Woe is me without the Holy Spirit

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 (AMP):      REMEMBER (earnestly) also your Creator (that you are not your own, but His property now) in the days of your youth, before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say (of physical pleasures), I have no enjoyment in them--
    Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened (sight is impaired), and the clouds (of depression) return after the rain (of tears);
    In the day when the keepers of the house (the hands and the arms) tremble, and the strong men (the feet and the knees) bow themselves, and the grinders (the molar teeth) cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows (the eyes) are darkened;
    When the doors (the lips) are shut in the streets and the sound of the grinding (of the teeth) is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird and the crowing of a cock, and all the daughters of music (the voice and the ear) are brought low;
    Also when (the old) are afraid of danger from that which is high, and fears are in the way, and the almond tree (their white hair) blooms, and the grasshopper (a little thing) is a burden, and desire and appetite fail, because man goes to his everlasting home and the mourners go about the streets or marketplaces.
    (Remember your Creator earnestly now) before the silver cord (of life) is snapped apart, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern (and the whole circulatory system of the blood ceases to function);
    Then shall the dust (out of which God made man's body) return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it.
    Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher. All is futility (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and transitoriness)!
    And furthermore, because the Preacher was wise, he (Solomon) still taught the people knowledge; and he pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
    The Preacher sought acceptable words, even to write down rightly words of truth or correct sentiment.
    The words of the wise are like prodding goads, and firmly fixed (in the mind) like nails are the collected sayings which are (given as proceeding) from one Shepherd.
    But about going further (than the words given by one Shepherd), my son, be warned. Of making many books there is no end (so do not believe everything you read), and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
    All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God (revere and worship Him, knowing that He is) and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man (the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun) and the whole (duty)for every man.
    For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil. 

  These verses reveal to us a truth in regard to all  people. That truth is that youthfulness and outward beauty are temporary, while spiritual beauty and character will endure throughout one's life and continue into eternity.  Only the things that we accomplish in this life for Christ will last. Everything else is vanity. We shall all reap the fruit of the things we sow in this life.

When we are young and have our whole life ahead of us, we really do not think of the day that we will grow old and die. We do not usually consider what kind of legacy we will leave. Will it be one like the virtuous woman whose works were praised by the entire city?  These words below from Ecclesiastes remind us to remember the Lord when we are young and all through our life, as there is a day that old age will come and then we will not have the opportunity to serve the Lord like we have today. Today we can live by the Wisdom and knowledge found in the book of Proverbs and the Bible. In doing this, we shall not regret our days on the earth.

Army of One

"We must each be an army of one
in the endless struggle
between the good we are all capable of
and the evil that threatens us all
from without as well as from within.

Yes, we can each be an army of one.
One good man or one good woman
can change the world,
can push back the evil and
their work can be a beacon
for millions, for billions.

Are you that man or woman?

If so, may the Great Spirit bless you.

If not, why not?

We must each of us be that person.
That will transform the world overnight.
That would be a miracle, yes, but a miracle
within our power, our healing power."

-Leonard Peltier-

The White Ornament

A SIMPLE WHITE ENVELOPE

It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our
Christmas tree.  No name, no identification, no inscription.  It has
peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- oh, not the
true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it -- the
overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a
tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts
given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual
shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth.  I reached for something special
just for Mike.  The inspiration came in an unusual way.  Our son
Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the
school he attended.  Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league
match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.

These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings
seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp
contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and
sparkling new wrestling shoes.  As the match began, I was alarmed to
see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of
light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears.  It was a luxury
the ragtag team obviously could not afford.

Well, we ended up walloping them.  We took every weight class.  And as
each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his
tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t
acknowledge defeat.  Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, 'I
wish just one of them could have won,' he said.  'They have a lot of
potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of
them.' Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached
little league football, baseball, and lacrosse.

That's when the idea for his present came.  That afternoon, I went to
a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling
headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.

On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside
telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.  His
smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and the
succeeding 10 years.

For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a
group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another
year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to
the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.  The envelope
became the highlight of our Christmas.  It was always the last thing
opened on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new
toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the
envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents,
but the envelope never lost its allure.

