Sachem Speaks

 

 

Most of my thoughts are now on my Blog Page!

My Smudging Blog Spot

 

November 6, 2009

After reading about President Obama's recent meeting with the

Tribal Leaders of over 500 Federally Recognized Tribes and also

about the Pot being grown on Indian Reservations by Mexican gangs,

I could not resist writing a few notes on these subjects.

I applaud the President for his honest attempt to reach out to our people and

I also agree that we need to do everything possible to rid our Mother Earth of drugs.

That said, if Federally Recognized Tribes are in fact, Sovereign Nations like our neighbors

Mexico and Canada, then our government should not be able to invade said Tribal Lands,

without the permission of their people or Tribal Leaders.

It would seem to me, that our government feels that it is all right to do this

because long ago they selected Tribal Leaders and Nations who were

rarely Traditionals, to become these so-called Sovereign Nations.

Read more about these two stories here:

President Obama Hosts Summit

Mexican Pot Gangs

 


March 18, 2009

With all of the attention in this Country now focused on

who is spending what and where all of our money is going,

I have discovered a web site, new to me, but around for 20 years,

that follows the money, watches politicians and puts it up for all to see:

Open Secrets

Now if only Obama will keep his promises about

transparency in Government.

Was he not the Candidate for change?

 


March 11, 2009

The Mormons vs. HBO

Big Love

According to a friend, the Mormons have historically not been

very Christian towards the Indigenous people of this country.

The story if you wish to read about it, is in the book:

The Destruction of the California Indians by Frank Heizer.

The book is a sad recount through news stories and letters of the

period in California history when Native people were not only

losing their land and their culture, but their children as well,

to the Gold Miners, the Mormons and the U.S. Military.

The Mormons called the Natives savages not fit to raise children

and took them, making them into their own personal slaves

and selling the leftovers to others to be used for the same purpose.

Everybody took something from those who asked only to be left in peace.

Now, these same Mormons, are quite upset with HBO

for filming what they consider to be a sacred ceremony,

the Endowment Ceremony.

Excuse me for not being too empathetic.

My people have been fighting with them about this same kind of

insult, since the Europeans first landed on this Continent.

Outsiders have for centuries, barged into our sacred ceremonies,

killed our people when not allowed to take part in them and

in recent times, filmed when ever and wherever they felt fit.

No one has ever screamed out for our rights about this.

What is that saying about Karma?

My advice to the Mormons is,

Walk a mile in my moccasins

Sachem Walkingfox

 


November 2008

I recently was told of something that sickened me more than I ever thought possible.

Is it any wonder that my Traditional Mohegan ancestors are upset

by the way that the land they called home for so many years

is now being cared for by a new breed of Natives.

The last straw for me and them was in learning that the Boy Scouts

had sold the most sacred church of my ancestors to a Casino.

Mohegan's named Cauchegan rock after one of their own.

(It has been changed by non Mohegan's to its present spelling.)

Many years ago, my ancestors turned the rock over to a non profit organization,

so that it could never be misused by the conquering nations of the world.

Now it has been sold for one dollar to a Casino who in turn donated

one million dollars to this same group, the Boy Scouts of Connecticut.

My ancestors weep, I weep.

Sachem Walkingfox

 


September 15, 2008

When I read this story this morning, it brought back some not

so pleasant memories of high school in Connecticut.

Forgotten part of states history

When ever I would play basketball with my friends

who were mostly African Americans,

they would always make remarks about how bad it had

been for their Ancestors who had been slaves.

I would listen to their stories and then at the next meeting at my

grandfathers Mohegan Church I would tell my Elders what they had said.

The Elders would always say that many of our people had been slaves too.

Long before there was African slavery in this country,

white people had been making slaves of our people.

For so many years we heard about the poor Africans slaves

and how badly they had been treated,

when we knew all along that our people had also been slaves,

but no one ever cared or talked about it.

Except us.

The Elders also talked about the order of feeding slaves.

First the white owners and their children ate, then their dogs and the animals,

then the African American slaves ate, then if there was anything left over

the Native slaves had to fight with the dogs for it.

 

I did a report about all of this my freshman year in high school.

My father had encouraged me to write about it, because it bothered me so much.

