Understanding the inhuman.

"After living hand to mouth for past 14 years with many inter-dispersed periods of literally needing to pray for our daily bread, I have learned that a HUGE component of poverty is not being able to make choices. When you are poor almost every decision you have is merely a reaction. Very seldom are you able to proactively choose something. Over time this lack of choice wears on you and feels incredibly oppressive, draining your energy and even your hope.

President Trump's proposed budget for 2019 makes fundamental changes to SNAP by delivering "boxed, shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit and vegetables." President Trump is justifying these changes by claiming they will ultimately save the US taxpayer billions of dollars. But I am deeply concerned that diminishing peoples choice by delivering pre-packaged boxes of food will further erode the pride, and ultimately the humanity, of our citizens in need of assistance.

President Trumps proposed changes to SNAP are deeply out of touch and incredibly demeaning to the millions of working poor throughout our nation. I have long lost any expectation for Donald Trump to act Christ like, but as long as he is the President of our nation, I will continue to demand that he conduct himself humanely." 

- Mark Charles, scholar, Navajo nation 

Feb. 14, 2018 

IN Response: 

Nancy Blackman said, "It doesn’t just erode pride. There is a connection between what one puts into their belly and how their brain operates, not to mention what processed food does to your body. This is disgusting on so many levels and the reason why I believe things need to be changed! Sorry for the rant. I’m so passionate about this." 

Gregory E. Woods said: "Mark, I never had the expectation Trump would be Christ-like. But, I understand from experience what you have so painfully described above! A leader has to be human to understand the dynamics of a person's mental state struggling to live against all stack up against them in cities and towns. It is the spirit of policies that resonate with the spirit of those living close to the edge of a breakdown Donald Trump does not care to feel, or know..."

The Spirit of Europe and Euro-Americans.

~ Mags Whittock observed and wrote: 

“The leases are located near the homes of Navajo residents and just outside a 10-mile buffer from Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. It’s as if the Bureau of Land Management couldn’t care less about the concerns of the Navajo Nation or any Tribal interests. Trump and Zinke have continued to rubberstamp industry demands to industrialize this sacred landscape in spite of calls from the Navajo Nation and the All Pueblo Council of Governors for a moratorium on fracking in the Greater Chaco region.

“It’s obvious that this lease sale is another slap in the face to the Navajo Nation and New Mexican Pueblos from President Trump and his Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke,” said Nichols. “More importantly, it’s another sign that Trump and Zinke have absolute disregard for American public lands and the cultural heritage they sustain.” 

Trump to Sacrifice 4,500 Acres of Greater Chaco for Frackin 

November 18, 2017
Eco News 

Today, in defense of clean air, clean water, healthy communities, and our climate, a coalition of conservation groups called on Trump’s Bureau of Land Management to reverse plans to auction off public and Tribal lands in the Greater Chaco region to the oil and gas industry. The BLM is moving ahead with plans to sell more public and Tribal lands for fracking in the area despite intense opposition from conservation and Tribal interests.

“Once again, Trump and Zinke have failed the American public by declining to disclose the true costs of fossil fuel development on our communities, air, water and climate,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director at WildEarth Guardians. “Under Trump, the BLM’s sole job these days seems to be to grease the skids for the oil and gas industry to frack and industrialize the Greater Chaco Region.”

WildEarth Guardians, joined by the Western Environmental Law Center, Amigos Bravos, Chaco Alliance, Dine Citizens Against Our Ruining Our Environment, the Natural Resources Defense Council, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and the Sierra Club, opposed the BLM and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) plans to auction off 25 parcels containing 4,434 acres of publicly owned land to the fracking industry at the March 8, 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

The leases are located near the homes of Navajo residents and just outside a 10-mile buffer from Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. It’s as if the Bureau of Land Management couldn’t care less about the concerns of the Navajo Nation or any Tribal interests. Trump and Zinke have continued to rubberstamp industry demands to industrialize this sacred landscape in spite of calls from the Navajo Nation and the All Pueblo Council of Governors for a moratorium on fracking in the Greater Chaco region.

“It’s obvious that this lease sale is another slap in the face to the Navajo Nation and New Mexican Pueblos from President Trump and his Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke,” said Nichols.“More importantly, it’s another sign that Trump and Zinke have absolute disregard for American public lands and the cultural heritage they sustain.” ~ author unnamed 

Chaco Canyon Anasazi set for fracking by Trump administration.

photo by Evalyn-Bemis 

WE ARE

Hello. Clara. The overlapping of cultures in the definitions of Hispanic and Mexican is confusing, if one thinks of the history of the Native peoples from Navajo land southward. The mix of African tribes, Spanish invaders, and the various tribes and nations in what is now in Mexico, makes for a long look into identity. A number of Native people up here on the East coast, refer to the so-called Hispanics as Spanish speaking Indians and relate to them as such.

