UN Messages 15 years ago....., Let's not forget what's been said before

[Prairyearth]

Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper, Chief Oren Lyons
addressing delegates to the United Nations Organization
opened "The Year of the Indigenous Peoples" (1993)
in the United Nations General Assembly Auditorium,
United Nations Plaza, New York City, December 10, 1992.
This is (verbatim) that opening statement:




For all of us. I am Oren Lyons, Hau de no sau nee, and speaking on behalf of the Indigenous People of North America, this Great Turtle Island. Mr. President, distinguished delegates, Chiefs, Clan Mothers, Leaders and Members of the World's Indigenous Nations and Peoples, we thank you, The General Assembly, for the recognition and the proclamation of "1993, The International Year of the Indigenous Peoples," for the theme of, "Indigenous Peoples, a New Partnership." We thank Madam Chairman Repal Chur (sp?) of the Working Group for Indigenous Populations for consistent, enthusiastic support, and Diaz. And at this time, we recognize the inspiration and spiritual force of Augusto Williamson Diaz, for his vision of such a day as this, and our gratitude to those leaders of Indigenous Peoples and people who also had the vision of this day for our people, who put their blood, their sweat and their tears into this moment. And to those who are no longer here, our profound gratitude and appreciation.

This proclamation brings home inspiration and renewed dedication to our quest for self-determination, justice, freedom and peace in our Homelands and our Territories. Indeed, the quest is a renewal of what we enjoyed before the coming of our White Brothers from across the sea. We lived contentedly under the Gai Eneshah Go' Nah, The Great Law of Peace. We were instructed to create societies based on the principles of Peace, Equity, Justice, and the Power of Good Minds.

Our societies are based upon great democratic principles of the authority of the people and equal responsibilities for the men and the women. This was a great way of life across this Great Turtle Island and freedom with respect was everywhere. Our leaders were instructed to be men of vision and to make every decision on behalf of the seventh generation to come; to have compassion and love for those generations yet unborn. We were instructed to give thanks for All That Sustains Us.

Thus, we created great ceremonies of thanksgiving for the life-giving forces of the Natural World, as long as we carried out our ceremonies, life would continue. We were told that `The Seed is the Law.' Indeed, it is The Law of Life. It is The Law of Regeneration. Within the seed is the mysterious force of life and creation. Our mothers nurture and guard that seed and we respect and love them for that. Just as we love I hi do' hah, our Mother Earth, for the same spiritual work and mystery.

We were instructed to be generous and to share equally with our brothers and sisters so that all may be content. We were instructed to respect and love our Elders, to serve them in their declining years, to cherish one another. We were instructed to love our children, indeed, to love ALL children. We were told that there would come a time when parents would fail this obligation and we could judge the decline of humanity by how we treat our children.

We were told that there would come a time when the world would be covered with smoke, and that it would take our elders and our children. It was difficult to comprehend at the time, but now all we have to do is but to walk outside to experience that statement. We were told that there would come a time when we could not find clean water to wash ourselves, to cook our foods, to make our medicines, and to drink. And there would be disease and great suffering. Today we can see this and we peer into the future with great apprehension. We were told there would come a time when, tending our gardens, we would pull up our plants and the vines would be empty. Our precious seed would begin to disappear. We were instructed that we would see a time when young men would pace back and forth in front of their chiefs and leaders in defiance and confusion.

There are some specific issues I must bring forward on behalf of our Nations and Peoples.

North America. The issue of nuclear and toxic waste dumps on our precious lands; the policy of finding a place for the waste with the poorest and most defenseless of peoples today. This brings the issue of the degradation of our environment by these waste dumps, over-fishing, over-cutting of timber, and toxic chemicals from mining processes throughout our lands.

Treaty violations. We have with the United States and Canada 371 ratified Treaties and Agreements. The Ruby Valley Treaty of the Western Shoshone is a prime example of what the violation of treaties brings: human rights violations, forced removals, disenfranchisements of traditional people with confiscations of their property and livestock.