I had to stand up in class and say in front of the same people I played ball with,

You know, you all complain to me about how bad it was that your Ancestors

were slaves and how we should all feel sorry for you, but none of you

have ever said that you were sorry about my people being slaves.

I got an A on the report, I also got a lot of cold shoulders for a couple

of days, but after that, they stopped whining about their poor Ancestors,

at least around me.

 


March 17, 2008

 

I know that the Olympics are Global peace seeking games

and one should not allow politics to cloud their success.

But, I do not believe that we should be going

to the Olympics in Communist China.

Today March 14, 2008 the Chinese war machine is

tear gassing and killing unarmed monks again.

And they are doing this in Tibet, the Monks own country!

Read more about this latest Global crisis here:

Global Issues

 


February 27, 2008

Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble,

veteran of World War II and Korean War will now take

this Medal of honor for all of our fallen brothers and sisters,

red, white, black, yellow or brown from all wars.

Yes, it was a very long time coming and no matter how

I feel about that, this is about him and it is now being done!

So many of his fellow veterans went unrecognized for their feats,

but remained silent, happy and content that their deeds made victory

over the enemy possible or saved the lives of their comrades.

The Sioux people, all American Natives and all Americans,

veterans and non-vets alike should be proud of our heroes.

Well done Master Sergeant!

AHO

Sachem Walkingfox

Read the story of this amazing man here:

First Sioux to receive the Medal of Honor

 


November 26, 2007

If you ever doubted the gluttonous affects of Casinos on American Natives,

this sad story on our local News today will correct that.

You may read more about it here:

Seminoles Spend Lavishly

 


January 2007

Another Native Nation has aligned itself with the casino world.

Please see this web page at tahtonka.com for the story:

American Indian News


December 2006

Today is World Aids Day 2006, please join with

the World Wide Community of caring

in a prayer for those who suffer from Aids.

 


November 2006

On this last day of November there are two things on my mind

and I wanted to share them with you.

 

The first is about the 2 young children missing since Thanksgiving

on the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota,

the second is about the Solidarity Rally held yesterday at Dartmouth,

the New Hampshire school built by and for my people, the Mohegans.

More about these stories is here:

FBI rules out abduction in missing boys

Solidarity Rally at Dartmouth

 


November 2006

We have recently learned of some disturbing information and wished to share it here.

It would appear that the Country, Venezuela, who controls CITGO Oil,

is not altogether cordial to America and its people and perhaps may be

controlled by a leader who is not very considerate of others feelings.

Sound familiar?

It would seem that sales at many CITGO gas stations has dropped dramatically

after the remarks made by President Chavez at the UN last month.

Now, these sales drops may be only a small irritation or minor problem for the Country,

but they are a big problem for the thousands of American business owners

who are in business with CITGO and would lose everything

if they chose to cease doing business with them.

We saw a bumper sticker on a Semi yesterday that asked us all to Boycott CITGO

and it reminded us of a story that we had received in our email recently.

We feel that it is time to start making hard choices to show how we feel

about disrespectful behavior by Countries who do business with America,

so we have cut up our CITGO Credit cards and

will no longer purchase any products from this Company.

They do not appear to like Americans and we have so many other choices.

The story is here for you to consider:

Gas stations see sales drop after speech

 


May 26, 2004

This may not seem like a Native American issue

at first glance, but consider this.

In Utah, there is a wonderful place called the Nine Mile Canyon

You may read the whole story here:

http://www.nationaltrust.org/11Most/2004/nine_mile_canyon.html

and there is a plan to invade this area that has been the safe home

to Ancient Indian writings or petroglyphs for thousands of years.

The purpose of this proposed damage is for oil exploration.

Our country is so terribly dependent on this substance,

that we have become what I refer to as fuel junkies.

Wait and watch what we become like in this country, when the

current gas prices go even higher and then become unavailable at all.

Some gas station owners in Connecticut are now simply hanging up

closed/no gas signs and are switching to other business that might

actually allow them to make a living unlike selling gas, as in car repairs.

The point of all of this is this.

The present administration of the United States

has threatened every part of this Continent with oil development,

from Alaska to the Rockies and any other place that might produce oil.

Mr. Bush, his family and close friends are all quite well invested

in 4 major categories of stock:

oil/fuel, war/weapons, energy and beef

If you consider what has happened to this particular groups of stocks,

over the past three years, their values have skyrocketed.