So, the conversations my wife and I have, for example, with Central Americans, often gets them telling Jan the tribes they come from. For us, Native people it breaks down the barriers American whites create and we can get into each others families and stories, and ceremonies and parties.

Well, I am not making an indictment against you. Our way is to let us tell each other who we are, and acknowledge our ancestors, as you have done. You just gave me an opportunity to flesh out my thoughts as simply as possible, with clarity. Thank you. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4/14/17

Ignored.

How the US government are abandoning Native Americans

by Noah Dillon 

A new visual project goes to Gallup, where opportunities are scarce and drinking hairspray and hand sanitizer are all part of ‘Chemical Sunday’ – life is hard for the Navajo people.


Across the border from my hometown sits the largest Indian Reservation in the United States. 27,000 square miles of solitude and mostly inhospitable terrain shackled to the saga of the Navajo people. Three million tourists per year, a 51 per cent alcoholism rate, and 42 per cent unemployment. Two out of every three Navajo women have been sexually assaulted. Louisiana's poverty rate – the highest in the nation – touches 23 per cent. Double that, and you’ll be close to the Navajo nation. Nearly half of the reservation lives without running water or electricity.

Welcome to Gallup. The most dangerous city in New Mexico, according to the FBI. The epicentre for Navajos, and the ‘Big Apple’ of the reservation. It sits along the famous Route 66 and thrives off passing tourists making their way west to destinations like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and California. Families cram into overpriced hotels, eating undercooked continental breakfasts and throwing money at what’s likely Chinese-sourced turquoise on the ‘main drag’ of town. If only they knew what lies on either side of the highway.

The scope of our ignorance is astounding. Ever present, the massive homeless population find themselves casualties of two wars – one foreign and one domestic. Many are veterans and came back to the reservation only to find alcoholism as the single employer. Lack of hope is palpable in most areas although there are a few – mainly the missionaries of charity – who have dedicated their lives trying to slow the inevitable.

“Everyone calls it ‘Chemical Sunday’... they drink Listerine, Lysol, hair spray, hand sanitizer... that’s what they do, that’s what we do, not just me but I know all of us are doing it”

Jack Bridger and I travelled to Gallup this past summer, hoping to capture a glimpse into the world of the reservation that we unknowingly helped create. We lived out of my car for a week and met with the homeless, speaking to anyone who looked like they had a story. We were told it wasn’t safe to be in the streets, especially being white. After nearly being stabbed during our last interview I can say they may have been correct. We spoke to many men with the same story. Abandonment and mistreatment from the U.S government married tribal corruption and birthed an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and drugs, rolled into a compendium of hazy despair.

Mervin, a homeless veteran, explained how his time in the war introduced him to alcohol: “we had a train that only served liquor... now I can say that’s where I spend my breakfast, lunch, and dinner”.

On our third day, we sat along the south side strip, where most of the homeless congregate around four o’clock to wait for the soup kitchen opening. We spoke to many men who understandably had no trust in two young, white, affluent individuals who probably were only asking them questions as a means of exploitation and personal glorification. I couldn’t say they were wrong. A man sitting alone motioned my way. I followed the gesture.

“I’ll tell you the real story,” he slurred. “Everyone calls it ‘Chemical Sunday’... they drink Listerine, lysol, hair spray, hand sanitiser... that’s what they do, that’s what we do, not just me but I know all of us are doing it.” Laws prohibit the sale of liquor on Sundays, hence the name.
Moments later he pulled out his own bottle. I smelled hairspray before thinking to ask what it was. How do you tell someone it’s all going to be okay when you know they will probably be found face down within a few years? Better yet, why do we feel the need to lie only to make ourselves feel better, compounding the underlying issue further?

The Navajo people. Their culture glorified, used, perverted, exploited, admired, thrown in a ditch to be consumed by scavengers. Icons of the West. A symbol of beauty and strength, drowning in a dry land. Like children going to the zoo we see only what want to, meanwhile failing to realise these people are caged in a prison we helped build but aren’t capable of tearing down by themselves.