The refusal to recognize and support religious freedoms of our people and the decisions by the [U.S.] Supreme Court which incorporates this attitude into Federal Law. This translates into the violation of Sacred Sites. Mt. Graham in the Apache Country is now a project site for an observatory, causing great stress to the Apache People who have depended upon the spiritual forces of this mountain for survival. Ironically, a partner in this project is the Vatican. And even further, it has proposed to name this project `Columbus.'

The appropriation of our intellectual properties is continuous and devastating. Land is the issue. Land has always been the issue with Indigenous Peoples. Original title is a problem for all of you. We must try to reach an agreement on a more level playing field that allows us to, at least, a chance for survival.

Out brother, Leonard Peltier, has been too long in prison, In 1993, to signal a new attitude -- and what better than his release after 16 years -- symbolic of the exercise of dominion over our Peoples.

All this has come from across the seas. The catastrophes that we have suffered at the hands of our brothers from across the seas has been unremitting and inexcusable. It has crushed our people, and our Nations down through the centuries. You brought us disease and death and the idea of Christian dominion over heathens, pagans, savages. Our lands were declared `vacant' by Papal Bulls, which created law to justify the pillaging of our land.

We were systematically stripped of our resources, religions and dignity. Indeed, we became resources of labor for goldmines and canefields. Life for us was unspeakable, cruel. Our black and dark-skinned brothers and sisters were brought here from distant lands to share our misery and suffering and death.

Yet we survived. I stand before you as a manifestation of the spirit of our people and our will to survive. The Wolf, our Spiritual Brother, stands beside us and we are alike in the Western mind: hated, admired, and still a mystery to you, and still undefeated.

So then, what is the message I bring to you today? Is it our common future? It seems to me that we are living in a time of prophecy, a time of definitions and decisions. We are the generation with the responsibilities and the option to choose the The Path of Life for the future of our children. Or the life and path which defies the Laws of Regeneration.

Even though you and I are in different boats, you in your boat and we in our canoe, we share the same River of Life. What befalls me, befalls you. And downstream, downstream in this River of Life, our children will pay for our selfishness, for our greed, and for our lack of vision.

500 years ago, you came to our pristine lands of great forests, rolling plains, crystal clear lakes and streams and rivers. And we have suffered in your quest for God, for Glory, for Gold. But, we have survived. Can we survive another 500 years of "sustainable development?" I don't think so. Not in the definitions that put `sustainable' in today. I don't think so.

So reality and the Natural Law will prevail; The Law of the Seed and Regeneration. We can still alter our course. It is NOT too late. We still have options. We need the courage to change our values to the regeneration of our families, the life that surrounds us. Given this opportunity, we can raise ourselves. We must join hands with the rest of Creation and speak of Common Sense, Responsibility, Brotherhood, and PEACE. We must understand that the law is the seed and only as true partners can we survive.

On behalf of the Indigenous People of the Great Turtle Island, I give my appreciation and thanks. Dah ney' to. Now I am finished.

(Oren Lyons received a standing ovation and shouts of approval from Indian spectators.)

http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/OLatUNin92.html

[Prairyearth]

THE HOPI MESSAGE TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY


SUBMITTED BY THOMAS BANYACYA, KYKOTSMOVI, ARIZONA


The presentation by Mr Thomas Banyacya, the final speaker, was
preceded by three shouts by Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Six
Nations, and first speaker of the day. The shouts were a spiritual
announcement to the Great Spirit of the of the people assembled and
the intention to give a message of spiritual importance.


Thomas then sprinkled corn meal next to the podium of the General
Assembly and made a brief remark in Hopi that translates as
follows:


Hopi Spiritual leaders had an ancient prophecy that some day world
leaders would gather in a Great House of Mica with rules and
regulations to solve the world problems without war. I am amazed to
see the prophecy has come true and you are here today! But only a
handful of United Nations Delegates are present to hear the Motee
Sinom (Hopi for First People) from around the world who spoke here
today.


