RAINBOW WARRIORS

one-vibration.com

Spirit Walkers

lovers of the land

walking on Mother Earth with reverence

in harmony with all that is

wisdom-keepers, holding the ancient ways

of those who lived in harmony with nature

for ten thousand years

incomprehensible to them

when the ghost-walkers arrived

taking life from the earth without regard

giving nothing back,

no limits to greed and destruction,

banning prayer, prohibiting language,

trying to eradicate a culture

the word we  are  too guilty to speak: genocide

the social structure we are 

too embarrassed to recognize: apartheid

driven from the beloved homeland

they watered the Trail of Tears

with their sorrow, their blood, their bones

Those who survived bequeathed a strong spirit

to those who followed after,

though it took a hundred years for despair to abate

enough for the warrior spirit

to arise

Now watch those Rainbow Warriors, rising

strong in spirit, in culture

listen to the beating of the drums

rallying, vibrating across this land

hear their songs, see their dances

hear them speaking, strong in their message:

We are awake.

We are Idle No More.

The spirits from the ancestors

who walked that Trail of Tears

are standing with the warriors

and are clamoring to be heard:

You have lived wantonly on Mother Earth,

reaping destruction, without thought

for the seven generations ahead.

Awaken! Bring your souls out of hiding.

Ready your hands and hearts to till and replant,

mend and restore the Earth Mother.

Repair the devastation,

before we all are lost.

The Power of the Drum

The power of the drum,
of the drum,
freeing the primal being
within,
sets our hearts to beating, 
our feet to dancing,
our spirits
joyous
at being alive,
connected to the earth,
sisters, brothers
to each other,
connected
to all life,
to the heartbeat
of our mother,
by the power 
of the drum.

The power of the drum
makes us all warriors,
all sisters,
all brothers,
the power of the drum
makes us
all kin.

He stands up
with one heart,
and speaks for
the many,
this man of the people,
by the power of the drum.


Raymond Robinson, First Nations elder from Manitoba, who has accompanied Chief Theresa Spence on her hunger strike these many weeks, gave a stirring speech on Parliament Hill on January 11. The Idle No More movement, which has spread across Canada like wildfire, is calling for government leaders, especially Stephen Harper, to meet with First Nations leaders on  a nation-to-nation basis, to discuss coexistence in this country. 

Idle No More supporters  want Bill C45 repealed, a bill that First Nations feel violates treaty rights, gives federal government more control over their reserves and will reduce their ability to protect millions of lakes and rivers. (One's mind makes the immediate leap to the northern oil pipeline Harper is so enamored of.) 

sources:  Occupy Canada
cbc.ca
canadianawareness.org
priceofoil.org

Not Just Treaty Rights, but Human Rights

aptn.ca photo

Heroes and warriors come in all shapes and sizes. Today, across Canada, thousands are gathering in many cities, in the bitter wind and snow and cold. The Idle No More movement  is gathering steam, as First Nations communities across Canada - and their supporters (I am one) - gather to support Atawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, in her eleventh day of a hunger strike.

You may remember last year when I blogged Chief Spence announcing a state of emergency on her reserve, in one of the cold northern communities in eastern Canada, where people were living in dire poverty, many without heat or running water - Third World conditions for the First People of this land.

Ms. Spence says not much has changed since then. All she wants is a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to discuss treaty negotiations. Harper  apparently met with Justin Bieber, when he was here,  but feels no urgency to meet with this woman who states she is "ready to die for my people."

occupycanada.org photo

An Idle No More movement has sprung up in response. This crowd marched on Parliament Hill this morning.

occupycanada.org photo

Here a thousand-person flashmob performed a traffic-stopping round dance in Toronto.

I am sorry to report this, in times that are already bleak. But I am heartened to see people taking a stand for justice, even in the bitter cold. Oppressed spirits always always rise. In Canada, this is the hour.

All My Relations.