Honoring Native American Heritage Month

In case you didn't know, November is Native American Heritage Month.

With that in mind, it’s important that we understand that without action and willingness to learn, months like these become performative, not acknowledging historic systemic discrimination.

Here are a few ways to use this month as a reminder and catalyst for the rest of the year:

🌱 Support Indigenous businesses and artists.

🌱 Support local and national Land Back movements.

🌱 Learn about the original Indigenous inhabitants of your local area.

🌱 Use your voting power to aid Indigenous communities and support Indigenous history in schools.

National “American Indian” Heritage Month was first established for November in 1990 under president George H. W. Bush with the intent to acknowledge the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and recognize their contributions to the U.S.


The public law even goes as far to acknowledge in writing the original ownership of the Americas to the Indigenous peoples, stating,

“American Indians were the original inhabitants of the lands that now constitute the United States of America,” H.J. Res. 577.

But many Indigenous people before 1990 fought for this month and for recognition.
 

Dr. Arthur C. Parker (Seneca), Director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. partnered with the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans” and for three years they adopted such a day.

 

Rev. Sherman Coolidge (Arapahoe), the President of the American Indian Association issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day.

 

In 1914, Red Fox James, (Blackfoot) rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians.
 

If you would like to learn more, visit nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov to find out more about this month and different events you can get involved with. 

Israel-Gaza: A Letter from Our Founder & Executive Director

Please forgive me if these words don’t serve you.  

May you find what you need at this time,
to find a way towards an inner peace
that allows you to nurture peace in your interactions with others
and appropriately grieve the deep losses that are being endured at this time.

While immersed in the facilitation of our biggest weekend of the year - over Indigenous Peoples' Day in the Berkshires - I was not able to shift my focus to the atrocities in Israel and Gaza.

On Tuesday night, Emily, our newsletter guru, wrote me an email..."we need to say something about this…"

Her encouragement brought me out of the tiredness and prepared me to look at the news, which I knew would be deeply troubling.

I turned to Democracy Now.

The next morning, I wrote the words below.  Then I let them sit for a few days.  Today, I am gathering my courage to share them with you.

This morning, I sit with the classics, the ancient teachings, to find my roots and grounding in the wisdom of peacemaking - what it is we were practicing and learning all weekend.  And now, it’s time to apply it - to think together about how we might be the ones to consciously choose an inner dialogue that might diffuse the divisiveness and emotional triggers that lead us to harden our hearts and dehumanize the “other".

 I turn to the guidance of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching - chapter 31:

Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.

Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
Except in the direst necessity
And, if compelled, will use them only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
How can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
But human beings like himself.
He doesn’t wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
And delight in the slaughter of men?

He enters a battle gravely,
With sorrow and with great compassion,
As if he were attending a funeral.

What also comes to mind is the biblical and rabbinic prohibition on cutting down fruit trees in the enemy's land, during times of war.

“Our Sages explain that the prohibition to cut down fruit trees is not restricted to a time of war.4 And it also includes the destruction of any object which is of benefit to mankind. This prohibition is referred to as bal tashchit - The prohibition against destroying or wasting resources.” (chabad.org).

What about schools and hospitals, apartment buildings with women and children? 

I turned back to the Dao, with a pleading heart...

“Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
Except in the direst necessity
And, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.”

This eruption of violence this week is the fruits of decades of conflict in the region, supported by a global military industrial complex that fuels violence all around the world.

I am not an expert in this history, but I have my own experience, as we all do

My last visit to Israel was in the year 2000, when violence had erupted after Ariel Sharon chose to visit the Temple Mount, a muslim Holy Site.

Since then, I haven’t been able to bring myself to return to Israel because I didn’t see an end to the violence.  Now, over twenty years later - another generation has grown up in a state of perpetual violence.  I will only return if and when a path opens for me to be of service to the efforts for peace.  

MAY PRAYERS BE UPLIFTED

May prayers be uplifted for all the women and children civilians who have perished from missiles directed at residential homes, schools, hospitals.  Prayers for the children whose nervous systems are being overwhelmed with trauma by the explosions of bombs all around them; and men who have perished, and those who are still alive and desperate to protect their families.

Prayers for those who perished, and their families; prayers for those who were physically, emotionally, and mentally wounded at the music festival.  

Prayers for Vivian Silver, the seventy-four year old founding member of the Israeli-Palestinian Women Wage Peace movement and other peace organizations, who may have been kidnapped this past week.

Healthy are those who turn their mouths to receive a new birth of universal stability; they shall be encircled by the birth of a new society...

Healed are those who persistently feel inside: "If only I could find new strength and a clear purpose on which to base my life"; they shall be embraced by birthing power."

Integrated, resisting delusion are those who long clearly for a foundation of peace between the warring parts of themselves; they shall find all around them the materials to build it.

-Prayers of the Cosmos, Commentary and Translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz

Some tools to navigate your own inner dialogue as well as conversations with family, friends and community members:

#1) PRAYER

Excerpt from Rabbis for Human Rights Facebook Page:

Yesterday the CEO Avi Dabush was locked with his family for over 12 hours in their shelter on a Kibbutz next on the Gaza border, as militants overran the Kibbutz. We thank God that they survived the atrocity. Please read his words:
-----
A dreadful day. At its end, our main achievement is that we managed to stay alive and not be taken hostage. And that is not to be taken for granted. Tonight, there was a lot of tough news about the casualties and captives here and in the surrounding areas. Many many friends.
The event in our area has not yet ended. Questions are beginning to arise. And so does prayer - that will end the shedding of blood, that what we have been crying out for 22 years will finally turn into reality: Without a vision, the fighting will not end. Without a vision, there will be no retribution. Everything that is swept under the rug will return to us at the most inconvenient time. Without a strategy, we will not end this war.
Praying for those who lost their lives today. And for the safety of our defenders. And for the well-being of the civilians across the border. Because our vision must include be based on mutual success. This was also the legacy of Ofir Libstein - the head of the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, one of the dear friends we lost today.