(In English:) My name is Banyacya of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote Clan
and I am a member of the Hopi sovereign nation. Hopi in our language
means a peaceful, kind, gentle, truthful people. The traditional Hopi
follows the spiritual path that was given to us by Massau'u the
Great Spirit. We made a sacred covenant to follow his life plan at
all times, which includes the responsibility of taking care of this
land and life for his divine purpose. We have never made treaties
with any foreign nation, including the United States, but for many
centuries we have honored this sacred agreement. Our goals are not
to gain political control, monetary wealth nor military power, but
rather to pray and to promote the welfare of all living beings and
to preserve the world in a natural way. We still have our ancient
sacred stone tablets and spiritual religious societies which are
the foundations of the Hopi way of life. Our history says our white
brother should have retained those same sacred objects and
spiritual foundations.


In 1948, all traditional Hopi spiritual leaders met and spoke of
things I felt strongly were of great importance to all people. They
selected four interpreters to carry their message of which I am the
only one still living today. At the time, I was given a sacred
prayer feather by the spiritual leaders. I made a commitment to
carry the Hopi message of peace and deliver warnings from
prophesies known since the time the previous world was destroyed by
flood and our ancestors came to this land.


My mission was to open the doors of this Great House of Mica to
native peoples. The Elders said to knock four times and this
commitment was fulfilled when I delivered a letter and the sacred
prayer feather I had been given to John Washburn in the Secretary
General's office in October, 1991. I am bringing part of the Hopi
message to you here today. We have only ten minutes to speak and
time is late so I am making my statement short.


At the meeting in 1948, Hopi leaders 80, 90 and even 100 years old
explained that the creator made the first world in perfect balance
where humans spoke one language, but humans turned away from
moral and spiritual principles. They misused their spiritual powers
for selfish purposes. They did not follow nature's rules.
Eventually the world was destroyed by sinking of land and
separation of land by what you would call major earthquakes. Many
died and only a small handful survived.


Then this handful of peaceful people came into the second world.
They repeated their mistakes and the world was destroyed by
freezing which you call the great Ice Age.


The few survivors entered the third world. That world lasted a long
time and as in previous worlds, the people spoke one language.
The people invented many machines and conveniences of high
technology, some of which have not yet been seen in this age. They
even had spiritual powers that they used for good. They gradually
turned away from natural laws and pursued only material things and
finally only gambled while they ridiculed spiritual principles. No
one stopped them from this course and the world was destroyed by
the great flood that many nations still recall in their ancient
history or in their religions.


The Elders said again only a small groups escaped and came to this
fourth world where we now live. Our world is in terrible shape
again even though the Great Spirit gave us different languages and
sent us to four corners of the world and told us to take care the
the Earth and all that is in it.


This Hopi ceremonial rattle represents Mother Earth. The line
running around it is a time line and indicates that we are in the
final days of the prophecy. What have you, as individuals, as
nations and as the world body been doing to to take care of this
Earth? In the Earth today, humans poison their own food, water and
air with pollution. Many of us, including children, are left to
starve. Many wars are still being fought. Greed and concern for
material things is a common disease.


In this western hemisphere, our homeland, many original native
people are landless, homeless, starving and have no medical help.


The Hopi knew humans would develop many powerful technologies that
would be abused. In this century, we have seen the First World War
and the Second World War in which the predicted gourd of ashes,
which you call the atomic bomb, fell from the sky with great
destruction. Many thousands of people were destroyed in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.


For many years there has been great fear and danger of World War
Three. The Hopi believe the Persian Gulf War was the beginning of
World War Three but it was stopped and the worst weapons of
destruction were not used. This is now a time to weigh the choices
for our future. We do have a choice. If you, the nations of this
Earth, create another great war, the Hopi believe we humans will
burn ourselves to death with ashes. That's why the spiritual
Elders stress strongly that the United Nations fully open the door
for native spiritual leaders as soon as possible.


Nature itself does not speak with a voice that we can easily
understand. Neither can the animals and birds we are threatening
with extinction talk to us. Who in this world can speak for nature
and the spiritual energy that creates and flows through all life?
In every continent are human beings who are like you but who have
not separated themselves from the land and from nature. It is
through their voice that Nature can speak to us. You have heard
those voices and many messages from the four corners of the world
today. I have studied comparative religion and I think in your own
nations and cultures you have knowledge of the consequences of
living out of balance with nature and spirit. The native peoples of
the world have seen and spoken to you about the destruction of
their lives and homelands, the ruination of nature and the
desecration of their sacred sites. It is time the United Nations
used its rules to investigate these occurrences and stop them now.


