Spirit Path Memorial
Jim Main Sr., elder and warrior was an intregal part in the founding and creation of IEN, and was a long term National Council member for IEN. He was also a member of the International Indian Treaty Council and the Grand Governing Council of the American Indian Movement. His teachings of wisdom and the memory of his humor and traditional songs will stay with us. Ga-a-woo-wuss (Coyote Bear), a.k.a. James Main, Sr., of the White Clay Nation died peacefully in his sleep at approximately 4:30 a.m. on January 29, 2009. His hard-fought battle with End-Stage Congestive Heart Failure over the past several years finally took its toll about two weeks ago. Like a true warrior, he did not go down easily, but went with honor and dignity. To the end, he maintained his humor, making those around him laugh…and cry as he used his dwindling strength to sing, talk Indian, pray, and tell of old times. Always at the center of his heart and spirit was the survival of the Red Nations. It is an overwhelmingly sad day for his loved ones here on earth, but truly a victorious day for a warrior who is so deserving of the peace, love, and acceptance he will meet as all our relatives take him to his rightful place in the spirit world, known as the “Big Sands” to the White Clay people. Wake services will be held Saturday, January 31 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at his residence in Hays, Montana. Traditional services will be held Sunday, February 1 at 1:00 p.m. followed by burial at the family cemetary in Big Warm, Montana. If you would like to make a contribution to the family at this time - Please Contact: Rose Main: 406.390.5350 (mobile), 406.673.3013 (home) James Main, Sr.'s residence: 406.673.3813 William "Snuffy" Main: 406.945.7349 Harold "Jiggs" Main: 406.262.3041 Click here to read more of the life and work of James Main, Sr. at Censored News. Photo Credit: James Main, Sr. at his home, taken by Brenda Norrell Vernon Bellecourt(WaBun-Inini) |
 Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota musician, actor, and activist, passed away at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after an extended illness. He was 71. Monday, December 17, 2007, nearly 1,000 people from the Four Directions of Mother Earth came to witness the final ceremony as traditional Dakota and Lakota spiritual leaders laid his body into the ground. After a long trip from Los Angeles, his body was brought home to the Lake Traverse Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota territories in northwestern South Dakota. Lots of people, both Native and non-Native, young and old, traveled to South Dakota to show their respect and honor the work he had done. People expressed how Floyd had touched their lives. As a member of American Indian Movement, and a spokesman for the International Indian Treaty Council, Westerman traveled the world extensively working for the betterment of Indigenous peoples. He was a tireless supporter of the Indigenous Environmental Network and his wit, wisdom and guidance will be greatly missed by many. He was truly the Cultural Ambassador to the World. He shall be missed, but his memory will carry on within us. We honor him by remembering his words and work: "And I told them not to dig for uranium, for if they did, the children would die. They didn't listen, they didn't listen, they didn't listen to me. And I told them if the children die, there would be no keepers of the land. They didn't listen. And I told them if they destroy the sky, machines would come and soon destroy the land. They didn't listen... And I told them if they destroy the land, man would have to move into the sea. They didn't listen... And I told them if they destroy the sea -- they didn't listen..." -From the Floyd Westerman song "They Didn't Listen" as Westerman recited the lyric concluding his testimony in 1992 at the World Uranium Hearings in Salzburg, Austria. "There is an ancient Indian saying that something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable while history serves only those who seek to control it, those who douse the flame of memory in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth. Beware these men for they are dangerous themselves and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of those who might remember and of those who seek the truth." -Floyd Westerman as Albert Hosteen in The X-Files episode "The Blessing Way" Westerman also worked throughout his life to empower Indian youth. "They are our future," he said in a November interview. "Today we are fighting a great battle against the popular culture that surrounds them. It's a battle for their hearts and minds. We need to work to inspire them to embrace their own history and culture. Without them, we Indians have no future." Click images to watch video.... |
Corbin Haney
