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Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Remembering our Cus’i, our Grandma
Honoring Tail Feather Woman
On March 16th a circle of 8 Anishinabe/Ojibwa representatives from the Mill lacs Big Drum Society with their Headsman Lee Staples, local Sisseton Wahpeton members including SWO executive representative Delbert Hopkins, Prairie Island Elder Chris Leith along with his family and Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Bundle Arvol Looking Horse, gathered for a prayer circle at the North end Pickeral Lake on the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Reservation. Elder Chris Leith shared with the circle his happiness that this circle was a fulfillment of a vision he had long ago, Chris is Ojibwa and Dakota. With a Sacred Fire and C'anupa, we prayed for guidance and direction for an honoring ceremony of Tail Feather Woman, Wiyaka Sinte Win. A good sign of a wam-bde (eagle) flew and sat in the south-west from the beginning of the prayer circle till the last speaker spoke.
The original date intended was March 12th, but because of a blizzard in the area we moved to a later date, which turned out to be a beautiful day.
Wopida (a great thank you) to all those that helped us accommodate our guests; Danny White and Wanda LaBatte of Magic Casino Hotel, Tribal Secretary - Delbert Hopkins, Mike Peters, Lenny Bernard (even though miscommunication happened - Wopida), Delight Heminger, SWO College Cafe and Alva Quinn.
The Ojibwa representatives were invited to honor the life of Tail Feather Woman on July 15th, they will in turn spread the invitation to other Big Drum Societies. They graciously shared some stories and protocols of their ceremony, along with their gratitude of being part of a momentous endeavor. They explained that not only did her vision of the drum come to their people, but also a gift of the blue and red drum came from our people. There are many more stories to be shared of our ancestors interaction to strive toward Peace, unlike the inaccuracies in History Books that were intended to divide and conquer. They invited our Dakota -Lakota-Nakota Oyate to attend their next Big Drum Ceremony on April 18th, which happens twice a year. Arvol Looking Horse is planning to bring a horse as a gift on behalf of the Dakota-Lakota-Nakota Oyate. This is a drum from Wiyaka Sinte Win. Please consider this honorable invitation!
Our plans on July 15th are to bring honor to Tail Feather Woman. At this moment, we are only at the planning stages, so we are reaching out to anyone that would like to assist in this endeavor. The blog: http://wodakota.blogspot.com/ is created for people that would like to contribute ideas and thoughts of how to proceed to bring her honor.
So far we are planning a 10 mile horse ride in the morning of July 15th from a Sundance Grounds to the site of Tail Feather Woman’s vision took place. Already Ron His Horse is Thunder, Standing Rock tribal Chairman with his riders, Gabby Strong with her Youth Riders from Morton, MN and local SWO riders have committed to the journey. We are approaching our Cree Brothers to come and help with a Horse Dance ceremony. The Headsman Lee Staples told of some parts being lost of their ceremony, one being a horse dance. The Horse Dance is powerful healing ceremony as well and will help us all with our intent of Unity and Peace, what Tail Feather Woman's vision was all about. Our Ojibwa visitors were also invited to the July 16th date of the tree day and ceremony of the Sundance by Mike Peters.
We are looking for ideas for fundraisers for the big top, food and accommodations for our honored guests; the Big Drum Society members. Youth members are planning to fundraise with tee-shirts and maybe an art auction.
So far, we have been contacted by someone with this message: "Tail Feather Woman came to my reservation - Bad River Reservation in Northern Wisconsin. She was accompanied by a delegation of Dakota men there are news articles of their arrival by train with the big drum. The big drum presentation was given to my people along with her story. It was said they spent many days providing the teachings of the drum as well as protocol and processes." We are tracking down the photograph with their archives.
The event is intended for a "we" organization, as we all need to bring this honor to her. We need to represent who she was and what she seen from the Creator for Unity and Peace in the sacred hoop of life that sounds in the heart beat of our Nations and Grandmother Earth. This is inclusive to all those that wish to be a part of this healing. Please take time to help us pray for guidance and direction to fulfill this honor and not be a part of judgment and opinions that stray us away from this peaceful intent of fulfilling who we can be as an Oyate.
