welcomed us, Rachel came and recognizing one of our members as a leader from the meeting last week, came and introduced herself to him. Most of the audience proceeded down to the fire however several had questions so we stayed and spoke at length to them openly and honestly before proceeding down ourselves.
When we arrived Samantha was reading some of the steps from her book. They passed around a bowl of Hersheys kisses to offer the fire. I somehow found this a very odd offering since chocolate as we know it is processed and not of a natural state, so because of my own beliefs I chose not to offer any choclate to the fire. The gathering went on, however I personally left, feeing sickened at all that I had seen.
Returning to the warmth and friendship of companions left standing vigil at the entrance to the property, I was told of a truck which drove by turned around and waited at the top of the hill. A golf cart from the sponsors land drove through the trees to the property next door, flashed its lights twice and the truck then started up and drove past my friends again. This suspicious behavior seemed strangely out of place, however one of our guardians did get a picture of the truck so yes we do have PROOF this has happened.
As the night wore on, we heard our spiritual leader who came with us singing. I recognized his distinctive voice above the trees, echoing out over the land, this is a voice I know from having been in his sweat lodge, bringing peace to my spirit.
Shortly after this the remainder of our group returned to us gathering at the entrance, we smudged ourselves and left.
Jay:
Again I thank you for your patience and consideration. I also apologize to you for the rude way of Leonard and hope he will see that he has dishonored you, a person who opened this forum hoping to see an open honest dialogue. Not one of vehemence and anger.
However I think you now also see what we have been saying to many that racism against Native Americans, whose ancestors bones lay under their very feet, still exists. I will say that my personal experience with this form off racism is limited, but I have had personal experience with this racism, and still I pity these people for their close minded ways, thinking they are supeior. These people refuse to believe there is an ancient wisdom held in the ways of our ancestors. There are cures to disease which because they are a piece of our true spirituality and cannot be separated from it they will not receive. Many have tried to separate the spiritual from the physical and the cure does not work. The soul must be healed or the body cannot.
Again Jay, unti we met in July;
Chi Megwetch
May 10, 2008 at 5:45 am |
Leonard, thanks for the link, and the new, related topics. I added links to the DOI to the right side menu. I didn’t find any numbers there, or on wikipedia. I’ll keep looking and report back eventually here. It looks like a complicated subject, because there are current lawsuits against the bureau of indian affairs. But somewhere in the US Budget is the information I seek. I’m wondering if the amount spent is significant, or insignificant in the big picture of the US Budget. But I need numbers to decide.
All: I did ask a question about Irag, but I removed that question by editing because I wanted to keep on the topic which has developed here, namely Suraj/Rachel Holzwarth and the protest that I witnessed. I’m going to steer myself away from the money going to Iraq, unless the point is focused and relevant.
Let’s work on the topic and look at the points that Leonard makes.
Leonard’s assertion that contributors here are living in the past, and need to move on and quit whining, is contrary to my experience here. People here seem to be aware of the past, but also are doing things NOW. Take the longest walk, for example. Or Hartman protesting in Massachusetts. Hartman took action in the now, although one could argue about style & effectiveness. Hartman’s not a whiner type; he’s more the type who wrestles with problems directly. I saw him. He was not whiny. He pressed his point of view directly. On this point, Leonard is not correct. Contributors here, like people everywhere, are of all different personality types.
When Leonard says that “One people have been taking what other people have and calling it their own, nearly as long as there have been people on this earth”, he seems to be saying something true, and very ugly. As a US citizen, I reject this assertion that past illegal practices are “OK” because they’re in the past. Hitler’s extermination of Jews is not OK, for example. I’d like my country to be a nation of laws, fair and balanced in its interaction with other nations. I honestly think that it is time to change the old ways in which societies interact with each other. The human race is capable of improving itself. A root cause of change is awareness of the past and a desire to stop repeating past errors. Killing another human because you don’t like their religion is just plain wrong (think of violent fundamentalists, Americans Tim McVeigh, Eric Rudolph & Saudi Arabians like Osama bin Ladin). Killing another human because you want their resources also seems wrong to me. We need to check our actions towards others to see if they are reasonable. That’s one of the points of this whole blog. Which of Harman’s actions were reasonable? If yes, why. If not, why not?
Leonard’s remark about “Stop living off the US white man government too, if you’re so upset.” annoys me. Why “US white man government”, specifically. I take away the meaning that white people pay and others don’t pay taxes. In the Boston area where I live, that is false. Everybody here pays taxes according to the rules of taxation, except for cheats and fake businesses. Whatever Leonard’s personal experience is, it’s not true where I live. Also, people who have too little income don’t pay taxes by law, whatever color they are. My mother, for example, no longer pays taxes. Leonard has expressed an opinion, but I’m not convinced. Budget issues are changed by electing representatives who will do you what you want.
Leonard says that where he lives, he won’t drive through a reservation for fear of being beaten up and having car ruined. Hmmm. Can you tell me some more about this? more facts? Let’s get this problem out on the table. This truly needs discussion and we should shine a light into the darkness of fear.
Leonard says he doesn’t want to hear about this topic of protest and the lady who’s banging on the drum. That’s OK with me. However, I think this blog has been very interesting. I want to learn more about it. Regardless of personal preferences, Hartman has a right to protest, even civil disobedience, as long as he’s willing to pay the consequences like getting arrested. War protesters have a right to protest against stupid wars. Tax protesters have a right to protest about taxes. We’re all ok on this point, aren’t we? Does anyone deny that people have a right to protest things they don’t like?
Leonard mentioned that the Catholic church has been selling ceremonies for thousands of years. Bad choice. I’m disgusted with the Vatican and its army of pedophile priests. The Catholic Charities group has done some wonderful work, but the church as a whole is shrinking – and for good reasons. Where there any Catholic priests in charge of Indian Boarding schools? I think I’ll re-read Soul Wound; give it a read. Asserting that if the catholic church does it, it must be legal, is just bad logic. Some of the stuff they do is illegal. They had to rush the archbishop of Boston out of the country to keep him from being prosecuted here. Cardinal Law, I think was his name. Now a permanent resident of the tiny nation called the Vatican. He’ll probably never set foot in the United States of America again. We’re still dealing with prosecutions today. Leonard has failed to advance his argument by citing that example.
Leonard is looking for proof that she broke the law, selling eagle feathers. Included in the dialog here are assertions from first hand witnesses that Fish & Wildlife took eagle feathers from her. I’m inclined to believe the witnesses, until I see contrary evidence. But I’ve been web-searching to no avail on eagle feathers & michigan. I’d like to see a confirmation from the Fish & wildlife, but I don’t know how to get that yet. One thing we can find out about is what happens at future events with the big drum. If her costume has suddenly changed and no longer includes the feathers that it used to have, then that would be a type of non-verbal confirmation. We’ll need to see pictures of future events. This point is well taken and hopefully is resolvable, eventually.
In regard to taxes, if you’re in favor of everyone paying their fair share of taxes, then you probably won’t like it if Rachel/Suraj has illegally avoided paying just taxes, correct? And you’ll be glad if tax cheats are outed, generally, correct? I’m going to follow this for months or years if necessary to get to an understanding of the truth and the issues. I’m sure Leonard doesn’t want Rachel/Suraj to cheat on her taxes, right? Additionally, I offer this idea: Tax evasion during a time of war is tantamount to treason, even if such tax evasion doesn’t technically qualify as treason.
May 10, 2008 at 7:06 am |
Jay:
As you are well aware we do have proof.
Leonard is obviously and arian racist and looking to get people angry. So I preferred to question him regarding his parenting, but I fear my sublety may have fallen on deaf ears.
I chastised him and told him to speak with his elders, but I fear this two may fall on deaf ears.
I think this may be what he is truly seeking, a place to vent his anger and a people to vent it on. If this harmless forum keeps him from going somewhere and killing innocent people then it is a good thing we are there allowing him to vent his anger.
Regarding Rachel and her IRS issues. I would mention that as a 501 c 3 she gets matching funding from the US Government for ALL donations.
When it comes to non donated (Fees) there are no matching funds.
So please pay attention to the line regarding where to make checks payable to
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wp2000au/GrandMother%20Drum.htm
According to the Alaskan Dept. of Commerce’s website the “Alaskan Women of the Wilderness Foundation” founded by president Rachel Holzwarth (aka Suraj aka White Eagle Medicine Woman) was INVOLUNTARILY DISSOLVED March 3, 1999!!! It doesn’t exist legally as a non-profit corporation anymore.
https://myalaska.state.ak.us/business/soskb/Corp.asp?255869
Whirling Rainbow does exist legally so far, but went into effect in November of ‘04. This time registered to Suraj Holzwarth. The main office is listed as being in Anchorage.
https://myalaska.state.ak.us/business/soskb/Corp.asp?296160
Since the last two websites are Alaskan government sites under the freedom of information act, I think this constitutes proof.
May 10, 2008 at 8:20 am |
I’m definitely not saying what happened in this country was good. I personally think it was terrible. But, y’all miss the point. Whether or not anyone likes it, war is hell. Soldiers get killed, innocents get killed, raped and mulilated. When one people wins a war, whether or not it is right, the people that win, get to be in charge. And whatever the people that lose have or think or practice, gets changed or taken away. Weaker are taken over by the stronger. The Hungarians, for example, wer overrun by the Soviets. I know a guy who was a medical student at the time. He was forced to changed majors, study engineering in Russian, not his native Hungarian, takes his exit exams, and he HAD to pass them, and then get plunked into the Russian Army right away. He was expected to kill his own people if they resisted. His own house, was camped in by Russian soldiers. They killed this guys family and burned all the furniture and library books because his family was educated and therefore dangerous to the overtaking government. The same thing happened in Vietnam. These are ugly pictures, right or wrong. But this man, with all his horrible memories of what happened, has moved on. He was the guy who figured out how to get the moon buggy to work in low gravity!
At some point everyone has acknowledged that it was all bad and it is time to move on or be completely consumed by it. I don’t see the majority of American Indians moving on. Every time there is a problem, the Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee come up. There are Indians everywhere who cannot move on with their lives. The local reservation at Red Lake is a beautiful place, but people know it is better to drive around the reservation than to drive through it, especially women traveling alone.
Those “benefits” have no meaning to me today. I didn’t kill any Indians and I didn’t take anything away from them. Unfortunately, we are now a welfare union of States. But, the reason we have aid programs is so people can help themselves get back on track, but these people just keep taking their aid and don’t ever seem to get back on track. There are white people here who are third generation injured workers too – they don’t ever seem to get back on track either. So many people live life on the take like it is an entitlement. Every first of the month our town is filled with reservation cars, filled with families, cashing their government checks and buying all the stuff they need for the month. The next month rolls around and the same thing happens. That’s what happens here. That’s what we see and experience.
All the while I am busting my ass come hard times or easy times, trying to make my business thrive, there are people out there just collecting a check and living off aid programs because they can. Where is the self-worth in living an entitlement?
The Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee and, and, and… all happened in the 1800s. Move along now and get a life. Get along in the world somehow. Settle the drum and the eagle feather thing in the courts if you have to, but don’t be trying to bang someone on the head with a stick. That really does drop y’all back into the 1800s.
