TORCH IS LIT AND DOOR IS OPEN
All: She:kon: I had to allow a few days to elapse before I was able to gather my thoughts sufficiently to relay what transpired at the historic signing of the Declaration on Sunday, April 20, 2008, on Camotose Hill, in Northern Quebec on the Algonquin traditional territory. I request that you please not read this until you are able to set aside a few minutes to read (and perhaps burn some tobacco first). First, to let everyone know that we received the blessings of many hundreds and thousands of humans across Mother Earth at the time of the signing. Although no human is greater or lesser than another, a few who specifically provided blessings included William Commanda, 92 year old well-respected Algonquin Elder and visionary, someone closely associated with The 13 Grandmothers, whom many of you will recognize, Arvol Lookinghorse, 19th Generation Sacred Pipe Carrier, Lakota, Russell Means, Lakota (of Longest Walk fame), sent an e-mail of blessings and expressing his desire to sign as well, as did someone closely associated with the Dalai Lama (i presume the Dalai Lama was aware also through this person, although I have not confirmed this). Of course, there were many others whom I will have forgotten in the aftermath of the incredible ceremony itself.
As for myself, I traveled 13 hours from New Jersey to get there, picking up a Mohawk Elder, Joe Thomson, along the way (from Akwesasne). I was told that it would be cold (not higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and that it would be raining. Instead, we were met with temperatures in the 70’s and beautiful sunny skies. The surrounding lakes were still frozen! The Algonquin worked hard to prepare the site for the ceremony, making a clearing on the top of Camotose Hill, shoveling 2 feet of snow from the clearing and constructing an amazing circular “lean to” configuration, with a sacred fire pit in the center and the perimeter surrounding the fire and extending under the “lean to” covered with soft fir branches, which seemed like a cloud, green, soft and fragrant and warm to the bare foot. The food preparation area was also amazing and the women who prepared the meals must be deeply acknowledged for their ability to feed the approximately 80 people who attended (there were more, but many came in and out as the days progressed), while still forming an integral part of the ceremony itself. There were many children of all ages, including babies, toddlers and older. I highly recommend the moose dishes, although everything was too delicious for words. The half mile walk up the hill was quite muddy given the “melt” from the sudden and inordinate warmth, but rubber boots were provided for those without.
Saturday evening was a happy time of meeting new old friends, watching the children laugh and play, eating around the cooking fire, drinking coffee, and discussing the spiritual traditional ways with and among the Elders there and sharing Knowledge freely with each other and those younger and curious with that young fire. On Sunday morning a sunrise ceremony was held (Jake allowed me to sleep through it because he must have understood how tired I was – although I would gladly have awoken to participate – Thank You Jake!). Then they forced me to eat a delicious breakfast, with more talk all around. A shaman from Mexico came to the ceremony, whose name is Francisco, along with his assistant, a beautiful woman whose name I am ashamed to say I do not remember at this time. They somehow learned of the auspicious occasion and traveled all the way there, which is why they reminded me of the 3 Wise Men who traveled to Bethlehem when they heard the Christ would be born there 2008 years ago. A number of rituals were performed that seemed to fit seamlessly into the ceremony itself.
On Sunday, as noon approached, the approximate time set aside for the signing, the question arose of who was to sign on behalf of the Algonquin. Should it be one Elder to be selected? Jake Wawatie alone? A woman Elder as well? 2 Elders together? 3 Elders? 4 Elders? It was decided that the Algonquin would hold a traditional governing circle to decide. 40 or so Algonquin sat around the sacred fire under the “lean-to” on the soft fir boughs, young and old, to decide in the traditional way. Jake, as ceremonial leader, spoke first, with words that brought tears to his eyes and to the eyes of all present, talking about many things, but mostly about how important the Declaration is to the future of the children and the children’s children, how important it is to reconnect with Mother Earth, this being the only way to reconnect with the Creator, with the Great Reality, with The Great Mystery. He told of how all will be lost unless unification is realized now. Of course, this brief description cannot do honor to Jake’s words, which will resonate into the distant future for all time to come.
