The Black Hills.....

PLEASE HELP SAVE THE BLACK HILLS

http://groups.msn.com/TributetoMedicineBear/news.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=1888 

(The Heart Of Everything)

 

 for those of you who visited the Bear pages and your now here...

Since you've had a chance to have some bear fun now we thought it be respectful and nice if we included some Lakota things and also includes Bears:-)First off.. the word "Bear" in Lakota is "Mato" for those that don't know.There's a very spiritual place also to the Lakota with a bear word in it.” SleepingMountain""Or "Bear "Mountain"...translated means bear butte.... or the Black Hills.It is the most important religious site for spiritual ceremonies. Long ago... to the sadness of Indians settlers from Europe came to this area with the opening of the American West to expansion and settlement hoping for  gold. The Black Hills are rich with gold they said. And so many wanted it. The largest share of theBack Hills National Forest lies in western South Dakota, with a smaller chunk spilling over into Wyoming around the Bear Lodge Mountains and Devil's Tower. It's big, stretching from south of Hot Springs all the way up to north of Deadwood.Also here....Bear Butte..which  is a geologic formation situated on the eastern edge of the beautiful area in western South Dakota known to most people as the Black Hills. Named after black elk.Its location is not far from Sturgis, South Dakota, site of a huge motorcycle rally that draws thousands of motorcyclists from all over North America. It is one of the most oldest mountain formations in the world I think. My dad said there was water, a spring water that ran through it that would heal you if you were sick. Although theBlackHills was, and still is, protected by treaty for the exclusive use of the people of the Great Sioux Nation, the federal government of the United States has allowed the complete destruction of the black hills primarily through mining, logging, tourism and housing development.

Although the Black Hills was, and still is, protected by treaty for the exclusive use of the people of the Great Sioux Nation, the federal government of the United States has allowed the complete destruction of the Black Hills primarily through mining, logging, tourism and housing development. It still produces gold today. And the American natives still believe it should not be open to everyone like it is, to be charged to get in unless your and Indian doing a ceremony. Many peoples wanted this land. Long ago and today. Buffalo hunters and cowboys came to this area to hunt buffalo and herd cattle. We lost many buffalo there carelessly. Today thousands of visitors come as tourists to visit the natural beauty and tourist attractions which have been developed in the area. They have cut nature to produce more commercialized entertainment for the public. Some yet seek the hills for spiritual reasons. my Grandfather even use to visit there. One of his last wishes was to go there as he felt it held healing properties. He took my Uncle there who had muscular dystrophy to soak in the vast mysterious beauty. The spiritual significance of Bear Butte has continued notwithstanding many instances of conflict between those who come to the site for spiritual reasons and others who come for recreational and commercial purposes. Many Indians long ago and even yet today plead for the rights to this land back. Red cloud was one such man. He said to the people in Washington, I told you we wanted no road to be built on our Mato Paha.Our Black Hills. He wanted to keep it sacred where buffalo roamed free and cattle were not disturbed and spiritual visions and quests could be had without the disturbance of white settlers. His wishes were never met....nor at the pleading of many others. Later.....It became a state park.

Passed by Congress of the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act of 1978, several spiritual leaders of the Lakota and Tsistsistas brought a class action suit in federal court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief as well as damages against the authorities charged with responsibility of management of the state park. The spiritual leaders argued that recent development and construction of park facilities to promote tourist activity in the vicinity of the ceremonial grounds on the park, including the development of a trail on the butte diminished the spiritual value of the site and disrupted religious ceremonies. As grounds for their claims relating to religious observances, the spiritual leaders relied on the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The trial court held against the spiritual leaders on the ground that their interests were outweighed by the compelling interest of the state of South Dakota in "preserving the environment and the resource from further decay and erosion, in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of park visitors, and in improving public access to this unique geological and historical landmark. The trial court also held if one assumed the congressional legislation and international human rights documents, applied in this case, that the rights protected by those sources did not exceed the First Amendment. On appeal in 1983 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court and the United States Supreme Court denied a request for a writ of certiorari. A copy of the circuit court of appeal's opinion may be found here. On e the good side there are yet defenders trying to help the land. The Defenders of the Black Hills is a group of volunteers, without racial or tribal boundaries, whose mission is to ensure that all of the provisions of the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 are upheld by the federal government of the United States. , these volunteers are also upholding the Constitution of the United States which, in Article Six, states that "treaties are the Supreme Law of the land."

Until the Treaties are upheld, the actions of the Defenders are to restore and protect the environment of the Black Hills and the surrounding Treaty Area to the best of their ability.

Bear Butte is known as Mato Paha in the Lakota language, meaning the "mountain of sleeping bear" because of its shape and mythological meaning. Or He’ Sapa, are considered “the heart of everything that is” by the Lakota  It actually isn't a butte at all, but rather a laccotlith, much like Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia.  In an area surrounded my buffalo and prairie.  It developed because of volcanic activity where magma never reached the surface to cause an eruption, but instead cooled and solidified beneath the surface, pushing up the earth into a 1,200 foot mound seen today.  It is constantly changing with erosion, and affects from fires, weather, and other natural occurrences.

A very sacred and special place that is not forgotten if you ever visit.To the north and west of the Black Hills of South Dakota, there stands another unique natural land formation, rising high into the air. Known as Devil’s TowerDevil’s Tower and Bear Butte, situated east of the Black Hills, have much in common. Similar in shape, in appearance like pouting children, both stand forever aloof from their parent, the Black Hills. Like Bear Butte, Devil’s Tower was a hallowed spire beckoning the native peoples to perform their religious rituals around its base

 

  Here is a Story

 

One day seven little girls were playing at a distance from the village and were chased by some bears. The girls ran toward the village and when the bears were about to catch them, they jumped to a low rock about three feet in height. One of them prayed to the rock, "Rock, take pity on us--Rock, save us." The rock heard them and began to elongate itself upwards, pushing the children higher and higher out of reach of the bears., When the bears jumped at them they scratched the rock, broke their claws and fell back upon the ground. The rock continued to push the children upward into the sky while the bears jumped at them. The children are still in the sky, seven little stars in a group (the pleiades). According to the legend the marks of the bears' claws may be seen on the side of the rock.

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There's no need to go through the endless ritual of tying your food up after every meal since there are no bears here, or hardly anymore and mosquitoes are virtually nonexistent.There was once many animals in the black hills. But because of hunters, settlers and commercialism there are not as many anymore as there once was. When the Christian missionaries first came into contact with the Lakota, the missionaries tried to organize the language into dictionaries. As a result, true meanings of certain words were replaced with definitions, which were influenced by the missionaries' Christian beliefs. Hence, their interpretation of Wamakaskan is animals, excluding humans. Their definition alludes that humans are above and separate from all other creation.
However, in Lakota thought, humans are not above or separate from the rest of creation. In fact, we are related and connected to all of creation as is expressed in the Lakota phrase, Mitakuye Oyas'in,(we are all related) which is also a prayer unto itself. Thus, the true meaning of Wamakaskan is all creation.

 Please Respect your forests where you live.Protect them by not littering in them,take care of them.Tell your cities people not to cut them down and if they do to replant  some.The Great Mystery gave us all this land and the tress and the critters to love and take care of them.If we do not take care of them they will be no more.Just as the many creatures that use to be in the Balck Hills are no more.

Take care of Mother Earth and all inside it.

Mitakuye Oyas'in!!