Mr. Bush and his group of investors have made huge fortunes

and we are all paying the bills, in both dollars and lives.

The current plan of this administration to run amuck through

Nine Mile Canyon with it's fragile treasures of Ancient Indian Writings

is hardly even worth mention to this man and his fellow investors.

I fear the worst may be in the future for any place that Mr. Bush may make a profit on.

If you recall, the energy disaster 2 years ago in California was eventually blamed on Enron,

a company very close to Mr. Bush. California has never been very cordial to Bush and he

showed little concern for what happened to the millions who suffered because of Enron."

Kindly reprinted from www.tahtonka.com

 


May 2004

As the ever present gaming industry moves into one Reservation

after another, we the Native People are now being

viewed in a not very good way by outsiders or non Natives.

The story below, is a current indicator of just how far those with

the big money have taken Natives away from the Red Road.

One after another, Tribes all over this country are being seduced

by this money into the dark world of Casinos and gambling in the

hope of a quick answer for the serious problems faced by many of us.

But, there is no instant way to solve problems that have taken 200 years to create,

we are only crawling into bed with a Trickster like none we have ever known before,

Native casinos and all the evils that come with them.

I ask just one question;

In whose bank account does all of this money really end up?

 

*This page has been removed*

Kerzner enlists Mohican Tribe to expand empire

 


November 22, 2001

At the day of mourning in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

 

We spent another cold day with warm friends

in Plymouth, Massachusetts on a day when all Native People

should be mourning the loss of their culture and their land.

 


July 15, 2001

I recently went with a friend and her Mother to visit the

Peabody Museum at Yale University because we had heard

that they had a new exhibit for the Native People of Connecticut.

Since New England Natives were the first to be assimilated

by the Colonial invaders and this area has such a rich

I was expecting to see a lot

of information about our Woodland Tribes.

 

However, once you get into the Museum building,

if you wish to see the Connecticut Indian exhibit,

you must either take an elevator to the

third floor or climb two flights of stairs.

 

Once you finally do get to the third floor,

you will find the Indian exhibit along the side wall of a

room that leads towards an Egyptian exhibition,

which as it turns out, is much more elaborate

than the one for Connecticut's Indians.

 

It only took me about two or three minutes to look

over the so-called Connecticut Indian Exhibit

which seemed to only be concerned with prehistoric Indians.

There was not a single mention of Sachem Uncas or his

descendants, nor of the many interactions that had

the Indians and the Colonists,

actions that would ultimately determine the future

of a state that is now known as Connecticut.

I sat down to rest on a nearby bench and noticed

a young couple and their children passing by.

The little boy said to his father,

Hey dad what's the cave man doing,

referring to a figure of an Indian in the exhibit.

They kept walking and went towards the Egyptian room.

It broke my heart.

 

Sadly, the father did not take the time to correct his son's mistake,

nor did he show much interest in looking at the Indian exhibit.

 

Somewhere in this proud, old building,

there should be a whole lot more information

and space dedicated to our Connecticut Indians,

than what I found here today.

 

I did notice that conveniently located on the first floor

of the Museum, just as you come in, there are some

very nice exhibits for many of my brother Nations.

But what about the Native people who were already living here

when the European Colonists first arrived in this area?

 

The very land that the entire University of Yale now rests on,

was once sacred Indian ground and it is the

duty of those in command of such things at Yale,

show the proper respect for the people who

were the first to inhabit our part of Mother Earth,

which is now known as the state of Connecticut.

 


January 18, 2001

This story demonstrates the tremendous amount of interference and

influence imposed upon the Mohegan's and many other Tribes

by outsiders who wish to fund casinos, thus controlling the

billion dollar gambling industry in the name of Indians.

My grandfather would be sickened, as am I, by

the behavior of many of our people today.

Many have turned away from the Creator

and now embrace another God, money.

 

*This page has been removed*
and is being searched for elsewhere

Kerzner enlists Mohican Tribe to expand empire

 

*This story has also been removed*
and is being searched for elsewhere

Mohegans deny officials were ever on payroll of developer

 


November 23, 2000

A day of mourning for American Natives


The Plymouth Rock monument in Massachusetts.


Speaking at Plymouth Rock with my Ancestors.


The media always shows up for this gathering.


The Ancestors would have been proud today.

