The 500 Mile Trip

I, and half of my family, just recently returned from a winter Drum ceremony. For those of you reading or dare to read, it is a ceremony where people come to dance, replenish their sacred energies and YES, play video games. Most of these people who played the games and continually had to text were adolescents, know it all adults and elders who do not have the courage to lead the people. While seated at the drum, I had noticed that half of the attendees were engaged in something artificial and unintelligent. After visiting with my wife, she had made the clear point..." that people, today, do not know how to just be."

With that fuel and wisdom, I have a more defined outlook on my Aboriginal peoples who attend ceremonies. This quote goes beyond the educational/academia persona that defines these peoples lives. It is there culture away form the true-Aboriginal culture. Do I blame these people for the way they are? Hell-Yes. They are all wrong and I am 100% right. Not because I have attended college or that I have a full time job. It is right because true healing and leadership consists of 100% participation and dedication. A person cannot expect healing from a ceremony and to be relieved of the stresses of life, if they are playing a video game, texting or engaging in discussion that pertains to wants and desires in life. So- with this in mind, I say to those few out there: I have had visions of some of you Anishinabeg who are now sell outs ,over a decade ago. I have seen some of your paths. I did not ask to see any of your paths or lives, I was just chosen to. I seen sacred energies in the form of great Eagles come to you with feathers from their bodies. But-again, some of you chose not to except the energy gifts from the Eagles or other sacred animal energies that exist. At the time, I was wondering what I was being shown. I did not understand. I wanted much to- act as if i did not see anything. But, now- 10 to thirteen years later, I UNDERSTAND SOME OF WHY SOME OF YOU ANISHINABEG CAN NOT JUST BE-YOU HAVE TO BE CONNECTED TO SOMETHING GREATER THAN YOURSELVES. IF YOU DO NOT FEEL CONTENT AT A CEREMONY, YOU WILL NEVER FEEL 100% CONTENT. YOU MAY THINK THAT YOU ARE CONTENT, BUT TIME HAS TOLD ON YOU AND THE SPIRITUAL ENERGIES THAT HAVE BEEN ON OUR EARTH FOR MILLENNIA-HAVE TOLD ON YOU!!!!

But, who am I? I am but another crab in the bucket. I am the crab that is going to push your ass over the edge to Spiritual freedom, while I sit and listen to all the other Crabs. I, on the other hand will continue to be content with all the other crabs, while some of you who I have helped and given my life for-will crawl away from the bucket, hoping to get a better life in the white world. But, Are you really getting it better or are you just getting more material THANGS out of life?????

Jay

Elders

I have recently been exposed to many trials in life the past few months. Some of these include; no heat, teenagers in the Judaical system, self acclaimed medicine men, Elders who are in the very needy process and numerous other life enhancing experiences.

Elders of any society have gone un-noticed, not considered equal and driven to the point of feeling hopelessness and dis pair. Dis pair, to the fact , that, these elders, who ever they are, should be heard and taken care of much more than they really are. For instance, I know of three elderly Ojibwa men who in all, are experiencing first hand, the devastation of the economy and their life's savings. All three men, directly benefit from their casino's -the Grand casino Millelacs and the Grand casino Hinckley. These men all receive "per-ca pita" payments from the casinos, but this in turn, is pennies to the dollar. They need more. They need more human support and people who will listen to their struggles and stories. One of these men, is a chronic alcoholic. One of them is a retired military personal and the other elderly man has lost the use of both of his legs. However, he gets around better than some able bodied two leggeds.

I , recently had the opportunity to bring him(the one in the wheelchair) home, a home that had no heat, due to the ill discrepancies in his tribal referral system. Upon arriving at his home, I had to fetch his wheel chair out from the back of my SUV. For of those people who do not live in the northern central part of the united states, the weather was a cool minus 23 degrees below zero. When I finally got him into his house, both of us were relieved. I was glad to have been part of the process. In Anishinabeg customs, we are taught to take care of our old people, even if that means, having to put ones personal stuff to the side. I have always lived by this teaching, because one day, I hope to be old and the teaching will come full circle and benefit me when I am old. However, when I entered his house, I could not believe the fact that none of his grown children had anything prepared for their relative to eat. So, what did this elder decide to do? He grabbed a handful of potato chips and ate them as they were a full course meal. He than asked me if i wanted some cake. Because I cannot refuse an elder, I decided to have a piece of his cake. It was a chocolate mousse cake, sprinkled with chocolate candies. Now, as a person who is designed to care, I asked this elder if he had any Wild Rice. Because, most wild rice is natural and does not contain any preservatives, I tried to get this elder to think of what he was eating. He finally told me that he had wild rice and that is as far as the conversation went. But I could not help to imagine how long it would be-before his eating habits would catch up to his health. It was a thought that was unbearable. So, I hinted to him that I could cook some wild rice and he declined my offer and ate his chocolate mousse. At this time, I decided to visit with his great-grand child and his daughter, who also, was the babies grandmother. I asked how old the baby was and the grandmother said " just over a year." As I turned to leave, I confirmed in the Anishinabeg language that I would see him again. I than, left for my aunts house. What I could not believe is the fact, that, their is a million dollar casino right next door to this elders home and he is without propane for his furnace.

As I entered my aunts house, I told her son and niece my experience with the particular elder. They, the niece and son, decided to call the higher ups in the tribe to see what could be done for this elder. Upon a few phone calls, they were left with more questions and concerns about ALL of the elders of the tribe.