You’ll never hear a Hillary or Trump speech about addressing Native American issues. Mainly because they don’t give a shit. Possibly because even if every Native voted, their voices probably wouldn’t swing an election one way or another. Perhaps we expect too much from corrupt lifelong politicians and arrogant businessmen. Sure, Washington throws a bone now and again by appointing a Native federal judge or something similar, but this is only to push a larger agenda fueled by personal legacy and party glorification. By virtue, most Navajos are quiet people whose voices trail off long before they reach the ears of media or government.

Our last day we met a young man, Orlando Walker. He runs Shallow Gallery, a space exclusively for Native artists. He explained that the youth of the reservation are seeing the curse of alcohol and resorting to sports and art in large numbers. The average age on the reservation is 24. Maybe there is hope. Gallup has a vibrant art scene propelled by people like Walker – if you were waiting for good news this is it. Many Navajo have found ways to blend tradition and progression by cultivating their land, raising animals and families. College attendance is growing quickly, in part to some institutions offering free tuition. Yes, many Navajo are thriving – but not enough.

Horses always reflect the demeanor of their owners. The reservation Mustangs aren't swayed by carrots and apples, never allowing visitors to come within 20 yards of their presence. It takes days to gain even the smallest amount of trust. Months to develop a relationship. Regardless of if you’re trying to pacify white guilt, or mask a publicity stunt for a few thousand followers with an ‘act of charity’, the Navajo people don't need a drive-by pity handout. They are one of us. They need real care and lasting action, to show that maybe, just maybe, Americans are finally on their side. After all, we live in the land of opportunity while they drift in a place where shooting for the stars will likely land you in a ditch.

Watch an excerpt of Chemical Sunday above.

Follow Noah Dillon on Twitter here @noahxviolet

PRACTICE 28



Fluvia Lacerda's face was done by Tara Taylor is an industry's way of not saying they could only add to what was perfect as much as temporal life allows perfect moments and precious things to co-exist as breathtaking and revealing at the same time in one face. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 12.21.13  

Do You Need To Hear From God?
Rev. Dr. Sinclair Grey III

In this life, I've discovered when you're preoccupied with too much stuff; you'll miss what's in front of you. Let me say it this way. If you're asking God for something, make sure you're not too busy overlooking the simple while focusing on the complicated. It's important for you to know God hears as well as answers prayers. The problem occurs when people don't hear Him because they allow people and things to interfere with what He has to say. Unless you have a relationship with God, you won't be able to discern whether it's God or your flesh talking. Many of the answers you're seeking are right in front of you. All you need to do is activate what's at your disposal to get them.

In this spiritual journey, I want to share with you how you're able to hear from God in your time of asking. The first thing you need to do is make sure you're doing what you need to do in fostering a positive and productive relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You do this by studying God's Word daily, attending Bible study, going to church, and meditating on His Word. I can add more, but start with these. The second thing you need to do is make sure whatever you're asking God is in alliance to His will. In a real sense, don't ask out of selfish want, but out of concern for God's will to be done. Whenever you take your eyes off you and put them on God, you'll hear from God.

The Bible says when Hannah was praying for a son to be dedicated to God, she went to the temple and poured herself out spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The good news is that God heard her prayer and spoke through the prophet Eli by saying, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him." Please don't miss this last point. When God provides you with your answer, it's not your time to analyze, criticize, or ponder. That's my word for you. God has what you stand in need of, all you need to do is listen. 12.20.13 

Navajo healer drawing sand designs by Walking the Red Road 

SKIN WALKERS & Shadows

Legend of the Skinwalker 
~Ql

Most societies have folklores and legends of witches, werewolves, Sasquatch, and creatures that walk amongst us. The Navajo Indians or Deni’ people have Skin walkers. They are those who trot along here and there on all fours, those who change skins depending on powers they seek, those who follow the ‘Witchery Way’, the ones that the Navajo people defer from talking about for fear of reprisal. The Skin Walkers are the Witches Witch, the Highest Priest or Priestess who turns evil, who practice cannibalism and necrophilia, those who are no longer human – but are profound deviants – pure evil.

Yeenaaldlooshii, as the Navajo call Skinwalkers, literally means “it that walks/travels like an animal – He who trots along here and there on all fours.” It is said that skin walkers transform into the animal they want to utilize particular powers from. The skinwalker dons the fur of the animal while un-clothed underneath, and the transformation begins. A variety of animals are favored: the bear for strength, coyote for speed and cunning, wolf for heightened sense of sight, hearing and smell, cat for stealth and agility, and so forth. Any animal can be chosen. Yet when the skinwalker transforms they never get the gait and the rhythm of the animals walk exactly right, so it is said they can be tracked while they are traveling on the ground just not when soaring with the vultures.