 

We went to Plymouth, Massachusetts today,

to pray for the people who had once inhabited this area.

These American Natives opened their hearts and

welcomed a new people, the Pilgrims,

not knowing the consequences that

for them or their descendants.

The Pilgrims were in terrible need, so my ancestors

gave them food, shelter and friendship

and taught them all that they would need

to know to survive and thrive.

While standing on this cliff today,

overlooking Plymouth Rock and the ocean,

I had a chance to feel some of that love from my ancestors.

For this, I will be forever thankful.

 


August 20, 2000

 

I visited the Pow Wow here in Uncasville, Connecticut today

and enjoyed the dancing, the singing and the drumming very much.

If I had been the judges, I would have given each of them a first prize.

 

However, I would not be totally honest, if I did not mention

a few questions that came to me while I was there.

 

The Sacred Circle to American Natives is extremely Holy.

It is the center of Native Country and the Creator is there.

Would our Ancestors have allowed chairs and

non-dancers into this circle after the opening ceremony?

 

Inside the circle today, or the arena as it was referred to by the MC,

there were many chairs and many people.

These people spent a great deal of time,

either standing around talking to each other,

blocking the view of the dancers,

or walking around inside the circle

doing a variety of things that were both distracting

and disrespectful to those who were dancing at the time.

It was often difficult to enjoy the dancers for the crowd inside the circle.

 

And at times, the entry way to the circle was so full of non-dancers,

photographers and spectators,

that the dancers had trouble getting into the circle to dance.

 

But, the most disturbing thing of all to me,

was the way that the Veterans dance was turned into a side show.

When did we as Native people start carrying

and shooting guns inside the Sacred Circle?

Was this done out of respect for the Veterans and to please the Creator?

Or to appease a crowd who had come to see a show and

were not going to be disappointed by the promoters of this Pow wow?

 

Who was benefited by this Pow wow?

Were any of our Native Elders or

Native needy helped by this weekend event?

Have we become a Nation of gluttony

like those who took our land and stole our identity?

What has become of my grandfather's proud people?

 


I would like thank the great state of Maine for their

proposed new bill there to ban the use of

the S..... word, Squaw, in place names.

 

For years, my complaints about the use of this offensive word,

fell on the deaf ears of Connecticut politicians.

 

During my years as an athlete,

coaches often used the S.... word

trying to motivate me into beating other teams.

Wanting to do my best for the team,

I found myself taking out my anger,

towards this word and those who used it,

on a player on the other team.

I was not the only minority athlete who was treated in this manner.

 

I don't believe that this detestable word can be found

anywhere in our Mohegan Language.

Squaw is a non-native word which has been frequently

used in a most vile way, sometimes deliberately,

other times in ignorance.

 

Instead of using the names Big and Little Squaw Mountain, etc.,

why not try being a little more creative?

The female gender could easily be implied by other words

like Indian woman, Mother Earth, Sister Mountain and so forth.

There are so many other words that could be used to name these

different places and none of them would be nearly

so offensive to an entire Nation of people.

 

It is my wish now, that our brothers and sisters of Connecticut,

show their support for our neighboring tribes in Maine,

Indian women throughout Indian Country.

Aquine,

Walkingfox

 


February 1, 2000

The Navajo and Hopi People

 

On this day, like so many others across the country,

a few of us went to our Sacred place in Mohegan land,

Cauchegan Rock, to pray for the Elders who are being forcefully

removed from their homes on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

 

The Hopi and the Navajo Elders have struggled for many years to co-exist,

while fending off outsiders, like Peabody coal and the US Government,

who continue to drain their ancient homelands of its natural resources.

 

Anna Begay and her people are about to travel down the same road

that my Ancestors did a very long time ago,

when they lost all of their land through the deceit

and greed of outsiders.

 

As we can not be there in person with these Elders

in this hour of their greatest need,

we have prayed to the Creator from a Mohegan place

of great reverence and importance,

to offer comfort to our brothers and sisters, the Dineh people.

Please keep these Elders in your thoughts and

prayers as you go about your every day journey.

 

 

You may contact Sachem Walkingfox at:

sachemuncas at centurylink.net

 

 

My other web sites are at:

Sachem Speaks Wordpress

My Smudging Blog Spot

 

 

 

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Responding To Inquisitive Minds Since July 1999

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