Putting it all over the internet that someone has not paid taxes in 9 years doesn’t make it true. Y’all might have seen the white lady with eagle feathers and the feds might have taken eagle feathers from her, but stick to that subject. Do what rational people do, take her to court on the feathers, then move on and go do what you do to make your own life complete. The drum is just you whining and the taxes are just you beatin your chest and swinging sticks in an effort to make people really mad. The tax thing has nothing to do with the feather thing. It’s just someone slinging mud because their mad.
Just because y’all call me a racist in this blog, doesn’t make me a racist. I don’t hate anyone. It’s just not politically correct to say anything other than sweetness and light about you, true or not. I’m thankful for the internet because otherwise, if I express this opinion, I’m dead. But I’m saying what people think and you therefore have a PR problem that is not helped by guys swinging sticks around and attacking people over a drum. Life is much too short to mix with angry people who chase around with sticks in their hands. I don’t drive through the reservation, and I don’t walk down a dark alley in Bed-Sty or uptown NYC at 2am. That doesn’t stop me from making observations about what happens in my town or in the world. You don’t want that reputation, then don’t be swinging sticks.
May 10, 2008 at 8:24 am |
Will someone contribute thoughtfully about Leonard’s assertion that “You are US citizens when it is convenient and profitable, and you are tribal members when it is convenient and profitable”, please?
I heard this same assertion, or very similar, from a friend of mine from the State of Maine, when we were talking about the news from the newspaper. There were letters to the editor from Penobscots there. I know nothing about the issues of the Penobscots of Maine. Are any available to discuss this?
May 10, 2008 at 8:31 am |
Note to contributors: all thoughtful writings are welcome here, but posts with 3 or more links, get delayed by the built-in Akismet spam detection. These posts require me to review them before they can become visible. Also, I reserve the right to remove ad hominem attacks from the discussion. I may remove posts that are outright personal attacks.
May 10, 2008 at 9:04 am |
Leonard, do you understand that the links apparently show Rachel/Suraj was soliciting on the web for checks in 2002 made payable to a non profit corporation dissolved in 1999? Where do you stand on this point? Does this perspective change your point of view on the topic being discussed here?
As a tax conservative, what say you?
May 10, 2008 at 9:19 am |
Jay:
Direct to your questions regarding our citizenship. It should be noted here that Native Americans have per capita more people sign up to fight for the US in every war than any other race on this land. Perhaps many may think that has nothing to do with citizenship, however until 1924 Native Americans were not considered citizens of the US. My own great great grandfather served in the Union Army, but was not considered a citizen of either the North or the South. In truth we are by treaty, (which is by law) in actuality not just citizens of the country, but of the entire continent; so we are not citizens for our convenience, we are citizen’s of the US not by our choice, but by an act of congress, we are citizens of Canada and Mexico by treaties signed with those countries, not by treaties signed by us, we are citizens of our nation by birth. (The Jay Treaty Article 3 stipulates some of the implications involved). It must be remembered that the land being surrendered was given in treaties, with several other stipulations. Among these being the US Government providing for the original inhabitants of the land inperpetuity. So if I understand Leonard, he wants the US to break the law that it set forth.
Also in truth contrary to what Leonard is stating MOST Native Americans do have jobs and are also well educated and speak well and fluently in more than one language.
These are the people he himself denegrates so easily and vehemently. The racist remarks, are evident in his generalization, and are something we have lived with all our lives, as I mentioned earlier. If Leonard feels that the original inhabitants of this land do not deserve the money the government gives them by their right of birth he has no one to be chastising except possibly his own ancestors for signing those treaties, failing to realize we were not going to just die off, or be assimilated much as in the Science Fiction Star Trek series with the Borg thinking they could beat humanity through assimilation.
It is time for us all to accept our ancestors and the wisdom of their decisions and let go of what we believe they should have done and follow the laws they stipulated for us.
May 10, 2008 at 9:24 am |
Leonard, thank you for being willing to dialogue.
I would like you to ponder this question;
If your business and your land and your way of making a living and taking care of your family was taken away, and you had no choice about it, and in exchange you were promised that your family would be taken care of, and your children were hungry, would you turn down money to buy what you need from that government that promised that your family would be taken care of? Would you let your children go hungry?
Of course YOU did not make those agreements, but our government did. Shouldn’t we as a country be good for our word? If we are an honorable people I think we should.
I would suspect that if you were to open an honest dialogue with Indians in your area, you might find that they are not real happy with the status quo either.
We as a country created this. We all need to work together towards a solution. It’s more complicated than it appears on the surface.
Yes, awful things have happend. Human beings have treated each other in the most vicious and unjust ways. This continues to this day. Does that mean the we of the United States, should be complacent about it or just accept it? What values and beliefs do we claim to be founded on? What standards to we hold others up to?
I suspect that one of the reasons you would rather leave the past behind and want others to just get over it is because to look at it closely is a very painful process, especially if you are at all empathetic. Who wants to submit themselves to that? I can feel your heart in your words and if you were to really learn what happened and what is happening, it would break. Much easier to minimize and make it a “them vs us” situation.
OR to play make believe with the likes of White Ego Woman, to bring this back around.
The truth hurts. It’s easiery to minimize it or make up a fantasy about it.
Years ago I worked as a visiting nurse in the “worst neighborhoods” of Philadelphia. And I met a bunch of very nice human beings, among the poverty and dangerousness. A lot of elderly people, young parents, etc, trying to make homes and build lives in very difficult circumstances. I used to say to people who saw North Philadelphia as some sort of monolithic place of danger that would immediately consume them if they stepped foot in, full of lazy ner’do wells “It’s a human community, like any other human community”
We are all trying to make a living, take care of our families, make life better for our children. And we very rarely really understand the challenges those that are “other” or different than us face. I’m wondering what would happen if you were to get curious about that.
I also hear your frustration at how hard you are working, and I am sure there is good reason for that frustration and anger. I don’t believe you are aiming at the right target, however. I’m not sure what the right one is, but I’m pretty darn sure it’s not Native Americans. Really, if the government were to stop honoring its financial obligations to Natives,(or rather stop honoring the ones they ARE honoring) or White Ego Woman were allowed to continue unabated, how much would that change your life? What would that fix for you?
I’m gonna be quiet now.
Nona
May 10, 2008 at 9:51 am |
Leonard….
Your comments are from a non native point of view, and you are entitled to them.
Our comments are from a native point of view, and we are entitled to them.
We have not disrespected you or your race….yet you have disrespected native people and our race.
Where you gather the notion that this is an acceptable form of behavior…I do not know.
You clearly know very little of our people…and the words “This all happened in the 1800’s get over it!” are the ignorant words of someone uneducated about Native American affairs.
Let me ask you…..How quickly would YOU get over the Trail Of Tears had it been YOUR ancestors?
If your Ancestors as little ones had their thumbs cut from their hands, strung onto string and sold to non native people as curios? Their ears sliced from their heads, strung onto strings and sold by LENGTH to the higest bidder? Your woman raped while the men were forced to watch…and then murdered? Your people burnt alive as this saved on bullets? Babies head smashed in for sport…pregnant women raped and then their unborn child cut from their bellies….your people forced to march…where most died…the remaining people not even given the chance to bury their dead…
Get over it?
Would you?
Perhaps you feel you are an expert on Indian Affairs since you’ve read a few history books…but hey…here’s a crazy suggestion…try speaking with real Indian peope…hear the stories passed down through generations of people who are still oppressed to this day.
Are we to forget Wounded Knee also?
SandCreek?
The genocide of our people?
Why?
Because you say so?
We do not tell you how to think, feel or live….do not presume we are uneducated fools.
Question…What makes you an expert on our people and on how we should act?
Do you not keep up with news reports?
Do you know nothing of the current situations in Yankton?
Tyendinaga?
We have been voicing our opinions here on this forum on the theft/abuse/misuse and sale of our ceremony and culture…as Native American people…we have that right….and we make no apologies for doing so.
This woman has not paid taxes in 9 years…and YES I have the documentation to prove this….as do many others…and this was not put out on the internet…IT IS ALREADY ON THE NET….IF you care to look.
This woman IS selling Eagle Feathers, we purchased one and handed it over to the correct authorities, and they too confirmed this is so.
This woman is STILL selling our ceremonial items AND Eagle Feathers on her site, and the proof is right there IF you care to look.
This woman is STILL claiming Native american ancestory, to enable her to continue with the sale of our ceremonies, the proof is there IF you care to look.
My opinion on your rather nasty comments is thus….you are either a supporter of Rachel….or you are anti-Indian. Try doing your own research before you write your words….we have, as have many others…now instead of you voicing your opinion…try stating some factual evidence…we have…as have many others.
As for being US citizens when it is convenient and profitable, and you are tribal members when it is convenient and profitable….I speak only for myself…I am Native American….and Proud…I am a Traditionalist and Proud…I gain no profit or convenience from any US Status…for I am Native American. I work 18 – 20 hours a day for free for our people…I make no profit…do not presume to ‘tar everyone with the same brush’.
May 10, 2008 at 10:02 am |
I’m not sure how the topic turned to Bedford Stuyvesant? (For those of you who are not familiar, it is a historically African American community in Brooklyn).
Anyway. Can someone knowledgeable comment on Cobell lawsuits against the Bureau of Indian affairs for mismanagement of trust fund monies? That strikes me as a very relevant, present day example of what Native people are dealing with, but I’m not very familliar with it.
Helen, and everyone else, thank you for your informative posts, I’m learning a lot.
May 10, 2008 at 1:05 pm |
Project: Individual Indian Monies Trust Correction
and Recovery Lawsuit Cobell vs. Norton
Since 1998 Lannan Foundation has supported the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, which has been found guilty of breaching trust obligations to at least 300,000 American Indian individuals. Since the late nineteenth century the government has been in charge of a trust fund known as the Individual Indian Monies Trust accounts. The trust was established when the U.S. Congress broke up and parceled out land owned by a number of American Indian tribes.
Excess lands allotted to individuals from those tribes were put in trust and managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), an agency of the Department of the Interior. Trust beneficiaries derive income from royalties on their land, which the BIA leases out for activities such as logging, oil and gas exploration, and grazing. But for more than 100 years these trust fund monies have been grossly mismanaged. To this day the U.S. Treasury Department issues checks on an account, worth billions of dollars, which cannot be balanced or reconciled.
As early as 1980 government officials knew the trust was being mismanaged, but avoided fixing the problem, perceiving the trust fund beneficiaries had little money or clout to force a cleanup of the system.
But in 1996 this changed when the largest class action lawsuit ever brought by American Indians against the federal government compelled Interior officials to address the mismanagement of trust fund monies. Initially called Cobell vs. Babbitt, the case came about largely due to the persistence of one individual account holder by the name of Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana.
“First they took our blood, then they took our land, now they’ve got our money. And, you know, they’re not going to get away with it this time… When they have to manage other people’s money according to standards, why aren’t they managing our money to standards? Is it because you manage brown people’s money differently?” Elouise Cobell in an interview with Mike Wallace of CBS’s 60 Minutes in 2000.
