I AM FORWARDING TO YOU A MESSAGE FROM
ELDER WILLIAM COMMANDA THAT OUR FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE BETSY STANG HAS SENT OUT
TO HER CONTACTS. I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE
INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT TOO, SINCE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH HIS WORK
AND EFFORTS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD
TO YOUR COLLEAGUES WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS WORK. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE INITIATIVE IS
AVAILABLE ON THE HEALING PAGE OF THE www.circleofallnations.com website.
THANK YOU
ROMOLA
Dear Friends,
I am passing along an invitation to the
June 21 Pipe Ceremony from
Grandfather William Commanda and I are
requesting your immediate assistance in contacting the Canadian Prime Minister,
Paul Martin to express your support of Grandfather's vision for the Indigenous
Center at Victoria Island. We are hoping as many as possible will email Prime
Minister Martin before June 21, 2005.
His email is pm@pm.gc.ca. Snail mail info is:
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
Please also copy your correspondence to
info@circleofallnations.com
Thank you so much for your help in this
matter.
Fondly,
Betsy Stang
GRANDFATHER WILLIAM COMMANDA’S
INVITATION TO THE JUNE 21 GATHERING OF NATIONS PIPE CEREMONY ON VICTORIA
ISLAND, OTTAWA, CANADA
On June 21, 2005 at 10.00 a.m., I shall
be hosting the fifth annual Gathering of Nations Pipe Ceremony at Victoria
Island to continue my prayer and work for all people. June 21 was
identified as Indian Day in 1945 by native activist Jules Sioui; a few years
ago, the former Governor General formally recognized the date, and today, many
join in this celebration of National Aboriginal Day.
For the past forty years, I have
followed the direction of my ancestors who welcomed yours to this land, and I
have worked hard to create a Circle of All Nations, a Culture of Peace, to
advance respect for Mother Earth and to advance racial harmony. I see today
that Canada is engaged in one of the most interesting and difficult challenges
of modern times – reconciling a huge array of diverse interests, peoples and
cultures.
My peoples have been crushed for a long
time and sometimes it seems like we beg for crumbs and acknowledgement at a
table where the world seeks its place. We see churches, cathedrals, synagogues,
temples and mosques reflecting the great diversity of cultures here, but there
is still no place where indigenous peoples can gather together in the spirit of
unity that used to mark our heritage.
Over recent years, I have shared the
sacred Three Figure Welcoming/Agreement Wampum Belt which signified the
commitment of my ancestors in 1700 to share their country, grand natural
resources and values with yours, with the land being held in trust for Creator
and the unborn children. This was before my country was
divided. Since then, our resources have been exploited, depleted and
contaminated. The balance of
life has been disrupted, and the centre can no longer hold things
together. We have seen this in unprecedented fires last year and in
floods this year.
I also said that Turtle Island would
not find true peace until the relationship with the first peoples of this land
was healed, and we occupied our rightful position in the heart of this
country. Sadly, we have endured years of great hardship, division
and rancor. I have not been happy to see this strife and turmoil.
But my ancestors used to say the most
nutritious walnuts emerge after the coldest winter.
In my mind, it is the indigenous
peoples who hold the seeds for a vision of inclusion and collective sharing,
respect and responsibility, and in our very existence we serve as the glue to
bond a fragile federation together. We must work together
collectively for a strengthened nation.
With the commencement of the United
Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace, I began to pursue the work of developing
a vision for a fully inclusive indigenous peace-building cultural centre on
Victoria Island actively (see Healing Page – www.circleofallnations.com).
The concrete manifestation of this
commitment needs to be visible to all people. At the same time, it must
contribute to strengthening Aboriginal Peoples individually and collectively.
This commitment can be made evident and visible in the endorsement of the
vision for Victoria Island.
This would constitute the tangible,
public expression of the commitment to the First Peoples. I continue
to pray for the materialization of this work during my lifetime.
I invite you all to join us on June
21. I am sure you will be heartened when you see the multicultural
face of Canada join Aboriginal Peoples in celebration on the ancient spiritual
meeting grounds of my ancestors, and you will see that when we learn to come
together with one heart, one mind, one love and one determination, the seeds of
peace-building can and indeed shall blossom and embrace all.
Megwetch
William Commanda
Betsy Stang