Sacred Run 2006 - REFLECTIONS FROM THE ROAD

Day 45 - Monday, March 27, 2006
Raceland, Louisiana

I've been away from the Run for a few days, so I have some catching up to do! Thankfully, others are eager to tell the story and many have been taking pictures. So here below is the first of a series of articles covering the last few days in Southern Louisiana.

First, an overview: Hosted by the United Houma Nation, our runners and walkers were treated to a Benefit Concert on Saturday, March 25. Joined by local runners and walkers, the group ventured forth each Saturday, Sunday and Monday from the campground in Raceland, Louisiana, and ran through the bayous. I'm told it was a great time, wonderful people!

Here are some other pics from Bayou LaFourche & Southern Louisiana...

Here is a piece by Jane Stillwater, posted on her blog at http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/

Born on the bayou: Tribal Katrina victims, you have not been forgotten!

Holy sheep dookie! I just got out of a Native American sweat lodge. Those things are FIERCE! First we all crowded into a willow frame covered with really heavy felt blankets to hold in the heat. Then some "Firemen" threw a whole bunch of really hot rocks into the tent and it got so hot that I thought my skin was gonna turn into Kentucky fried chicken. Then, while I was in shock and awe that I would have to spend the rest of my life in a burn unit, my evil twin got so scared that my good twin came out!

But only for a minute. My evil twin is back. Sorry about that.

Then after the sweat, the best chef in the whole United Houma Nation gave us all vanilla cream pie.

Today is Day 46 (actually Day 45) of the American Indian Movement's Sacred Run across the U.S. of A. On Day 43, I joined up with the Sacred Run in Baton Rouge and happily trotted after them, wearing my shiney red Espirit patent leather Mary Janes through 15 miles of rural Louisiana.

"But Jane," you may say, "you are not taking this run across America seriously." Ah, but I am. The fact that a few handfuls of dedicated men and women can take three whole months out of their lives to run across our country and try to warn us Americans that it is NOT too late to take nature seriously and be kind to her before she tires of our selfish ways and beats the crap out of us instead? I'm serious about that. The rest of this essay is going to be DEAD serious.

The main thing that has truly amazed me about being "On the Run" is how often we get to stop and talk with REAL Americans -- and how often they take time out of their busy lives to stop and talk to us, telling us about their worries, hopes and dreams for themselves and for their country.

Today we did something extra special. We (me and some of the tribal elders) walked and (my son Joe and a bunch of people in much better shape than me) ran through the bayous of southern Louisiana.

Everywhere we went, we saw other American indians -- members of the United Houma Nation -- coming out of their homes and lining up by the side of the road to cheer us on. The Houmas are Native Americans who have lived in these bayous all their lives and their ancestors have trapped, hunted and fished in these bayous for longer than anyone can remember. As we walked (and ran) through Bayou Grand Caillou and Isle de Jean Charles and Bayou La Fourche, we were met by hundreds of Houmas. And each one of them was really really really glad to see us.

One woman said, "Members of the United Houma Nation, without any aid from FEMA or the Red Cross, have worked together to put new roofs on over 70 houses, remove tons of debris and find shelter for the disposessed. We have even collected and re-erected the tombstones of our dead. We did this all by ourselves. And there is still a staggering amount of work left to do."

Again and again, with tears in their eyes, these Houma people told us, "If FEMA and the Red Cross and everyone have already forgotten about helping New Orleans recover, then you can imagine how quickly they have forgotten about us. But you haven't forgotten."

In the last three days, we have either walked or run up and down the banks of these bayous, past gutted houses and trailers, past destroyed shrimp boats, past unbelievable scenes of destruction. And everywhere we went, we have been greeted with smiles and tears.

"Thank you for remembering us," they said. "You are the only ones that have."

PS: Actually, not EVERYBODY forgot about the Houma. It hurts me to have to say this but I gotta give props to Wal-Mart. After the hurricane, Wal-Mart gave the tribe a whole truckload of new clothes.

And of course the oil companies haven't forgotten the Houma either. The Nation has been trying to be recognized as an official tribe for decades now. But you know THAT'S not going to happen. There is too much of a possibility that there is oil under Houma land.

by Jane Stillwater : March 27, 2006, 1:43 PM

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Day 46 - Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Raceland, Louisiana to Poplarville, Mississippi

Through All the Pain and Suffering...
by Jim Toren, Road Manager, Sacred Run 2006

We just finished driving through the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. We’re getting to see first hand the devastation of Katrina and Rita. Seven months later, the only news that the rest of the country gets is that the New Orleans Saints will get to play in their stadium next year. The rest of the country thinks, “Okay, New Orleans must be doing okay?”

Things are not okay.

I will not insult the people here by trying to explain what I have witnessed here and in Houma. But I will share a few stories with you.