With her own money, plus funds committed by private foundations, Cobell, her attorney, and attorneys from the Native American Rights Fund began the process of challenging the government in a court of law to hold it accountable for breaching its trust duties. Cobell and four other plaintiffs named in the complaint filed suit on behalf of themselves and as many as 500,000 individuals.
The litigation on the trust fund issue has been divided into two phases. The first trial has addressed fixing the trust fund accounting system, while the second will focus on performing an accurate historical accounting of the trust fund monies owed to the beneficiaries.
Fixing the System
In December of 1999 U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the matter of fixing the accounting system. He ordered the Department of the Interior to establish appropriate written policies and procedures to bring it in compliance with its trust responsibilities. He also ordered that quarterly written status reports be filed with the court explaining the Department’s progress. Judge Lamberth also ruled the court would oversee the reporting process for five years.
The Department of the Interior appealed that decision, lost on appeal, and then let the deadline pass for a final appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Judge Lamberth is still presiding over the case.
Native American Rights Fund attorney Keith Harper, left, has worked on behalf of the plaintiffs for more than six years. Dennis Gingold, a banking lawyer hired by Elouise Cobell, has also played a key role in the long-running case.
To date the Department of the Interior has not fixed the trust fund accounting system in spite of the Judge’s ruling. Gale Norton (pictured here), current Secretary of the Interior, inherited the lawsuit and the clean-up responsibility from her Clinton Administration predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, who was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to comply with the judge’s orders.
Historical Accounting
In the second trial the plaintiffs will demand that the government perform an accurate historical accounting of the funds, and pay back any funds that are due the account holders and their descendants. A date has not been set for the second case.
For downloadable court transcripts and recent press releases about the case, visit http://www.indiantrust.com. At this site you may also sign up to receive e-mails to provide you with up-to-date information about the lawsuit.
Visit Native American Rights Fund for a timeline of the case.
http://www.lannan.org/lf/ic/special-projects/blackfeet-reservation-development-fund/
There is much info on the net regarding the above
http://www.greatdreams.com/BureauofIndianAffairs.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobell_v._Kempthorne
http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featawehali_214.shtml
indian.senate.gov/public/_files/Echohawk032907.pdf
http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/articles/CobellvNorton/
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jol/vol41_2/panoff.php
http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Ask_this.view&askthisid=157
http://www.tribaltrust.com/documents/complaint_12_28_06.pdf
http://www.indianz.com/board/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=22942
http://www.senate.gov/~scia/2005hrgs/072605hrg/cobell.pdf
And on and on…there is a wealth of info out there…I hope this helps some.
May 10, 2008 at 3:40 pm |
One of our contributors brought up Yankton.
Wade Crow: what is the term “wasicus” in your post dated May 9?
Thanks!
May 10, 2008 at 3:44 pm |
Monies were promised to your ancestors because the government did unspeakable things and took everything from them, not from you. Why continue to pay current generations? How many generations have passed since the 1800s when these unspeakable acts occured. Can’t American Indians get an education and and job now? Hasn’t enough time gone by that they do not need to be cared for, as if they are helpless, anymore? It is insanity to pay people today, generations later, for what happened in the 1800s. Outrageous…! Quit complaining and blaming.
May 10, 2008 at 4:00 pm |
ok Leonard, I was hoping you were getting a clue but you are not. BECAUSE WE GAVE OUR WORD WHEN WE TOOK THE LAND. In writing. Made it law of the land. Which apparently means nothing to you. You are an angry man looking for a scapegoat for your own misery, and you are behaving in a very ugly disrespectful way. I’m done with you.
May 10, 2008 at 4:18 pm |
This is addressed to Leonard…
I found my way here via a recent posting on NAU’s blog. You are an embarassment to the human race. There are many non-natives in this country who have conscience, and an understanding of the events that took place both in the past, and those that continue to undermine indigenous peoples to this day.
My advice to you is to stop talking […edited by moderator…]. You are only showing your incredible ignorance.
May 10, 2008 at 4:24 pm |
Leonard, it is legitimate to ask questions, but you fail to specify which programs you find objectionable. Without specific references, readers will have a hard time responding. Please focus your thoughts. Without a focus you sound like you are complaining yourself!
I noticed you skipped my relevant question. Are you skipping the hard questions?
Please give me the courtesy of a thoughfut response. This is what I’m asking you, head on:
Leonard, do you understand that the links apparently show Rachel/Suraj was soliciting on the web for checks in 2002 made payable to a non profit corporation dissolved in 1999? Where do you stand on this point? Does this perspective change your point of view on the topic being discussed here?
As a tax conservative, what say you?
May 10, 2008 at 5:16 pm |
Apparently, after being properly educated, silence is his response. It’s not surprising to see reactions like Leonard’s. The popular saying goes, “History is written by the victors”…and so it has been. Native history is quite different than the skewed, narrow vision of the history books that the schools use to teach our children. Leonard was likely educated by these texts. Someone asked me, just the other day, “Why don’t Native Americans write a history book?” Why, indeed. Our history is passed down using oratory, as always, not the written word. Our stories have been passed down for centuries using nothing more than the spoken word. Only recently have accounts begun to appear as written text, and one must be careful to find the authors who have received permission and tribal endorsement. The way that NAU has described the horrors inflicted upon the people should be enough to make the thickest skin softer. Why do we continue to fight for Native rights? Because they’ve never been recognized, that’s why. Every other race and creed have had their rights recognized. Yet we are still used as clever sidekicks for the white hero, mascots to sports teams, and forgotten pieces of American history, swept under the rug. When, and only when, Natives are treated as equals, will we stem the uprising and objection.
May 10, 2008 at 5:19 pm |
Thank you, Erik Two Hawks. Welcome to this place.
May 10, 2008 at 5:43 pm |
Leonard….You’ve had your say…you’ve more than proven what kind of a person you are…I am a respectful woman to all people, yet you are testing my patience. You seem to think the wrong doings only happened to our people in the 1800’s, (Where the many centuries of torture and murder dissappeared to BEFORE that time in your mind…I can not understand) yet you fail to see and recognize that this still continue to this day…as I have already pointed out….in fact I will take that back…you do not fail to see…you simply do not care. Our people have never been helpless, we have never been uneducated….tell me….who taught YOUR ancestors to live from this land? Ignorance breeds hatred…and you my friend are ignorant….people such as yourself make it difficult for our people to form relationships with other non natives. You think our people have little to complain about? We do not complain…we stand up for our rights as a people…because if we didn’t…we would have none…if you had your rights infringed on daily…you would stand up too. We have only been recognized as American Citizens since the 1940’s….African Americans were made citizens before our people….but my time is wasted on you…you cannot educate a person who feels he knows it all. We have spoken here about many things…yet your ears are closed. Try listening…reading the words and understanding…instead of speaking out in haste and hatred. I am including some information….and I would like to know…how often do you hear of this happening to white American children? Leonard….do you have no heart? No feelings? Are you so cold and dead inside that you must display your anger in this way? Learn to listen with your heart Leonard.
Press Statement: April 10, 2008
Mass Graves of Residential School Children Identified – Independent Inquiry Launched
We are gathered today to publicly disclose the location of twenty eight mass graves of children who died in Indian Residential Schools across Canada , and to announce the formation of an independent, non-governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of children in these schools.
We estimate that there are hundreds, and possibly thousands, of children buried in these grave sites alone.
The Catholic, Anglican and United Church , and the government of Canada, operated the schools and hospitals where these mass graves are located.
We therefore hold these institutions and their officers legally responsible and liable for the deaths of these children.
We have no confidence that the very institutions of church and state that are responsible for these deaths can conduct any kind of impartial or real inquiry into them.
Accordingly, as of April 15, 2008, we are establishing an independent, non- governmental inquiry into the death and
disappearance of Indian residential school children across Canada .
This inquiry shall be known as The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), and is established under the authority of the following hereditary chiefs, who shall serve as presiding judges of the Tribunal:
Mass Graves at former Indian Residential
Schools and Hospitals across Canada
A. British Columbia
1. Port Alberni: Presbyterian-United Church school (1895-1973), now occupied by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC) office, Kitskuksis Road .
Grave site is a series of sinkhole rows in hills 100 metres due west of the NTC building, in thick foliage, past an unused
water pipeline. Children also interred at Tseshaht reserve cemetery, and in wooded gully east of Catholic cemetery on River Road .
2. Alert Bay : St. Michael’s Anglican school (1878-1975), situated on Cormorant Island offshore from Port McNeill.
Presently building is used by Namgis First Nation.
Site is an overgrown field adjacent to the building, and also under the foundations of the present new building, constructed during the 1960’s.
Skeletons seen “between the walls”.
3. Kuper Island: Catholic school (1890-1975), offshore from Chemainus.
Land occupied by Penelakut Band.
Former building is destroyed except for a staircase.
Two grave sites: one immediately south of the former building, in a field containing a conventional cemetery; another at the west shoreline in a lagoon near the main dock.
4. Nanaimo Indian Hospital: Indian Affairs and United Church experimental facility (1942-1970) on Department of National
Defense land. Buildings now destroyed.
Grave sites are immediately east of former buildings on Fifth avenue , adjacent to and south of Malaspina College .
5. Mission: St. Mary’s Catholic school (1861-1984), adjacent to and north of Lougheed Highway and Fraser River Heritage
Park .
Original school buildings are destroyed, but many foundations are visible on the grounds of the Park.
In this area there are two grave sites: a) immediately adjacent to former girls’ dormitory and present cemetery for priests,
and a larger mass grave in an artificial earthen mound, north of the cemetery among overgrown foliage and blackberry bushes, and b) east of the old school grounds, on the hilly slopes next to the field leading to the newer school building which is presently used by the Sto:lo First Nation.
Hill site is 150 metres west of building.
6. North Vancouver: Squamish (1898-1959) and Sechelt (1912-1975) Catholic schools, buildings destroyed.
Graves of children who died in these schools interred in the Squamish Band Cemetery , North Vancouver .
7. Sardis: Coqualeetza Methodist-United Church school (1889-1940), then experimental hospital run by federal government (1940-1969).
Native burial site next to Sto:lo reserve and Little Mountain school, also possibly adjacent to former school-hospital building.
8. Cranbrook: St. Eugene Catholic school (1898-1970), recently converted into a tourist “resort” with federal funding, resulting in the covering-over of a mass burial site by a golf course in front of the building.
Numerous grave sites are around and under this golf course.
9. Williams Lake : Catholic school (1890-1981), buildings destroyed but foundations intact, five miles south of city.
Grave sites reported north of school grounds and under foundations of tunnel-like structure.
10. Meares Island (Tofino): Kakawis-Christie Catholic school (1898-1974).
Buildings incorporated into Kakawis Healing Centre.
Body storage room reported in basement, adjacent to burial grounds south of school.
11. Kamloops : Catholic school (1890-1978).
Buildings intact.
Mass grave south of school, adjacent to and amidst orchard.
Numerous burials witnessed there.
12. Lytton: St. George’s Anglican school (1901-1979).
Graves of students flogged to death, and others, reported under floorboards and next to playground.
