[ Please see my notes at the end of this article. --Gary ]
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 1995 08:46:20 -0500
From: Phil@BizCenter.com (Philip A. Kratzer)
Sunbow 5, Walk for the Earth - volunteers needed & participants welcomed
Information by email: Info@Sunbow5Walk.org
WWW: http://www.sunbow5walk.org/sunbow5
BACKGROUND:
On June 23, 1995, a coalition of people representing all the colors and
spiritual traditions of humanity will leave First Encounter Beach, on the
shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to begin a historic journey that will
culminate 3,700 miles later on the shore of the Pacific Ocean near
Santa Barbara, California.
The Sunbow 5 Walk is a response to a vision of traditional Native Elders
of North America. One of the goals is to bring together people of all races,
whose concern for healing the Earth, now and for future generations, far
surpasses any racial or religious divisions.
The Sunbow 5 Walk is both a gesture of hope and a deed of unity.
Every person of good heart is invited to take a step or many steps
on this journey. We will walk in harmony, with no personal agendas --
rather for the Earth and all the Creations who share life upon the Earth.
Grandfather William Commanda, 82, an elder of the Algonquin people
and keeper of the Seven Fires Prophecy Wampum belt, will guide this
walk across the continent. He will walk with other elders and peoples
from across the Americas and around the world, who share a common
vision of racial harmony and a world free from environmental destruction.
NON-PROFIT:
The Sunbow 5 Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Massachusetts,
is directed by Mr. Tom Dostou, a human being with Chippewayan, Abenaki and
Irish heritage.
Considerable time and resources have been and will continue to
be donated to the Walk.
Internet Marketing Partners, Inc. has donated an Internet site and is
coordinating Internet presence and communication in support of the Sunbow
5 Walk.
Your contribution of time, food or lodging, publicity or money is most
welcome to help defray costs and enable the healing message of the
Sunbow 5 Walk to reach all who choose to participate in their own way.
Contact information is provided below.
NEW LIST: vol-list@sunbow5walk.com
You can help support the Sunbow 5 Walk by your Internet connection.
We welcome your participation in this healing process that will strive
to unite the ancient wisdom of the elders and the emerging
technologies of the planet in a common, caring focus.
During the eight month duration of the Walk, the activities of the Walk
will be coordinated and reported on a website and several E-mail lists.
This innovative, positive experiment strives to reach out to the full
family of humankind through our global mind, the Internet.
This support is a critical component to encourage wide awareness of
and participation in Sunbow 5. Walk progress and schedule variations,
event coordination, offers of assistance,... even requests to participate
will be handled primarily through the Internet.
A journal of visions, prophesy, prayers, experiences and insights from
the walk will be actively reported through Internet news groups. The
open offer of worldwide participation in the walk is part of the process.
Here is a partial list of ways you can help make a difference, even if you
cannot come to physically take a step along the Walk:
Global and regional:
o Help secure media coverage of the entire Walk, its purpose
and related activities.
o Coordinate related programs of groups in your region by
special events that tie into the Walk.
o Organize a fundraiser in your town or city to help keep the walkers
fed and sheltered, and to help offset the costs of postage,
phone and other expenses.
o Participate in the Email discussions and website commentary.
o Help prepare or produce, or offer material for the website.
o Help organize logistics, volunteers, etc.
o Offer use of campsite or lodging along the route of the walk.
o Organize a meal to help feed the walkers as they pass through
your town or city.
o Organize a public forum in your town or city, so that the walkers
may meet and talk with people as they pass through.
o Donations to help fund or support the Walk are welcome.
Local:
o Develop, organize, or support healing or communication
events to occur in your area.
o Assist in local media coverage: print, radio and TV interviews.
o Work with local organizations to design supportive projects
such as meals, financial support or compatible events.
o Work with local groups to supply sleeping and resting needs.
On the Walk:
o Photo Journalism to document the journey.
o Writers to capture the experiences.
Creative
o Writing, editing, desktop publishing, web site design
o Artists to creative images for t-shirts, screen savers, posters.
For details about the Walk, the Seven Fires Prophesy, the route, and other
information, send email to: Info@Sunbow5Walk.com
To subscribe to the volunteers of Sunbow 5 discussion group, send email to:
No subject is necessary. In the body of the message, write:
Subscribe vol-list
If you cannot contact Sunbow 5 Walk by reaching our Internet address
you may send a FAX c/o Sunbow 5 Volunteers, at (214) 458-8270
# # # # #
ABOUT SUNBOW 5 FOUNDATION
The Sunbow 5 Foundation is a private, non-profit organization formed to
support the Sunbow 5, Walk for the Earth, and to help seek solutions
to the problems of pollution, poverty, and racism.