The story doesn't end there.  You see, we lost Mike last year due to
cancer.  When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief
that I barely got the tree up.  But Christmas Eve found me placing an
envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unaware to the others, had placed an
envelope on the tree for their dad.  The tradition has grown and
someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing
around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers
take down the envelope.  Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit,
will always be with us.

May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the
true Christmas spirit this year and always.

God Bless you! -- pass this along to those friends and loved ones who
you know are the givers who understand the true meaning of Christmas.

It is on the field of adversity where the metal of a man is proven!

"I don't want to make this too serious -- we are talking about football here -- but it is a moral duty on some level to tell the truth and to take responsibility. And I won't go off too much on my values and things like that, but I believe that I'm a part of a generation, really, the Lawsuit Generation. Everything is somebody else's fault. People that are my age -- and a little younger, and a little older -- want to blame somebody else, and they tend to want to self-protect. And I really reject that as a pattern of behavior, and as a pattern of morality. It's not how I'm going to live my life. When I make a mistake, I'm going to own up to it. And really, that's kind of what all this comes down to." Hunter Smith, former punter of the Washington Redskins

I think we need 52 "teamates" like him. - Seneca Wolf

Marriage, A Gift from God

"There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand:
The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid." - Proverbs 30:18-19

The fourth thing that was "too wonderful" for Agur was "the way of a man with a maid." The way a man and woman are attracted to one another and "fall in love" is a very wonderful gift that God gave to men and women. Erotic and sexual love was designed by God, but has limits and boundaries attached to it. It is to only be entered into within the bonds of matrimony. The devil has come against this husband and wife relationship by perverting it and causing men to indulge in it illegally. We find adulterers, fornicators, and homosexuals, (where men are sexually attracted to men, and women to women.) God is the one who set the standard for a marriage relationship and when men start trying to redefine marriage, they are setting themselves up to take the place of God, which is idolatry. The beautiful relationship, of love and marriage, between a man and a woman, is a type of our relationship with Christ, and that is a very holy thing.

Ephesians 5:23-27:
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

"The Last of Sitting Bull"

St. Louis Republic, St. Louis, Missouri, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 1890


The death of Sitting Bull removes one of the obstacles to civilization. He was a greasy savage, who rarely bathed and was liable at any time to become infected with vermin. During the whole of his life he entertained the remarkable delusion that he was a free-born American with some rights in the country of his ancestors. Under this delusion, when civilized immigrants pushed over the Black Hills country in search of gold he considered them trespassers on the lands of his people and tried to keep them out. He was engaged in this absurd and wicked attempt when General Custer surprised his camp in the interests of civilization. Unfortunately for civilization General Custer was mistaken in the number of the savages who had assembled to fight for the land, which they foolishly believed was their birthright, and "a massacre" ensued. That is, it was one of those rare occasions when savagery for the moment had the best of it in a pitched battle with civilization. It was, of course, only for the moment, and Sitting Bull and his followers, who might have been easily and legally hanged as murderers, were granted a temporary respite.
This graciousness of the Great Father they have constantly abused by obstructing civilization in every possible way, especially in the worst way possible by trying to keep their land in a state of barbarism, and by insisting on their own understanding of treaties, regardless of necessary changes in translation into a highly civilized language, and of necessary amendments made in Congress. They have gone on holding ghost dances, complaining about the rations issued to them under treaties, objecting to the way their money was handled by the government, and it is charged on excellent civilized authority, actually stealing from civilized people who have settled on their lands.
Under such circumstances there could have been only one ending for Sitting Bull, and now that it has come he has no complaint to make. There is every reason to believe, therefore, that it was perfectly satisfactory to him. He himself had recognized it as inevitable and had fully made up his mind to it, preferring it to death in what in his barbaric way he called the "stone houses of the Great Father," meaning thereby the penitentiaries in which the Great Father, with the aid of Hon. Powell Clayton, Hon. Poker J. McClure and others of his Sanhedrin, attempts on occasion to incarcerate those who disagree with him in such a way as to inconvenience him.
So when Sitting Bull was surprised and overpowered by the agents of the Great Father, he set his greasy, stolid face into the expression it always took when he was most overcome by the delusion that he was born a native American from native American ancestry. Disarmed and defenceless he sat in the saddle in which he had been put as a preliminary to taking him to prison, and without a change of countenance urged his handful of greasy followers to die free. This idiotic proceeding he kept up until he was shot out of the saddle.
So died Sitting Bull. So was removed one of the last obstacles in the path of progress. He will now make excellent manure for the crops, which will grow over him when his reservation is civilized.
The work of redeeming these excellent lands from barbarism has now reached a point where it can be at once carried to completion. The filth and vermin-infested Sioux and other savages who have pretended a desire to live even under starvation rations and broken treaties will be persuaded by Sitting Bull's example, and a little skillful management of the same kind which converted him from a brutal savage into a good Indian, to stand up where they can be shot out of the way of advancing progress.
Mr. Harrison should continue to act with the same promptness and firmness he has shown in Sitting Bull's case. While one of these barbarians lives to claim an acre of unentered land in the United States he will remain as an obstacle to progress. A firm persistence by the President in the admirably progressive policy he has illustrated in Sitting Bulls case will make good Indians of all the rest of them, bucks, squaws and papooses. And the future historian will say of them, no doubt, that they died justly, because they owned lands and would not use fine-toothed combs."