13. Fraser Lake : Lejac Catholic school (1910-1976), buildings destroyed.
Graves reported under old foundations and between the walls.
Alberta:
1. Edmonton : United Church school (1919-1960), presently site of the Poundmaker Lodge in St. Albert .
Graves of children reported south of former school site, under thick hedge that runs north-south, adjacent to memorial marker.
2. Edmonton : Charles Camsell Hospital (1945-1967), building intact, experimental hospital run by Indian Affairs and United
Church .
Mass graves of children from hospital reported south of building, near staff garden.
3. Saddle Lake : Bluequills Catholic school (1898-1970), building intact, skeletons and skulls observed in basement furnace.
Mass grave reported adjacent to school.
4. Hobbema: Ermineskin Catholic school (1916-1973), five intact skeletons observed in school furnace.
Graves under former building foundations.
Manitoba:
1. Brandon : Methodist-United Church school (1895-1972). Building intact.
Burials reported west of school building.
2. Portage La Prairie: Presbyterian- United Church school (1895-1950).
Children buried at nearby Hillside Cemetery .
3. Norway House: Methodist-United Church school (1900-1974).
“Very old” grave site next to former school building, demolished by United Church in 2004.
Ontario:
1. Thunder Bay : Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital , still in operation.
Experimental centre.
Women and children reported buried adjacent to hospital grounds.
2. Sioux Lookout: Pelican Lake Catholic school (1911-1973).
Burials of children in mound near to school.
3. Kenora: Cecilia Jeffrey school, Presbyterian-United Church (1900-1966).
Large burial mound east of former school.
4. Fort Albany : St. Anne’s Catholic school (1936-1964).
Children killed in electric chair buried next to school.
5. Spanish: Catholic school (1883-1965).
Numerous graves.
6. Brantford : Mohawk Institute, Anglican church (1850-1969), building intact.
Series of graves in orchard behind school building, under rows of trees.
7. Sault Ste. Marie: Shingwauk Anglican school (1873-1969), some intact buildings.
Several graves of children reported on grounds of old school.
Quebec:
1. Montreal : Allan Memorial Institute, McGill University , still in operation since opening in 1940. MKULTRA experimental centre.
Mass grave of children killed there north of building, on southern slopes of Mount Royal behind stone wall.
Sources: – Eyewitness accounts from survivors of these institutions, catalogued in Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust (2nd ed., 2005) by Kevin Annett.
May 10, 2008 at 5:47 pm |
And let me add…the above is ONLY in Canada….this has also happened in North America to a greater extent. I have merely used the above to try to get you to understand the genocide our people STILL face.
May 10, 2008 at 5:58 pm |
Leonard,
As the former Chairman of the Board of a Native American Service Organization, after twelve years of serving in this position, I have become acquainted with a multitude of professionals and laymen in the Native Community. For example: The Director of the agency holds a Masters degree in Education and Social Work, her sister is the only Native woman holding a PHD in Anthropology in the U.S.
My daughter passed the Canadian Bar two years ago and works for a law firm that deals specifically with treaty rights. Not a glamorous high paying position, but she does it for the principle.
If you will look at Salamanca, NY back in the early 90’s you will find that the city of Salamanca’s 99 year lease expired. They leased the land for $1.00 per year, in the hopes that in those 99 years the Natives that held title would no longer be in existence. WRONG, they were still there and demanded $750,000.00 per year RENT. Of course the city argued that it was too much, but the court instructed them to pay the landlord the rent due, they did and their check bounced, afterwhich it was taken to the New York Supreme Court who upheld the lower courts ruling and made them (the city of Salamanca) make the bounced check good with interest and to pay the landlords their due rent in a timely manner or be evicted.
Leonard, I said that to say this. We’re The Landlords it Time To Pay The Rent. Natives own only 3% of this land now, when before the invasion we happily owned all of it, without jails, without hunger, without sickness, without greed. If you don’t like it here or the way things are, just go back to where you immigrant family came from.
May 10, 2008 at 6:03 pm |
I apologize for such short posts but try using a blackberry and you’ll understand. In response to Wasicus, it means the white folk. It’s traditional meaning is fat taker. We live 24 hours a day under siege but we have always lived like this against enemies. We die fighting to ensure our survival. Our hopes lie with family.
May 10, 2008 at 6:09 pm |
I don’t have the patience to address everything Lenard said but here are some highlights.
1. yes plenty things have happened in the past. And now more things are happening. its not “over.” The government is still taking land and shooting Indians. Its still going on.
2. The Majority of tax money spent on welfare goes to corporations what make billions of dollars in profit. WE give the majority of your tax money to GM, Exxon, Lockheed Martin, & Wal- Mart than Indians. Look that up.
3. The Catholic Church at one time enforced the 10% tithe….back when they had an army. But that was when they were more concerned with power than piety. Nowadays they just guilt you into donating. That doesn’t mean everyone should conduct their spiritual beliefs like that catholic church.
May 10, 2008 at 6:16 pm |
New contributors: Sam & Mishiike, welcome.
May 10, 2008 at 6:16 pm |
The sins of the father wil continue to be visited on the son as long as we are still forced to live with the consequences of those sins.
There is also no place for us to run, nor should we have to. As for my people, the gub-ment just gave up trying to get us to do anything and just put up some invisible lines and said, “ok you just stay in there…OK?” We are where we we were put by God, not the cavalry…
May 10, 2008 at 6:31 pm |
Wow! This man has certainly raised a lot of people who have not spoken on this forum, but finding the biased bigotry he has expressed has caused an outcry by those who would normally remain silent. This is what happens when people overstep their bounds and refuse to listen to the voice of reason. I would think that a person owning a business in a town as small as Red Lake who makes their money off the Natives in that area; since every business in that area makes some of their income off the Natives, would keep their thougths to themself, lest they want to incur a boycott of their business.
Caledonia, Ontario VERY recently incurred just such a situation and when the people of Six Nations chose to drive to Brantford, Hamilton and other more major cities rather than the neighboring town because of the animosity the townspeople were showing toward the Natives, it made National News in Canada. The TOWN had to ask the Canadian Government to supplement the income of the townspeople because the stores being boycotted employing the people of the town could not afford the wages and were on the verge of bankruptcy.
This being the case a prudent businessman would not speak in such a manner as has this person and risk incurring actions susch as those in Caledonia. Red Lake is not so large as that the mocassin telegraph cannot travel. Bigots are known in all towns, but Native people by the nature of the culture are forgiving and will turn the other cheek, however we only have 2 cheeks, so if a person slaps both in the face of many, we must stand with honor. I fear this man who has spoken so ill of so many will soon find himself in the position of those whom he chastises, trying to support a family with no income and no one who will hire him lest they befall the same ill do to their association to him.
May 10, 2008 at 6:51 pm |
By the way, to all concerned, Bernard was detained at the airport and could not make his flight to Michigan in time to be at the event last night.
He is returning all the funds donated to the appropriate people. He has asked this announcement to be made.
However, I for one feel his ongoing battle to fight the fraudulent use of our ceremonies is an an honorable one. Many others have told him to not return their money and to use it for this continuing fight. It is your personal decision. Contact him and let him know of your wishes if you contributed.
May 10, 2008 at 6:56 pm |
Siyo Leonard,I ask simply why you think ALL “Indians”(this is as well a derogitory term you know,we are not from India)draw “welfare” or allotments? Just as many believe(not all but many)of your Peoples that mine are drunks,druggies,lazy,good for nothings? I have lived a long life and not draw welfare,but began breaking wild ponies at age eight,I have worked my whole life,as did my grandparents. My grandfather served in the Horse Calvery(born 1899)in the “colored unit),and then went as well to WI,my uncles went to WII,my father to Korea,my brothers to Vietnam,and the Two Gulfs,as did my son. My elder son was murdered by whites,because his skin was brown and he dared to want a job in their crew. They were called by them selfs,White Supremists,who truely believe the White race is the “Ruling” race,who deserves to OWN the world by “Manifest Destiny”. My second son served in the Army four years,then served in the Navy for his dead brothers honor. I do not think any one OWES my living to me,but I can not,will not forget what was done to my Peoples,in MY country Turtloe Island. Why,because it has never been made right,I look up “federal statutes of limitation on recieving stolen “property”,and by law,the Europeans are here illegally still today,as what they have is not theirs to keep but property stolen by FORCE,by the rightful owners. Just as you,may own a home or car/truck,if someone takes it from you at gun point,does that mean they haver the right to take it? You see,it is not only PAST,but what happens still today,and yes,the words you used were RACIST,though you will not see it that way,but when you lump a whole People,and judge them by YOUR ways,and not their OWN Cultural beliefs it is RACIST. We are not ALL drunks,lazy,or draw welfare,but if we did and were,it is OUR countries resources being used. As to the whites killed in the “wars” you call it,and we know it was slaughter instead(we had no guns and cannons)if they had stayed in their OWN country,our HOMELAND Defenders would noty have killed them eh? Or did you think we had no right to defensd our home lands against terrorist invaders,but you DO today? It is as well why,we fight still today for the very FEW rights we have left,did you know my grandfather fought for this country,and was NOT considered a “Citizen” with RIGHTS you take for granted until the 1920’s? We work every day,just like you,we pay taxes(and I have my whole life,but do not earn enough for a whole year anymore to get the “rebate”),we pay insurance,and we support our schools,our country,and our Peoples with HONOR. The very least we should have right to is our own Spiritual Culture,without those not even of the Nations selling it to fill their OWN pockets!
granny
All the while I am busting my ass come hard times or easy times, trying to make my business thrive, there are people out there just collecting a check and living off aid programs because they can. Where is the self-worth in living an entitlement?
The Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee and, and, and… all happened in the 1800s. Move along now and get a life. Get along in the world somehow. Settle the drum and the eagle feather thing in the courts if you have to, but don’t be trying to bang someone on the head with a stick. That really does drop y’all back into the 1800s.
Putting it all over the internet that someone has not paid taxes in 9 years doesn’t make it true. Y’all might have seen the white lady with eagle feathers and the feds might have taken eagle feathers from her, but stick to that subject. Do what rational people do, take her to court on the feathers, then move on and go do what you do to make your own life complete. The drum is just you whining and the taxes are just you beatin your chest and swinging sticks in an effort to make people really mad. The tax thing has nothing to do with the feather thing. It’s just someone slinging mud because their mad.
Just because y’all call me a racist in this blog, doesn’t make me a racist. I don’t hate anyone. It’s just not politically correct to say anything other than sweetness and light about you, true or not. I’m thankful for the internet because otherwise, if I express this opinion, I’m dead. But I’m saying what people think and you therefore have a PR problem that is not helped by guys swinging sticks around and attacking people over a drum. Life is much too short to mix with angry people who chase around with sticks in their hands. I don’t drive through the reservation, and I don’t walk down a dark alley in Bed-Sty or uptown NYC at 2am. That doesn’t stop me from making observations about what happens in my town or in the world. You don’t want that reputation, then don’t be swinging sticks.