The Big Drum ceremony came from Tail Feather Woman, the story as follows:
Tail Feather Woman was by her camp gathering food, when the Blue Coats invaded her village, there are some versions that say she told the Anishinabe that her four sons died in the invasion, some do not mention this, in any case, she ran for her life from the Blue Coats who were on horse back. She dove in the lake and thought quickly enough to grab a reed to breath through and began to hide under the water for a long period of time, some say over night, some say for four days, in which case, it was very long for hours on end… While under the water, she prayed and was visited by the Creator, who gave her a vision of the Big Drum. It is said she told that the pounding of the drum is to bring healing for the People and bring them together in unity. The Big Drum ceremony that is carried on with the Anishinabe, say it is a great Healing ceremony for their People. After the Blue Coats camped and waited for her to come up. Tail Feather Woman arose from the water by the calling of the spirit and the crying of her family, where upon she was able to walk through the camp of the blue coat soldiers, unseen. Tail Feather Woman was invisible to them, she walked through their camp and was able to take some of their food and walked across the plains to find her family. Exhausted and ill, she looked for her family, until she found them, they nursed her back to health and she told of her experience and vision. As directed by the Creator she headed east in gratitude with her family she passed on the vision, along with the songs and protocols for the ceremony to the Anishinabe. This ceremony still exists today with many Societies.
The Big Drum can only move in the eastern direction, so we acknowledge the participation of the Ojibwa Big Drum Society Members in just attending would be an honor, this is for-most in this event. Our drums and songs of honor will be enough.
There is a belief of a Tribe in the South, that we as humans should carry on our life in honor of our family and People, we should never suffer the 3rd death. The first is when our spirit leaves our body, the second is when our body goes in the ground, the third death (that one should never suffer); is to suffer the death in the memory of your family and relatives.
So we remember Tail Feather Woman aka Eagle Tail Woman, a unique name, as it is the part of the eagle that is used for any of our ceremonial rites, you need that eagle tail feather to participate in most of our seven sacred rites, a powerful name. She was one of our Nation’s women that survived a tremendous feat, through strength and endurance, earning a powerful vision of healing. We should not allow her memory to die with her own people or rather; this story should be reborn to her People that she lived in honor of our people. Her memory lives on with the Anishinabe Nation; there is even a Tail Feather Woman’s Society.
It is said that throughout History there are great Leaders that are men, but seldom do we remember a woman. All women are sacred and remembered as a whole for what they gave as the ‘back bone’ for the People, but her remarkable feat deserves this honor; she had to be a very strong woman to have survived under water that long and be sincere enough in prayers to be gifted a great vision of healing that is being done to this day. We need to remember her and honor her.
There are thoughts of fundraising to get a memorial monument at the North end of Pickerel as well. The monument would memorialize the story of her feat and to bring awareness of the lake, recognizing it as a Sacred Site, a place where the great vision occurred. Any ideas of who can help us accomplish this, please contact.
Our People and our future generations need to know and remember who she was, our Cus’i, our Grandma.
On March 16th a circle of 8 Anishinabe/Ojibwa representatives from the Mill lacs Big Drum Society with their Headsman Lee Staples, local Sisseton Wahpeton members including SWO executive representative Delbert Hopkins, Prairie Island Elder Chris Leith along with his family and Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Bundle Arvol Looking Horse, gathered for a prayer circle at the North end Pickeral Lake on the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Reservation. Elder Chris Leith shared with the circle his happiness that this circle was a fulfillment of a vision he had long ago, Chris is Ojibwa and Dakota. With a Sacred Fire and C'anupa, we prayed for guidance and direction for an honoring ceremony of Tail Feather Woman, Wiyaka Sinte Win. A good sign of a wam-bde (eagle) flew and sat in the south-west from the beginning of the prayer circle till the last speaker spoke.
The original date intended was March 12th, but because of a blizzard in the area we moved to a later date, which turned out to be a beautiful day.
Wopida (a great thank you) to all those that helped us accommodate our guests; Danny White and Wanda LaBatte of Magic Casino Hotel, Tribal Secretary - Delbert Hopkins, Mike Peters, Lenny Bernard (even though miscommunication happened - Wopida), Delight Heminger, SWO College Cafe and Alva Quinn.
The Ojibwa representatives were invited to honor the life of Tail Feather Woman on July 15th, they will in turn spread the invitation to other Big Drum Societies. They graciously shared some stories and protocols of their ceremony, along with their gratitude of being part of a momentous endeavor. They explained that not only did her vision of the drum come to their people, but also a gift of the blue and red drum came from our people. There are many more stories to be shared of our ancestors interaction to strive toward Peace, unlike the inaccuracies in History Books that were intended to divide and conquer. They invited our Dakota -Lakota-Nakota Oyate to attend their next Big Drum Ceremony on April 18th, which happens twice a year. Arvol Looking Horse is planning to bring a horse as a gift on behalf of the Dakota-Lakota-Nakota Oyate. This is a drum from Wiyaka Sinte Win. Please consider this honorable invitation!
Our plans on July 15th are to bring honor to Tail Feather Woman. At this moment, we are only at the planning stages, so we are reaching out to anyone that would like to assist in this endeavor. The blog: http://wodakota.blogspot.com/ is created for people that would like to contribute ideas and thoughts of how to proceed to bring her honor.
