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From the Hogan 5
Notes from Big Mountain |
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August 1999 170 Days till the "final solution" Notes from Big Mountain Ya'a'tee I have been overwhelmed, both by the quantity of, and the sentiments expressed in, the correspondence I have been receiving. Many times I'm asked how come I remain so positive and hopeful in the midst of so much suffering, and my answer is quite simple. The human beings I interact with on a daily basis fall into two groups. The Traditional elders, and those outsiders who come here in support. Both groups are among the finest human beings it has been my privilege to come into contact with. To put it crudely, I rarely meet assholes. Now, thanks to the wonders of the Information Superhighway, I am hearing from many other fine human beings. I pass some of your messages on to some of the Grandmas, and, like myself, they are strengthend by your support. My thanks to you all, and to Unclejake for letting me use his email. Many people have enquired as to what is the best way to support Big Mountain and the resisters, so I offer the following thoughts. The question of how to support an issue can sometimes be complex. Sometimes its easiest to pop a cheque in the mail to some big organization, and let them take care of it. However, as usual, the easiest solution is rarely the best. If you are like me, that is to say have access to less than infinite resources, you would want to make sure your support was as effective as it could be. Most bang for your buck, so to speak. The question of support for Big Mountain is complicated by a couple of factors that contribute to misunderstanding. Both of these factors are intrinsic to what the traditional Dineh considers respectfully relating to others. The first factor is that no-one speaks for anyone else. Each individual speaks for themselves. Consequently there are no "organizations" that speak for everyone. This can also give the illusion that resistance here is without unity. The second factor is that it is considered improper to tell another person what to do. For instance I might ask a Grandma "do you want me to chop some wood?" and I may well get the answer "I don't know", whereas if I were to ask "would it be good if some wood got chopped?" I would more likely get a positive answer. This again means there is some misunderstanding of what the elders are saying, if the question was asked in a particular way. Therefore it should be absolutely clear that anything I write is just me speaking for myself. Its just my opinion, though it is opinion that is informed by listening to the Grandmas and the rest of the people here, and by observing how different forms of support affect their struggle. In the following visual metaphor, the boundary between "bands" is blurred, and energy travels in towards the center, and also outwards. Imagine a circle with concentric circles inside it, kind of like a bulls eye. In the outer ring I would place support activities that fall under the heading of outreach and awareness. Such simple things as talking to your friends and family about what is happening here. Producing material such as video and flyers. Writing to politicians. Getting stuff in the media.(forwarding this email?) The more attention that gets focussed here, the safer these people will be. On the next band in I would place all support activities that allow the resistors themselves to speak out. Such things as providing lodging, food, and travel costs to allow resistors to attend benefits, rug shows, court hearings, and also (gulp!) help with lawyers. Such simple things as postage stamps, enevelopes, fotocopying cash, etc. As we get closer to the heart of the resistance here we come to the next band, on-land support. There are people who come here and help out by herding the sheep, chopping wood, hauling water, driving the elders, fixing things etc. In the main these people live so far below the poverty line that its laughable. Many times a little sponsorship of food, tobacco, etc means they could stay longer. Also there are organizations that help provide on-land support and do not use any donations except to support the people here. The presence of people here acts as a deterrence to the abuses of certain "law enforcement agencies". As the deadline approaches, this kind of support will be more necessary. Most people cannot come here, but maybe you can support those who do. For myself, the strength of the resistance here comes from daily life,... a way of life,... a way of "being in the world". Anything that is done to aid these people simply live their lives, contributes to the resistance. So we come to the next -to-last ring. Helping the people live their lives. At any particular time, you could ask a family what their pressing needs are and you would get differing answers. For some it might be food. For others gas money. For someone else a part to fix their truck. Maybe some building supplies for repairs. Or hay and grain for the animals.Again, I know of organizations that bring in food and supplies and don't spend donations on administration. The centre of the mandala I have been constructing for you is ceremony. The people here have resisted the multinational corporations and U.S. government for close to 30 years. (some would say 500 years). I know of no-one else who has succeeded in this to the extent of these people. The reason is ceremony. This is where there strength comes from Ceremonies. can be expensive, so any financial support given for this purpose is, as far as I'm concerned, the most effective place to put money. I have of course omitted the simplest, yet most inconvenient, way to support here,.... BUY LESS STUFF! Use less water, electricity, oil, etc That is the ultimate cause of the situation here. Our unacknowledged greed is what fuels the need for the genocide being practised here and in too many other spots on the planet. I do not subscribe to the commonly held view that all of this is inevitable. We need to just say no, and the best place to start is in our own daily lives. Examine