tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055374784245444708.post6355293046396126319..comments2023-06-09T09:10:31.653-06:00Comments on Rez Ramblings/Off The Rez Ramblings: Crow Dog the Holy ManLeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10585480563855542901noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055374784245444708.post-34655461312356138212013-10-21T04:45:35.390-06:002013-10-21T04:45:35.390-06:00i am a 4th generation native hebrew-israelite whos...i am a 4th generation native hebrew-israelite whose family emigrated from eastern europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. <br /><br />i'm a dissident and got myself shot in los angeles for writing things about the CIA-drug mafia in venice beach people didn't want to see in print. the bullet was left in and my friends directed me to chief crow dog to ask him to sing uweepee ceremony for me. the following is something i just wrote in response to a posting by a friend containing a black elk quote. if leonard, ernie or anybody else would want to contact me, i would be most happy to be able to thank them again for the healing. i used the picture from this page with my posting at faceook. if that is an issue, i apologize and will remove it. <br /><br /><br />when i went to chief Leonard Crow Dog of the rosebud lakota band to ask him to sing the uweepee healing ceremony for me to remove a bullet from my back that had been left behind because it wasn't life threatening and i was a charity patient, he told me that he couldn't help me, but the spirits he would invoke with the ceremony would.<br /><br />traditionally, the medicine chief would want some tobacco, a pony and a few blankets, but in 1993, we substituted a turtle-top camper van for the pony. i also brought along enough food to feed us all for the week of preparation for the ceremony.<br /><br />to prepare, i went on nature walks with leonard who would tell me about the medicine that was all around us and the his native cosmology. i went in the sweat lodge every day with his anglo apprentice, brad and made a long string of what's called tobacco ties to use as the perimeter of the altar space for the ceremony.<br /><br />the ties are bits of red, white, black and yellow cloth with a pinch of tobacco in them tied onto a cord to be laid around the area where i would sit and chief crow dog laid tied in a blanket singing the ceremony. there was a row of a few drummers and singers on the outside of the ties and the shaman rattles and fans were laid on the ground in front of me.<br /><br />i prayed real hard to my own spirit guides during the preparation week to make sure that it would be made clear to me whether i was experiencing real spirits or a hoax. the ceremony was performed in chief crow dog's nephew, ernie running's basement on a very hot summer day in a room with no air conditioner or fan running. ernie was the lead drummer and leonard, wrapped in the blanket started singing, invoking spirits to come and join him to remove the bullet.<br /><br />when he invoked the spirits of his grandfather crow dog and sinte gleske, the chief that he had killed in the landmark murder conviction that was overturned by the supreme court, they appeared in front of my face in that spooky 30's hollywood horror flick shimmering image sort of way and the rattle and fan started to fly around me with nobody visible holding them giving off little lightning bug flashes. when leonard invoked hawk, the north wind spirit, there was a blast of ice cold, clean, crisp air accompanying his arrival.<br /><br />though the experience itself and the fact that my pain was gone was plenty to convince me that the healing was legitimate, i had seen the bullet on x-rays prior to the ceremony and have never been able to find it since.<br /><br />happy day<br /><br />peace <br /><br />tommy tooter<br /><br />drwhatsthis@hotmail.com<br />Tommie Jayne Wasserberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14923733602838574941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7055374784245444708.post-3313150340043298532012-04-10T18:33:34.130-06:002012-04-10T18:33:34.130-06:00I am an Oglala Sioux Tribal Member. My father bor...I am an Oglala Sioux Tribal Member. My father born in 1929 grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation where he was forcefully taken from his mother as a child. He died at the average age that Pine Ridge Sioux die, at age 45 when I was nine. My father never had to be drafted as he willingly joined the armed services as many Sioux men did in his generation. To lose someone such as my father was a loss for me & the U.S. as my father was genius. What an asset he would have made, particularly in science & physics if he had been given equal opportunity.<br />APPALLING sums the average life expectancy rate on The Pine Ridge Reservation. INEXCUSABLE, is that Pine Ridge has the highest poverty rate in the U.S., highest infant mortality rate in U.S., 70% unemployment rate (higher during winter). DEPLORABLE, is the substandard housing & water conditions, high teen suicide rate & high school dropout rate. UNJUSTIFIABLE are the overall health conditions. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, & MALNUTICION are abundant. I could go on & on.<br />Why does this continue? One problem is that Pine Ridge Reservation, the Oglala Sioux, and all their difficulties are literally tucked away from sight, as the nearest city is many miles away. Another problem is that the U.S.A. has had a recession (overall, U.S. unemployment rate is a nuisance compared to the Oglala Sioux unemployment rate).<br />Where there is poverty like this, there is increased violence and more victims. To 'help', the U.S. Gov., created The Tribal Law and Order Act a couple years ago. More 'policing' due to high violence. That is not what the Oglala Sioux need. Prevention is necessary e.g. preventative healthcare. Prevent the high violence. Look at the tenants that contribute to such deplorable living conditions & do something about them. <br />Study Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs if one does not understand what living in true poverty requires. Many individuals could be assets or resources. The problem is that one cannot evolve to their fullest if thoughts are on basics such as food, shelter, & clothing.<br />The current way of life for the Oglala Sioux on Pine Ridge Reservation was created. It is simply indefensible that it is allowed to continue.J Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09849029830712945938noreply@blogger.com