Before Sound Bytes

Conversation was never begun at once, nor in a hurried manner.
No one was quick with a question, no matter how important,
and no one was pressed for an answer. A pause giving time
for... thought was the truly courteous way of beginning and
conducting a conversation. Silence was meaningful with the
Lakota, and his granting a space of silence to the speech-maker
and his own moment of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness and regard for the rule that

"thought comes before speech."

- LUTHER STANDING BEAR

Spirit Messenger

Seneca, you are swift of foot and persuasive of speech. Your men are the greatest orators among tribes. Be the spokesman.

- HIAWATHA

Many today are already spiritually marked with the "mark of the beast," which, in part, is the love of money.

Like a roaring lion or a ravenous and charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A ruler who lacks understanding is (like a wicked one) a great oppressor, but he who hates covetousness and unjust gain shall prolong his days. Proverbs 28:15-16

Thoughts for the Day

These verses from Proverbs tell us that a ruler who is wicked is like a wild, hungry animal that is looking to devour its prey. They are without God's understanding and are oppressors; however, if rulers hate covetousness and unjust gain, they will reign longer and live longer.

Wicked people who rule in positions of authority who are covetous, will always oppress those under them. These kinds of rulers never think about the poor, but rather use them for their own selfish means. They really are like a "beastly" animal. In the book of Revelation, the Lord uses the description of a "beast" to describe a system that will rule in the earth. The root of this system is ruled by the love of money. This love of money is not only a snare to rulers, but also a snare to the poor as well. It is also a snare to the church. Many today are already spiritually marked with the "mark of the beast," which, in part, is the love of money.

Revelation 13:16-17:
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

This buying and selling is the monetary system of the world. The majority of people today are chasing after money. They are seeking the things of this world, such as newer cars and bigger houses. They are seeking what the Gentiles were seeking in Matthew 6:31-32 (the things of this world). It makes no difference whether they are rich or poor; the poor want it too, but simply do not know how to get it. This "beastly" system has everybody seeking the wrong god. They are buying so they can sell, and selling so they can buy. The stock market, the whole monetary system, is filled with that. Those who have placed their trust in that system are "marked with the beast."

As Christians, we buy and sell. But we are not buying and selling our souls like the rest of the world. We are in the world, but we are not of the world (John. 17:14-16). We touch and handle the things of this world, but it is not in our hearts; it is not a part of us. We are not marked with the "beast" system. As totally dedicated Christians, when God asks us to do anything, we lay everything down, leaving it behind, as we go and do what He has asked. We are able to forsake all, because we are not marked with the "mark of the beast;" we are not caught up in the love of money. We are not caught up in the buying and selling, because we know our true riches are in heaven. We can use the things of this world, but those things are not what rules us. Our greatest treasure is our love of God.

