Sponsored by: Mission of Mexico, Mission of the United States,
United Nations Centre for Human Rights
Endorsed by: American Indian Institute, American Indian Ritual
Object Repatriation Foundation, Anglican Liaison to
the United Nations, Cathedral of St. John the Divine,
Earth Circle Foundation, Fund of the Four Directions,
Giving of Thanks to the First People, Instituto
Nacional Indigenista, International Labor Organisation,
Mexican Cultural Institute, M.O.A. Foundation,
National Museum of the American Indian, Natural
Resources Defense Council, Temple of Understanding,
Tree of Peace Society, UNICEF, United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations Environment
Programme, World Uranium Hearing
With Special Recognition To: The Wittenberg Center for Alternative
Resources
---Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General of the United Nations
I am pleased to welcome to the United Nations those attending
this conference on the theme: Cry of the Earth, the Legacy of the
First Nations. The Spiritual Elders of the Four Directions have
come to New York with a message. It is a message of warning which
all of us, regardless of our particular faith, must share.
In 1992, at Rio de Janiero, the world community raised a cry of
distress. The cry of distress, of pain at the state of the planet
has been heeded. No longer can we take the resources of nature as
ours to master. No longer can we behave as the conquerors of
nature. The path to sustainable development is to respond to the
legitimate aspiration of peoples for better living standards while
ensuring that future generations retain the qualities of life in
harmony with our habitat.
The responsibility of this generation is tremendous.It is in
our power to choke the living organism of nature, but it is also in
our power to preserve it, to nurture it, to replace plunder with
harmony and waste with conservation.
The concerns of sustainable development come late, but not too
late. We have known all along, with the poet William Blake:
"For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life."
Today, the Spiritual Elders come to remind us of this truth. It
is my sincere hope that we come to share their concerns and their
delight in life. Welcome then to the United Nations; to your United
Nations.
---S.R. Insanally, President of the 48th Session of the United
Nations General Assembly
Prophesy is that form of vision that informs and propels the
truest moral and spiritual leadership...Every true leader must
possess such vision, as well as the courage to follow it despite
whatever hardships might be thrown in the way.
Today we meet as leaders who aspire to such vision. In this
United Nations Year of the World's Indigenous People, we come
together in council with a clear goal in mind and heart; as
representatives of many nations together, we wish to and must help
to shape a universal pact between humanity and the planet.
---Algonquin Nation Seven Fires Prophesy - Presented by Traditional Chief
William Commanda, Carrier of the Wampum Belts
For all Anishnabe people, the Wampum Belts are the keys of
Traditional Reality.
They are the patterns of life - the doorway uniting Physical
and Spiritual dimensions. it is significant that these belts -
having never been held by outside forces - are Spiritually alive.
They embody the activating power of the Spiritual World.
The Seven Fires Belts talks of seven doorways, dimensions,
traditional nations, spaces in time. Its message is woven throughout
Turtle Island, and applies to all four races of Earth. It describes
very grave destruction that has currently affected the balance of
all life- environmental and spiritual genocide resulting from these
doorways being blocked.
It is essential for the Anishnabe - all human beings - to
rekindle these fires and reopen these doorways. Joining these Seven
Doors, we may light the Eighth Fire - the Double Diamond reunifying
human life with the Spiritual dimensions. Forgiveness and sacrifice
are the keys. The Belts warn of the very near time when Earth will
shift Her balance in the Universe, with or without her children.
This rebalancing of Life is certain to occur, reordering both
physical and spiritual reality. It is our urgent responsibility to
transform humanity and harmonize with these changes.
Healing must be our imperative concern.
---David Gehue, Spiritual Counselor, Mi-kmac Nation
>From the Eastern Door: We are in the final stages of the shaking of
the earth, when the Great Spirit takes the earth in both hands and
shakes it violently.
Just this year, the opening of the Eastern Door took place in
Cape Spear, Newfoundland, Canada, the furthest eastern point in
North America. The circle of the medicine wheel is now complete.
The Wabanaki People (People of the Light) have joined the circle.
We have joined the circle with the following philosophy:
"Heal you, the self, you help heal the family,
The family helps to heal the community,
The community helps to heal the nation,
The nations help to heal the world."