Besides transforming into animals, the skinwalker has other powers. He/she can read your mind, control your mind, bring forth disease, destroy your home, even cause death. Trained in both physical medicine for the body and spiritual medicine for the spirit, they wrap the two tightly together in their practice. Most are trained high priests or priestess who then choose to follow the skinwalker’s path. Initiation into this deviant life is normally through killing a member of their immediate family, usually a sibling. They believe this provides them access to the powers of the skinwalker. Not all Navajo witches are skinwalkers, but all skinwalkers are witches.

Transformation to animals is not the only power the skinwalker has. They can sound like a baby crying or like any animal to get one’s attention, and they have their potions and spells. They use a mixture some call “corpse powder”, others call an immobilization powder, to blow into their prey’s face. This powder causes the tongue to turn black and swell, then convulsions, paralysis, and eventually death. Corpse powder is believed to be ground human infant bones which are powdered and made into a potion. Sometimes if the skinwalker chooses to target a whole family, the powder will be poured down the chimney or smoke hole of a home onto the waiting fire below. This brings sickness and possible death to all who are within.

Revenge and jealousy are the motivation for skinwalkers. The only ways to be rid of a skinwalker is to hire an expensive good medicine man to cleanse your home and perform ceremonies for protection. The only other way the Navajo get rid of the skinwalkers is by learning their identities and calling out the full name of the skinwalker. It is believed the skinwalker will then die in about three days. The Navajo say to shoot the skinwalker with bullets dipped in white ash. This doesn’t usually kill them, but when the skinwalker returns in everyday dress, the gunshot wounds make him/her recognizable so they can call out the skinwalker’s full name and destroy the evil amongst them. - Luis Aguilar

Native History. Myths And Legends
a skin walker

Win I do not know for sure Luis but I know that we, in my house, have experienced or rather have been experiencing the works of a shadow person and the clearing and cleansing of my house is not yet complete. I am not the target, my husband is. He still has a burn on his back healing from it. He was sitting on the couch next to me and he just started to squirm. I asked him what was wrong and he said it felt like his back was on fire. I looked, he had a shirt on and I didn't see any sort of burn mark or hole in the shirt. Then I raised his shirt and it looked like somebody took a cigarette and held it to his back just moments before I looked, there was a very clear burn. 2 days later you could see the initials in it... JM... like some sort of brand. He gets scratched and attacked both while awake and while sleeping. It scares me and I can't shake the sense that he's being attacked because he is with me.

Now you know exactly why I read this and just about crapped my pants haha. I live right by the Trail of Tears but also in an area ripe with slave history which ties in with the hoodoo. In hoodoo it is a live person who creates the shadow person, they are created in anger to get revenge and gain power and when their creator passes to the next world they become the shadow person and will continue to feed off the living picking and choosing their targets as they go.

I have had much to ponder and now you've given me a little bit more to think about. - Pam Omnica Ikhan



The Wall Group

Photographed by David Schulze for
 Surface Magazine, April '13. Hair by Seiji.

Kelli Healing Doe Bennett on the Navajo reservation

“I understand this mysterious force emanating from the colors, and from you, Kelli. My understanding comes from the place where there are no words just images, and knowing.”

- Dawn Wolf,

Keeper of Stories

2010

NAVAJO PRAYER

Navajo healer drawing sand painting by Walking the Red Road

In beauty may I walk

All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully I will possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

Coyote Helps Create Man – Navajo

In the beginning Great Grandfather Spirit had just finished creating the Earth and all the animals, and he felt pleased with his creations. After some time the animals fought each other over which of them would be leader of all the other animals.
Coyote was not into fighting. He asked Grandfather Spirit to make a man and a woman to rule over all the animals of the earth. Grandfather Spirit loved the idea and went to work on the man and woman right away. Grandfather Spirit was having a hard time coming up with an image to make man and woman in. Coyote came to him to see how the creations were coming. When he saw Grandfather Spirit having trouble with man and woman, Coyote with all his magic turned himself into a man. When the creator saw this, he thanked Coyote and went to work the man in the image Coyote showed him. Once he created man out of the Earth he then blew life into man and man came to life. Grandfather Spirit told man the he will make man a mate. Grandfather Spirit started making an image that looked exactly like the man.