So far we are planning a 10 mile horse ride in the morning of July 15th from a Sundance Grounds to the site of Tail Feather Woman’s vision took place. Already Ron His Horse is Thunder, Standing Rock tribal Chairman with his riders, Gabby Strong with her Youth Riders from Morton, MN and local SWO riders have committed to the journey. We are approaching our Cree Brothers to come and help with a Horse Dance ceremony. The Headsman Lee Staples told of some parts being lost of their ceremony, one being a horse dance. The Horse Dance is powerful healing ceremony as well and will help us all with our intent of Unity and Peace, what Tail Feather Woman's vision was all about. Our Ojibwa visitors were also invited to the July 16th date of the tree day and ceremony of the Sundance by Mike Peters.
We are looking for ideas for fundraisers for the big top, food and accommodations for our honored guests; the Big Drum Society members. Youth members are planning to fundraise with tee-shirts and maybe an art auction.
So far, we have been contacted by someone with this message: "Tail Feather Woman came to my reservation - Bad River Reservation in Northern Wisconsin. She was accompanied by a delegation of Dakota men there are news articles of their arrival by train with the big drum. The big drum presentation was given to my people along with her story. It was said they spent many days providing the teachings of the drum as well as protocol and processes." We are tracking down the photograph with their archives.
The event is intended for a "we" organization, as we all need to bring this honor to her. We need to represent who she was and what she seen from the Creator for Unity and Peace in the sacred hoop of life that sounds in the heart beat of our Nations and Grandmother Earth. This is inclusive to all those that wish to be a part of this healing. Please take time to help us pray for guidance and direction to fulfill this honor and not be a part of judgment and opinions that stray us away from this peaceful intent of fulfilling who we can be as an Oyate.
The Big Drum ceremony came from Tail Feather Woman, the story as follows:
Tail Feather Woman was by her camp gathering food, when the Blue Coats invaded her village, there are some versions that say she told the Anishinabe that her four sons died in the invasion, some do not mention this, in any case, she ran for her life from the Blue Coats who were on horse back. She dove in the lake and thought quickly enough to grab a reed to breath through and began to hide under the water for a long period of time, some say over night, some say for four days, in which case, it was very long for hours on end… While under the water, she prayed and was visited by the Creator, who gave her a vision of the Big Drum. It is said she told that the pounding of the drum is to bring healing for the People and bring them together in unity. The Big Drum ceremony that is carried on with the Anishinabe, say it is a great Healing ceremony for their People. After the Blue Coats camped and waited for her to come up. Tail Feather Woman arose from the water by the calling of the spirit and the crying of her family, where upon she was able to walk through the camp of the blue coat soldiers, unseen. Tail Feather Woman was invisible to them, she walked through their camp and was able to take some of their food and walked across the plains to find her family. Exhausted and ill, she looked for her family, until she found them, they nursed her back to health and she told of her experience and vision. As directed by the Creator she headed east in gratitude with her family she passed on the vision, along with the songs and protocols for the ceremony to the Anishinabe. This ceremony still exists today with many Societies.
The Big Drum can only move in the eastern direction, so we acknowledge the participation of the Ojibwa Big Drum Society Members in just attending would be an honor, this is for-most in this event. Our drums and songs of honor will be enough.
There is a belief of a Tribe in the South, that we as humans should carry on our life in honor of our family and People, we should never suffer the 3rd death. The first is when our spirit leaves our body, the second is when our body goes in the ground, the third death (that one should never suffer); is to suffer the death in the memory of your family and relatives.
So we remember Tail Feather Woman aka Eagle Tail Woman, a unique name, as it is the part of the eagle that is used for any of our ceremonial rites, you need that eagle tail feather to participate in most of our seven sacred rites, a powerful name. She was one of our Nation’s women that survived a tremendous feat, through strength and endurance, earning a powerful vision of healing. We should not allow her memory to die with her own people or rather; this story should be reborn to her People that she lived in honor of our people. Her memory lives on with the Anishinabe Nation; there is even a Tail Feather Woman’s Society.
It is said that throughout History there are great Leaders that are men, but seldom do we remember a woman. All women are sacred and remembered as a whole for what they gave as the ‘back bone’ for the People, but her remarkable feat deserves this honor; she had to be a very strong woman to have survived under water that long and be sincere enough in prayers to be gifted a great vision of healing that is being done to this day. We need to remember her and honor her.
There are thoughts of fundraising to get a memorial monument at the North end of Pickerel as well. The monument would memorialize the story of her feat and to bring awareness of the lake, recognizing it as a Sacred Site, a place where the great vision occurred. Any ideas of who can help us accomplish this, please contact.
Our People and our future generations need to know and remember who she was, our Cus’i, our Grandma.
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