The "beast" system has infiltrated the church through carnal Christians. These carnal, worldly Christians are puzzled by other Christians not seeking after money. They are surprised when some will not sell out for money. Some people try to buy men, even in the church. Those who are not committed believers will sell out. There are pastors who will not deal with an elder's sin because that elder has a lot of money. The beast system is ruling their hearts. Such pastors are not wholly serving the Lord; they are part of the "beast" system. Many ministries will sell out for money. They will go minister where they can receive the largest offering, rather than where God might ask them to go. They are not being led by the Spirit of God. The true church will not sell out; she had rather die, than sell out for money. The love of money has been the downfall of many, many ministers. Such men never got the "beast" system out of their hearts; they never crucified their flesh, so the enemy used the love of money to defeat them, and to cause them to deceive many other people, as well. But those who have the mind of Christ and are doing the works of God with their hands are not going to sell out to the "beast" system. They are worshiping the true and living God. They are remaining faithful to God Almighty, rather than committing spiritual adultery by loving the things of this world.

Many Christians have sold out to the "beast" system by allowing its lusts and pleasures to consume most of their time and money. They have money for the things they desire, but do not have the money to tithe and give to God. Although there have been abuses in the area of preachers manipulating God's people to give (which is the "beast" system in such ministers), we still are not excused, if we fail to obey God in the realm of giving. When we allow money to rule us, then we have been marked by "beastly" thinking. The true bride of Christ will love her God in all areas of her life and not be like a "beast" who ravages others and sells out for money.

Imortality?

My friend, I am going to tell you the story of my life, as you wish; and if it were only the story of my life I think I would not tell it; for what is one man that he should be made much of his winters, even when they bend him like a heavy snow? So many other men have lived and shall live that story, to be grass upon the hills.

- BLACK ELK, Oglala Sioux, 1863-1950

Hunger

Grandfather, I appreciate the fact that You are a Miracle Worker! That brings great comfort to me as I know, if, and when, I ever need a miracle, that I can call on You. Grandfather, You have blessed me so much compared to many in the world and may I be sensitive to the needs of the poor. Grandfather, I do not want to be guilty of turning a deaf ear to the cries of those who are hungry. Direct my giving, and create a heart of generosity within me, so that I can be used as an instrument of blessing to the many needy in this world. I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Nya:Weh

Practice Forgiveness

"Indians love their friends and kindred and treat them with kindness."

- CORNPLANTER, SENECA, 1736-1836

  

Your journey upon the Red Road will be filled with acts requiring forgiveness - forgiveness of others and forgiveness of yourself. Mindfully practice this incredible act of humanity and the Red Road will be an easy path to follow. Also, absolution breeds the same in others. Be quick to forgive and others will grant you the same kindness. -365 Days od Walking the Red Road, Terri Jean

Spirit

My father explained this to me. "All things in this world,"

he said, "have souls or spirits.

The sky has a spirit, the clouds have spirits;

the sun and the moon have spirits;

so have animals, trees, grass,

water, stones --- everything."

- EDWARD GOODBIRD, HIDASTA, 1914

Speak the Truth

Speak only the truth and do right always. You are what you say...

and what you say needs to come from your heart.

Without truth you cannot achieve inner balance, balance within yourself,

with other beings, with Mother Earth, and with the Creator.

Just remember that when the words leave your tongue they cannot

be retrieved; like an arrow shot straight up into the air,

there is no telling where or who it may fall onto. 

With truth comes the responsibility when to release it.

Birds

"Birds," he says,"have always been important to the Indian because they go where they wish, they light where they may, and they're free. We take these feathers from the birds. We use them in our ceremony because the feathers remind us of the Creator. The eagle flies the highest in the sky of all the birds and so he is nearest to the Creator, and his feather is the most sacred of all. He is the highest of the birds and so belongs to all the tribes, to all the peoples. And each tribe has a lesser bird of its own. For the Seminole, it's the heron."

- Buffalo Jim, Seminole

Meditation

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.

- John Muir

Friends In Need

How we love to talk to our friends, about our troubles and such. But what about the friends that know that you are in trouble without us telling them? Friends in Christ will pray for you even when you don't ask them to. Do you have friends? Fellowship with people who love God will open the door for plenty of prayer from those who practice good worship. Everybody doing the some thing, giving God our requests in Jesus name. Asking for God to give us a little help for someone else. Then when we do this, our own prayers will get a chance to get to him. He loves when we care about others. This is the ultimate friendship. 