All the prophesies from other nations now coincide and
complement each other.
It is time for us all to stop blaming one another, heal from
our wounds and move forward, for the survival of the world, as we
know it, lies in our hands. We must seek out and absorb the wisdom
of our elders and use it for the betterment of others. The Great
Spirit left a clear and legible path in eastern North America with
petroglyphs and natural monuments. This knowledge is kept under
guard by our elders and only entrusted to those native people who
abide by the natural laws of the Great Spirit; respect, honesty,
sharing and caring. Without each one of these, the others do not
exist.
It is now time for Moms. Dads, Grandmothers, Grandfathers and
children to get involved in the healing of our world. Make it your
business too.
---Huichol Proverb
When the world ends, it will be like when the names of things
are changed during the peyote hunt. All will be different, the
opposite of what it is now. Now there are two eyes in the heavens,
Dios Sol and Dios Fuego. Then, the moon will open his eye and
become brighter. The sun will become dimmer. There will be no more
differences. No more men and women. No child and no adult. All will
change places. Even the mara'akame will no longer be separate. That
is why there is always a nunuisi (Huichol-little baby) when we go
to Wirikuta. Because the old man, the tiny baby, they are the same.
---Mayan, Prophesy of the End of the Great Cycle, from The Book of
Chilam Balam of Tizimin
When the original thirteen baktuns were created, a war was
waged which caused the country to cease to exist. Little by little,
however, our enemies came to hear the prophesies of Ahau; but
finally even the hope of hearing Ahau is brought to an end, because
of the words of opposition. When the need arises for the high
authority at the head of the mat to safeguard our children, then we
will feel deeply the tragedy of being captives in war; also when we
are ordered to obey...And when over the dark sea I shall be lifted
by a chalice of fire, to that generation there will come the day of
withered fruit...The face of the sun will be extinguished because
of the great tempest. Then finally ornaments shall descend in
heaps. There will be good gifts for one and all, as well as land,
from the Great Spirit wherever shall come sailing, figuratively
speaking, bringing the ornaments of which I have spoken, from your
ancestors. Then the god will come to visit his little ones.
Perhaps "After Death" will be the subject of his discourse.
---N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
Sacred ground is ground that is invested with belief. Belief,
at its root, exists independent of meaning. That is, expression and
object may escape what we can perceive as defineable meaning. The
intrinsic power of sacred ground is often ineffable and abstract. I
behold a particular sacred space, and i understand that it is in
some way earned. It is consecrated, made holy with offerings - song
and ceremony, joy and sorrow, the dedication of the mind and heart,
offerings of life and death. The words "sacred" and "sacrifice" are
related. And acts of sacrifice make sacred the earth. The
indigenous people of the world know this as they know the sunrise
and sunset.
---Ada Deer, Assistant Secretary -Indian Affairs, U.S. Department
of the Interior
I was born on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin, a
land of dense forests, a winding river, and streams and lakes that
nourish the land, animals, and the people. I am an extension of
this environment that has fostered my growth and enriched my vision
and spirit. An appreciation and reverence for the land is
fundamental to being Indian. I am proud to declare that the
Menominee tribal forest is one of the few forests in this
hemisphere that is better today than it was one hundred years ago.
My vision for Indians in the United States and this hemisphere is
enriched by this legacy. We must embrace the challenges of the
future fortified by the knowledge of our past.
---On behalf of the Spiritual Elders, Hotevilla, Hopi Nation
We are now living in the fourth and final world of the Hopi.
We are at a most critical time in human history. It is a crossroads
at which the outcome of our actions will decide the fate of life on
earth.
At the beginning of this fourth world the Hopi were told to
watch for specific signs which would mark this crucial period and
given instructions for actions to avoid the annihilation of this
world and for life to continue.
Instructions included a directive to travel to a great house of
mica (glass) which would be built on the distant eastern shore of
this continent where leaders of this earth's nations would gather.
The Hopi were instructed to knock on the door of this house in
order to deliver their message to those gathered there. If refused,
they were to knock again, until they had done so four times.