Praying for better and more peaceful days!
 

#2) FEEL YOUR FEELINGS

Here are two safer ways to move into the grief, despair, anger, rage, confusion, hopelessness, and trauma that violence brings into our lives.

1. Nonviolent communication: https://afcfp.org/nonviolent-communication/

2. Joanna Macy's transformational healing process called The Work That Reconnects is one of the reliable pathways to feel your feelings without letting your feelings and emotions run the show and lead to further hurt and harm. 

You can learn about The Work That Reconnects here.  And this beautiful diagram also tells the story.

#3) Remembering and Recommitting to the Actual Source of Peace in our World

I am remembering the teachings of The Peacemaker, the great leader of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, said to be the first democracy in the world.

If I remember correctly, he taught that peace emerges naturally out of a society that builds an enlightened economy that is rooted in the health of ecosystems - with nourishing food systems and the protection of the purity of water ways.

When communities live in poverty, and basic needs for nourishment and safety are not met - violence is assured.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reminds us of our common identity as human beings.  When our basic physiological needs and our needs for safety are not met, the seeds of violence are being nurtured.

"You can't be nuetral on a moving train." - Howard Zinn, PhD

In the midst of despair, we do have the power to make the choice - to come together and support each other to stay focused on a vision of peace.

The tools, the will and the intelligence exist in this world for navigating violence and the climate crisis.  But we need the courage and discipline to be peacemakers, and to sustain our sense of humanity.

Again, please forgive me if these words don’t serve you.  May you find what you need at this time, to find a way towards the inner peace that allows you to nurture peace in your interactions with others and properly grieve the deep losses that are being endured at this time.

Please take good care of yourself, at this time, so that you are also able to take care of your loved ones and those who your cherish.

sincerely,
Lev Natan

Tribal Nations Return to the Berkshires for Indigenous People’s Day Weekend

Great Barrington, MA [Sept. 6th, 2023] – Fifteen tribal nations, including the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohicans, will join a celebration of Native American culture in Berkshire County on the weekend of Oct. 6-9.

The public is invited to join these events: 

  • Friday, Oct. 6th, 7:30 p.m. Honoring Native America at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle St, Great Barrington, MA 01230 [tickets available here]

  • Indigenous People’s Day, Monday, Oct. 9th, from 12:00 - 3:00pm, a Ceremonial Walk, beginning at Giggle Park behind Town Hall, 334 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230 [details]

The 2nd Annual Honoring Native America features R. Carlos Nakai, the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute; Shawn Stevens, celebrated Mohican storyteller; Cheryl Fairbanks, Esq, renowned Indigenous Peacemaker, and opening words from Lev Natan, Executive Director of Alliance for a Viable Future.

R. Carlos Nakai, Shawn Stevens, and Cheryl Fairbanks are masters of their respective craft, and have been specially invited to share their offering with the Berkshire community. This unique event moves beyond the realm of performance into the interactive dimension of participatory ceremony and collective prayer - for our community and the future of our world.  Click here for tickets.


The Berkshires community is also invited to participate in a ceremonial walk through Main street, starting at Giggle Park, behind Town Hall (334 Main street) at 12:00pm, to honor the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people who are the indigenous peoples of this land. President Jackson’s 1832 Indian Removal Act, forced the Mohicans from the Berkshires less than two-hundred years ago.  Enduring many hardships, today their community thrives in Wisconsin. 


A Mohican Delegation will be traveling from Wisconsin to participate, for the second year in-a-row; including Shawn Stevens and his sister Wanonah Kosbab, who has been residing in the Berkshires as part of the Mohican Homecoming Project.


“What our families are doing is incredibly unique and unheard of... It's

the hard stuff that no one wants to do for fear of being uncomfortable. But we bring

hope for a new kind of world for our kids." -Wanonah Kosbab, Mohican Homecoming Project


Many representatives from tribal nations will be returning from last year, including Jake Singer, medicine man and sundance chief from the Dńe Navajo Nation, Kristine Hill (Tuscororo), Aaron Athey (Mohegan), Roman Guariguarix (Tiano), Steve Smith (Ramapough Lenape), Robyn Coe (Chicasaw).


The weekend’s events are organized by Alliance for a Viable Future (AVF), a Northeast regional nonprofit dedicated to building alliances and developing leadership for bioregional climate solutions and intercultural peacemaking. AVF became the official organizer of Indigenous People's Day in Great Barrington in 2020, with each year gaining increasing visibility and community participation.

“This is groundbreaking community healing work.  We are part of a movement all around the country, and the world, to acknowledge five hundred years of genocide and colonization.  We are making a conscious choice to move in the direction of collective healing and regeneration, said event organizer, Lev Natan, executive director of Alliance for a Viable Future. “Indigenous traditions understand our deep connection with nature and the Earth.  Now is the time to stand together to ensure a viable future for our children.” 

The weekend’s activities were inspired, in part, by Randy Weinstein and Gwendolyn VanSant of the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee, who, in 2019, asked the Town of Great Barrington to join a growing movement of towns, cities and states around the country who recognize the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Visit allianceforaviablefuture.org for further details and to register. 

For more information and to request interviews with key participants, contact Lev Natan at lev@allianceforaviablefuture.org.