Corbin Harney, Western Shoshone Spiritual Leader Passes On – Public Statement by Corbin’s Immediate Family July 10, 2007 (Turtle Island). Corbin Harney Spiritual Leader of the Western Shoshone Nation crossed over at 11:00 a.m. this morning in a house on a sacred mountain near Santa Rosa, CA (Turtle Island). He had dedicated his life to fighting the nuclear testing and dumping. That battle claimed his life through cancer. Before he passed, he said to remember: “We are one people. We cannot separate ourselves now. There are many good things to be done for our people and for the world. It is important to let things be good. And it is important to teach the younger generation so that things are not lost.” According to witnesses present, in the morning fog, the spirits of four Shoshoni dog soldiers were outside on horseback before Corbin’s passing. But then one of the Shoshone present, Santiago Lozada, yelled “Tosawi Tosawi!” (White Knife). And then the fog shifted and there were thousands of spirits waiting. Corbin passed peacefully at the end. He was only worried that he still had more to do. When he finally let go and went with the dog soldiers, Red Wolf Pope, grandson of Rolling Thunder, was present and sang him the Tosawi death song to call the dog soldiers to come take him home. Golden eagles continue to circle the house hours after his crossing.” True to form Corbin joked around several days ago that he was going to go at 11:00, and kept his promise. Over his lifetime, Corbin traveled around the world as a speaker, healer and spiritual leader with a profound spiritual and environmental message for all. He received numerous national and international awards and spoke before the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Corbin also authored two books: “The Way It Is: One Water, One Air, One Earth” (Blue Dolphin Publishing, 1995) and a forthcoming book, “The Nature Way”. Numerous documentaries have been made about his work and message. In 1994, Corbin established the Shundahai Network to work with people and organizations to respond to spiritual and environmental concerns on nuclear issues. He also established Poo Ha Bah, a native healing center located in Tecopa Springs, California. He will be missed but always honored for his work and dedication to traditional ways. Corbin Harney is descended from generations of Newe (Shoshone) traditional healers and was always grateful for the many extraordinary teachers who shared their knowledge in his lifetime. Corbin is survived by his daughter Reynaulda Taylor; granddaughters Ann Taylor and Nada Leno; grandsons Keith, Jon and Joel Leno and William Henry Taylor; seven great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; and his sister Rosie Blossom’s family and many cousins and other family members as well as many, many friends around the world. Corbin was preceded in death by his mother, father, sister, grandparents, uncle, great granddaughter, cousins, and friends. A very special thanks to Patricia Davidson, Corbin’s caregiver in his final months; Dominic Daileda, Corbin’s friend and companion for his support and compassion in hard times, and the family of Dixie and Martin van der Kamp for opening up their home and their hearts to Corbin and his family and friends during his time of need. Dates and times for services are being made with official announcement to follow. Three day services are planned at the home of Larson R. Bill, So Ho Bee – Newe Sogobe (Lee, Nevada –Western Shoshone Territory) with burial services at Battle Mountain Indian Community, Battle Mountain Nevada. See videos on the left.... Western Shoshone Grandmother Mary Dann Has Passed On Mary DannCrescent Valley, NV (Newe Sogobia). Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone Grandmother, activist and sister to Mary Dann (who passed away Friday evening at their ranch in Crescent Valley), issued the following statement today in response to the receipt of hundreds of emails and phone calls from around the world expressing their condolences and prayers for the family and for Carrie: "We want to let people know that we are doing ok and we will be strong. There was a three day visitation for Mary beginning on Friday evening. Her body will be cremated and her ashes released to become part of the earth and nurture her and nurture life, as it was meant to be. You must remember she came from the earth and she is returning back to the arms of her mother, the earth. She has completed the cycle. This earth mother will cradle her forever. The wind will carry her body in all four directions those of us remaining here in the physical world we must be strong - stronger now for those who have passed ahead of us and those that who are yet to come. Mary believed in living her life for the protection of her family, the life - the sacred (the land, the air, the water, the sun) and for the future generations." "We must remember that Mary stood proud, strong, dignified, respectful against all types of racial discrimination, desecration of her spiritual ways by the BLM, Department of Interior (who claimed to be her "trustee"). She stood up against the mining industry, the nuclear industry, the energy industry. Mary never took no for an answer but she stood her ground for what she believed in and for the Truth. Not because she wanted to, but because she had to. I will continue to do this, even with my sister gone. I believe in these things also." Western Shoshone Defense Project www.wsdp.org "We must always remember the future generations and protect the sacred things so that the little ones coming behind us will be ok. The struggle will go on." 