- Electra Rawls

Taste the Happiness of Giving

It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb one's spiritual balance. Therefore, children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving.

- Ohiyesa(Dr. Charles Eastman), Santee Sioux

Lead A Simple Life

The Great Spirit based us here to take care of this land and life for Him through prayer, meditations, ceremonies, and rituals, and to lead a simple life close to the Earth. That's what we have been doing. Governments talk all the time about human rights, equality, justice, and all those things, but they have never done anything for the native people. NEVER...! So it's time that they do that - live up to their talk - otherwise nature is going to take over. Earthquakes, flooding, destruction by volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, things like that...It's already happening, and it takes that kind of thing to wake up many people who are controlling this land by money and power and just ripping everything from the Earth. They are doing something that is not right in the law of the Great Spirit and the law of nature.

- Thomas Banyacya, Hopi Elder, 22 November 1993, Cry of the Earth

Remember the Key

In these times of turmoil, every human being is being asked to remember their connection to the Creator and to the Earth Mother, making those connections strong. Each person's connection to the Great Mystery, to the Earth Mother, to the spirits of the Ancestors and to their Spiritual Essences holds the key to finding the balance...Human beings tend to forget that no man-made organization is the Source, the only Source is the Great Mystery, the Creator. Every human being must answer to that Source, not to another human being.

- Jamie Sams, Choctaw & Seneca

The Lord's Prayer

Nujjinen wásóq, epin jiptek,
teluisin mekitétmek;
wásóq ntelitanen jiptek
iknmuiek wla nemulek wletesenen nátél.
Wásóq eykik,
telisqataskik jiptek;
elp nínen ntelisqatulek maqamikek eymek.
Telamukapnikl esemiekl
apj níkej kiskuk telamuktej penekenmuin nilunal.
Teliapiksiktaqajik wekwayuinamejik
elp kíl Niskam tliapiksiktuin.
Elue'lultiek, melkinin méj;
winsutíl mu ktikálin kesinukuamkl,
winjikl koqoél jiklátuin,
na tliaj.

-Mimac

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Great Spirit

Great Spirit,
give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
Never to take from her what we cannot use.

Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
That to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
That as we care for her she will care for us.

We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.

Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
help us to find the way to refresh your lands.

Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.

Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with mis-use,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.

Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost
in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.

Healing Prayer

(Jesus)Mountain Spirit, leader of the Mountain Spirits, your body is holy.
By means of it, make him well again.
Make his body like your own.
Make him strong again.

He wants to get up with all of his body.
For that reason, he is performing this ceremony,
Do that which he has asked of you.

Long ago, it seems you restored someone's legs and eyes for them.
This has been said.
In the same way, make him free again from disease.
That is why I am speaking to you.

- Apache

A Beautiful Life

Each day I'll do a golden deed
By helping those who are in need
My life on earth is but a span
And so I'll do the best I can

Chorus:
Life's evening sun is sinking low
A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done
Where there will be no setting sun

To be a child of God each day
My light must shine along the way
I'll sing His praise while the ages roll
And try to help some troubled soul

Chorus

While going down life's weary road
I'll try to lift some traveler's load
I'll try to turn the night to day
Make flowers bloom along the way
by William M. Golden 1918

Rebirth

The white man does not understand America. He is far removed from its formative processes. The roots of the tree of his life have not yet grasped the rock and the soil.

The white man is still troubled by primitive fears; he still has in his consciousness the perils of this frontier continent, some of it not yet having yielded to his questing footsteps and inquiring eyes.

He shudders still with the memory of the loss of his forefathers upon its scorching deserts and forbidding mountaintops. The man from Europe is still a foreigner and an alien. And he still hates the man who questioned his path across the continent.

But in the Indian the spirit of the land is still vested; it will be a long time until other men are able to divine and meet its rhythm. Men must be born and reborn to belong. Their bodies must be formed of the dust of their forefathers' bones.

- Chief Luther Standing Bear - Oglala Sioux

He Will Send His Angels

Three Inspiring and True Angelic Stories
 

 Saved By An Angel:

I have a friend who was hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with his two daughters. One was about three years old. The other daughter was just a baby, under one year of age, and was in a back-pack baby carrier.