Then Jake asked me to speak. i did not originally expect to speak and certainly did not plan any words. i cannot describe how terrified i felt at that moment when i stood in front of all these courageous people, people with such collective wisdom, with my limited but unshakeable understanding of the role they were playing at this peculiar and truly Prophetic time in human history. i honestly cannot recall all my words, but there was such an energy in that circle at that time that it was impossible to not be overcome by emotion (as Jake had been – because I understood then what he was grappling with) and i recall having to pause several times to continue. The words that I do recall, the words that stand out in my mind, concerned comparing the Declaration to a door that will be opened once the decision is made to sign it as a Nation (and/or as an individual human) and that by signing the Declaration, one walks through that door, that on the other side is the world of spirit that the Prophesies foretell, but that no one can know what is on the other side until one walks through the door. As I stood in the center of that circle and I looked around, I became most focused on the young children there and when I saw a child, and especially the little girls, I saw the thousands of children that are within them, the thousands of humans to come. They were all there at that moment, listening to each word and watching every movement. Not 50 or 80 humans that day at that time, but 10s of thousands or 10s of millions. The human spirit has been beaten down by the few and the greedy and the powerful who seek to use us for their own selfish gains. They take a piece of our spirit by removing our connection to Mother Earth, by making us want more “stuff,” making us want to be like them. They reach into our chest and rip out our spirit and do with it what they want and we allow them to. We allow them to out of fear, out of a forgetting of the traditional ways, out of a forgetting of our connection to our Mother the Earth. The worst part is that by allowing them to do this to us, we are allowing them to do this to the children also (and to all the generations that live within them right now). It is as though we are building a cage around ourselves with imaginary bars that we create ourselves. We build a cage around the children as well. The spirits want to be freed from that cage. The Creator wants us to be freed from that cage as was Promised long ago. Just walk through that door and the cage disappears. We do not have to allow them to confine our spirits any longer. The day is here. The door is open.
After I finished speaking, I was emotionally drained, but more alive than I have ever felt before. Many Elders spoke after me, including Francisco, and including Mary, one of the respected woman Elders. After the speaking was done, it was decided that all the Elders would sign and all lined up to sign on behalf of the Nation, to give birth to The One Nation, to light the torch. Then the most amazing thing happened. All the younger Algonquin lined up because they wanted to sign to, as individual humans, as Algonquin, as the first citizens of The One Nation, as examples to their children who looked on. Then others signed, Native and Non-Native, humans freeing their spirits and breaking their cages. Chuckie ran out of pages for signing.
Monday morning was another spiritual and emotional closing ceremony, actually and symbolically preparing a bundle representing Mother Earth and planting her anew in the soft dirt under the fir boughs not far from the Sacred Fire, which will now remain lit forever. What happens from here? The Creator knows. We cannot. I am guessing that we now must act as emissaries, as ambassadors for The One Nation, spreading the message to all Nations and people who will listen, to open the door for them, to pass the torch to them. Given my experience with this initial signing, I certainly want to be at each signing to witness once again the Creator at work and at play.
Peace and Love,
Tony P. (Onenkiwahi!)
Sacred Signing Ceremony On Sovereignty
Lac Camatose, La Vérendrye Parc, Québec. On April 20, 2008, at 12 noon, a historic signing of a new Declaration of Sovereignty will take place here, and simultaneously in many other places across North America and around the world.
In Québec, ceremonies will start at sunrise, on Saturday, April 19, 2008, and will carry on throughout Sunday, the Day of Signing, and the following day. In La Vérendrye, the ceremonies will be performed by Elder, Jacob Wawatie, Algonquin Nation, a participant in the process of developing the Declaration.
The document being signed is titled “Declaration Of Sovereignty Of The Confederated Nations Of The Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas”. See the attached Press Release, below, for more details about the global significance of the Declaration and its signing. The description and agenda for the Signing Ceremony follows, directly below.
Ceremony To Reconnect to Mother Earth:
April 19-21, 2008 Lac Camatose, La Verendrye, Quebec
Jacob Wawatie will be performing a traditional ceremony to renew the connection of the cultural roots of the people living off the land in harmony with the resources. Enshrine within the cultural belief, a step to reclaiming cultural roots and identity as a Nation based from Genesis of The Turtle Island.
The ceremony will be enacted:
• To reconnect the people and the resources of the land
• To reconnect to the understanding and belief of the Algonquin Nation arising from living off the land (Mother Earth)
• To reinstate the fiduciary responsibilities to maintain the spiritual relationship to Nature and its spirits
• To reinstate the knowledge of the land
• To reinstate the culture and tradition of Mother Earth.
Location:
Camatose Hill, Lake Camatose
La Vérendrye Parc
Québec, Canada
(see Directions, below)
Agenda
1st Day: Saturday, April 19, 2008.
Sunrise Ceremony
Ceremony of Acknowledgement of The Great Spirit
Ceremony of Acknowledgement of The Living Elements
Ceremony of Acknowledgement of Mother Earth
Ceremony of Acknowledgement of The Living Spiritual Beings (creatures)
2nd day: Sunday, April 20, 2008.
Sunrise Ceremony
Ceremony of Alliance with Creation (brotherhood/sisterhood)
12:00 Signing Ceremony of “Declaration of Sovereignty”
Celebrating Ceremony
3rd day: Monday, April 21, 2008.