the things you purchase, ask yourself which part of the planet was raped to provide it, which people have suffered to provide it to you so cheaply. Most of all ask yourself do you really need it. Each of us is complicit in varying degrees to the situation here at Big Mountain. We have a choice. The preceding ramble shows, I hope, a wide array of opportunities for people to make a difference. If I can be of any assistance in connecting sources of support with recipients of support, then please contact me. In offering support here I would ask you to think about what it is you would want your support to achieve, and I would reccomend that you try to make a personal connection, and build upon that. I must strenuously add that for myself I am not asking for any money, got no need for the stuff. I have a warm, dry place to sleep, and most days my belly is full. My other needs amount to tobacco, good non-fiction books to read, and postage stamps, most of which is met by gifts from friends. While I was writing this piece I was pleasantly interrupted by the visit to the office of two of the Grandmothers, Pauline Whitesinger & Roberta Blackgoat. I asked them what I should tell you, and this is what they said. Roberta says "Tell them to write to the Congressional leaders and tell them that the Creator placed all the indian people in their own lands, with their own language and ways, so if the Government wants to move us off our land they should first of all SUE THE CREATOR." Pauline says " I need lots of help here on the land. There are Hogans and corrals to be repaired and built." I would add that those unwilling to work hard need not apply. Paulines address is PO Box 1073, Hotevilla, AZ 86030. Robertas is PO Box 349, Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039. They can also be reached thru this email address. Roberta is I'm sure well known to many of you. There are hundreds of articles in newspapers, magazines and books, and hundreds of hours of her presentations on video and audio tape. At the continued expense of her health she still travels widely to tell people about what is happening here. Pauline is maybe not so well known, so I would like to tell you about one of the first times I met her. It was Thanksgiving. I had just picked up 2 other sheepherders and we were heading towards Big Mountain. We were attired in our sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, which to the untrained eye looked just like the clothes we herded sheep in. I was driving War Pony, an "older model" pick-up truck. If War Pony ran for 6 months of the year then it was a good year. For the last 2 days it had performed admirably, driving several hundred miles delivering food to the outlying homesites for Thanksgiving. Every year a caravan comes to the mesa from all over the States and we deliver food and supplies to all the families here. We were heading to Big Mountain to meet up with all the people of the caravan to celebrate the successful conclusion of the food run with a feast prepared by a culinary magician. For us sheepherders the attraction was less the food, but that rarest of commodities here, human company that spoke english. We passed Paulines home, which is the only homesite on the road for many miles in both directions, and it began to snow. A couple of miles down the road we came upon a figure striding along. It was Pauline. Dressed in an indeterminate, though large, number of layers of clothing, topped off with an apron. On her head a scarf. Her face painted in Chee, the red clay worn to protect against sunburn, windburn, and coldburn. Slung over her shoulder she carried about 20 pounds of heavy link chain. She joined us in the cab of War Pony, 4 in a cab being standard here on the rez. I am not fluent in Navajo, but I know enough to be able to interject the appropriate exclamations at the right point to give the impression that I understand what I'm being told. Consequently Pauline believes I understand more than I do, so whenever we meet she chatters away continuously. Today was no exception. It turned out that she was on her way to her truck which had broken down. Paulines truck is also an "older model" pick-up, and if it runs for 3 months of the year then its been a good year. On reaching her truck we all got out, and, being guys, we had to twiddle around under the hood for a while until we reached the conclusion that Pauline already had, that it was broken. All the time Pauline was animatedly explaining and pointing to places in the engine where flames had issued. There is a twinkle in Paulines eye that ones sees quite often in the elders here. As she spoke she smiled constantly and found the whole situation humorous. As we came to the conclusion that nothing could be done for the truck now, the point of the chain became clear. It was to lock up the hood so that the Hopi rangers or BIA could not sabatoge the engine. I asked her if I could give her a ride home. NO, NO, she said vigorously shaking her head. She pointed out,.... her sheep were out there and some were having babies, so she needed to go find them. She strode off into the thickening snowstorm. Pauline is in her seventies. She lives alone, miles from anywhere. Her knee was bad. Her truck was broken. She had no sheepherder. ( It was a meager year for sheepherders, I knew of only half a dozen of us spread over the whole Mesa.) And yet there was no complaint in her voice, only laughter. It is a privilege to be around such wisdom and strength. (As a footnote to this story I'd tell you that later that night, on my way home from the feast, War Pony broke down. The last 10 miles I had to walk. I chuckled) One of the many blessings that my life as a sheepherder has ( limitations of Hard disk space forbids me from listing them all, I only have a couple of Gigabytes) is that I get plenty of time to read. I recently came across a couple of snippets of information that I wish to pass on. They are from the book "The Kit Carson Campaign. The last great navajo war." by Clifford E. Trafzer and is about the round up of the Dineh last century and their herding to the concentration camp at Fort Sumner.