May 10, 2008 at 7:12 pm |
Siyo Leonard,I would say this as well on the issue of why we DO NOT forget,and get OVER it,yesterday I had one more surgery to remove a bone spur and tooth it had destroyed,the spur,was caused from breaks to my jaws. Tell me,do you call a grown man,beating a seven year old near to death for “back talking her betters” an act of war? You see,when I was a child,there were still places in this country,”People of Color” were not allowed,me I have a temper problem,and was not good at being “humble” before my “betters”. My poor grandparents tried,very hard to make me understand,I could not speak out about this,it was the way it was and we needed to do as told and “get over it”,you see? Three times my baby jaws were broken,three times my nose,three fingers of each hand are nearly useless,I was eight when the “good sisters” did that because I was too “stupid” to learn about “proper” religion,and stop practicing my “heathen” ways taught by my grandmothers. Finally,sent home in disgrace,I did finish nine grades,even at grandmothers begging got GED,and lol, have a “college” credit,for book keeping at the local high school they taught it,it was that or be “appointed” a guardian to handle my “resourses”. That IS now,not 1800’s,today,I suffer daily, from the “lessons” of your kind,teaching a “dirty” little “Indian” some “proper” manners. You live ONE year,just one,in the skin of any of our nations,THEN you tell me,to “get over it”,but first,give back my twenty year old sons life,tell my grandchildren to not cry when they are treated “differently” from the other children,to not cry whenm they are called “liar” for claiming to be Native,because every one KNOWS all REAL Indians are dead!
granny
May 10, 2008 at 7:25 pm |
No Freedom!
Man of pride stands in the sunlight,though his heart is broken he does not cry,he went to war for his country he served well and brought home glory their medals shine on his chest.
Warrior born he speaks softly there is a kindness in his eyes for the whole world,when he left he was a child heart filled with wonder at the sights.
Far away he traveled to many places with strange names though the people there looked much like him,kill them all he was told anything that breathes or moves then on his head his own dumped poisons.
Those are the wages of war he was told friendly fire takes its tolls now he wonders what he was fighting for,proud to go,proud to serve he was hoping to make a difference,to show his country the honor of his People.
Today he came home and is filled with sadness things are not better but worse,his kind looked down on,yet they too gave their all the Native American Warriors to make America safer.
But it was not his children it helped they still face the same prejudices he faced,still not good enough as a race,and so does his service have no meaning was he truly only cannon fodder so the rich white man can grow fatter?
When will his kind be seen as equals,when will something make a difference,this countries peoples seek to help the poor starving children,to save them from poverty and unfairness and lead them to freedom yet turn a blind eye to those in this land.
While he stands and watches the sun rising,his heart breaking for all those he watched die made no difference,in his own lands he has no freedom, the children of his People are mistreated,forgotten,lied to and abused,was the sacrifice of life useless?
granny
May 10, 2008 at 8:23 pm |
I am new here and I couldn’t pass this by without putting my comment. I have Taino Native ancestry and I live in Puerto Rico. Racism and bigotry will always exist unless people are properly educated. The island where I live is a free associated state or commonwealth. I know too well how many people such as Leonard feels and has expressed his feelings. I don’t know about you, but I was brought up to respect other races, beliefs and cultures.
My goodness we are in the year 2008, and so to speak nothing has really changed. I pray my island doesn’t become the next state of the US. With all due respect to my Native brothers and sisters, it’s time that all Native People are given respect and their cultures, beliefs and ancestry be honored.
Many comment on things they do not understand and do not know what Native People have suffered and are still suffering in order to survive and to keep their traditions and culture alive. People must remember that Native People were in their USA first and for those who want terms more explicitly, they are the true Americans. What does it take for people to respect them?
If Puerto Rico became the next state of the US, would we, too, lose our lands?? We definitely won’t allow anyone to take our flag nor our nor our identities away from us.
Have you Leonard, with all due respect, put yourself in their shoes and lived what horrors they have throughout history?
Yvonne
May 11, 2008 at 4:01 am |
Leonard:
All of my generation belongs to the original “Don’t tell” generation. I learned of my heritage sitting on my grandfather’s knee, always with the caution of “Don’t tell”. It was not until just before the birth of my son that we were allowed to practice our religion. This is the issue where this whole blog started. That someone felt it their right to steal something we were forbidden to possess when I was a young adult. Only 30 years of my life have I been allowed to speak of that which as a child was “Don’t tell”. Still to this day there are people who would have us put back into that archaic day. Who justify their statements without any PROOF of their own. Jay brought the events of the night of April 4th to light. When Hartman struck the drum with a stick not “trying to bang someone on the head with a stick.” And this is the person who says we need to provide PROOF, where is the PROOF that anyone used a weapon on another person except what the police did to Hartman?
I challenge this person to whom I have openly refused to speak directly, but rather have spoken to through my speaking to others, to come forward with pride and speak as a person who has respect for themself. To respect yourself you must respect others first. Without that respect you cannot respect yourself, for it is written your own bible that you should do unto others as you would wish done to you. That which ye sow so shall ye reap. I will speak with you openly and honestly, but only if you come with respect and learn from your mistakes. If you come with anger, I will again refer to you not as an individual who deserves respect, but as a foriegner in our land who does not understand the language and so needs an interpreter. If this is your choice, I would then refer you back to the comments made by Mishiike (Jay: Mishiike is Ojibwe, and means turtle, Turtle Island is North America and if you look carefully you will see the turtle whose head is in Alaska and tail is in Florida. The legs are the Baja Pennisula, Mexico, Nunavuit and Newfoundland).
Again as I said earlier, we are to speak with respect and knowledge, giving facts for which there is proof. Mishiike spoke of Salamanca situation, this can be found in the Howard R. Berman Papers Section 3 somewhere between Chapters 16.2 and 17.5 This is the closest I can find toward the actual court finidings of which Mishiike spoke, there are several news articles availble through web searches also. Additionally there was claim by the Seneca regarding the purchase of Grand Island in New York, contrary to Federal Law which caused an award of $65,000,000.00 to the Seenca Nation. These are facts of the theft, not conquer of lands which have been laid claim to by people who had no right to the land even according to the laws which are supposed to be upheld by the citizens of this land. So if you want to speak about the laws and what is right and who was conquered, gather your facts and present them to this forum so we may speak as adults, not as a child throwing a temper tantrum because he is not getting his way and spouting verbal abuse designed in an attempt to belittle the person who stands to place the child in his room for punishment.
May 11, 2008 at 5:39 am |
Welcome, new contributors Yvonne and Jennifer
May 11, 2008 at 8:18 am |
Happy Mother’s Day to all!
May 11, 2008 at 8:22 am |
Hay leonard
You are a very small man arent you .You have had your say and it has been very mean hurtful to me .I am cherokee and my people and other have been killed and removed from OUR land .I was there in weymouth with hartman and we were standing up for OUR people .
May 11, 2008 at 11:20 am |
We all know the saying, “never forget 911.” The whole world is against us and we still support our troops. Our young men and women are dying to save voices like Leonard’s.
May 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm |
I find this such an unusual thing. The voices of the Native American have ALWAYS supported our warriors, even though we may not support the war itself, we honor our veterans. Yet the people who violate our culture, verbally abuse us on this same count. The Michigan people who worked so hard to end the charade, were standing vigil when the police informed them they had been called because we were supposedly, “protesting a veteran who had just returned from the war”. The shock on my face that anyone would say that about a group of Native Americans must have been evident to the police officer, because he did not question us any further on that issue, but this is furhter evidence abuse of our culture from those who do not know us. This is what Rachel and her ilk think of our people. The police have record of these calls, as well as the comportment of the people ascertainng Rachel’s honesty.
May 11, 2008 at 1:15 pm |
Leonard, Do you support our troops, or are you Canadian? I am of the Hunkpati Dakota nation first, U.S. Citizen second. I do get free medical and dental but from the San Manuel band of California Mission Indians not the government. They have the compassion to treat all enrolled natives who reside in the county of San Bernardino.
May 11, 2008 at 1:23 pm |
My Brothers and Sisters have called upon me for a helping hand and support. I am here and will begin to get caught up on article and comments. I have already read what was placed by the ndn hater and have much to say in one statement “educate before you communicate”. Remember wasicu, that you can only lie to yourself for so long. Saddly you will believe your lies and choke on them. Half of a truth is a whole lie. The country was founded on the bodies, backs and land of the first nations. The united states of hypocrisy is one of the youngest countries in the world. It has no culture so it steals from others, takes what it wants and garbles the atricities with talk of god, a brighter future and unity. One thing is clear as Che Guevara once said, “Bad leaders are replaced by good leader that turn bad.” The United Snakes as a whole is guilty of terrorism, murder, countless crimes against humanity, theft, lying, cheating. We are not some hairless novelty that you can pander. We stand up and want to make a difference together and Mr Wasna mouth gets upset like we do not have the right to protest or defend ourselves and our loved ones. I give you a tip ndn haters….. stfu unless you have been through what the ORIGINAL peoples of this land have. You talk [edited by the moderator] and banter on with figures graphs, only fooling yourself into thinking “everything is okay and the USA is perfect.” NO CULTURE… that is your disease. So you steal cultures here and there to fill your void.
our time will come again …. Hetcheu Aloh!
May 11, 2008 at 3:42 pm |
I am new here and I couldn’t pass this by without putting my comment. I have Taino Native ancestry and I live in Puerto Rico. Racism and bigotry will always exist unless people are properly educated. The island where I live is a free associated state or commonwealth. I know too well how many people such as Leonard feels and has expressed his feelings. I don’t know about you, but I was brought up to respect other races, beliefs and cultures.
My goodness we are in the year 2008, and so to speak nothing has really changed. I pray my island doesn’t become the next state of the US. With all due respect to my Native brothers and sisters, it’s time that all Native People are given respect and their cultures, beliefs and ancestry be honored.
Many comment on things they do not understand and do not know what Native People have suffered and are still suffering in order to survive and to keep their traditions and culture alive. People must remember that Native People were in their USA first and for those who want terms more explicitly, they are the true Americans. What does it take for people to respect them?
If Puerto Rico became the next state of the US, would we, too, lose our lands?? We definitely won’t allow anyone to take our flag nor our nor our culture nor our identities away from us.
Have you Leonard, with all due respect, put yourself in their shoes and lived what horrors they have throughout history?
Yvonne
May 11, 2008 at 5:09 pm |
Welcome, White Crow. As the moderator, I made a minor edit to your post, yet your strong message comes through clearly. Back to the topic at hand:
We’ve been having a long and healthy discussion about Rachel/Suraj Holzwarth, and a protest that occurred in Massachusetts about 5 weeks ago, and there have been more protests recently, some of which have impacted her income. Many contributors here have worked hard to stop, or change, what they see as cultural theft. There have been explanations, and stories from elders. We have collected links to electronic resources, histories and documents. Voices have been firm but generally courteous. A few hot moments have occurred, but -overall- there’s been a lot of education happening here. I’ve only had to make 3 edits in 5 weeks; that’s not bad.
One contributor brought up some ideas that others found repugnant, and got promptly “flamed”, as people say on the internet. You saw that.
The specific issue was originally Suraj/Rachel, but the the larger context seems to be that there are others like her now, and many others like her in the past.