They were many miles away from the nearest person and were walking around a reservoir filled with water. The three year old said she wanted to go play in the water. The Daddy explained to her that the sides of the reservoir were very steep and she couldn't wade in because those sides were too steep. The water also got deep very quickly and he explained that she didn’t know how to swim.

The little girl understood and they walked on around the reservoirs edge. In less than a minute, the girl tripped and rolled down the steep bank 5 to 10 feet and into the water. She struggled, and with each panicked move swept farther out in the water. My friend (Daddy) raced down. He stood in the water and reached as far as he could, but the little girl was just inches out of his reach. She was quickly moving away from shore.

My friend (Daddy) stepped farther into the water this time, and with water up to his waist, his feet slipped in the steep reservoir bottom. His little girl slipped just inches out of his reach. He took another step into the water, the steep decline this time caused the water to be up to his shoulders. Just as he grasped her hand, his feet slipped, however, his little girl clung to him. His head and his one year olds head went under the water. He kicked with all his might, but couldn't get his head above the water.

He felt they all three would drown and he desperately prayed. “God, help me!" He raised his right hand in a desperate effort toward the shore and felt a strong hand grasp his. My friend (Daddy) was yanked up out of the water with his two daughters. They were taken up the 10 feet to the flat land above the reservoir.

They were all saved! My friend (Daddy) was laying there holding his daughters and quickly turned over to see who had miraculously saved him. No one was there. The shore was empty. They were the only people within miles. He knew then, that they had been saved by an Angel. God had heard his prayer!

The Accident That Never Was

It was Christmas Eve and I was driving to a friend's house during the hectic, Los Angeles rush-hour. The night was pitch black and raining so hard that visibility was nil. The three lanes of traffic on congested La Cienega Blvd were stopped for a red light and my tiny white sports car was the last in a very long line of vehicles. I was in the far left lane, wedged next to a 2 foot high cement island, casually looking through my rear view mirror at the reflection of the street lights and holiday decorations on the dark, shiny wet street behind me. All of a sudden I saw the three cars. There was one in each lane speeding towards the stopped traffic, exceeding the speed where they could safely stop. The cars suddenly slammed on their brakes and started sliding and swerving all over the road as they attempted to stop.

I knew for certain that my car would be hit and having no way to escape it, murmured, "Please, God, help me", as I braced myself for the impact. I kept looking through the mirror and watched the cars approach. Unexpectedly, I felt a very gentle, soft tap at the back of my car followed by a slight lifting sensation but didn’t see a car hit me. I then heard the crash of the cars slamming into each other. I waited a few moments for the dust to settle and then got out of my car to see what had happened and give assistance if anyone needed help.

As I exited, I was surprised to find my car sitting on the cement island. I had not felt enough of an impact to have moved that far, plus the car was exactly parallel to its original position. It was as if it had been lifted up and moved three or four feet to the left then gently set down. It seemed slightly strange but at the time I really didn't give it much thought.

Fortunately, no one was physically hurt. However, there was considerable damage to several of the stopped cars and the three cars that had hit them. What amazed me was that everyone wanted to know how I was and how much damage my car had suffered. I said I was fine and that nothing had happened to me or my car, because I wasn’t hit. With that statement, fifteen people stared at me with disbelief, asking "What do you mean nothing happened to you? We saw your car fly through the air! You got hit harder than any one else." We all walked to my car and observed that there was not one scratch or mark on it, and also realized that the position of my car was against all possible laws of physics.

I was thankful that there were so many witnesses to this incident because it opened my eyes to the miracle that had just taken place. From my perspective nothing happened and I wasn’t hit. After the others told me what they saw. I realized that a force had protected me by lifting my car out of harm's way. Although I didn’t see or hear anything, I know the gentle tap and lift that I felt had to have been from my Guardian Angel.

-Cyndi Hall

I had a similar experience while a sophomore at VCU on Grace Street, Richmond, VA in 1968. I was sitting in the driver's seat of my little 1962  VW beetle parked in front of our apartment on a rainy evening awaiting my college room mate to head out for a night of partying in the "Fan District". He was taking his usual sweet time getting ready and I was about to nod off when I awoke at the sound of slippery screeching tires/brakes and subsequent crashing boom! Time froze and when I awoke, I found myself gently deposited on the soft green lawn hill of grass without a scratch. My little VW had been "totaled" in the rear-end and the passenger door had neatly opened and I had cleared the sidewalk and the  small stone wall bordering it! You may ask, do I believe in angels? You bet!