Since 1949, the Hopi have knocked at the door of the United
Nations. Last December was the fourth and final time they would do
so. Having received an invitation from the United Nations, this
historic gathering which Hopi spiritual leaders have requested is
the final fulfillment of these instructions.
---Leon Shenandoah, Tadadaho, Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy
It is prophesied in our Instructions that the end of the world
will be near when the trees start dying from the tops down. That's
what the maples are doing today. Our Instructions say the time will
come when there will be no corn, when nothing will grow in the
garden, when the water will be unfit to drink...We were instructed
to carry a love for one another and to show great respect for all
beings of the earth...In our ways, spiritual consciousness is the
highest form of politics...We must live in harmony with the Natural
World and recognize that excessive exploitation can only lead to
our own destruction. We cannot trade the welfare of our future
generations for profit now...We must stand together, the four
sacred colors of man, as the one family that we are, in the
interest of peace. We must abolish nuclear and conventional weapons
of war...We must raise leaders of peace. We must unite the religions
of the world as the spiritual force strong enough to prevail in peace.
We are the spiritual energy that is a thousand times stronger than
nuclear energy. Our energy is the combined will of all people with
the spirit of the Natural World, to be of one body, one heart, and
one mind for peace.
---Arvol Lookinghorse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred Pipe,
Lakota Nation
The prophesies of the Ancestors of the Lakota Nations have
important meaning for the future of Mother Earth. Through the
generations, these prophesies have been maintained courageously,
methodically and accurately. Now, we are in a critical stage of our
spiritual and moral and technological development as nations. All
life is precariously balanced. We must remember that all things on
Mother Earth have spirit and are intricately related. The Lakota
prophesy of Mending the Sacred Hoop of all nations has begun. May
we find, in the ancient wisdom of the Indigenous Nations, the
spirit and courage to mend and heal.
---Ibrahima Fall, Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights (UN)
Many years of United Nations action for the Human Rights of
Indigenous Peoples have culminated in impressive successes in the
last few years. The International Year of the World's Indigenous
People set two basic aims as the framework for international
action; to create awareness about the situation and the aspirations
of indigenous peoples, and to integrate indigenous concerns in the
operations of the United Nations system with the full participation
of indigenous communities in projects which concern them. Through
the historic processes of drafting the United Nations declaration on
the rights of indigenous peoples, the Rio Conference on Environment
and Development, and the Vienna Conference on Human Rights, the
world has learned to respect and listen to the wisdom of indigenous
peoples and to recognize their unique contribution to civilization.
The door of the United Nations is and will remain open for
indigenous peoples.
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The Wittenberg Center For Alternative Resources
188 Wittenberg Road, Bearsville, NY 12409
PH: 914-679-9764 FAX: 914-595-7813
Much time and energy has been dedicated to the realization of the
dream of having the prophesies of Turtle Island (North America) be
told at the United Nations during 1993 - The Year of the Indigenous
Peoples.
What you've just read is a small portion of the many important
statements and discussions from this historic meeting. The
Spiritual Elders from the Four Directions of Turtle Island brought
a much needed voice to the United Nations for the first time.
Manuel Hoyungowa, grandson of Hopi Elder Monongye, closed his
statement with these words:
"And in fulfillment of our mission here, both with the spirit of
my grandfather, Monongye, and I. We firmly believe that coming
together today like this is a fulfillment of one of our prophecies.
So we hope that you will listen to our warnings and act accordingly."
In order for the world's policy makers to "act accordingly," they
must have the transcripts and video footage from the 3-day meeting
available to them. The Wittenberg Center For Alternative Resources
urgently needs people to transcribe tapes and edit video. They also
need funds. The Center has internships available that will provide
housing and an opportunity to learn new information and skills.
Please, if you have any time to give to this very significant,
crucial project, please contact Betsy Stang at either of the
phone numbers above. Our future depends on all of us.
Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to:
The Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources
188 Wittenberg Road, Bearsville, NY 12409
(marked Cry of the Earth)
Thank you for your support.
"When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully
because we know the faces of our future generations are looking
up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them."
-Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation
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milo@scicom.alphacdc.com Michele Lord Alpha Institute
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