I also asked if Leonard’s assertion that it wasn’t safe to drive near or through the nearby reservation had any merit. Does anyone have any facts or information about that?
Jay
May 11, 2008 at 5:54 pm |
The DLNakota are wary about driving through the Crow territory in Montana. The white folk have never been hassled that I know of.
May 11, 2008 at 6:31 pm |
South Dakota has numerous stories of dead natives being found along highways ever since my mother was little. We are the ones who have to be careful.
May 11, 2008 at 7:07 pm |
Jay:
A reservation is no more dangerous than any city in North America. If you show honest respect you will be respected.
I drive through Detroit, Mi. everyday, I am an elderly woman, I would think that is more dangerous than driving through a reservation where the culture is actually based on respect.
All Native Americans know and have some form of relationship, whether it is friend, or family, with non-natives. There are still some natives who are 100% (contrary to what the government claims, that ALL native people are at least 1/32 non-native), but most Native Americans are in truth not full blood. With this being the case, if you go to a reservation, you will find many light skinned, blonde curly haired blue eyed people there, you must realize that skin color does not dictate how people on a reservation are treated. It is as always you reap what you sow. If you go there with animosity you find animosity, if you go with respect you will find respect.
This has been my experience at every nation I go to. (By the way my hair may be dark and straight, at least what isn’t gray is dark, but my skin is light and my eyes are hazel not brown). When you come to Washington and see all of us, you be the judge. Judge by how you are treated, by the actions of those you see, for it is only through experience that you can truly determine the heart of the people. You will see people there from many races, reservations, nations and cities gathered from across the land. The you judge for yourself if Leonard has spoken the truth or was spouting racist ,bigoted propaganda.
May 12, 2008 at 5:34 am |
Jim, I’ll be glad to do that for you later today on a break. I’ll write you offline, so you have a channel back for communicaion
May 12, 2008 at 5:55 am |
Thanks Jay, I have learned much since I arrived here, and shall continue to do so. I shall continue to follow this Blog, with great interest, but from the wings I think. I appologise once again to any I may have offended,
Good Luck.
May 12, 2008 at 9:26 am |
Jim:
I noticed a couple of times where I thought people misinterpretd things you said, this happened to Jay also as he is well aware. Please if you feel something is valuable do not hold it back for it is through discourse that we all learn. The best way though is with respect, not animosity. For contempt only breeds contempt.
May 12, 2008 at 9:29 am |
Leonard…..are you here to discuss things or prove your right?? I haven’t seen anything in your posts that applies to me at all, yet you wanna lump me in to all these negative ideas based on my ethnicity. It’s an idea called racism. If you want I’ll invite you to my home. You can have a meal. Meet my family. I’ll show you where I go to college and where I go to work. All respectable places. I’ll tell you about my life and the challenges I went through and you can tell me about yours. Maybe then you can see that I’m a real person just like you and that I’ve not come to these conclusions about individuals stealing my spirituality and cheapening it with a sale price lightly. This is how I live my life. This is how my family lives its life.
Your argument comes off as very ethnocentric. By ethnocentric I simply mean that you seem to see your way of life as the only real and right way. For me I don’t measure success by how much money I make. Those things are fleeting and impermanent. If all the banks in this world suddenly blew up and there was no such thing as money then where would we all be?? I think the human population would be shocked into realizing that we’re all at the mercy of our world. That’s what it comes down to.
I’ve seen the argument that your taxes somehow pay for me. Well….the reality of that argument is Native Americans take much less of that pie that non-Indians and with the limited economic success of some tribes that piece of pie grows smaller and smaller. Tribes this year have given back money to the government that was given to them because they didn’t need it. Have you ever done that?? What would you say to those tribes??
We all seek the goal of not needing assistance…..do you somehow think we don’t?? But we’re not there yet. We’re still picking up the pieces. In my state we weren’t even allowed to vote until the 70’s yet the state assumed power over us and made laws for us. The state leased our land on us…..occasionally trying to move individuals who were in the way of those illegal money-brokering deals. So put yourself in that situation. You’re living your life…kids are happy, foods on the table and one day someone knocks on your door and says you can’t live there and be happy anymore…..you’re under the assumption that you have a governmental treaty that says that you can….but they say nope….we changed it, you gotta move and if you don’t you’re gonna go to jail. How’s that grab ya?? These are the things my parents generation went through. They learned to hate being Indian just as much as Indian haters do. They quit speaking Indian to us and understandably…some of them gave up. This cycle’s been going on through the generations. Every time we, as a community, begin to pop our heads slightly above water the state or local government has stepped in to drown us again. So if you’re biggest argument is that I somehow take money away from you by my existence and that money is wasted on me…..I’ll make the counterargument that this governmental money is wasted by the government itself when it contradicts itself.
Which comes back to the discussion on spirituality and our stand on defending it. If it wasn’t for the existence of these ways then for sure ALL NATIVE COMMUNITIES WOULD BE IN COMPLETE RUIN. Some of them are worse then others to be sure, but it’s not because individuals are Indian…it’s because they’ve forgotten the basis for the pride of existence. Their spirituality. If you REALLY want the goals you’re setting of not “wasting” your tax money on me….then logic would dictate that you join this fight as we educate the public about the things we hold sacred. We don’t wish to “Americanize” these ways and lose them to capitalistic pursuits (which cheapens them and destroys their meaning). We only wish to maintain their purity so they can exist as they were meant to exist and as we turn back to them and re-establish ourselves become truly self-sufficient. That’s the ultimate goal….one that you and I share. That goal ultimately means that we all get along. Indians and non-Indians. We all got to accept that the ways of old….soapboxing, selfish righteousness and victimization (whether it’s others victimizing or the victim choosing to be a victim)….basically imposing will without regard to consequences…these ways haven’t worked and that’s what gotten us to this place. We all have to realize that we’re all human beings…..ain’t none of us perfect….
Just one last thought…if none of this registers with you that’s ok. But just think about this. Do you contribute anything in this world with hate and drama? Does inciting someone to follow your will have any degree of success? (To me the attitude is like thinking your friend is overweight so you “help” them by “motivating” them with insults and gym memberships….are you ever gonna get a happy healthy friend by beating them down….or maybe will you find real results by contributing to their health and welfare than by taking it away from them)
There’s three positions you can take on all things you have put forth so far. You can CONTRIBUTE to moving things forward positively, you can do nothing, or you can be DESTRUCTIVE.
Think about the long term goals when you decide your position in the future. If you take the destructive argument think it all the way through. Let’s say you get EVERYTHING you want……no more reservations, no more Indians…..will you be happy or will you still have a chip on your shoulder and aim that chip somewhere else….
I think for you….the subject of Indians is only a topic. The real ISSUE lies in your own life experiences. Somehow you’ve been taught that it’s ok to dehumanize others based on their ethnicity…..to me that’s a character flaw….it’s something I had to learn to shed as well. Life’s a lot better on this side of that fight let me tell ya…..think about it.
May 12, 2008 at 11:09 am |
Wow! that was a nice essay, superdog! This blog has seen some wonderful pieces of communication.
May 12, 2008 at 11:27 am |
NAU, thanks for posting that information about the Cobell case. It seems to be the perfect example. While some people complain about Native folks not being able to ‘get over it’ and how they should go ‘get jobs’, it seems to me that Native folks would be able to do plenty in the way of economic development and self sufficiency if they were able to be appropriately compensated for the *contemporary* use of their lands and resources under the trust system. Which started many years ago, but those lands are still being used and leased out this very day.
May 12, 2008 at 11:31 am |
A littel visual education for those who wish to see a bit more…
Government once again stomping out our attempt at self sufficiency:
Government Indian Bording Schools:
Government Murders:
May 12, 2008 at 2:44 pm |
OK! I’ve got some facts. For the Weymouth event, people who paid in advance were requested to make out their checks to Snowman Learning Center, care POBox 6163, Plymouth, MA 02362. Advance payers were also offered the PayPal acount of Info@drummingforpeace.org. Children under 16 were freewhen accompanied by an adult. For them a “Monetary Contributions appreciated,” but not required.
May 12, 2008 at 3:28 pm |
Leanord we are not all drunks or lazy.And many of us including myself have served the same country that broke treaty’s.Figure that out . Probably too deep a thought for you. You say we cry move on We as a Nation lost a whole country. Also it is not us that infected blankets with small pox. Or killed woman n children because the men were not around to protect them. I say you move on back too your rock you came out from under. Then again Mother Earth would no doubt spit you back out.
May 12, 2008 at 3:44 pm |
Welcome, Momic, new contributor
May 14, 2008 at 12:41 pm |
Wow, I cannot beleive anyone would support this woman. I now posess proof positive, (and this is a very sensitive issue for me, due to my poetry having been plagerized once already and having had to deal with that) that she is guilty not only of illegal posession of eagle feathers, but also of copyright infringement. I just listened to Cherokee Morning Song performed by Walela on Robbie Robertson’s Red Road Ensemble album. Rachel is selling a book called Songs of a New Earth on her website for $15.00. On page 12 is Cherokee Morning Song, the same song.
This paragon of virute continues to violate, not only our cultural spirituality, but federal law as she pleases with no regard. This hedonistic attitude is beyond my comnprehension; it is completely without compassion or respect for anyone or anything except the almighty dollar.
May 19, 2008 at 4:08 pm |
The Cherokee Morning Song is not simply just a song by Walela…this song was passed down to the Coolidge family through generations of Cherokee people….this is a song I myself greet the sunrise with and have done so since I was a child as I cleansed with sage….this song is traditional…it was taught to my brother and I as children by our caregiver who was Eastern Cherokee…and I teach the very same song (Although the language I use is Western Cherokee…as it is the language I was raised to speak) to my own little ones. So…I cant even begin to tell you how much it sickens me to know Rachel uses this. She has taken something which to her…is ‘just’ a ‘nice’ song that she can use….to me…this song…the words have deep meaning…it is my way of honoring Creator and greeting the new day….what rights does this woman have to sell this? What rights does this woman have to take all she wants from our people to make a buck? Im tired. So tired of this.
Tsissy (NAU ~ Native American Unity)
May 21, 2008 at 4:55 pm |
for any new readers: if you’re interested in other reports on Rachel/Suraj, here’s one from Michigan
June 3, 2008 at 3:31 pm |
I thought some of you might be interested in this since some of you are coming to DC to see the walkers.
I have verified this and it is true.
They will have a press conference at the Statehouse today at 10 AM, and then walk on Main Street through Bexley as they head east. They would like others to support them and walk with them. Spread the word.
——————————————————————————–
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 8:06 AM
To: ‘letters@dispatch. com’
Subject: Yesterday a group walking from the west coast was harassed by Columbus police
Importance: High
To the Editor:
Columbus , OH has once again distinguished itself. After walking more than 2,400 miles from San Francisco since February, a group of men, women and children experienced their first police problem on their journey in Columbus . The Longest Walk is a group of about forty mostly Native American people who are walking to Washington DC for the Seventh Generation for youth, peace, justice, the healing of Mother Earth, heart conditions, alcoholism, drug addiction and other diseases. It is a spiritual walk, a historical walk, and a walk for educational awareness for the American and world communities about the concerns of the American Indian People. And, as they go, they are picking up trash.