Jan StevensJan Stevens, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation was killed March 05, 2003, in a tragic collision. Jan was the director of her tribes environmental department, a representative of the Oklahoma Regional IEN and a board member of Honor the Earth.Suddenly the world, especially Oklahoma, seems a lonelier place today with the shocking news that our sister, dear friend and mentor Janice Stevens of the Sac and Fox Nation and Stroud, Oklahoma has been taken from us, along with her aunts Mary Clark of Shawnee and Juanita Goodreau of Stroud, in a head-on collision with a drunk driver, this March 4, 2003. Jan was a daughter to Marvin Stevens; mother to sons Sam and Allen; grandmother to Harrison and Santana; sister to Marvin, Jr., David, Mark, Matthew, Anita and Lisa; auntie, niece, friend and mentor to many. She follows to the spirit world her mother, June Grass Stevens, other relatives, friends and her husband, Ray Spang, an environmental activist who fought against pollution by the mining industry on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Jan was the director of the environmental department for the Sac and Fox Nation, a council member for the Indigenous Environmental Network, board member for Honor The Earth, founding member of the Oklahoma Region IEN and served on several other grassroots and tribal environmental committees and organizations. Jan possessed seemingly endless knowledge of tribal environmental policy and history. A skillful strategist and organizer who brought clarity and purpose to all who worked with her, she also was a traditional Sac and Fox woman for whom family, community and friends were most important. She was always busy doing for others. Jan loved gadgets and was very methodical and process-oriented, paying great attention to detail in all matters. She always had an interesting story to tell about her life's adventures or her family. There are no words for the ways in which she will be missed. Read More.... |
Native Rights and Traditional Leader Mickey Gemmill Passes On "In the Early morning of May 24, 2006, Mickey Gemmill, long time Native rights and traditional leader, passed on to the other side and now walks, dances, and sings with the ancestors of the Pit River and Wintu Nations..." In the 1970’s Mickey helped lead the movement to establish the Native American Studies Department at S.F. State University that provided an educational program for students to receive accurate knowledge about Natives. During this time period, he also helped lead the occupation of a U.S. military facility that became known as D.Q. University and pave the way for Native students and communities to have an educational institution of their own in which to receive a higher education without having to relinquish their traditions and beliefs. He also helped to lead the takeover of Alcatraz for the benefit of all Native Peoples. Among Mickey’s many accomplishments and good deeds, he is highly revered for helping to lead the occupation and holding of traditional Pitt River Territory for Pitt River People. This territory was illegally taken by the U.S. and he is well known for stating that America has no right claiming, taking or keeping this land, as Pitt River People never sold or relinquished their title to the land. On June 5, 1970, Mickey issued the "Proclamation: To the President and the American People" that stated: "We are the rightful and legal owner of the land. . .No amount of money can buy the Mother Earth; therefore, the California Indian Land Claims Commission has no meaning. The Earth is our Mother and we cannot sell her." Since then, the Pitt River Indians have successfully reoccupied a number of areas of land. Numerous books and documentaries have been produced on the Pitt River struggle to regain their land and Mickey is often cited as being a major leader in this movement. He was elected as Chairman of the Pit River Tribe for two terms and served as a primary writer of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Mickey also spent some time in Alaska helping the Alaska Natives protect their ancestral rights, including claims to their land. Later in life Mickey helped to bring Ishi’s ashes and brain home to bury his remains in the traditional territory of the Yahi. Upon Ishi’s passing, his brain was taken from his skull and examined in the name of western science and his body burned to grey dust. Of this situation Mickey said he felt morally, legally, and spiritually obligated to help return Ishi so that his spirit could finally go home. In Mickey’s long standing role as a Board Member of the International Indian Treaty Council, he traveled throughout the U.S. and as far away as China to advocate for the protection of Native sacred places and the self-determination rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the western hemisphere. During this time he also helped to convene the sacred and annual Ancestral Run in Traditional Pitt River Country and later became involved in leading the Bear dance ceremonies. Mickey influenced and guided many Natives and non-Natives across the world to not be afraid to stand up for the rights of Natives. All of Mickey’s family and friends love and will miss him dearly. His immediate family includes his wife Valerie and children Michelle, Faith, Michael, Victoria, Mickey, Jr., Nichelle, Brandy, Shasta, Honor, and grandchildren Derek, Levi, Desiree, Camille, Daniel, and Joseph, and mother Irene, and father Jake, and brothers Steven, Arnold, Ira, and sister Sonja. For information on the funeral services call the family at (530) 646-8259. The photograph of Mickey above was taken 1/27/06 at the protest against Calpine Energy Corporation in San Jose, CA. On this day and in front of 250 Native and non-Native protestors he spoke eloquently and urgently about the need to protect the sacred Medicine Lake Highlands from all energy development activities. Janet McCloud, 1934-2003:
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