EARTH MEDICINE

Chief Seattle of the Duwamish

Message from Chief Seattle to President Franklin Pearce during Treaty of 1856.

One thing we know that the white man may one day discover: Our God is the same God. You may think that  you own him as you wish to own our land, but you cannot. He is the God of man, and his compassion is equal for the redman and the white. The Earth is precious to him,  and to harm the Earth is to heap contempt on it's Creator. When the last redman has vanished from the Earth, and the memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, these shores and forests will still hold the spirits of my people, for they love the Earth as the newborn loves it's mothers heartbeat. If we sell you our land, love it as we have cared for it. Hold it in your mind, the memory of the land as it is when you take it. And with all your strength, with all your might, and with all your heart, preserve it for your children and love it as God loves us all.

We cannot buy or  sell the sky, or the warmth of the land. We do not own the freshness of the air, or the sparkle of the water. Every part of the Earth is sacred. Every shining pine needle. Every sandy shore. Every mist in the dark woods. Every clearing. Every humming insect is holy in the memory of my people. But to the white man one portion of the land is the same as the next. The Earth is an enemy which is there to be conquered. He kidnaps the Earth for his children. He does not care. His appetite will devour the Earth and leave behind only a desert. There is no quiet place in the cities. No place to hear the waves of the spring or the rustle of the insect's wings. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of the pond, and the smell of the wind itself cleansed by the midday rain, or scented with pinion pine. The air is precious to the Redman, for all things share the same breath- the beasts, the trees, the man. Chief Seattle said that if he signed the treaty he would make one condition. It was this: " The white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. For what is man without his beasts? If the beasts were gone, men would die from great lonliness of Spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.                                                                                                               Chief Seattle In 1856 the treaties were signed and fourteen Indian bands were forced on to reservations. Three months later settlers and miners poured relentlessly into the treaty land, war again broke out and the Spirit of the Redman was finally broken. The American Indian was a natural man, a true Earth Man, for he saw the Earth as a paradise to be savoured and enjoyed, and as man as it's caretaker. Today, the United Nations stands as  caretaker and peacemaker of our Earth and comprises representatives of all races and peoples and nations...except the Redman. No Redman has a seat among all the peoples of the Earth but remains rejected, ignored, unrecognised. Yet it is to the Spirit of the  Redman that the peoples of the Earth must now turn if the Earth is to be healed from the sickness that has been inflicted upon her and if mankind is to find harmony and peace and be restored to its rightful role as caretakers of the Earth.

Walk in Balance on the Earth Mother

BUFFALO: Totem of the North The buffalo was the most important animal to the American Indian because it provided everything needed to sustain life. The buffalo symbolised the Spirit that gives totally of itself and of its essence in the process of life.

Guardian of the Earth and Heavens, I am your creation, You are the Tree of Life. I am a branch, flowering, thankful, and contented. The marvels. The natural elements You have made them. I am in awe and wonder. Through your guidance and love you give me a precious vine, It is the Thread of Life to follow. It leads me satisfied among the fragrant meadows and calm waters. Nourishment from the land, the waters, and the air. I am blessed. I give thanks for all. You are the Spirit at my center. With you I am strong, my heart is good. Sometimes it is not easy, This lifes road, sometimes I fall. You give me strength and dirction to carry on. Life is but a part of the cycle...a beginning. As with all things in time. I know I must leave behind this earthly life, entering another journey that I travel with no fear. You are with me forever. Bad times come with the good. But good will prevail. I speak from my heart. I have done my best to follow the good path, ready for the next journey. I am prepared, rejoining my relatives with pride in a good life, lived. I will present myself, with pride, Great Spirit.

FEATHER: The feather is symbolic of the human aura. It was used by Shamans as an auric healing tool.

The world is as we dream it. When we give energy to our visions, they materialize.

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