On Monday, June 2, as this peaceful group walked in the parking lane and on the sidewalk on the west side of Columbus on Main Street , eight police cars zoomed up, one blocking their way. A police officer came up to a van that follows the walkers and reached into the window and grabbed and yanked the steering wheel. He yelled at the young woman who was driving a carload of young children and threatened “Your children would be taken away and given to Children’s Services!” As the children began to cry, their mothers who were walking came to see what was wrong and to comfort them. A walker charged with security came up and was grabbed, kneed, thrown to the ground and handcuffed. A police officer pointed a taser gun at the head of a walker who was also an attorney as he spoke to the police. A grandmother spoke softly to an officer asking what the concern was and trying to calm a situation that was becoming increasingly frightening. She pointed out “We are like your mothers, your sisters, your children”. Ultimately the walkers were allowed to continue, but were badly shaken by this unprovoked and frightening experience.
The walkers have walked though the snow, extreme rain, and the blazing sun. They are often tired, hungry, thirsty and sore. They will continue through Ohio on Route 40 to their destination of Washington DC , expecting to arrive next month.
I hope our leaders will ask questions about our “Columbus Welcome” to these peaceful people who were picking up our trash as they walked for health, justice and the environment. If you are embarrassed for our city by our police’s harassment, as I am, consider sending a message of support and a donation if you are able, to the Longest Walk at their website at http://www.longestwalk. org
June 3, 2008 at 4:26 pm |
There is more about it here, there is also a link to some audio versions on this blog
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
June 8, 2008 at 6:53 am |
Police will never change. My grandfather, Sam Crowe was killed in the basement of the Chamberlain Police Dept in South Dakota in the 1950’s.
July 12, 2008 at 8:25 am |
I am following this with great interest as Hartman is my nephew. I appreciate the openmindedness of many of you who are willing to see how damaging this woman’s activities are. I am extremely offended at her dramatic theiverey of my nephew’s blood for her own dramatic crap. I am offended at her immediate claim of drug and alcohol use by my nephew who is a strong and sober and reasonable family man who cares deeply for his heritage and family. I find it not surprising that this fraudulent theif falls so quickly to stereotyping a native man as an alcohol abuser. I applaud the protests that have been put forth to make more people aware of the incredible damage this woman is doing to the sanctity of important cultural activities that are not hers to use. I also appreciate the offers of assistance to Hartman at this time.
July 21, 2008 at 2:49 pm |
Thank you, Tonia, for contributing the perspective of family.
August 7, 2008 at 7:32 am |
[…] “right” form of appropriation? Read below for my take on a right way of doing it) from wrong (search this article for “blood was on the floor” for the instant rage paragraph – […]
September 13, 2008 at 7:54 am |
Thanks for that contribution of an idea. The comment by IBARW 3, seems to tie back the original bones of contention. Suraj/Rachel was using religious ceremonies, or elements of ceremonies, outside of their normal context, and collecting money for the events. These actions raised the ire of lots of people, and for complex reasons stated all through this discussion.
October 1, 2008 at 10:27 am |
Good news! This is a follow up about the arrest of Hartman Deetz, Dylan Lach, and Nicole Lach. I just returned from the Quincy District Court (http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/quincydistrictmain.html), where I saw the outcome of the criminal charges against the three. We were in Session 4 on the second floor. I’ll leave the details to Hartman & company, if they wish to disclose them. However, the big pictures is that, for these three protestors, their cases have been continued without finding, for various amounts of time. They agreed to various amounts of community service for non-profit organizations, and the Judge did not rule out organizations of Native Americans. There were various fees involved also, but the fees were not a heavy burden by modern standards. Hartman also told me that the other three, not mentioned here, had fared similarly.
There was one tense moment in which the Judge was asking a series of questions to which he plainly was expecting only answers of “Yes” or “No.” Hartman responded with a different answer twice, and the Judge twice instructed the court personnel to “Step Backward,” which seems to have been a formal instruction. He then sent the three out to talk with their attorney, and return after a clarifying discussion. It seemed to this observer that the Judge was insisting on an outcome that the three truly understood, and that the alternatives might not be in their best interest. I could be wrong but that’s the way it felt to me.
When they returned to the courtroom after a ten tense minutes, Hartman, Dylan and Nicole had understood that the questions were not invitations to discuss details, but questions that required simple answers for the record. We all breathed a sigh of relief, relatives and friends alike.
A court room clerk read the charges out loud to the courtroom, and I could sense that the three did not like with the wording and description of the events of April 4th, 2008. At one point, the Judge must have noticed somebody bitterly biting their tongue, and the Judge commented that he could see that Mr. Deetz did not agree with the description of the event. If you have followed this blog, you know that’s an understatement. He seemed to understand, without knowing the details, that there was more to the incident than meets the eye.
I will be delighted if everyone walks away with the benefit of valuable experience, and walks free on this earth to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Perhaps, even Suraj/Rachel has been educated about her interactions with Native Americans Culture and Religion; certainly her “business” has been largely diminished. That ought to give her pause to think about things. Jay Fulton walks away having learned a lot, especially compared to my utter ignorance before these events. I’m glad I was there. I’m glad that I met everyone here, and I thank everyone for their participation. Let this record remain, for evidence of struggle and resolution. Anyone else want to contribute wrap-up thoughts?
January 2, 2009 at 5:43 pm |
Sorry, I just got to this email.
From my perspective, at least Hartman and crew are free. I may not agre with that there was any charge, but they did not go to jail, there may have been a riot if that had happened.
I finally met Hartman personally in DC., I found him to be strong and quiet, so it should be understod that his feelings on Suraj and her entourage ran deep.
My own experience with Suraj, I met her personally here in Michigan and found her to still not have an understanding of her error in her ways. She was abusive in her language yelling uncontrolably. Even after being told by our elders to NOT perform ANY native functions in Michigan, she persued to abuse Mayan culture. Leaving the question are Mayans not native to North America? In my elementary grade school geography classes Mexico (home to the Mayan culture) is in North America. I found Ms. Holzwarth to be underhanded and far from being the spiritualist she tried desparately to portray. I am at a point where I am leaving it up to the Creator to decide how to handle it from here. If he needs our help he will let us know.
January 2, 2009 at 6:55 pm |
Thank you, Helen. I am finding out that real life stories don’t actually end. Each event is associated with a cascade of interrelated events, and I’m glad to have met you – and learned from everyone here.
Jay Fulton 1/2/2009
January 10, 2009 at 9:35 pm |
My Native given name is listed above. My nickname is Weeya Wakee. I come from a long line of Native women who never advertised, charged, stole teachings, etc. to be who they were in this life. It offends me greatly to be who I am, and come from where I come and see such behavior and thoughtlessness. I do not and would never take someones religion, spiritual beliefs or ceremonies and belittle them the way this person has done. Neither of my grams, who taught me well in the ways of our people and of the medicine path, ever sought acknowledgment or payment for helping of the people. I sit in amazement when I see how our burial grounds are disrespected, shoveled and moved and even tossed to the side like our people are nothing. But let me go to a non-native cemetery and start digging and moving people. Let me go into one of your churches and take your cross or statues of Jesus and glue things to them, sing and dance with them, and use your prayers in ridiculous ways and then charge for it. Oh but I forgot that is your way. There is history that shows how the Catholic church charged for items for prayer, charged for forgiveness of sins, shall I go on. Please do not be angry with my words. I am simply pointing out, what did we really expect from this woman. She has grown up in a society that says its okay to dig up the dead without permission and move them or toss them somewhere. She has grown up hearing how we are beneath her from the history lessons. She has grown up in a world where she was never challenged because of the color of her skin. She has grown up in a world where if your color is the right pale shade…you can do pretty much as you please to anyone who is of color. Some of you may argue the point with me…but you will NEVER understand how we feel because you do not live it day in and day out. You may be saddened by our experiences and our history, but you will never truly know our history. And for those who say to me…move on, well it is impossible when day in and day out we are the forgotten people. And to make to make things worse, the government tells us who is Native and who is not. What other race in this country to you know has a blood quantum law? None. We were suppose to removed and done away with according to the government. If you don’t believe it, look it up. Maybe just maybe someone will speak the truth about who we are in this nation. But I will say who I am here and now with pride. I am A-gi-ya Do-ga U-hu-s-ti, daughter of two Tsalagi parents and granddaughter to two small tiny Native women who walked the medicine way, helped others, and taught their granddaughter well. -Wado, Weeya Wakee
January 12, 2009 at 4:05 pm |
Welcome & thank you, A-gi-ya Do-ga U-hu-s-ti, for your words, your time and the thoughts you give.
January 16, 2009 at 1:25 pm |
[…] are also good examples of folks going too far with cultural appropriation (if you follow this link, know that the post is […]
January 17, 2009 at 11:14 am |
I just found this site , somehow it was backlinking to me (probably a wp similar article feature) , I found it odd , but then i kept reading. I had learned of this particular woman just recently , i was a bit taken aback that her website was all about her teaching you and you couldn’t talk to her without having to pay a counselor fee. *sighs*. I am not knowledgeable of native American traditions , I know my lineage does include Native Americans . I walk a pretty odd spiritual path and have been seeking a healer of sorts to share my journey with. That is how I found her site. I guess this is just a confirmation of my own anxieties. I am glad I have seen this article.
Thank you
January 17, 2009 at 5:34 pm |
Welcome here, “Mrs.Flam”, thanks for posting. Something is definitely happening here; there’s been some truth-telling, some passion,some courtesy, some hot anger, some history, some strong opinions about cultural appropriation, some legal education, humans meeting humans, coast-to-coast information sharing. The only one who pulled back was a Brit. Everybody else got something and gave something. Thanks for your note about seeking; Rachel had been surfing a wave of such seekers, until one peculiar evening in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
March 1, 2009 at 7:05 pm |
For any followup readers:
The laws affirming the rights of Native Americans to the grave sites of their ancestors definitely make sense. Recently, in Massachusetts, there’s been an incident of people moving grave markers inappropriately. Reading the stories in the newpapers, I’m guessing that somebody wanted to profit from building new homes, and took the liberty to just move those pesky gravestones out of the way. Unbelievable! but will prosecution follow?
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090202/NEWS/902020339.
March 2, 2009 at 1:55 pm |
It was posted by user “Blackbear” on PowWows.com that this woman is just putting on a big “native” act to make money and that not too long ago, before she found her commercial niche, she got kicked off a powwow drum in Alaska because of her insistence to join the drummers there. Women are not supposed to drum. They may sing and it is appreciated when they do so, but they are not supposed to get close to a drum. This WHITE eagle spirit woman is disrespecting her drum by doing so and it is calling the native people to judge her for her mockery. That is what this is all about.
March 2, 2009 at 6:55 pm |
Thank you, Jim Roberts for taking the time to post a message here.
March 23, 2009 at 10:18 pm |
Really Informative
Hey Thanks a lot for contributing the perspective of family.