We pulled into Isle de Jean Charles and a scarecrow was hanging from a broken tree. Across its face was written HELP US! Kid and I were talking to an old shrimp boat captain. He was telling us how the Federal Government was trying to get their land for oil, and how they also want to open it up for sports fishing. When they all refused to sell, the Government’s solution to this was a law that says if there is more than (I think) three feet of standing water, the Federal Government can claim it as Federal land, so when they built the new levy, they’re going to build it NORTH of the island. When we left, I shook his hand and told him to take care of himself and he said, “We may be a little Island, but we got a lot of love.”

I stopped to talk to a surveyor in the Ninth Ward, and I just asked him if he thought the Ninth Ward could ever recover, and he asked me, “Are you healthy?” I looked at him with a smile, and he said, “All the rest of this is just stuff.” He was happy that his kids were able to go back to school.

We made one more stop before heading across Lake Pontchartrain. We spoke to a young man named Mohammed Abraham. He was picking up garbage. While I was on the phone, Roger was speaking to him, telling him about the Walk and the Run. A few minutes later Mohammed came back with two bottles of water and two bottles of Gatorade for us. By this time I was off the phone. We started talking to him about how, if it wasn’t for the cars on the roads, it would look like a ghost town. He said it was pretty scary around there at night, and that only 3 percent of the population had come back to the area.

In Slidell, Louisiana, I heard stories of a thirty foot wave that came through off the Lake. Only a few houses were still standing. I could go on, but I’ll leave you all with this. Through all the pain and suffering, everything that the people have had to endure, everyone I spoke to left me with two things: a thank you and a smile.

by Jim Toren, Road Manager, Sacred Run 2006

Here are some other pics from New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana...

And here is an archive page - our schedule in LaFourche Parish...

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Day 47 - Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Poplarville, Mississippi to Bay Springs, Mississippi

During our Closing Circle last night, we talked about our walk and run through Southern Louisiana, about how hard it is to absorb all the emotion and energy attached to the devestation we witnessed here. Many of us expressed a kind of shock, even a weariness in our body. How to cope with disaster up close?

It became apparent to us that this is a part of sharing someone's pain. As we walked through mile after mile of smashed homes, broken forests, and places where no one lives or shops or eats or goes to school anymore - we sensed in a visceral way the loss and bewilderment that comes of a natural catastrophe like Katrina/Rita. And the SCALE of it was also a shock. Not one person's disaster, nor that of a family or a village, but of a whole urban and suburban population.

It makes you sick at first.

But then you find yourself sharing not only the pain of those who survived Katrina and the floods. You talk to a neighbor who is picking up trash; you lend a hand to a small-time landlord who is cleaning out a rental in hopes of a new tenant; you pitch in to rebuild a roof or you make small talk with a clerk at a gas station - and you find yourself sharing hope. Because that's what people do. When you're down, you pick yourself up. When it seems that the government doesn't care, you raise your voice and you call for justice. And meanwhile, you pick up the trash and you reopen the school and rebuild a safe place to call home. That's what we do, we.

Our lives - I'm talking about Sacred Runners and Walkers now - our lives have been changed. Our sense of family has widened to embrace the Houma Nation, and all the country and city folks, and we know their pain just a bit, and we take hope from their hope. Energized, we pledge to remember them, to tell their story in Washington, D.C. and back home, and to take action for their well-being. We rebuild now, together.

Here are two more reflections from Sacred Walkers Tony Baugh and Tuffy Isham:

The Houma Nation shows us something very, very important; that even in the face of tragedy and destruction, you cannot destroy the human spirit. In fact, it will only make the people stronger. We will survive. We are one.

Tony Baugh
Big Island, Hawaii

Me-Gwitch to the Houma Nation for the love you have shared with us. A special Me-Gwitch to Chief Brenda D. Robichaux and her husband Dr. Mike Robichaux and Felicity. Also special Me-Gwitch to Clan Mother Mourning Dove. - Dove, you are soooo beautiful. I loved doing the Gator Waltz with you and that fry bread.... almost as yummy as gumbo. Man, thank God for gumbo and fry bread!

Tuff Isham
from Leech Lake, Minnesota, AIM Peace Warrior

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Day 50 - Saturday, April 1, 2006
Philadelphia, Mississippi

On Thursday, we arrived on the lands of the Mississippi Choctaw Nation outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi. We are enjoying huge meals, gracious accommodations, a fine Powwow, and a sweat at the home of our host and Mississippi Sacred Run coordinator, Ron Alex. Even with the rain, maybe partly because of the rain, this place is a paradise of green Mother-Earth peacefulness and abundance.

The Sacred Run message is that All Life is Sacred. So everywhere we go, we carry an intense concern for the struggles of ALL people to be free of prejudice and oppression. Here in Neshoba County many of us honored yesterday's California state holiday for Cesar Chavez, and we are taking note of the significant civil rights history here at our doorstep in Philadelphia, Mississippi. This is the place where voting rights activists Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Earl Chaney, were killed on June 21, 1964, sparking a national outrage among people of all races. The events here in Philadelphia contributed to the growing demand for civil rights for African Americans in the U.S. and led to the first successful federal prosecution of a civil rights case in Mississippi.