Iroquois Regalia

Iroquois Regalia:

Mohawk * Oneida * Onondaga * Cayuga * Seneca * Tuscarora

by Kanatiyosh

The Iroquois, or as we prefer to call ourselves, the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse), used materials for clothing found in our natural environment. Traditionally the Haudenosaunee used furs obtained from the woodland animals, hides of elk and deer, corn husks, and they also wove plant and tree fibers to produce articles of clothing. What I find very interesting about Haudenosaunee clothing, is that even though in modern day we have incorporated calico and other fabrics into our clothing, the style and the symbolic decorations of our regalia remains the same as it did since time immemorial. Therefore, when you see our women's regalia made from calico and broad cloth, if you could make you mind's eye think of it as being made from deerskin you would be stepping back in time to when no stores existed in which to buy such materials. This is not to say that we no longer use traditional materials to create our regalia because we still do, but one should understand that Native American culture is dynamic, for it is a living culture where adaptation and inherence to tradition is necessary for life to continue. In this article, I will describe and explain the Haudenosaunee regalia of our men and women from head to foot.
Haudenosaunee Men's RegaliaIn describing Haudenosaunee regalia, let me begin with the headwear. Many people mistakenly think that all Native American Indians wore plains style war bonnets, which is untrue. This myth began in the early part of the 1900's to the 1950's when photographers wanted Iroquois people to wear war bonnets when posing for pictures because they thought it looked more "Indian", which has lead to old pictures of Iroquois people in war bonnets. I even have a picture of my great uncle wearing one. However, the Haudenosaunee have their own type of feathered headwear, which is quite beautiful, called in the Mohawk language, a Kastoweh (gah sto wha).
Kastoweh (Feathered Hat)The Kastoweh has a frame that is made from 3 black ash splints. One splint wraps around the head. The second splint runs from north to south and it is bowed to fit over and around the top of the head, and the third splint runs from east to west and is also bowed, then both strips are secured to the splint that runs around the head by sinew. This makes a wonderful frame. Sometimes the top of the splint frame is covered with deer skin or today by cloth. On the outside of the headband, it was traditionally decorated with Haudenosaunee symbols, usually made with porcupine quills, or wampum beads. In later years a band of silver was designed and attached. When glass beads were introduced some kastoweh bands were beaded. Today one might see any of the aforementioned bands attached to the Haudenosaunee feathered hat. The Haudenosaunee also wore fur headdresses, as well as deer hair roaches.


Shirts, Sashes, and Bibs
Haudenosaunee men traditionally wore fringed shirts made from deerskin. In the summer months men would often not wear a shirt, but would wear a finger-woven sash that went over the right shoulder and was attached to the waist. These sashes were woven from plant materials sometimes elm, or basswood fibers were used, as well as nettle fibers. Sashes can were made of deerskin and decorated with clan motifs or other Haudenosaunee symbols made with porcupine quills, wampum beads, or glass beads. Sometimes the silver brooches are attached to create a very beautiful design. In recent times, the Haudenosaunee have added the use of cloth (broadcloth and calico are some of the favorite types) and ribbons to make shirts.
Haudenosaunee men's regalia can also consist of a leather, wool, or cloth neck pieces, which is known as a bib. These bibs are elaborately decorated with either quill, or beadwork. While I am mentioning belts and sashes, I should mention that wampum belts were also worn as sashes, and that deer toes were worn around the knees, which made noise, much like bells do.