Tom Dostou (Chippewyan/Wabanaki) is director of the foundation. He and
his wife, Naoko Haga, share a common vision of a world of racial
harmony, free of environmental desecration. They named the walk and
the foundation according to Indian tradion. Sunbows, or Sundogs, are
circular spectrums that appear in the sky as messages from the Creator.
They point out a way forward, a direction in which people strive.
The number "5" represents the five races of humanity (Black, Brown,
Red, White, Yellow) that must come together, as well as the five
continents of the world (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania).
Internet Marketing Partners is in a support, not a policy role. Policy
decisions about the Walk will be made by Sunbow 5 Foundation in context of
the wisdom of the Elders.
Voice or postal messages to Internet Marketing Partners may be sent to 13619
Inwood Road, Suite 300 Dallas, TX 75244 * 214.960.6215
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Comments from NativeNet listowner, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
Like Lyn Dearborn, who recently posted an article asking some basic
questions about just who these people represent and who endorses them and
their walk, I'd be curious to know, as I'm sure would many of you, more of
the details of what this walk is all about. The one thing I do know is
that Tom Dostou was involved in a situation in April/May of last year when
I got a call from him from Quebec, where he was taking part in a protest
concerning Hydro Quebec's "SM-3" project on the Sainte-Marguerite River
located on the Quebec North shore. Tom claimed to be working with and/or
representing the interests of Chief Gilbert Pilot of the community of
Mani-Utenam, some of whose members were involved in a dispute with the
Sept-Iles Band Council, who were apparently supporting the project.
I personally spent a great deal of energy trying to understand what was
really going on there. Tom was claiming that the RCMP was poised to
descend on the community for reasons that never were made entirely clear
to me. Some people I spoke with in an attempt to investigate the matter
claimed that Tom Dostou was an "outside agitator" and did not really
represent anyone besides himself. The politics of that whole situation
were too difficult to figure out, but it was clear that there was a lot
more going on there than I ever was able to learn from Tom, and it began
to feel as if there may have been an attempt being made to manipulate
the opinion of people who were being called on to join in the protest on
the grounds of a threat from a police force which it was being claimed
had actual plans to use physical violence which were about to be carried
out.
Since I never did get a satisfactory answer to some basic questions aimed
at understanding what the real issues were, and I heard things to suggest
that the issue may have had as much to do with local politics as it did
with any real imminent threat from a national or provincial police force,
and I was unable to get a definitive answer concerning just who Tom Dostou
really represented, these questions remain open for me. If anyone can say
anything more about Tom and/or about this present enterprise and who has
come out in support of it that might give it some real legitimacy (or who
has said anything against either one, for that matter), and doesn't mind
going on record as saying so, please let us know. If anyone would like
to report anything in confidence that can be independently verified, feel
free to send information to me. I don't have the time and resources to
do an actual investigation, but I would be glad to pass on the information
anonymously to someone who could and would. Also, if anyone who is taking
part in this event or who becomes involved in one of the ways mentioned in
this article cares to tell us something about who all has organized and/or
sponsored it, please do so as soon as possible (you can send a reply to
this message to post a followup article).
Anyone interested in learning more about the situation to which I have
just referred can retrieve articles from the NATIVE-L archives for the
indicated time period. In doing a quick scan, I didn't find Tom Dostou's
name in any of these articles, but I know that I exchanged numerous
personal e-mail messages on the whole subject with others during this
time period which document my attempts to learn more in this matter
(these messages are in my personal archives). To get a selection of
articles which appeared in the public view, you might try:
// job echo=no
get nn-intro archives native-l
database search dd=rules outlim=4000
//rules dd *
select * in native-l from april 1994 to june 1994 where subject contains innu
print all
/*
(send to "listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu" - that's the numeral "1" in "tamvm1" and
the letter "l" in "native-l"). You'll also be sent a copy of an article
("NN-INTRO ARCHIVES") explaining how to do other retrievals; omit the "get"
line if you already have the article or know how to use the facility.
I sincerely hope that this walk is what its organizers claim it to be.
Surely the earth needs healing, but we might all want to be somewhat
careful and discerning in how we approach the problem and circumspect in
choosing our travelling companions along the way.
Gary
P.S. I have looked at the Web site referred to in the article Roxanne
has copied, and find it to be yet another of the many commercial
sites rapidly springing up all over, selling art and books. It
is not clear to what (if any) extent the artists/authors are
Native people and where the proceeds of sales go, other than to
profit the owners of the businesses involved. Caveat emptor.