The Four Corners area of the Hopi is bordered by four sacred
mountains. The spiritual center within is a sacred site our
prophecies say will have special purpose in the future for mankind
to survive and now should be left in its natural state. All nations
must protect this spiritual center.


The Hopi and all original native people hold the land in balance
by prayer, fasting and performing ceremonies. Our spiritual Elders
still hold the land in the Western Hemisphere in balance for all
living beings, including humans. No one should be relocated from
their sacred homelands in this Western Hemisphere or anywhere in
the world. Acts of forced relocation, such as Public Law 93-531 in
the United States, must be repealed.


The United Nations stands on our native homeland. The United
Nations talks about human rights, equality and justice and yet the
native people have never had a real opportunity to speak to this
assembly since its establishment until today. It should be the
mission of your nations and this assembly to use your power and
rules to examine and work to cure the damage people have done to
this Earth and to each other. Hopi Elders know that was your mission
and they wait to see whether you will act on it now.


Nature, the First People and the spirit of our ancestors are giving
you loud warnings. Today, December 10, 1992, you see increasing
floods, more damaging hurricanes, hail storms, climate changes and
earthquakes as our prophesies said would come. Even animals and
birds are warning us with strange change in their behavior such as
the beaching of whales. Why do animals act like they know about the
earth's problems and most humans act like they know nothing? If we
humans do not wake up to the warnings, the great purification will
come to destroy this world just as the previous worlds were
destroyed.


(Thomas and Oren Lyons held up a picture of a large rock drawing
in Hopiland)
This rock drawing shows part of the Hopi prophecy. There are two
paths. The first with technology but separate from natural and
spiritual law leads to these jagged lines representing chaos. The
lower path is one that remains in harmony with natural law. Here we
see a line that represents a choice like a bridge joining the
paths. If we return to spiritual harmony and live from our hearts,
we can experience a paradise in this world. If we continue only on
this upper path, we will come to destruction.


Its up to all of us, as children of Mother Earth, to clean up this
mess before it's too late.


The Elders request that during this International Year for the
Worlds Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations keep that door open
for spiritual leaders from the four corners of the world to come to
speak to you for more than a few minutes as soon as possible. The
Elders also request that eight investigative teams visit the native
areas of the world to observe and tell the truth about what is
being done and stop these nations from moving in this self-
destructive direction.


If any of you leaders want to learn more about the spiritual vision
and power of the Elders, I invite you to come out to Hopiland and
sit down with our real spiritual leaders in their sacred Kivas
where they will reveal the ancient secrets of survival and balance.


I hope that all members of this assembly that know the spiritual
way will not just talk about it, but in order to have real peace
and harmony, will follow what it says across the United Nations
wall: "They will beat their swords into plowshares and study war no
more." Lets, together, do that now!



Epilogue


The night before the presentations of the native people from around
the world to the General Assembly, there was a total eclipse of the
moon over New York City and the sky was clear. The evening after
the presentation by Mr Banyacya and the other native spokespersons,
heavy rain and strong wind began. The weathermen had been calling
for a snowstorm but what came the following day were the worst
floods in New York's memory. Major highways were washed away by the
sea and the United Nations itself experienced flooding of its lower
subfloors, forcing a shutdown of its heating and air conditioning
and all personnel were dismissed at three o'clock.


In the ground floor meeting room, where on December 11, native
peoples were meeting representatives of various UN agencies, Thomas
Banyacya spontaneously called on all the participants, including UN
officials, to form a great circle. All the Elders were in the
center and Thomas called in some non-native people as well. Each
silently said a prayer. The forming of the circle of unity of all
people from the four corners of the Earth was more than just a
symbolic act. One participant said she had never felt herself to be
in such a safe place. Later, several people present noted that no
further storm damage occurred in Manhattan and that the storm
itself abated that afternoon.


http://nativenet.uthscsa.edu/archive/nl/9301/0164.html