The Seventh Generation is making a difference

When I was younger and I was following what we call the Black Road my normal state of mind was being cynical, negative and sarcastic. I was not much fun to be around. I was miserable and I wanted others to be equally miserable. Since I have been following the Red Road the past 38 years that is no longer my perspective. I am not naive to think that just because we have some good news in Indian country that all is well in our Tribal communities. However, I do feel we need to share good news when it happens to give hope to our people and to let others know that we have so many of our beautiful people and our allies making a difference to make life better for all of us.

This is all part of the Seventh Generation prophecy being fulfilled which says that we are entering a time of harmony.

In the picture above you see some pictographs from the Bears Ear National Monument in Utah which is a sacred to a number of Tribes in the area. Under the Biden Administration and with the leadership of the new Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland, the land has been restored full protection and even expanded. This reverses the policy of the previous administration and is a major victory for preserving a sacred area for Tribes in the area.

Last Friday President Biden declared it National Indigenous Day to honor the sovereignty of Tribes and to celebrate the contributions of Native Americans to our country. It is the hope of many Tribes that this will lead to Indigenous day replacing Columbus day which may occur in the near future.

This week there were a number of climate activists who are protesting the lack of action by congress to deal with the code red climate change which is causing so much damage to mother earth. Tribal youth from all over Indian country including from my Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, have been instrumental in keeping this issue on the frontburner. We should all be very proud of their efforts as we all need to do our part to fight the good fight for our future, our children and our grandchildren.

Many of us are aware of the trauma surrounding the discovery of unmarked graves in Canada at the First Nations residential boarding schools. Deb Haaland, our Secretary of Interior, has commissioned a task force to do a similar investigation of the boarding schools here in the United States. There final report will be issued in April 2022. This will be very traumatic for all of our people who have been devastated by this deep soul wound. However, it is better to know than not know as once we know we can continue our healing process. We must always remember that the pain of one is the pain of all and the honor of one is the honor of all.

So these are just a few of the positive developments happening in Indian country that I wanted to share with you all. I like the saying we have in one of my spiritual programs that says: "I am better than I used to be but not as good as I am going to be."

Mitakuye Oyasin - All My Relations