The Sacred Tree

To the center of the world you have taken me and showed the goodness and the beauty and the strangeness of the greening earth, the only mother — and there the spirit shapes of things, as they should be, you have shown to me and I have seen. At the center of this sacred hoop, you have said that I should make the tree to bloom.
With tears running, O Great Spirit , Great Spirit, my Grandfather — with running tears I must say now that the tree has never bloomed. A pitiful old man, you see me here, and I have fallen away and have done nothing. Here at the center of the world, where you took me when I was young and taught me; here, old, I stand, and the tree is withered, Grandfather, my Grandfather!
Again, and maybe the last time on this earth, I recall the great vision you sent me. It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds. Hear me, not for myself, but for my people; I am old. Hear me that they may once more go back into the sacred hoop and find the good red road, the shielding tree! - Black Elk Speaks

Wasi'chu

"My name is Wasichu. I know thee, I have found thee, & I will not let thee go."
0949 est, October 11, 2004
Barnard, Vermont

The first people who lived on the northern plains of what today is the United States called themselves "Lakota," meaning "the people," a word which provides the semantic basis for Dakota. The first European people to meet the Lakota called them "Sioux," a contraction of Nadowessioux, a now-archaic French-Canadian word meaning "snake" or enemy.
The Lakota also used the metaphor to describe the newcomers. It was Wasi'chu, which means "takes the fat," or "greedy person." Within the modern Indian movement, Wasi'chu has come to mean those corporations and individuals, with their governmental accomplices, which continue to covet Indian lives, land, and resources for private profit.
Wasi'chu does not describe a race; it describes a state of mind.
Wasi'chu is also a human condition based on inhumanity, racism, and exploitation. It is a sickness, a seemingly incurable and contagious disease which begot the ever advancing society of the West. If we do not control it, this disease will surely be the basis for what may be the last of the continuing wars against the Native American people.

...excerpt from Wasi'chu, The Continuing Indian Wars,
Bruce Johansen and Robert Maestas
with an introduction by John Redhouse

From a Mined Mind

"Technologic religious system programs the mind how to perceive reality. I think they are mining our minds, it is a process.

As human beings our DNA, bones, flesh, and blood are made up of the metals, minerals, and liquids of the earth. That is human. 

Then we have Being, the sun, sky, and universe. Literally, sun light brings the life that we take this earth form, but our being comes from sun, sky, universe. 

All things of this earth are made up of the same DNA as us, just the form is different. All things of the earth have the same relation to the sun, sky, universe.

Like with fossils, through the mining process we take out energy.  It's the same as how they imprint our perception of reality through the energy from the intelligence of human beings is how they run our system." 

- John Trudell

A Bison Ride

 

Our little party kept on the flank of the advancing drove, and our escort seemed to find it very irksome doing duty as guards, as with oft-repeated ughs! plainly expressive of disgust, they deprecated the luck that had been singled out to perform such womanly duty.Suddenly, and with kaleidoscopic rapidity, the aspect of affairs was changed; for some unknown reason and without apparent cause, the buffaloes made a flank movement, and in a twinkling were dashing right toward us; the mustangs, warned by experience, turned and ran as if their lives were at stake, as they certainly were; and the mule on which my wife was mounted, with an imitation that did her great credit, followed their example.'My horse, being unused to such scenes, seemed to lose his senses, and stood looking at the advancing animals in the most abject terror. Realizing at a glance my position, and feeling that instant action was demanded, I turned his head, and by word and heel urged him to run. On came these black brutes, sweeping over the ground like an animated hurricane. My poor horse was laboring fearfully, and I knew that our destruction was a matter of a few moments time only. Suddenly my horse stumbled and flung me headlong to the ground, then all was bewilderment. I have an indistinct notion of lying on the prairie, and then like a great black wave, this surging mass of buffaloes seem to hover over me; I was conscious of sharp and severe pain in my side, and then of being suddenly lifted into space. When sufficiently collected to note my position, I found myself on the back of a huge buffalo bull, who, unaccustomed to this strange weight, was making frantic endeavors to clear himself of the herd, which were wedged together with as much-compactness as if they were one animal. If I had chosen to fall to the ground, it would have been impossible to do so; but as such a feat would have been almost instant death, my readers will easily understand I had no intention of trying the experiment. I turned my attention exclusively to seating myself firmly on my novel steed, and grasping my hands into the shaggy hair which covered his shoulders, braced myself for the most thrilling ride I had ever experienced. After a few violent plunges the bull cleared the herd, and tore at tremendous speed; on, on until objects lost their character, and all seemed to be an indistinct haze. The buffalo had by. this time carried me some distance from the main body, and was be ginning to show signs of fatigue. If I was going to leave him, this was my opportunity; and quietly loosening my hold, I slipped off his rump on to the ground, and betook myself in an opposite direction as fast as I could go, and it was with feelings of relief and thankfulness that I had escaped so luckily from my first and only buffalo ride. - Seven & Nine Years Living Among the Camanches & Apaches an Autobiography by Edwin Eastman,