March 30, 2009 at 2:34 pm |
The grandmother drum is on the march again – this time internationally. There was a ping back from Suraj’s newletter site
see
http://whirlingrainbow.com/newsletter.htm
June 13, 2009 at 10:40 pm |
Look at this….
Sweet site dude, check out mine when you get a min……
June 19, 2009 at 4:34 pm |
I was at the website for the LiveH2O concert http://www.liveh2o.org/index.htm which is a 3 day event put on by Dr. Len Horowitz. There are several live venues and you can tune into events in different cities by clicking on a link to that city.
So I clicked on the link to Israel and saw live video of a bunch of people surrounding a very large drum, all drumming and chanting. Then I clicked on a brief introductory message of three people who were heading up the event. One of those people was “White Eagle Medicine Woman”. I was curious about her so I googled her and found myself here at Jay Fulton’s website.
I’ve sat here for hours and read most of the comments and also googled some more websites to extend/verify some of what I’ve read here. Jay Fulton, I experienced you in this discussion as a very evenhanded observer and moderator. And many of the comments were so articulated and heart-centered.
Even though the “flare up” of last year is over, it is still very useful to have these comments in order to establish a history, particularly when dealing with “slippery characters”. When con artists get found out, they simply fold up shop, come up with a new gimmick and move to a new hunting ground to find new “marks”. Looking at Rachel Holzwarth’s website, I see that she has given up for now on the US market and is now “hunting” in other countries. Well, at least you drove her out of the US market and if she tries her shenanigans again, there is now more of a paper trail (digit trail) following her.
When I read about how she wiped up blood from one of the protesters and calmly wiped it into her hands and onto her drum, I was thoroughly disgusted at her arrogance. I feel the Native Americans have been dishonored by her. And when I read that she was such a “poor hurting victim” in Michigan….well, playing the “poor-me” victim is a favorite ploy used by the con artist…..she looked to be “on top of the world” in her video from Israel.
July 7, 2009 at 7:49 pm |
Lindsay, thank you for your addition to our base of knowledge. I am very unknowledgeable, but I’m trying to make a free space for communication here. Given enough time, and honest people, the truth will out. Many people have contributed time and emotion here. Not all agreed, but there is still dialog
July 31, 2009 at 12:57 am |
White Eagle Aspirin Woman is coming to Anchorage September 26 and 27, at the “Whole Life Festival,” held at the Coast International Inn. I’d be glad to protest, as I saw her in Alaska in 2003, and she’s creeped me out ever since. I am 1/4 native (Choctaw/Cherokee), and am appalled that ANYONE, native or non, would find her Blend-ian crap plausible.
While she was a master at subduing individual spirit by pouring her self-appointed native religious/spiritual authority, she failed to convince me or any of my friends of her authenticity.
Fortunately for us, she was just getting her act together, and we were not charged. Still, we felt we could not leave until it was over. Her mind control techniques were impeccable, and we dared not speak up or object while in the ceremony. Now, I am ready to speak.
August 10, 2009 at 7:27 am |
Sallyfish – thank you. Especially for the dates, which will interest some readers for sure. Good luck, readers here would be interested in your report.
thanks – Jay
November 20, 2009 at 2:05 pm |
This woman and “all” others like her (non-natives) must be educated into understanding that they are not to blaspamy or play/mock our most “Sacred ceremonials” and learn to respect the voices of the Native elders and traditional leaders of our respective Native Nations. We must not stop in our efforts to protect and preserve these most sacred prayer ways for our Childrens, children and those yet to come.
November 20, 2009 at 2:42 pm |
Hello Bernard Red cherries,
Thanks for your comment, and I admire any attempts to preserve ancestral wisdom! Speaking for myself, my ancestry is from several different European countries and I do not have direct access to ANY ancestral wisdom. My ancestors who came to Amerika did not continue their ancestral ways, instead they “assimilated”. But even before that, the indigenous tribal wisdom in European lands was attacked and largely wiped out through various inquisitions and witch hunts.
In my opinion, each time ancestral wisdom is lost, the people are left poorer (whether they realize it or not). I envy those who still have access to their roots, and applaud efforts of the elders to keep that wisdom alive.
November 21, 2009 at 10:36 am |
thank you, Lindsay for posting. I appreciate the participation.
Rachel Holzwarth is one thing, but there is a larger context here, which you spoke out loud. Assimilation! Althougn I’ve met many native americans who are demanding respect for the heritage, and expressing outrage at new-ager profiteers like Holzwarth, not one native american (here at least) ever demands demands that I believe exactly as they do.
December 3, 2009 at 3:59 pm |
ok, I just noticed this picture out there in the world of links…
THAT is downright weird
December 25, 2009 at 7:47 am |
For any readers still following this thread, please see the story about the Mashpee Wampanoag meeting house, in which Hartman Deetz is quoted. It’s an interesting story with some oral history, with some interesting details. The mention of smoldering sage may remind you of some points in the discussion here
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091220/NEWS/912200331
and there are some nice photos taken of the people and the place
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/_flash/gallery/gallery.html&Avis=CC&Dato=20091219&Kategori=MEDIA01&Lopenr=121909999&Ref=PH
Hartman was the first protester in the door on that day in April that started this blog.
December 27, 2009 at 7:50 pm |
Readers please note: there are other effective paths to improving the future…
White Earth Land Recovery Project: http://nativeharvest.com/
Indian Land Tenure Foundation: http://www.indianlandtenure.org/
December 30, 2009 at 2:32 pm |
Readers please note: the website referenced above no longer exists. (http://www.drummingforpeace.org/). Dang! I wish now that I had downloaded some of those pictures. They may be lost forever now, unless the photographer pops up to allow their use again. But I never knew who that was. Maybe the organization that collected the money at the door, can get me connected to the photographer. I’ll try.
November 3, 2010 at 6:51 pm |
i am taking my masters degree on a local school and i love it “”
November 14, 2010 at 12:47 pm |
Hello Pine Wardrobe,
if you are writing about these events, please keep in mind the deep reverence with which many of the participants hold their beliefs. In general, all of the participants were honest and most were thoughtful. Keep the traditional alive – thanks, Jay
February 1, 2011 at 1:00 pm |
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March 4, 2011 at 7:59 pm |
Thank you, In Garthwaite. There have been dozens of contributors here in the past, some very passionate. That drove the post. Believe it or not, only one poster requested to remove his comments, a request that I honored. There was a little bit of spam, but the comments you see were as written, and they are highly effective in communicating their views. For me, this interaction was culture-shaking, and, in perspective, one of the best things that every happened to me in the digital world. We are all glad you are reading this. A quick web search shows me that Rachel Suraj is still making the rounds with her drum. As Tolkien pointed out, adventures don’t actually ever end, and the road goes on and on. There is drama, struggle and passion all around us, if we just have the wit to look at the world as it is.
March 8, 2011 at 3:11 pm |
wow,
Heads up for bad news folks
she’s still at it and moving to Alaska Matanuska Valley to set up a sanctuary
here is her facebook page soliciting donations complete with photos in her regalia
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081081&id=1002852562
flag as inappropriate to vunerable persons
March 8, 2011 at 6:56 pm |
thank you, sparrow2. Any more details, please let us know
April 21, 2011 at 8:06 pm |
Hi there, I discovered your site by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a similar subject, your website came up, it seems great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
September 26, 2011 at 4:51 pm |
I found your blog after stumbling upon her creepy video on youtube. I know this is years later, but I’m still thankful to have found it. Thank you, Jay, and all the Native contributors. I’ve learned more in the days it has taken me to read through these comments than I have in months.
December 5, 2011 at 3:17 pm |
Lea, thank you for posting. The entire interaction was an eye opener for me. I came away with more understanding than I had before this event. Live & learn..
April 8, 2012 at 6:59 am |
On the fourth anniversary of the event, this blog continues to get a low, but steady, readership. However, I have to visit it periodically to remove spam. Not too big a deal. let’s keep the memory alive. Passionate participants put their hearts on the line here. Agree, or disagree, something powerful happened on April 4, 2008
April 11, 2012 at 1:29 pm |
just when you think it’s over, it’s not… Suraj, Rachel Holzwarth, has a facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/events/247788415243037/ called grandmother drum tour 2013.
October 16, 2012 at 1:54 pm |
I’m from Russia and I can’t speak english quite good, but your blog is very cool.
October 22, 2012 at 11:23 am |
http://www.google.com Hello! I noticed that your news feed doesn’t work . I thought I should remind you that. My Feed reader failed for your site’s address.
January 15, 2013 at 8:33 pm |
ok, I’ll work on that – and thanks
July 24, 2013 at 5:16 pm |
tell ya what, when I go to a church in this country with a bunch of native americans and treat it like a tourist attraction, then your words might be something more than proof ultimately of you and your races ultimate arrogant, pride driven ignorance.
September 12, 2013 at 6:22 pm |
Troy, where are you coming from on this? Most writers were negative on Rachel Suraj.
July 24, 2014 at 2:21 pm |
Helen, I believe that Rachel has woven a new web. I heard her voice, heard her calling in to the syndicated radio show called “Coast to Coast AM” earlier this week. The caller was “Rachel from the Whtie Buffalo Newsletter”. The new location maybe here “http://www.whitebuffalosociety.org/aboutus.htm”. I can’t find the name, but I believe it’s the same method of operation: reference to an authority/chief, drumming rituals, healing etc.
July 24, 2014 at 2:24 pm |
also here https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-White-Buffalo-Society/108559555910561
August 18, 2015 at 4:22 pm |
I have been reading this and then came across the name Weeya Wakee, I am an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and we have found out that she is not Cherokee at all. She is going around teaching and telling stories about the Cherokee that she knows nothing about. So we have a fake calling out another fake, how about that….
December 20, 2015 at 5:50 am |
Thank you, Kathy. This story just keeps going on and on.
August 3, 2018 at 9:37 am |
Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows
what they’re talking about on the net. You actually know how to bring a problem to light and make it important.
More people need to read this and understand this side
of your story. I was surprised that you aren’t more popular since you surely possess
the gift.
October 30, 2018 at 3:43 am |
Oh my goodness! An amazing article dude. Thank you!
December 25, 2019 at 11:10 pm |
It’s going to be finish of mine day, however before end I am reading this enormous article to increase my experience.|
January 11, 2020 at 2:18 am |
thanks for sharing doing this shit buddy
March 29, 2020 at 7:07 am |
A remarkable thing happened on 3/29/2020. “Secretary Of Interior Orders Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation ‘Disestablished,’ Tribe Says”, according to
https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/03/28/mashpee-wampanoag-reservation-secretary-interior-land-trust
This is a strange thing for the Feds to do when the country is in the middle of a pandemic. What does this mean to the local tribe on Cape Cod, Massachusetts?
June 7, 2020 at 2:12 pm |
Followup: some success. A court has ruled that the Trump regime cannot do what they wanted. This story just rolls on into the future! https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-sides-tribe-lawsuit-reservation-status-71111398
December 26, 2021 at 5:28 am |
Still reading this in late 2021 (days away from 2022!). Please keep this blog post alive, it’s important for historical context and the cultural appropriation that’s now even more widespread in social media.