Kilts, Leggings and Breech-Cloth
 Kilts were traditionally made from leather and the edges fringed and decorated with porcupine quill-work. Kilts are secured around the waist by a sash. Today kilts can be made from cloth, usually wool in red or black is preferred. Also worn with a kilt, or breech cloth are leather, wool, or broadcloth leggings that are either attached by separate ties to a sash--or threaded through a sash or leather belt.Leggings are often worn so that the seam faces the outside of the leg. This allows the fringes, if made from leather to face outward from the body. Sometimes the seam is left so that it faces towards the front, if made from cloth, and is left open a few inches at the bottom of the legging. Either way, the bottom of the legging and along the seam is decorated with very fine work. Traditionally porcupine quills were used, but working with quills is becoming a dying art, today small white glass beads are used that creates such fine work that it looks like lace work. A breech cloth can be made from leather or cloth. Breech cloths can be made in two different styles. In one style, the breech-cloth is made from a single long piece of deerskin or cloth that is 2 yards long and 10 o 12 inches wide, which is long enough to hang in the back and front and pass between the legs. The breech- cloth is secured to the waist by a sash, or leather belt. Today some people make breech cloths by taking two panels of cloth or leather and attaching them to a sash or belt, which is then secured around the waist. With this method, the cloth does not pass between the legs, so shorts must me worn because there is no covering of one's private areas. Both types of cloths are decorated. If leather, the fringe would hang down in front and back and the front and back panels would be decorated with quill or bead work. If made from cloth, wool, or broadcloth, the front and back edges are beaded. The front and back of the breech cloth is also beaded with Haudenosaunee symbols or clan animal.
MoccasinsThe Haudenosaunee moccasin is made from strong leather, like deer or elk. Both men and women wear the same style moccasin. The Haudenosaunee moccasin is not a tall moccasin although it has a cuff that when folded up made be two to three inches wide--this leather is folded down to make a cuff. This cuff is decorated with porcupine quill work. Often times bead work is done on a separate piece of fabric like velvet and then it is attached to the cuff. This is done so that when the moccasin wears out the beading and easily be taken off and reattached to a new pair of moccasins. The front top of the moccasin consists of a long u shaped vamp. This vamp is also decorated in the same manner as the cuff. Sometimes porcupine guard hairs are gathered and made into tassels, which are then sewn unto the cuff of the moccasin. These Haudenosaunee moccasins are very beautiful. Interestingly, the Haudenosaunee used a small bone that is found near the ankle joint of the deer was made into a needle, which was used as a needle to sew with. Also sinew was taken from the deer to be used as thread--along with twisted elm bark fibers. Haudenosaunee women's headwear is said to resemble a tiara because of its shape. These headbands are very strikingly beautiful. To create the headband cloth, either velvet, wool, or broadcloth is beaded onto a stiffer backing. Then the beaded cloth is attached to either leather or cloth. These layers are sewn together. Edging the top with glass seed beads completes the headband. Haudenosaunee use the smallest white seed beads when decorating their regalia. The beading is so exquisite that many people say the finished work looks like fine lacework. Often times the designs used when beading are taken from Haudenosaunee cosmology, clan symbols, or woodland designs of flowers, vines, and leaves.
DressesHaudenosaunee women wear dresses made of deerskin, which are decorated with Haudenosaunee designs using porcupine quills or beading. Also silver brooches are used to decorate women's dresses. Today the Haudenosaunee have incorporated cloth, like wool, broadcloth, and calico into the materials used to make the dress, but the styles remains the same as it did from time immemorial. One type of women's regalia is the overdress, which is fitted at the waist and flares out. The bottom edge of this dress is left with an open upside down V shape, and is beaded. The neck portion of the dress may have a collar, which is beaded, or it may have a rounded neck. If the dress has a rounded neck, then a beaded collar is usually worn to add beauty to the top of the dress. Sometimes women wear sashes or leather belts around their waists, which looks very nice.
Skirts & LeggingsWith the overdress a skirt and leggings are always worn. The skirt can be made of deerskin, or cloth. Today many women's skirts are made from broadcloth or wool, and are elegantly beaded along the bottom border and edge. The skirt fits around the waist and is long enough to come mid way between the knee and ankle. Legging can be made from leather, or cloth. Most leggings today are made from cloth, broadcloth, or wool. Leggings are tied just above the knee and must be long enough to just touch the top of the moccasin. The legging is made so that at the bottom edge is an inverted V shape that is worn facing the center of the ankle. The bottom boarder and edge of the legging is decorated with beading and sometimes ribbons. The moccasins are the same for both men and women. The Haudenosaunee made footwear out of braided cornhusks that both men and women wear.