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me

 

Proverbs belongs to that segment of the Old Testament designated as
"wisdom literature." Such proverbial
teaching represents one of the most ancient forms of instruction. The
wisdom literature of Israel was the chief storehouse of moral and
practical instruction for the Jews. It guided the head of state as well as
the head
of the home. It embodied the difference between right and wrong,
righteousness and unrighteousness. But most of
all, Israel 's wisdom literature taught the Jews how to live before
Jehovah. It contrasted the wisdom of the world, a wisdom of possessions,
with the wisdom of God, a wisdom of piety.

Proverbs teaches us that all who would live godly must seek the wisdom of
God and forsake the wisdom of the
world. To seek divine wisdom, therefore, is to seek to know God better and
to possess less. Wisdom is God; and
speaking as wisdom, God says, "I love them that love me; and those that
seek me early shall find me" (Proverbs
8:17). God is to be sought early in life and early in each day of life.
When we show Him we love Him in this way, He shows us He loves us by
filling our day with His wisdom.

Seeking the wisdom of God and the God of wisdom does not necessarily mean
we will be paupers on this earth. God
says, "Riches and honor are with me; yea durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea than
fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver" (Proverbs 8:18-19). The
revenue paid by seeking this world's wealth
is temporal gain and a frequent deterrent to godliness.
The revenue gained by seeking divine wisdom is eternal gain and an
everlasting aid to godliness. Therefore, the truly wise person in this
world will seek God's wisdom instead of the world's wealth. But should God
allow us to
have both, our attitude toward our possessions will be, "Every man to whom
God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof,
and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of

God" (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

An English nobleman once visited Josiah Wedgwood to see how he made his
legendary china and pottery. A young
apprentice was instructed to give the nobleman a tour of the factory. The
nobleman didn't believe in God and was
sacrilegious and  foul-mouthed, and he consistently ridiculed the Bible
during the tour. At first the young apprentice was shocked, but after
awhile he began to laugh when the man made his cynical remarks. Josiah
Wedgwood was greatly disturbed by this, especially when
he saw how his young apprentice was being influenced by this wealthy
nobleman. Later the atheist asked if he
could purchase a particularly expensive vase. As he handed it to the
nobleman, Wedgwood deliberately let it
crash to the floor. With a vile oath the nobleman angrily said, "That's
the one I really wanted and now it's shattered by your carelessness."
Josiah Wedgwood replied, "Sir, there are things more precious than any
vase
things that can never be restored once they are ruined. I can make another
vase, but you can never give back to my helper the pure heart you've
defiled by your vile language and sacrilegious talk!"

The nobleman was an example of a man who did not seek the Lord early but
sought riches all the day. Josiah
Wedgwood is a fine example of a man who early sought the Lord and
recognized that his wealth was a gift from God.
God never intended that we should not have riches; He only intended that
riches should not have us. It is
vitally important for Christians who possess wealth not to be possessed by
it. Seek the wisdom of the Lord early
in the day, before earning the wealth of the world. Then use that wealth
in a way which will bring eternal reward.

- Woodrow Kroll
MORNING HYMN
I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding place
I ask no other sunshine than
The sunshine of His face
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross.

 

One Nation Under God

This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.

Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see. One thing we know which the white man may one day discover; our God is the same God.