Earlier in the day, I had given my cousin(the niece-to my aunt) a ride to her house to drop off a few things. What she had related to me first hand-was pathetic and pitiful. She had begun to tell me of this elder she was living with and taking care of. She had said that this elder could not use the health services called Circle of Life. Circle of life is a health care program for the band members of any particular tribe in the United States. She had said, that this elder had to pay for a nurse out of his own pocket. Mind you, that this elderly man is a retired from the military and gets a pension every month. She had also said, that the Circle of Life funds were all tapped out and that was one of the reasons this elder had to foot his own costs. Plus, he used up his last Circle of life funds to purchase a hearing aid, in which the local clinic had lost.

What I wonder is this; How long will it be before this elder passes on because he is sick and tired of living on this earth? There is much more to his story, like the fact that he has a college graduate living with him that is so worried about his own career, that he can not even fathom the thought of taking care of an elder.

The third elder is in dire straights and in need of some serious health care and services. He has a relative that lives with him who is known to use Meth and a few other drugs. This elder has been intoxicated on alcohol for the past few weeks. He has a brand new elder home-a home that is showing signs of unhealthiness, poor living arrangements and a party house. My aunt had told me, that this elder does not know if he is coming or going.

To Be Continued.....

Jay

A time for a shout out.

I want to take this time to give a shout out to the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Centre in Minneapolis.

CHI-MEGWETCH

On a quick note, when i was finishing my Alcohol and drug training, our classes had the opportunity to attend and visit the resource centre. Talk about amazement and excitement and DETERMINATION. This place makes you feel as if you never want to leave. I wanted to become immersed and absorbed into the workforce.

For those of you that might know me, Minneapolis is where I lived for the first 19 years of my life. I know the city life and what it can bring to Aboriginal peoples. It can be very warm and it can be very violent. Luckily for me, I did not stay to involved with the violent part of my life. Aboriginal people are funny and always want to relate with something, even if that means, that they sell there self's out for a day or two. At lest they can say they related to a certain experience or something. What I mean is that, when our class had the chance to visit the centre, i noticed all the Aboriginals that were raised on the RES. tried to become URBAN in their being. It was embarrassing to witness, but I just bit my tongue and acted as if I didn't see a thing.

For the sake of time, I will write more on this subject later. But, for now, the resource centre moved and educated me in a way that drive me to be a better person. It was hard to here some of the tragedy's that face our Urban populations. So, my Native Sisters busting there asses down in the hood; Keep the faith strong and keep the haters running a long..................................................

Jay

Always a time for change, Part One

Happy new year to all.

With the delight of a new African President and change, I sit and ponder the fact of how many people in the world have the self discipline to bring Spiritual change.

For insistence, over my X-mas break I had to make a stand-for the betterment of my immediate family and to show my opposition to people who behave very unhealthy. The last article I posted, I entitled it " to hell with them and maybe you." I have been noted as being another crab in the bucket, trying to keep people down. I say to the people of the world and micro communities; to know me is to love me and to know me is to understand me. People, for the most part in the world are under lock and key and can not think outside their cell phones, I-pods and computers, not to forget the vast arsenal of video games and entertainment complexities. I work for a tribal school in Central Minnesota. One of the key things I stress to adults and youth is the fact that WE are all addicted to some type of technology. This is sad and we as a people have been in a sad state of affairs for quite some time. When I relate information to the seriousness of our addiction as communities, very few youth and adults are quick to take offense and say I am crazy and jealous. They say this because I CHOOSE not to allow technology to destroy my natural being, mentality and god given outlook of the world especially my First Nation Peoples of the world. I choose to not carry a cell phone, except to the point, where it might be needed in a serious life predicament. I drive a a few cars that are known as "INDIAN" rides. They are both over ten years of age and are looked upon by most peoples as "shitty" "embarrassing and ugly."

A great thing about driving an older car is the fact that, they are very easy to repair and I can maintain most of the parts and gadgets under the hood. If you ask any mechanic in the world they will gladly tell you that the older cars of America are much easier to work on and do not have (brains) computers, that control every part of the car.

Do I allow people of the greater populations to have me intuitively absorb and dictate what car I choose to drive, what I choose to wear and how I physically appear to them? No!

Now, what happens when I am driving down the road and my car decides it needs to take a break and foul out. Do I say " you fucking piece of shit car-you suck." Once again I say no. I am not an angry person who can turn on my own self judgement in a matter of a few seconds, just because my car broke down. But than, I allow my Spiritual self to become more keen and my higher intuition and authentic tribal voice follow next, all as one entity and I than tell myself and others( if they are with me) not to worry, things will be great and grand. ( This is where my human side tells me- you should be driving a new car )

Look at all the people around you. People of the world have become machines and can not live with out their daily amount of texts and cell phone calls. It really bothers me to see an Aboriginal adult or youth to be mezmerized by the cell phone industry, to the point that they cannot even begin to socialize who they are in the world. To admit their addiction to this technology is befuttal and laughed off. And yet, I still am looked upon as a crab in the bucket, because I choose to be smart and not allow my human-addictive behaviors get the best of me. Now, tell me, who are the crabs in the bucket??

Now, when it comes to the world of Spiritual knowledge and behaviors-It takes a rare person to be dedicated to their culture and have compassion for their people, who in essence, have chosen to become the machines---waiting for their next upload of disinformation, programming and subliminal voice. Like a computer program that has taken the machines by storm, there will exist a few individuals who choose not to go under transformation and uploading from the evils that be. The people that have chosen to be free and remain authentic in their natural ways, will be the individuals who will prevail when the economy spirals downward into the abyss. When this happens, the machines will be wondering what the hell is going on with their programming. They will be so devastated and isolated from the machine functions and controls, that they will soon decide to self implode, take their own lives and become the killer crabs of the world; bringing down everything in their sight. They will want answers and vindication. They will stop at nothing to get answers and the next fix of information. Information and functions have been their whole center of the universe.

So, do I say that I am a jealous, crab in the bucket type of person. No!

To be continued.......