Wisdom Taught Naturally

cross posted from round circle

As I mentioned in an earlier post, The Longest Walk started in San Francisco. We quickly moved away from the urban clutter of the bay and traveled south through the central valley from Sacramento, CA. Our route closely followed US Highway 99. The towns all had a common thread, agriculture. Each area known for one specialized crop. Walnuts, almonds, grapes, olives, melons.

We wanted to get to Bakersfield as we knew our route would turn east at that point, towards Arizona and New Mexico, heading us to our ultimate goal of Washington DC by summertime. We were enjoying the weather. It was nice, with temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s during the day. But when the sun dipped low in the sky, the nights turned cool. And with the wind brought outright cold. I was camping and sleeping in my van, using the fold out sofa that turns into a bed. I left it a sofa and slept on my side, being careful to park so the blood wouldn’t rush to my head or I wouldn’t roll onto the floor.

It wasn’t windy in the van, but it wasn’t warm either. I was careful to not allow myself to start the engine to run the heater. There was no such luxury for the tent campers, and I wasn’t going to waste precious expensive gasoline when I had a good sleeping bag and a Hudson Bay blanket to keep me warm.

We spent four full days and nights in Bakersfield. In Delano, just North of there, some folks told us some stories about the Bakersfield area. A Native woman told us that her family, her ancestors, came from Bakersfield and that at one time, the north end was Indian land. She described the river winding through along a cliff and the hills grew from there to the North. “This was our homeland” she exclaimed, “And they took our land and made us move. Now, the area is all oil wells. You’ll see them when you get to where you’re going tomorrow”.

As she described, when we got off the highway and turned left at Seventh Standard Road, we took another turn on China Grade Road and saw them, the oil wells, as she told us. You could see the curved cliff with the river flowing, then the foothills rising. I saw the people of long ago living there. The Sacred land of the people, now choked with oil wells. The irony is that we were paying well in excess of $3.30 per gallon for gasoline, and the oil was right there. It’s all about money you know, and man’s greed.

This greed has lead to the exploitation of all people to some degree. the rich control the lives of those less fortunate and the cultures that spoke broken or no English or have dark skin suffer the most. But the poverty stricken are on that list too. The Native Indigenous people have experienced living in an genocide atmosphere for over 500 years.

But as we passed through reservation after rancheria after pueblo, the messages were not about the usual land grab and mistreatment of the Native people. The concerns are for Mother Earth and the future generations. At Fort Mojave, near Needles, CA, the concern was chromium in some of the drinking water wells. This poison was being diverted by pumping water from the contaminated wells to other wells farther away from the Colorado River.

Medicine Lake, near Mt. Shasta, is constantly threatened by big energy companies on Native land. There is a geothermal issue there. There are lime issues near/in the Colorado River that the Hualapai people are currently being affected by. And our trip into the Grand Canyon was heavenly beautiful, but the Havasupai people and surrounding tribes are facing big issues with old open uranium mines and recently proposed mining operations that would affect more than just the Hualapai, Havasupai, and Navajo people.

As far as Sacred sites are concerned, I have already discussed in a previous post my views that our homes and homeland are Sacred sites, not just to Native Indigenous people, but to all people, and to desecrate ones land and place where they live desecrates us all. So is the problem around Flagstaff, AZ. There, the San Francisco Peaks which are held sacred by 7 southwest tribes are being threatened by a ski resort’s attempt to buy treated sewage effluent (toilet water) from the city of flagstaff and pump it into snow guns to expand the resort. This being done into an ecosystem that is home to over 200 species of birds and mammals, ancient medicines traditionally used by the people, and a place of spiritual refuge for as long as history has been written.

Now I am learning about the groundwater that is almost depleted in Black Mesa, the only water source for the Navajo people since they don’t have rights to the water from the Colorado River. Because of Peabody Coal, other mining operations, and big energy companies the water they are fighting to keep is becoming polluted anyway and some animals who drink from certain natural springs have literally died overnight.

These are some of the issues being brought to the attention of The Longest Walk. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more and more stories like this across the land. When I returned home, I find Indian tribes fighting over issues of money from the casinos in two nearby tribes. The issue of the youth on and off the reservations is at stake as well as the idea that the more you have the happier you’ll be.

Lastly, I want to say that the message of the Walk is a positive one. Calling attention to these and other problems is positive in the fact that it is for the generations of the future that we attempt to change the outcome of these issues from disaster to triumph for this great land and the people that will inhabit it years from now.

In my own life, I have been giving much thought to how I really walk on Mother Earth. It does no good to talk the talk, I must attempt to walk the walk. I can’t just sell a car and say that I am using less gasoline and causing less pollution. I must relegate the car so it won’t ever be driven again and never allow it to pollute again, at my hand, or at someone else’s hand. Just selling it so someone else is doing the pollution is not good enough. I must give up the money angle associated with it as well.

The money is important as we all need some to live on. But material wealth cannot be the driving force any longer. We have already given up commercial broadcast TV. We got rid of the land based phone and charges that go with that like long distance and DSL internet connection. We still use electricity. I want to address this issue in my own life and find a way to use wind and solar power or do without electrically, or fossil fuel powered appliances as much as we can.

These things sound drastic, but these are drastic times and dictate drastic measures. One of my personal goals when I went to the walk in the first place was to challenge myself and try to change my habits as far as eating and exercise are concerned. I have had some success in these areas and I am motivated. I can do more of both personally and hope it will spread into my own community and influence my surroundings.

During the walk, there was a young woman who felt the need to ask everyone at every meal if they could use a basic plate and utensil and wash it instead of using a styrofoam plate and disposable plastic fork, knife and spoon. Many of the people who generously donated food in the form of a meal served us on styrofoam as they have been doing for a long time. Her example of going through the chore of digging out her plate and washing it herself after each use instead of filling the landfills with styrofoam caught on and I pledged to her that I would try to not be lazy and I would not use the disposable stuff. She cried when I told her I would try. The human spirit means so much to some of us. All it takes is one simple change in ones life to start making a difference.

I wish I was still with my friends on The Longest Walk. You, my faithful readers, are probably sick of hearing about all this stuff, but I feel it important to lay it on thick and hopefully make some kind of difference, if only for a moment, in this lifetime. I feel this is the least I can do for the Sacred Earth Mother.

Now, go in peace. Do one thing today that will help Earth tomorrow. Love each other, accept your differences and allow respect to flow from your hearts towards all people. After all, that’s how we all want to be treated, right?