You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white. The earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.

But in your perishing you will shine brightly fired by the strength of the God who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man.

That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses are tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires.

Where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone.

                                       The end of living and the beginning of survival.

- Chief Seattle

On Being Human

I was born in Nature's wide domain ! The trees were all that sheltered my infant limbs, the blue heavens all that covered me. I am one of Nature's children. I have always admired her. She shall be my glory: her features, her robes, and the wreath about her brow, the seasons, her stately oaks, and the evergreen - her hair, ringlets of earth - all contribute to my enduring love of her.

And wherever I see her, emotions of pleasure roll in my breast, and swell and burst like waves on the shores of the ocean, in prayer and praise to Him who has placed me in her hand, It is thought great to be born in palaces, surrounded with wealth - but to be born in Nature's wide domain is greater still !

I would much more glory in this birthplace, with the broad canopy of heaven above me, and the giant arms of the forest trees for my shelter, than to be born in palaces of marble, studded with pillars of gold ! Nature will be Nature still, while palaces shall decay and fall in ruins.

Yes, Niagara will be Niagara a thousand years hence ! The rainbow, a wreath over her brow, shall continue as long as the sun, and the flowering of the river - while the work of art, however carefully protected and preserved, shall fade and crumble into dust !

- George Copway (Kahgegagahbowh) - Ojibwe

The Pearl of Great Price

 

Long before I ever heard of Christ, or saw a white man, I had learned from an untutored woman the essence of morality. With the help of dear Nature herself, she taught me things simple but of mighty import. I knew God. I perceived what goodness is. I saw and loved what is really beautiful. Civilization has not taught me anything better!

As a child, I understood how to give; I have forgotten that grace since I became civilized. I lived the natural life, whereas I now live the artificial. Any pretty pebble was valuable to me then; every growing tree an object of reverence. Now I worship with the white man before a painted landscape whose value is estimated in dollars! Thus the Indian is reconstructed, as the natural rocks are ground to powder, and made into artificial blocks which may be built into the walls of modern society. 

- Charles A Eastman(Ohiyesa), Santee Sioux, 1858-1939

North America, where did you go wrong?

"How long have I known you, oh Canada? A hundred years? Yes, a hundred years. And many many 'seelanum" more. And today, when you celebrate your hundred years, oh Canada, I am sad for all the Indian people throughout the land.
For I have known you when your forests were mine; when they gave me my meat and my clothing. I have known you in your streams and rivers where your fish flashed and danced in the sun, where the waters said come, come and eat of my abundance. I have known you in the freedom of your winds. And my spirit, like the winds, once roamed your good lands.
But in the long hundred years since the white man came, I have seen my freedom disappear like the salmon going mysteriously out to sea. The white man's strange customs which I could not understand, pressed down upon me until I could no longer breathe.
When I fought to protect my land and my home, I was called a savage. When I neither understood nor welcomed this way of life, I was called lazy. When I tried to rule my people, I was stripped of my authority.
My nation was ignored in your history textbooks - they were little more important in the history of Canada than the buffalo that ranged the plains. I was ridiculed in your plays and motion pictures, when I drank your fire water, I got drunk -- very, very drunk. And I forgot.
Oh Canada, how can I celebrate with you this Centenary, this hundred years? Shall I thank you for the reserves that are left to me of my beautiful forests? For the canned fish of my rivers? For the loss of my pride and authority, even among my own people? For the lack of my will to fight back? No! I must forget what's past and gone.
Oh, God in Heaven! Give me back the courage of the olden Chiefs. Let me wrestle with my surroundings. Let me again, as in the days of old, dominate my environment. Let me humbly accept this new culture and through it rise up and go on.
Oh, God! Like the Thunderbird of old I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man's success---his education, his skills, and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society. Before I follow the great Chiefs who have gone before us, oh Canada, I shall see these things come to pass.
I shall see our young braves and our chiefs sitting in the houses of law and government, ruling and being ruled by the knowledge and freedom of our great land. So shall we shatter the barriers of our isolation. So shall the next hundred years be the greatest and proudest in the proud history of our tribes and nations."
Chief Dan George

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