On the Philadelphia website, the only reference to Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney is on the county's Parks page. There's a little memorial out east of town on Route 16. I'm sure there are good reasons for residents and leaders here to forget or ignore that which makes this a historic place in my mind. But a stop in Philadelphia is a pilgrimage for anyone with passion about the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. The grizzly story of the Ku Klux Klan's triple murder is memorably portrayed in the 1988 film, Mississippi Burning. And more recently, in 2005, there was national remembrance when an 80-year-old Klansman, Edgar Ray Killen, was brought to trial again with new evidence. This time, Killen was convicted and sentenced.

From Indianz.com:
KKK leader on trial for slayings in Choctaw territory
Friday, June 10, 2005

Jury selection will begin on Monday for the retrial of Edgar Ray Killen, a former Ku Klux Klan member accused of killing three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Philadelphia is home to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Tribal members were denied seats on the jury when Killen first went to trial for the murders in 1864. An all-white jury deadlocked on the original charges.

The case has attracted international attention. It was the subject of the 1988 film Mississippi Burning. A number of media outlets are coming to the city to cover the trial.

Chaney, Schwerner & Goodman - bodies discovered on August 4, 1964 (BBC)

"There are those who dread this being reopened," Don Kilgore, 55, the Choctaw attorney general, told USA Today. "And there are those of us who see it as an exorcism."

William Spell, another lawyer for the tribe, said he welcomes the attention. "Philadelphia today is a model of racial harmony," he told The Independent of UK.

And for another interesting commentary, see JohnSuggs.com/mississippi_burning/, especially the entries for June 16 and September 18.

The memorial to Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Earl Chaney, is located at Mt. Zion Church, off Hwy. 16 East in Neshoba County.

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Day 51 - Sunday, April 2, 2006
Choctaw Nation, Philadelphia, Mississippi

Our arrival and rest stop in Philadelphia has been exciting! We crossed the 3,000 mile mark accompanied by local Choctaw runners as we made our way into Choctaw lands. And many of us joined in solidarity with a brave local runner named Lou for the final two miles, taking it slowly with her, as she has had health problems in the past. The bond of friendship was sealed in this way - the Choctaw are here for us, and we are here for them.

Half of us made camp at the tribal Hospitality House, and the other half at our host Ron Alex' home. We enjoyed a fine sweat on our arrival night (Thursday), and a good meal followed.

Friday began with an incredible breakfast of pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs at the Choctaw Fire Station. There was a downpour around noon, just before lunch was to be served outside the Justice Hall. Everyone pitched in when the event was moved indoors, and a long line of "worker bees" took down the chairs and tables, and carried hot dishes, plates, napkins and everything to the gym. There, the various departments of the Choctaw police honored their members with an awards ceremony, and included Sacred Run in their "company picnic." Once again, the food was extraordinary - a potluck of astounding variety and proportion!

Later on Friday, we attended the Pow-Wow at the Neshoba County Coliseum north of Philadelphia. Powerful drumming accompanied elegant and beautiful traditional dancers until late into the night. There were booths with traditional jewelry and clothing, food, artwork, and lots of other items. Many of us bought keepsakes and received and gave gifts. Sacred Run was honored with a special dance, and we were all introduced to the folks by an exceptionally well-dressed co-Master of Ceremonies, Dennis Banks.

On Saturday, April 1st, some of our Sacred Runners played April Fools jokes on themselves - it was a hair cutting day! First it was Nuno who shaved his head, perhaps going for the Buddhist nun look. Later on, Feather surprised us all by giving himself a Mohawk! Gari followed suit with a Last-of-the-Mohicans look-alike Japanese-style Mohawk. And not to be totally outdone, Larry and Les shaved the sides of their heads for a fancy look of their own.

Saturday morning, Sacred Runners took many of the prizes in a morning benefit run for diabetes. Afterwards, we were treated to an incredible brunch at the Golden Moon Casino at Pearl River Resorts on the Choctaw Reservation. Later, at the Pow-Wow, we were treated to an early supper prepared by the Boy's Club. Another fine night of dancing and ceremonial celebrations followed.

The Choctaw lands are are beautiful and complex, and I think they are a great example of the way people can band together to provide services and build a strong community together. Along with the pristine woods and streams, we are witness to magnificent roads and buildings, a complete "country-style city" with every necessary infrastructure and an economic engine that provides for all. This is a great place to visit, and a wonderful community to live in!

Alcatraz Island to Washington, D.C. February 11, 2006 - April 22, 2006 (Earth Day)

Alcatraz Island to Washington, D.C.
February 11, 2006 - April 22, 2006 (Earth Day)