What!!,... how could this be? For years the U.S governement and the Hopi Tribal Council have been insisting that the Hopis and Navajos have always been enemies. Half a billion dollars of taxpayers money has been spent ostensibly to "solve" this ancient dispute. Why would they lie? All along the Dine and the traditional hopis have been saying that there was no land dispute and that it was an attempt by HTC and feds to gain control of the coal. Could they be right? A little later in the book some more evidence surfaces.
Well of course, we now know that the gold and silver wasn't there. To America the land once again became worthless, and the Navajo were allowed to return to it. Fast forward some years and the situation changes. Coal, oil, and uranium become valuable and the Navajo country is rich in all these mineral resources, but wheres Kit Carson when he's needed? Dead of course, and his methods are no longer politically expedient. Enter John Boyden, stage left. Back in the real world things are relatively quiet on the mesa right now. Just life to be getting on with. The Hopi Tribal Councils propaganda machine appears to have ground to a halt. Probably off licking their wounds somewhere,.. trying to figure out why no-one believes them. ( Hint, try telling the truth guys.) The BIA/Hopi Rangers are keeping a low profile. Probably all off on some training course in some new hi-tech toys they got with all that coal money. For us it means more time and energy can now be focussed on what needs doing to keep life going. Cornfields to hoe. Rugs to weave. Ceremonies to plan. Puts me in mind of a verse from what is reputed to be the oldest Chinese poem. Dig your well and drink its water; Plow your fields and eat your harvest; What has the Emperors might to do with me? But always we are waiting to see what game they are going to pull on us next. Its also a time when "interest" "out there" tends to slacken. But , dear readers, you're still paying attention, right? It continues to rain...... just as the garden is drying out and I think I might need to haul some water for it, it rains again. In fact it is so wet here that I have heard some people from Seattle consider it safe enough to visit! The sheep are out long hours. This is the time of the year that sheepherding is at its easiest. Payback for the laborious spring. The flock are mellow. Lots of grass so they move slowly, stay together, and are fairly predictable. I am forced to spend many long hours sitting on a rock, watching the clouds and sun travel the sky. Watch the grass grow. Watch the boy sheep harass the girl sheep (Yes, its that time again, for the sheep at least, if not for the sheepherder). An abundance of solace. Plenty of time to ponder the wondrousness of this multiplex that is our planet. Plenty of time to reflect upon the huge amount of stuff that doesn't make any sense to me. Like why there are not thousands of people lining up, begging to come here and do what I'm doing, and live with these amazing people on this sacred land. But then, what the hell do I know,........ I'm just a sheepherder. "The limitation of tyrants is the endurance of those they oppose." Your prayers, support, and correspondence are invited. For all my relations Bo Peep reachable via unclejake74@hotmail.com P.S. To all those who have written to me, please be aware that owing to the pressing needs of the flock, the corn, and the Grandmas, the office is sometimes left unattended for weeks at a time. It may take as much as a moon between when you write, and when you hear back from me. Around here the information superhighway is a jeep trail. Please be patient, you will hear from me. If you have received this update as a forward, but want to sure of getting them in the future, please let me know and I will add you to the list. Also if there are any "back issues" you don't have, again, let me know. STOP PRESS This just in. News is flooding into the office that yesterday (July 18th) Hopi "Law Enforcement Agencies" paid a visit to Paulines cornfield and informed her helpers that they were going to have to leave. The background to this story is this: Its been a very wet year. This is good for the cornfield, but it also means that by the time the field is weeded, its time to start again. It also means there is going to be a bumper harvest. Pauline is an elder and needs some help with all this labor. Consequently a few women have pitched 2 tents by the side of the cornfield to do all the work (The cornfield is some distance from the homesite). There is a girl approximately 7 years of age. A woman in her twenties. A woman in her forties. A woman in her sixties. Pauline herself is in her seventies. How the HTC can feel threatened by 5 generations of women engaging in life sustaining activities such as hoeing and harvesting is beyond me. If you happen to be by a phone right now, and have a couple of minutes to spare you might like to call Wayne Taylor, The Hopi Tribal Chairman, and ask him ( politely of course) why it is necessary to threaten Paulines winter food supply in this way. He can be reached on (520) 734 3000 . Please be polite, the point is not to harass him, just let him know that people are watching and are concerned. If he were to get some calls today it may cause the harassment to stop. I am also reliably informed that his email address is: jnahee@hopi.nsn.us.
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