Sunrise Ceremony
Ceremony of Celebration
Feasting Ceremony
Ceremony for the Healing Of Mother Earth
Ultimately, this is a Declaration of Stewardship to support making a stand on the knowledge needed for survival and flourishing with respect to Ecology, which then creates the law. Participate in laying out some ground-rules on how this needs to be rectified.
Directions:
• From Montreal: Highway 15 N, then 117 N to Grand Remous
• From Ottawa: Highway 105 N to Maniwaki, continue to Grand Remous
• Continue from Grand Remous on 117 N past Le Domain, in La Verendrye Park (Highway 117 N goes right through the Park, starting ~ 25 km North of Grand Remous; Le Domain is about 50 km further north); • ~ 30 km north of Le Domain look for sign for Lac Camatose, poster for the ceremony will be posted along highway on the right. Park and hike in.
Contact Information:
Jacob Wawatie, Algonquin Elder: wigibiwajak@hotmail.com
Tel: 819-438-1866
Anthony J. Pasquariello, Mohawk Attorney: tonyplaw@optonline.net
Cell: 201- 410-8253
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PRESS RELEASE
March 12, 2008:
As of the date of this Press Release, more than 100 Indigenous Sovereign Nations who live and prosper in the traditional ways within the current borders of Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Caribbean have agreed to gather together on April 20, 2008, to sign a Declaration of Sovereignty, by which these Indigenous Sovereign Nations will join together to re-assert their inherent sovereignty as ONE, inviting all Indigenous Sovereign Nations from all around the world to join. This movement, foreseen in the Prophesies thousands of years ago, is named “The Sovereignty Project.” The Elders (Hereditary Chiefs, Clan Mothers, Faith Keepers and others) will decide upon a name for this newly con-federated Nation at the time of the gathering for the signing. This is truly a universal Declaration. The Indigenous Sovereign Nations will gather at a signing ceremony to take place at a location (or locations) soon to be decided by the Nations involved, at which time the New Confederacy will be born.
As most of you know, on September 13, 2007, the United Nations’ General Assembly approved the much touted United Nations’ Declaration on The Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the “UN Declaration”). Although this UN Declaration recognizes the right of our Nations to seek self-determination, it is not the true Declaration. Although the UN Declaration supports this movement toward the New Confederacy, it does not, in and of itself, do anything strategic to advance the cause of Indigenous Sovereign Nations around the world. Only the Declaration can create the New Confederacy. Only the New Confederacy can lead us forward.
Again, those who know will understand that the traditional governing systems and the traditional cultures of these Indigenous Sovereign Nations were and continue to be decimated by laws enacted by their “host” countries, including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Caribbean and numerous others, which laws, among other things, impose false (proxy)(foreign) governments on our peoples. This true Declaration of true Sovereignty has the blessing of the Creator and International Law.
The creation of the New Confederacy will “immediately” free the Indigenous Sovereign Nations to re-assert their sovereignty, an inherent sovereignty granted by the Creator to each human at birth, which was never surrendered and never could have been surrendered. It has taken the Indigenous Sovereign Nations over 200 years to regroup and arrive at this crucial point in history to re-commence performing their sacred duties to care for Mother Earth, all Her creatures, great and small (and, hence, all humans too). It is no accident and no coincidence that the Creator has chosen this time to arrange the reemergence of these ancient Nations. The air, the water, the land and all living things are in danger now as never before. The New Confederacy is born from all things positive, not from anger for past oppression and atrocities undeniably committed. These things are forgiven. When the colonizers arrived, as predicted in the Prophesies, our ancestors welcomed them and cared for them, as the Creator instructed, when they could not care for themselves. They were like children sitting at our feet in need of sustenance, which many of our ancestors gladly provided. The children grew up steadily over the course of several hundred years, only to rebel against their caregivers, reacting with greed and forgetfulness of all that was done for them and all that we tried to teach them, harming our Mother the Earth in the process. For this they must also be forgiven. The time has come, however, when these now young adults must realize and admit the error of their youthful and frivolous ways and turn once again to the wisdom and care of those who raised them. Unwittingly, they developed along the way the technological and linguistic means for all Indigenous Sovereign Nations to now join together with one good mind and one pure heart for the good of all humans.
In conclusion, the New Confederacy extends an open invitation to all Indigenous Sovereign Nations to join us on this historic and epic peaceful path into the future and also to convey this all-important message to all colonizing states: “The New Confederacy extends, once again, its open hand in friendship and in good faith as our gesture of our desire to continue to coexist for the benefit and respect of all living creatures and our one true Mother, the Earth herself.”
Contact Information:
wigibiwajak@hotmail.com (Elder, Algonquin)
gmetallic@hotmail.com (Chief, Mi’gmaq)
tonyplaw@optonline.net (Attorney, Mohawk)
gram.ma.dolly@hotmail.com
nazlabo1@bigpond.net