Coyote said, “No, No, No!” Grandfather Man won't find a woman who looks like this attractive. Here is how a woman should look like."

Coyote transformed himself into an image of a woman. Grandfather Spirit studied this image and went to work on creating woman out of the earth. When done the woman looked just like the image of the woman that Coyote showed the Creator. Grandfather Spirit then blow life into the woman and man and creator said this was good. The Creator told Man and Woman that they are now the new leaders of the land and to treat the Earth and all who dwell on it like family because they all come from Mother Earth. Grandfather Spirit thanked Coyote for his help and to show his thanks he gave Coyote the more magical powers then any other animal. -From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.

Holy People (diyin diné) of the Navajo (diné)

Diyin Dine'é


The diyin diné, generally translated as Holy People, are the beings whose actions are recounted in the stories and myths that are the basis for the Navajo ceremonials [Diné binahagha'] and who are pictured in the sand paintings ['iikááh]. They are the powerful beings whose intercession is being sought, with whom the participants wish to identify and make common cause.

The core group of these beings contains First Man [Átsé hastiin], First Woman [Átsé asdz], Coyote [M'ii], otherwise known as "first scolder" [Átsé hashké], First Boy [Átsé ashkii] and First Girl [Átsé at'ééd], Talking God [Haashch'ééti'í] and Calling God [Hashch'éoghan]. Other members of this group are the cardinal light phenomena, the white [igai] light of Dawn [hayíík] in the east [ha'a'aah], the blue [doot'izh] light of midday ['aní'ní'] in the south [shádi'ááh], the yellow [itso] light of twilight [nahootsoii] in the west ['e'e'aah], the black [izhin] of Night [t'éé'] in the north [náhooks], and the Wind [ních'i]. This group, plus some unspecified others, were the group who emerged from the underworld into this world in the Emergence and who held the first Blessingway [Hózhójí] ceremony on the rim of the Emergence lake. They built the first hooghan and thereby established the properly built and consecrated hooghan as the site for all future ceremonies and as "the place home" for the Navajo.


First Man [Átsé hastiin], with the aid of his medicine bundle [jish], then created this world. After the first hooghan he placed the sacred mountains [Dzi Dadiyinígíí] and they were given diyin diné as their "inner forms" which amimated them. The plants [nanise'] were created and diyin diné were made to animate them. Corn [naad'] was given an especially important position. The same occurred for the animals [naaldlooshii nídaaldzidígíí], the clouds [k'os], water [tó], the thunder clouds [k'osdihi] that make male rain [níts bik'] and the clouds [k'os] that make female rain [níts bi'áád]. So Blessingway [Hózhójí] today describes the creation of this world by First Man [Átsé hastiin].


The older studies separate the diyin diné into good and evil beings or forces, placing many powerful diyinii, including First Man [Átsé hastiin], in the evil group, He is placed there apparently due to a later conflict with his "daughter," Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] over the possession of his medicine bundle [jish]. Changing Woman [Asdz nádleehé] is viewed as the source of all good for the Navajo. The recent work of McNeley and especially, Farella, take issue with this view. In particular, for Farella, First Man [Átsé hastiin] represents the distillation of what it means to be diyin.


"The essence of diyin is knowledge and, in a way, wisdom. In particular, this is knowledge of the future which enables you to predict and at the same time create, or at a minimum appear to create, future events. As already noted, such knowledge or such an ability is not an inherent feature of diyinii; it is something that is achieved ritually. Thus, if one wants knowledge of the future, he employs a divination ritual; if one of diyin diné wants to create something, he uses [Hózhójí] (or another ritual). First Man does this as do the other diyinii. And it is the same thing that earth-surface people do today in the same circumstances. First Man is exceptional only in the completeness of his knowledge; everything that came after him, everything that is known about today was known and, if not created, at least allowed by Átsé Hastiin."


These newer studies view the diyinii as representing a continuum of knowledge, and therefore power, along which the earth-surface people are also situated. The goal of the earth-surface people, by aiming for knowledge gained over a long and happy lifetime is to join the diyinii at the end of their lives. This is reflected in the fact that death at an early age is viewed with such dismay by the Navajo. A hooghan in which such a death has taken place must be abandoned and sealed with a hole left for the ghost or wind to leave. These ghosts or winds are thought to wander in the area and to be a possible source of witchcraft. However, a death occurring in a hooghan after a long and happy life is no threat to the peacefulness of the household and the windspirit if the person will undertake his trip of four [d'] days to the next word where he joins the diyinii.

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